New Moon in Pisces: Shiver Me Timbers

Dreaming of Pomegranates, Felice Casorati

New Moon in Pisces
March 1, 2014
3:00 am EST / 8:00 am GMT

We're in a time of dreams and while some may not be "good" ones, they all offer hope and healing. That's what needs to be said about the soon-to-arrive New Moon in Pisces, and if I were really cool like that I'd stop now and sail away ...

... but Mercury is implicated. As I write, the Moon and Mercury are conjunct in Aquarius, as Mercury slows, to stop, to turn back forward. (Back forward? Do I mean that? Well, I do, actually. A good subtitle for this New Moon is: The Myth of Straight Forward.)

Mercury does direct tomorrow. (Brief pause for cheers from everyone experiencing communications and technology issues.) You know, there's so much hoopla about what Mercury does, we forget all the planets are dancing in loopy circles. So as an aide-mémoire, allow me to mention that both Mars and Saturn are turning retrograde right after the New Moon.

Yes, we're trading one direct Mercury for two retrogrades, in Mars and Saturn. Well, a few days later, Jupiter turns direct, so maybe it's more like two-for-two, but you see me point, right? It's not about getting everyone lined up and heading in the same direction. That's not even on the menu. It's about learning to dance in the rain, wind, sunshine, and whatever ever else shows up.

At this New Moon, the paired luminaries are nestled between Neptune and Chiron. If you want to press reset buttons in areas of dreams, visions, lyricism, contemplation, spirituality, poetry, imagery, deep healing, empathy, and swimming, this would be the opportune moment.

If you need to ask for healing in areas of distraction, addiction, magical thinking (the not-so-good kind), sensitivity (as in, too much), and believing you need to sacrifice everything you are to help others, this New Moon is also really good for that.

The thing is, though, parts of this New Moon will be happening offstage and outside our conscious awareness. The New Moon is dark for a reason: We cannot see what's happening inside the chrysalis, inside the seed, inside the egg, without destroying the outcome.

This New Moon features a transformation T-square in which Jupiter retrograde in Cancer opposes Pluto in Capricorn while Uranus squares them both. The forces of tradition, the way things have been, the way we assume they would always be, are undergoing radically profound and surprising changes. 

Likewise, Venus in Capricorn is squaring the Nodes of the Moon in Taurus and Scorpio. She's pushing us to find a balance––a pragmatic, workable balance––between inner and outer, body and soul, the apparent and the hidden.

We're wrapped up in a package of who we think we are, who everyone else thinks we are, who we could be maybe someday, and lots of other selves. The question now, leading into this New Moon, is, how much can we let go of agendas and plans and lists and ... and ... and watch what wants to be born. 

I know, it's all very metaphysical. This New Moon is like that, though. Even the most hard-headed among us may be drawn to the beauty of a sunset, or caught in a memory. It's OK. Just go with it.
    

Falling, then Flying: The Waning Moon

flying free

Disseminating Moon in Libra
February 18, 2014
6:41 pm EST / 11:41 pm GMT

Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius
February 22, 2014
12:15 pm EST / 5:15 pm GMT

Balsamic Moon in Capricorn
February 25, 2014, 9:41 pm EST
February 26, 2014, 2:41 am GMT

Mercury Stations Direct
February 28, 2014
9:00 am EST /  2:00 pm GMT

New Moon in Pisces
March 1, 2014
3:00 am EST / 8:00 am GMT

The burst of creative passion released at the Leo Full Moon turned out to be brighter and less explosive than I feared––I hope the same was true for you. Since then, we've moved into the waning phase of sharing, releasing our creations into the world. With tomorrow's Last Quarter Moon, the Sun–Moon square, we shift into the winnowing time.

We're looking around at a new landscape now. There've been losses, significant and surprising. Changes still come quickly, in the weather if nowhere else. At times we turn a familiar corner and a whole new landscape unrolls before us. Tricky to navigate.

The Sun's in misty, magical Pisces now. (See Blue Moon Astrology's post for a great overview.) Landmarks shift and transmute. Mercury Retrograde adds his own mischief to the mix, not above changing signposts just for a laugh.

(As a small example, my blogging was delayed this morning when I suddenly looked at all the charts I'd created and thought the time zone was wrong. Impatiently, I deleted them all and emptied the trash, then realized they'd been right ... too late. I had to create then all again!)

So, how do we move through this time?

... Easily, dreamily, intuitively, and creatively. We've been invited to step off into thin air, only to find we are held and supported. Then we discover we have wings.

The Disseminating Moon in creative, charming Libra set the stage. The passion of the Full Moon became something more lyrical. Mars in Libra aligns with the North Node in Scorpio, promising depth and beauty if we do the work. That Moon celebrated the Sun's arrival in Pisces, a time of big dreams.

Tomorrow's Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius pushes us to spread our magical wings. Squaring the Sun and Neptune in Pisces, the Moon opens the window and say, Look out! Try it! Pallas Athena in Virgo turns this square into a T-square, giving just enough caution and care to keep us from falling too deep.

The Balsamic Moon of February 25 is conjunct Venus in Capricorn, aligning dreams, creative vision, and careful, persistent work. Yes, this Moon says, you can do it.

Balsamic Moons bring us into the dark before the next New Moon, and often carry feelings of nostalgia, loss and regret. This time around, the sky seems to promise reward rather than sacrifice––Just enough glimmer of the magic ahead so we're ready to let go of what we don't need, gently and easily.

But wait––a Capricorn Moon gentle and easy? How can that be? Yet Moon and Venus together can hardly be harsh, no matter what their sign, and the Sun–Neptune–Chiron conjunction in Pisces offer great support for intuitive guidance, magic, and dreaming.

This combination holds the potential––almost the promise––of giving us the strength to move past blocks and barriers, and feel ready to trust in what lies ahead.

And look! Mercury stations direct just a few days later, another burst of brightness in a dark Moon time. When Mercury stops in Aquarius to turn forward, the Moon is also in Aquarius, in the final, strongest degree, flowing energy with Mars and Vesta in Libra, and the North Node and Ceres as well. There's much creative energy here if we (you'll pardon the expression ...) go with the flow.

The coming New Moon will be in Pisces, flowing with Neptune, Chiron and forming a bridge of sorts between Uranus and Pluto. I'll say more about the New Moon later; for now, know we'll be spreading our wings in amazing new ways at that time.

If it feels like we're falling at times, it's because we are ... falling into a new way of being, of experiencing our lives. But it's not freefall, or doesn't need to be. We have wings, bright shiny ones we (maybe) haven't even tried yet. During this waning Moon cycle, we gently let go of our old familiar perch. We find the cage door magically open. With more eagerness for what's ahead, than regret at what's behind, we flex our wings and fly.
    

This Moon's Quarter: Dreaming True

White Stone (detail) by Nicholas Roerich

Crescent Moon in Pisces
10:35 pm February 2 EST
3:35 am February 3 GMT

Imbolc (astrological)
February 3, 2014
5:03 pm EST / 10:03 pm GMT

First Quarter Moon in Taurus
February 6, 2014
2:22 pm EST / 7:22 pm GMT

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
February 6, 2014
4:43 pm EST / 9:43 pm GMT

There's so much happening, this First Quarter gets its own post. We're now in the midst of celebrations for the new Chinese Year of the Wood Horse. Tomorrow brings the Crescent Moon, followed by the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc, the First Quarter Moon, and our first Mercury Rertrograde of 2014 ... what's going on??

As promised, the New Moon in Aquarius awakened a new vision, and we're already getting glimmers of what's coming. What? You thought an Aquarian New Moon would be slow?

Still in the dark of the New Moon time, the Pisces Moon brings strong dreams. Right now, she's traveling with Neptune and Chiron, so be sure you have a notebook or recorder handy. (I use my iPhone.)

Tomorrow night's Crescent Moon, the edgy half-square when we get our first glimmer of our New Moon intentions, finds the Moon in the last, powerful, anaretic degree of Pisces. Poised to jump into a new cycle of Fire, this Moon is widely trine Saturn is mysterious Scorpio. Perhaps tonight's dreams will show us obstacles––along with the magic to work through them.

The next day, the ancient festival of Imbolc arrives. Known as Candelmas in later calendars, Imbolc arrives astrologically when the Sun reaches 15 degrees of Aquarius, the middle of winter. At this deeply quiet, frozen, silent, time, we look for early signs of Spring: snowdrops blooming through snow, the stirring of unborn lambs, the peeking out of a groundhog.

The middle of winter is deepest yin, when yang is potentiated most strongly. We have planted seeds. Now, before we see the first shoots, we feel the seed crack open in the dark earth. Somehow, the growth tip knows how to find the Sun, and heads upward.

And, oh! what a sprouting this will be! The Imbolc Moon sits right with Uranus the trickster revolutionary, igniting Fire that will light our way for the year to come. The goddess and saint associated with Imbolc is Brigid, whose triple skills in smithcraft, healing and poetry are all based in the inspiration of Fire.

The First Quarter Moon grounds us firmly in Earth, as she sits at 17 Taurus, squaring the Sun, opposite Saturn, and trine Venus and Pluto. The First Quarter is the challenge: Are we ready to step into our new vision?

The Moon's pattern is challenging, alright, and thumps us back down in the middle of the New Moon's pattern: This is about reality AND vision, coinciding, working together, becoming real.

No getting lost in the clouds at this First Quarter, it's all about what works from top to bottom, high to low, edge to edge, and every bit in between.

Which is good, because we're about to offered time to think it through: Just a few hours after the First Quarter, Mercury goes retrograde in Pisces.

Mercury is very close to Neptune as he stations, continuing the strong dreaming vibe. Keep those notebooks and recorders handy!

Over the course of the month, Mercury will move back into Aquarian territory, giving us the time to check and double check our plans. Remember, Mercury retrograde is not about making us miserable with constant glitches. It's about taking the time to reflect, review, revisit, retreat (when necessary), revise ... all the "re" words.

These periods are vital for us. We can't go, go, go all the time. Embracing the gifts of Mercury retrograde, taking time for meditation and slowness, will reduce frustration and most likely the number of mishaps as well.

So will backing up your computer and other tech devices. and making allowances for more dreaminess than usual––this is Piscean and Aquarian territory, after all.

This first week of the new lunar cycle is crowded with incident, and then we slow down. Pay attention to what's coming up for you now. This is a time of thinking and feeling, mind and body, the vision and the manifestation. Noticing where things don't fit will alert us to where those new shoots will soon be breaking through.

This Full Moon coming up is in passionate Leo, and falls on Valentine's Day. Can't wait to tell you more about that one ...
    

Mercury Retrograde: Depth of Focus

The Seer, Wildwood Tarot

Mercury stations retrograde
October 21, 2013
6:29 am EDT / 11:29 am GMD

Uranus–Pluto square
November 1, 2013
6:30 am EDT / 10:30 am GMT

New Moon in Scorpio
November 3, 2013
7:50 am EST / 12:50 om GMT

Astrological Samhain
November 7, 2013
1:14 am EST / 6:14 am GMT

Mercury stations direct
November 10, 2013
4:12 pm EST / 9:12 pm GMT

We've entered our last Mercury retrograde for this year, the last in the Water element. Following on the heels of the fiery intensity of the Aries Full Moon, Mercury's station (the moment he slows down and stops before turning back) ushers in the season of Samhain.

At Samhain, deep in Autumn in the Northern hemisphere, we enter the dark time of the year. This is the time of stories around the fire, of mending and making, of looking within. For the ancient Celts, this was where (and how) everything began––in the depths of quiet yin.

The astrological year begins at the Spring Equinox, with fiery yang Aries energy. We felt a burst of that at the Full Moon, and now, only a few days later, we're dropped into the depths of something ancient and dark.

This is the waning cycle of the Moon, but this post is not my usual post for this time––I will write another in a few days describing what the Moon will be up to. We've entered an intense and focused time within a much larger cycle now, and it feels important to get oriented.

dive in ...

Samhain arrives every year, after all ... the time of Scorpio, the energy of fixed Water that asks us to look our fears in the face, embrace our Shadow, have tea with our demons.

Scorpio time is also for connecting deeply with what fuels us, what brings meaning and creative fire into our lives. And for honoring the past and the ancestors.

These themes are connected: We fear what we don't understand and don't want to face, often these things come from the past, and are shadowy. The things modern culture wants most to ignore––age, death, decay, depth––these are Scorpio things and the source of all new life.

This year... well, this year we're offered extra Scorpio. A Scorpio main course with Scorpio on the side, and some Scorpio sauce.

Mercury's retrograde in Scorpio opens the door and nudges (pushes?) us through. The usual caveats apply––double check plans and schedules, make extra backups of important files, and avoid leaping to conclusions about what you think someone meant when they said that to you. But this is not what Mercury retrograde is about.

The mess-ups in communication come about because our attention is being directed elsewhere. The ordinary details of life are not where our hearts and minds want to be right now. We're being drawn into the depth of our own lives, the lives around us, the life of our world. 

This is the time to examine our deepest goals and desires, to face our darkest fears. Mercury stations retrograde while trining (in a deep flow of energy) with Jupiter in Cancer. This connection reminds us of the waves of Water energy we swam in this summer, when so much was happening in the sign of Cancer.

Now we're asked to take all of those emotions to a new level, placing them in a context that includes the past, potential futures, and the creation of meaningful lives.

The next exact Pluto–Uranus square's coming right up too. Pluto rules Scorpio, and remains in mutual reception with Saturn who is in Scorpio. This square, coming at this time and during the waning lunar cycle, says, Let go! It's time to take off the water wings, leave the shallow water, and trust that we can swim to the far shore.

The New Moon in Scorpio will be conjunct Saturn, Mercury retrograde, and the North Node, offering an open portal for new beginnings in the deepest parts of our psyches. This New Moon arrives with a Solar Eclipse, giving extra energy and resonance to whatever seeds we plant. Astrological Samhain (when the Sun reaches 15 Scorpio) and the ending of the retrograde will follow.

... the water's fine

By the time we reach that far shore, we'll be in a waxing cycle, growing something new. We'll also have changed our clocks, which may carry extra symbolic weight this year––it certainly will for me, because I will experience it twice. We'll "fall back" here in Ireland before I leave, and then I'll "fall back" again in the US a few days after I arrive.

In the next days and weeks, be aware that whatever happens is likely to feel "extra" ... extra strong, extra important, extra meaningful. And most likely, it will be. We're entering a time when signs and portents could be anywhere and everywhere.

I invite you to choose the deep over the superficial. One thing I've learned on my long travels is how easy it is for me to allow ordinary anxieties (Did I lock the door? Did I pay that bill? Is she angry about what I said?) to keep me from experiencing the layers of deeper emotion underneath. I think this is fairly common, and something we want to get beyond, especially now.

These next few weeks invite us to look closely at who we are, how we feel, what fuels us, what blocks us, and where we go from here. Ordinary live recedes. We're called into a reflective time. That cave might feel scary but there are riches within. Take the plunge!
    

Getting a Different View: A Tale of Jupiter and Mercury

light in the watery depths

Jupiter enters Cancer
June 25, 2013 9:40 pm EDT

Mercury turns retrograde in Cancer
June 26, 2013 9:08 am EDT

Mercury turns direct in Cancer
July 20, 2013 2:22 pm EDT

Thinking and feeling are sometimes said to be opposites. Emotions make thinking unreliable, murky, confused. And logic is cold, an enemy to the heart.

Is that true? Overwhelming emotion, especially in traumatic circumstances, can interfere with clear thinking and accurate memory. There's evidence, though, that emotion helps both thinking and memory: We don't solve problems we don't care about; we don't remember things of no importance.

More importantly, the combination of feeling and thinking leads us to personal insight. Bringing reflective thought to our emotions, while allowing those emotions space for expression and understanding, takes us to a place of greater understanding of our own character.

Why is this important right now? Because we've entered a time of deep emotion, and we're being offered the thinking chops to make something out of it, that's why.

Here's the astrologically geeky part:

For the last several months, Jupiter's been hanging out in Gemini, where he doesn't much like to be. Jupiter is an accommodating, friendly sort, and brings good luck wherever he goes, but he's a deep thinker, a philosopher who likes to include everything, get the big picture ... and Gemini? Well, Gemini is all about the details where the devil lives, and dancing off after the next bright shiny.

Jupiter's been a good sport, but he's ready to make a shift. Which he will, on Wednesday, when he moves into the sign of Cancer. In this Moon-ruled sign of cardinal Water, Jupiter is exalted.

"Exalted" is astro-speak for very, very happy. Jupiter likes being in Cancer. He has scope there, the deep memory of the ancestors and the body. There is soul in Cancer.

When Jupiter steps into Cancer, he will add his expansive liberality to the Grand Trine in Water currently activated by the Sun himself. We will continue to have a Sun–Jupiter conjunction flowing lots of energy in trine with Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces.

Sometimes trines, even Grand Trines, get missed because all that easy flow is just, you know, there. Not this one! Jupiter will make sure of it. He wants to understand this confluence of emotional depth; he wants to make something of it.

Meanwhile, the very next day, Mercury turns retrograde in Cancer. Mercury retro is generally thought of as bad, a time when stuff breaks and delays happen ... yet the real message of a retrograde time is to sllllooooooooowwwww down. During retro times, we go for the "re" words: review, reflect, remember.

Summer can be frenetic. Even when we're on vacation, we can feel impelled to cram as much as possible into every single minute so we don't miss any opportunities for fun.

This is an invitation to press the pause button and look within.

When we tune into our emotions instead of ignoring or repressing them, we find out there's a lot going on. It can feel scary, even overwhelming, to give space to all that stuff we've been stuffing. But not with Jupiter around. He's a very reassuring guy to have around, big enough to take in everything that comes along.

And Jupiter brings another gift: He's got big fire going on, good mojo in these watery times.

Classically speaking, fire and water don't mix. But I'm with the ancient Celts on this one, who saw the combination of fire and water as the ultimate in creative fusion. In Celtic myth, poetic inspiration and magical power are represented by a fiery energy hidden in, contained in water.

In this context, Jupiter offers great art as well as solid philosophy. In Cancer, Jupiter has the power to light the creative fire under us all. There's time to explore this, too: He doesn't reach the peak of his powers in Cancer until September 6, at 15 Cancer, the midpoint, and remains in Cancer until July, 2014.

All artists know that the greatest work reflects deep emotion. Jupiter is poised to usher in an time of emotional exploration that can result in creative flowering. Mercury's retrograde begins the process by turning us inward.

It's time to go with the flow ... allow yourself to be moved, to feel deeply, and to explore the meaning of the feelings that emerge, their substance, their power, and what they want to express. It won't all be pretty, but it will be beautiful.
    

The Waxing Cycle: Growing into Spring!

Crescent Moon in Taurus

new growth emerging!

March 15, 2013 10:50 am EDT
Mercury Direct
March 17, 2013 4:02 pm EDT
First Quarter Moon in Gemini
March 19, 2013 1:26 pm EDT
Spring Equinox
March 20, 2013 7:01 am EDT

Can you feel the breeze freshening? The sunlight getting stronger? The birds singing louder? It's been a long winter, and Spring is finally moving.

We swam through the Pisces New Moon gate, awash in feelings, full of visions and dreams, and a bit disoriented. Now, focus and fire emerge.

Mars is now in Aries, his home territory, ready to meet revolutionary Uranus. Transformation is in the air! One of the aspect patterns throughout this waxing cycle is a yod, a finger of Fate, in which Pluto and Saturn point at Jupiter.

Pluto and Saturn remain in mutual reception (they are in each other's signs, which means they're communicating and cooperating), and Jupiter is the great expander, the liberal-handed philosopher and adventurer. So, we're liable to say yes! when opportunities to embrace change come our way.

Tomorrow is the Crescent Moon in Taurus, and she opposes Saturn. Now, the Moon in Taurus can be stubborn, and Saturn is stubborn by nature. So, maybe we're not saying "yes!" to change ... maybe we're saying, "no, thank you, I'm quite comfortable where I am."

Except we're not, really, are we? Mercury still rests between Neptune and Chiron, keeping us deeply connected to our feelings, our visions, and where we need healing. And Chiron is squaring Jupiter, trining Saturn, and sextile Pluto, sooooo, no, we can't really pretend everything is perfect in our lives.

My suggestion is to channel the supportive, nurturing Taurus Moon energy into a commitment to self compassion and self nurturing. We can say, with this Moon, yes! let's change ... and let's work on it gently, with lots of support for the person I am, the child I was, and everyone in between.

On March 17, leprechauns bring us the gold of Mercury direct. There's real value in Mercury retrograde––we all need times to slow down, reflect, and revisit our thinking––yet it's tough to know how to apply information that comes our way during retrogrades. With Mercury's energy flowing forward again, we'll begin to see the light, understanding what needs to happen next.

March 19 brings an intense First Quarter Moon in Gemini. What? (I hear you say...) I thought Gemini Moons were fun, flirty and all about easy networking and talk. True enough, and yet this First Quarter brings a square between the Sun and Moon that falls in the final, anaretic degree of Pisces (Sun) and Gemini (Moon).

The final degree of each sign brings a concentration of energy, a strong focus. At this Moon, then, the Sun reminds us of everything we experienced and felt and learned in Pisces––the dreams, visions, creative inspiration, and also foggy confusion. The Moon reminds us to hang on to our perspective, and in fact to entertain lots of perspectives, ideas, notions, thoughts. Because ...

Boom! March 20 brings the astrological Spring Equinox, the moment the Sun enters Aries. And what an entrance this year brings! The Sun reborn in Fire is conjunct Mars and Uranus. Everything lights up!

Interestingly, the Equinox Moon has moved into protective Cancer, where she squares Mars and Uranus. One option here is to hide under the blankets, hoping those nasty, loud planets in Fire will just go away. (They won't.)

The energies now be moving into Aries (Venus is next to join the fiery gang) will make it impossible to ignore the surges of desire and will that arise now. And why would we want to? This is the sap rising, the new season dawning, time for births and emergences of all kinds.

Instead of hiding, the nurturing Cancer Moon can continue to offer support, to remind us that kindness is always possible, especially toward our tender selves. In square to Mars and Uranus, she asserts herself, refusing to go too fast or allow feelings to be trampled willy nilly in the mad rush toward the new.

The invitation coming our way now is to jump in with both feet, embrace Spring and rebirth, and let 'er rip. The challenge is to answer the call without burning *all* our bridges, and with kindness and compassion for ourselves and all life.

We can do it ... will we do it? That choice is up to us.
     

Synchronicity Stew: Mercury–Saturn Trine

the rose chafer ... Jung's synchronicity messenger

Waning Moon Cycle

Moon–Pluto conjunction:
March 6, 2:15 pm EST
Mercury–Saturn trine:
March 7, 2:26 pm EST
Balsamic Moon in Aquarius:
March 8, 2:17 am EST

What do anesthesia, dreams, learning Photoshop and Van Allen Belts have in common? If you're as deep into the Piscean ocean as I've been, you've already spun out half a dozen science fiction plots with all those elements.

In fact (if we can use such a hard word in these Neptunian times), they're ways synchronicity has entered my life recently.

We're still wending our way through the waning Moon phase, in the cycle that initiated with the intense Aquarius New Moon on February 10 and entered its waning period with the amazing Full Moon in Virgo of February 25.  I write this in part as a memo to me, because I'm uncoupled from linear time these days––those Moon events seem liked hours ago and eons ago, simultaneously.

Anyway. Where was I? Oh yes, synchronicity.

This afternoon (Wednesday) brings the Capricorn Moon into an up close and personal conjunction with Pluto. Maybe that's why the invitation to Michele Grace Lessirard's New Moon teleclass tonight is about women and money––and why today is a get-'er-done kind of day.

Tomorrow brings a flowing trine between Mercury and Saturn, both retrograde. I mentioned this trine in my post about Mercury retrograde, and suggested we might see issues of emotional power, visionary depth, and the power of dreams surfacing.

I'm seeing a big increase in the flow of synchronicity, in my personal life and the world around me.

Have you noticed the Weather Channel named our current new winter storm "Saturn"? The other name for the storm is "Snowquester" and today it shut down the federal government in Washington, D.C.––which some will see as redundant.

Just the other day, U.S. scientists announced the discovery of a new belt of powerful electrons in the Van Allen Belt, the doughnut-shaped loops of radiation that surround the Earth. It appears that this "new" belt may always have been there, detected now because space probes are now more sensitive.

NASA image of the Van Allen Belt

What could be more Piscean than radiation in space surrounding the Earth, now seen in a new way due to increased sensitivity?

To add another bit of Neptunian fog, the Van Allen Belt radiation is the key element used by conspiracy theorists claiming the Moon landing never happened.

In my life, I had a medical treatment, then in an anesthesia and narcotics-assisted recovery nap, had a dream about a new tarot deck I had designed and created. This past week, as I began playing around with image ideas, I discovered that creativeLIVE was offering a weeks' worth of free broadcasts on Photoshop techniques. I watched when I could, and learned tons of new ways to manipulate images––how Neptunian is that?

And, yes, it's been an intense couple of weeks emotionally, something we can expect to continue right through the coming New Moon in Pisces. Remember the waning phase is ideal of letting things go. So, feel it, understand it, let it move through you, rinse and repeat ... it's that kind of phase.

If you are or have been in the path of this huge, diffuse and wet (all Pisces qualities) winter storm barreling through the U.S. Midwest and East, I hope you're safe, warm and dry. I'd love to hear how synchronicity is entering your life these days!
    

Mercury Retrograde: Treading Water or New Seas?

Toni Frissell photo for Harper's 1947

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
February 23 through March 13, 2013

Tomorrow, Mercury turns retrograde in the visionary and also confusing sign of Pisces. Today is a good day to back up computers, and send messages that especially need to be clear and direct.

And yet ... I see the coming weeks with Mercury as an invitation to depth, not a time of anxiety.

Back in 2010, I wrote about how Mercury retrogrades are part of this planet's cycle, a time of renewal and reflection.

It's time to slow down. Relentless forward motion is exhausting and ultimately self-defeating. We are cyclical creatures who need are own times to replenish, and this is one.

We're entering the first Mercury retrograde of 2013, an experience quite different from 2012's retrogrades. Last year, Mercury explored the Fire signs––we were asked to look at our motivations, what drives us, what fires us up.

This year, all three retrogrades will be in the Water signs, and so we're diving into emotions, dreams, visionary experiences, lyricism, poetry, and mist.

Mercury turns retrograde in Pisces overnight (4:41 am EST), ushering the North American times zones into this period of reflection while we're deep in dreams. He's just past the Pisces planet conclave and decides ... wait, I'm not done here ... and decides to turn back and reconnect with each of the energies there: Mars, Chiron, the Sun and Neptune are in Pisces now, with Venus poised to enter soon. Each will conjunct Mercury during his journey.

Saturn retrograding through Scorpio makes this a time of power as well as vision. Astrology is about cycles within cycles, and the dance of Mercury and Saturn over the next few weeks will draw each of us into questions about what we desire, what moves us, what triggers us, and where the power lies in it all.

I'm fascinated with what I'm seeing in the charts over the next weeks. At the moment Mercury turns retrograde, the Moon will be in Leo trining Uranus––pulsing underneath the watery calm is intense energy for change and renewal.

On March 7, Mercury trines Saturn, both retrograde, as Mercury conjunct Venus, with both in the middle of a very large Pisces group. Questions of emotional power, visionary depth, and the power of dreams may come to the fore at this time.

March 17, Mercury goes direct sitting between Neptune and Chiron as the Sun and Venus are conjunct in late Pisces. Just days before the Spring Equinox, Mars moves to conjunct Uranus as the Moon moves to meet Jupiter ... Boom!

When we reach the Spring Equinox, the planet party has moved decisively into Aries and everything lights up.

Right now, we're offered a contemplative time, a reflective time, to dig deep, look in the mirror and unpack our emotional baggage. It's likely to be intense, confusing and emotional. Issues of power, manipulation, deception and glamour may raise their threatening heads.

If we accept the invitation, we'll do far more than tread water for the next few weeks hoping nothing gets too messed up––we'll find ourselves in new waters, refreshed and alive, ready for the explosion of Spring, the rebirth of Aries Fire.

It's up to you ... but I'm grabbing my swim fins and diving in!
    

Crescent Moon to Full: Diving Gear Ready!

prepare to dive ...

First Crescent Moon
February 17, 2013 3:30 pm EST
Gibbous Moon
February 21, 2013 6:44pm EST
Full Moon in Virgo
February 25, 2013 3:26 pm EST

As we turn the corner with the growing Moon (who rode faint but clear in the early afternoon sky as I liked in the woods a few hours ago), let's take a moment to appreciate the First Quarter Moon chart.

It's an intense chart, yes, and maybe the energy has been a bit crazy and jittery. I mean, it's not every week that meteors strike the earth on one continent and flame across the sky in another, while NASA monitors a near-miss asteroid fly-by.

Notice that in the First Quarter chart, everyone is moving direct. Everyone! That won't be true for a while, so we should appreciate it today.

Tomorrow, Saturn turns retrograde in Scorpio, where he'll be backing up until mid July. On February 23 (Saturday), Mercury goes retrograde in Pisces, right in the middle of the cosmic Pisces party.

Saturn and Mercury both turning retrograde in water signs, when there's such a concentration in water already––this is interesting. It is not time to panic. (Although you might want to have your Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy handy ... the one with the large friendly letters on the cover which say, Don't Panic.)

This is a big shift in energy that does not point inevitably to disaster. Honestly. The shift will feel less jarring if you're aware it's coming, and go with the flow. We've been in a time of forward motion that has (at least in my life) felt unpredictable and squirrelly. We are entering a time that is likely to feel slower, more fluid, more languid, more reflective, and also possibly foggier.

Any planet is more powerful when stationing (preparing to turn either retrograde or direct), so Saturn in Scorpio is pretty heavy right now. He could be showing up as the voice of paranoia and fear, or justice and retribution. Making those easy flowing trines to the Pisces guys (Chiron, Mars and Mercury are in range), it might feel easy to get pulled into conspiracy theories, or just get really jumpy about a lot of vague stuff.

This is not the approach I recommend.

Dana Gerhardt's take on Saturn in Scorpio (shared in chart readings) is, this is where he's at his most wizardly. How can we work with this mystical powerhouse? Instead of being taken over by fear, we can explore what our fears are, gain insight into their shape and size, and lessen their control over us.

Notice that the Gibbous Moon is in her home sign of Cancer, just past a trine with Saturn. We'll be experiencing multiple Water trines during this quarter, including Grand Trines in Water among the Moon, Saturn and the many planets in Pisces.

At a recent workshop about living an authentic life, Gregg Lavoy shared the story of the great Buddhist Milarepa who, during a long meditation retreat, found himself beset by his worst demons. After trying in vain to vanquish them, he shifted strategy. He made tea and invited them all to sit down.

In other words, he got to know them. He got to know them as challenges separate from himself, energies he could explore without being controlled. In his book Callings, Gregg quotes the actress Naomi Newman who says "If we wait until our hands stop shaking, we will never open the door."

At the New Moon in Aquarius, we dared greatly, setting intentions for our brightest dreams. During this First Quarter phase, we saw, perhaps, the first unfurlings of those dreams and probably got a few shocks along the way.

In this next quarter, reaching toward the Full Moon, we'll be diving into deep emotional, intuitive and magical territory. With Saturn on our side (and this is possible), we have the chance to channel great power and learn vital truths. This is a time to dive in, open the door, and invite our demons for tea.

The alternative is to stay frozen, and that's no fun. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am myself exploring tea with my demons as part of my writing practice. It's not easy. Scarey things are scarey, and ugly as well. It's really interesting, though. Just like these charts. Go for it!
    

Fire Dance: Mercury and Uranus

the heart of the fire

On the Way to the Balsamic Moon, Some Retrogrades ... 

The Moon is waning, hard to find because she's smaller and rising closer and closer to dawn.

She's also just entered Taurus––earthy, sensuous, practical and stable, which is a good thing, since the next few days offer some interesting sky changes.

"There is a Chinese curse which says 'May he live in interesting times.' Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history."

––Robert Kennedy, Cape Town, 1966

There's no clear reference showing that living in interesting times actually is a Chinese curse. What's intriguing about this quote, often requoted today (I've been saying it myself), is that Kennedy made it popular in the years we're now revisiting astrologically: Then, Uranus and Pluto were conjunct, now they're squaring off.

As we move toward the shadowy time of the Balsamic Moon, two events will grab our attention. Uranus turns retrograde early tomorrow morning and Mercury turns retrograde late Saturday evening (both EDT). Both planets are in Fire, Uranus doing his slow burn through Aries and Mercury blazing through passionate Leo.

Uranus turns retro

Uranus, like the other outer planets, spends a fair amount of time retrograde. His turning emphasizes his presence, and allows him to revisit the early degrees of Aries. He'll move back to 4 Aries, and turn direct again in mid December.

Retrograde planets focus energy inward, suggesting we'll experience inner revolutions and upheavals. At the same time, Uranus is widely opposite Mars, widely trine Mercury, and square Pluto right now––a whole lotta energy packed into one pattern, with the potential for explosive action.

Uranus brings the shock of the new, and this morning we're reading reports of a new moon discovered for Pluto. Offering exciting new information on how complex Pluto's system really is (presence of Uranus) and alerting scientists that exploring Pluto will be riskier than expected (square aspect), this discovery brings Pluto into the public eye.

Mercury goes retrograde Saturday night, suggesting the weekend might not go exactly as planned. Quelle surprise. With Mercury retrogrades, looking for the silver lining is vital. Mercury in Leo, the sign of the heart, of the Sun, of our core self, invites us to explore our inner creative fire.

What lights us up, sustains us, keeps us going? If you've been looking for your bliss, in Joseph Campbell's phrase for the thing that points us at the right doors and then opens them for us, this is the time to connect. Uranus pushes us to become who we truly are, no matter how oddball that looks to the outside world, and Mercury in Leo connects mind and heart with passion.

first Mercury–Uranus trine

These two planets dancing in Fire will trine each other twice this summer, on July 25 and August 18. Retrogrades are about inner experience, yet the power of these fiery energies could lead to public eruptions––creative, passionate, revolutionary, and possibly angry, disruptive, and destructive.

Anything in our charts in early Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) will be powerfully affected. Planets and points in early cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) will have their toes in the fire. Stuff in the early fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) will feel the energy through the connection to Mercury.

OK, anything in early degrees catches some heat from these two. Since Pluto and Mars are part of this dance, and with lots of everybody else hanging out in the early degrees of other signs, we'll all just party down with this energy.

Traditional astro advice for Mercury retrograde is to move slowly and don't start new stuff. During this particular Mercury retrograde, we'll want to pay attention to that advice, especially if what we want to start is an explosion.

At the same time, the coming weeks are likely to bring inner conflicts, turmoils, passions, creative drives, desires, and rages into the sharp focus.

While the Moon wanes, let the passions getting in your way burn themselves out. This is release time; we need to use it.

The New Moon in Cancer of July 19 will invite us to connect deeply with our emotional core. Clear directions for creativity, desire, and personal expression will help manifest our dreams.

These weeks seem likely to be a rocky, fiery ride––passions are, after all, things we feel strongly about and modern culture mostly expects us to sit on our emotions. At the same time, this double retrograde offers an opportunity to connect with "the brain in the heart." If we come out on the other side with a clearer vision of the bliss we want to follow, it will be awesome.
   

Waning Moon in Pisces

Wednesday afternoon through Saturday morning

This afternoon, the Moon slips into dreamy Pisces, where she will join Venus in the early hours of Thursday. A midmorning sextile with Pluto in Capricorn on Thursday completes the Moon's classical aspects for this transit, after which she enters a void of course period until entering Aries on Saturday morning.

Wait ... what? The Moon is void of course for almost two days? In that space where ordinary time is suspended, and we hold back from beginning new things, for two days? Well, yes.

This Pisces Moon will be especially dreamy, almost disconnected-feeling. Patterns repeat themselves as a way to focus our attention, and this Moon transit ushers in the Mercury Retrograde in Aries that also begins today, just an hour and a half before the Moon enters Pisces.

Achiote fruit

This is the year of Mercury retrogrades in Fire, beginning with Aries, which is the beginning. When we enter a retrograde period with Mercury, we revisit our ways of thinking. We reflect, revise, reconsider.

These are valuable, indeed essential, times, when we have the opportunity to strengthen what is best, revising as needed.

Each retrograde period culminates in a New Mercury, the midpoint, when Mercury conjuncts the Sun. As with the New Moons, this is a seed time, when we can intentionally makes changes in flow with the cosmos.

Astrology for the 21st Century offers my favorite podcast on Mercury retrograde, and now offers a brief video illustrating what's happening in the sky during these periods.

With Mercury retrograde in Aries, we have the chance to reflect on, and reconnect with, our own ground of being. Each of us enters this life with a unique set of desires; the values, ideas, goals and feelings that draw us in and draw us on. These are not desires in the Buddhist sense of things we grasp to avoid suffering; these are the very wellsprings of our lives.

But what are they? Do we know? In the blooming, buzzing confusion of life, when we are told what we should want, what will make us happy, what everyone wants, we can so easily lose touch with what we want, what moves our souls and hearts.

So much energy has moved into Aries now, we can scarcely avoid it. Aries' fiery, impulsive, rash, risky, angry energy can feel overwhelming, adding another layer to our confusion. Perhaps this is why Mercury is moving retrograde now, to give us a chance to explore this territory. Pisces poses the question, what will we die for? Aries looks us in the eye and asks, what do we live for?

During this retrograde, we explore what excites us, what turns us on, what triggers us, what makes us angry, what makes us feel alive. The retrograde offers a set of brackets to remind us we can explore all these things without doing. We can think, we can reflect, we can remember, we can consider. We can consciously set aside all the messages, enticements, demands, and pressures of the world to reconnect in a deep way with what moves us.

Desire, after all, means "what comes from the stars." With Uranus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and the Sun in Aries during this retrograde, the stars are lining up ready to connect. We can begin now, in the earliest days of this retrograde, to be ready for the New Moon in Aries.

On Saturday at 7:16am EDT, the Moon bursts into Aries. The next morning, Sunday at 10:32am EDT, the Sun and Moon join together for the New Moon, opening the lunar seed time for new beginnings of all kinds.

Waxing Moon in Pisces, Moving into Aries

No way around it, today looks to be an intense day. In fact, part of the message of this Mercury retrograde in Capricorn is precisely that: The is no way around, except through. So, we're all invited (umm ... pushed? compelled?) to reexamine whatever seems to be blocking us, and make peace with it.

North Dakota blizzard, 1966

This morning, the Sun and Moon challenge each other in square (8:59am EST). This is the First Quarter Moon, when our commitment to New Moon intentions is tested. Do we really want what we asked for? Maybe now, that wish looks a little different than we thought. Maybe it looks harder to attain. Are we willing to work?

The Moon's final aspects in Pisces are her conjunctions with Jupiter (3:16pm) and, later, Uranus (7:35pm). This is a deeply intuitive time, as the personal, body-centered wisdom of the Moon joins the Jupiter the philosopher king, and then Uranus, the trickster revolutionary.

This afternoon and evening present wonderful openings to meditate, dream, vision and journey, to receive guidance from powerful teachers. The Moon is void of course after joining Uranus, where she remains for seven hours.

During this time-between-times, Mercury reaches his powerful conjunction with Mars and Pluto, with the North Node just one degree away. When Mars and Pluto come together, force of action combines with deep power to break things open. With Mercury, that force is communicated.

This triple conjunction could bring into sharp focus energies building since the New Moon around power, action, sexuality, and transformation. With Mercury retrograde and the Moon void of course, we are cautioned to slow down, consider the consequences, and maintain conscious awareness.

Today we may experience what happens when power is unleashed. The choice will be to let go, or to channel that power.

Overnight (2:14am Tuesday), the Moon emerges into Aries, Cardinal Fire, the new power made manifest. Usually, we think of void-of-course times as quiet, waiting, not-doing times. It appears that what happens during today's void time, will have a vital influence on what emerges.

Waxing Moon in Pisces

This note covers the Moon's transit through Pisces today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

Early this morning, the Aquarius Moon joined Neptune for her last aspect in this sign. She is now void of course, awaiting her emergence into Neptune's own sign, dreamy Pisces, at 1:40pm EST. If you are fast asleep as I write, you may wake to memories of rich and varied dreams.

Dore's opening illustration for Dante's Inferno

Mercury is now retrograde in Capricorn. April Elliott Kent's essay, Mercury Retrograde, Pluto, and the Darker Woods, explores the Sabian symbols associated with this time of revisiting, reevaluating, and releasing. The Moon in Pisces supports this, ready to dissolve whatever does not serve us.

With that in mind, the Moon flows energy in sextile with the Capricorn planets this evening. Beginning at 7:50pm EST, she sextiles Mars, then touches the North Node, Pluto and Mercury.

Each time, the Moon asks, what can we dissolve in order to step into our best future? With that dissolution comes comfort, as we rest in Pisces' waters and flow with the cosmos.

Overnight, the Moon flows energy in trine to Venus in Scorpio, Water and Water communicating, supporting this work of insight, integration, and release.

But, wait ... isn't the waxing cycle meant to be a time of growth? Yes, and again we see the paradox of this season. In the Northern hemisphere we're in the darkest time of year, waiting for the reemergence of light. Now in the realm of the fierce Holly King, we await the battle in which the more open-handed Oak King challenges and defeats him.

In the darkness, new growth begins. In this lunar cycle, heading for a Full Moon that coincides with the Solstice, we are asked to prepare. This is a time of keeping vigil, of readying ourselves for a powerful transformation. The Moon in Pisces offers her support for meditation, stillness, and surrender, as we await a vision of what is to come.

Waxing Moon in Aquarius, Mercury Turns Back

This note covers the Moon's transit through Aquarius, Friday through Saturday morning, and the beginning of Mercury's retrograde in Capricorn.

trickster goddess

An Aquarius Moon is cerebral, cool-headed, and radical. Today, the Moon challenges Venus in square, ready to face what emerges from Scorpio's depths and find new ways to think about it. The Moon in Aquarius wears the mask of the trickster, poking into places we're stuck and saying, what happens if we turn this upside down?

Channeling the heavy concentration in Capricorn––Mars, Mercury, the North Node, Ceres and Pluto together in the first five degrees of Cardinal Earth––we might be getting lots of work done, but losing sight of the overall plan. The Aquarius Moon brings in Air, perspective, the long view, saying, let's step back and see what's on the horizon.

That Aquarian perspective, cool-headedness, and trickster humor will be helpful Friday morning, as Mercury goes retrograde. This Moon can help us remember that Mercury retrograde is a gift, one that can frustrate us if we're not prepared, but can help down the road ... Aquarius is all about planfulness and long-term thinking.

Mercury turns back in Capricorn, the last of this year's retrogrades in Earth that offered times to reflect on how we get things done in the world, what's practical and realistic, and how we're grounded in this physical life. As I wrote back in the spring, retrogrades ask us to slow down, take stock, and double- and triple-check everything.

going to ground

Coming as we approach the Winter Solstice, this retrograde in Capricorn brings us back to Earth, reminding us we're entering a sacred time when even the Sun stands still (the meaning of sol stice), so why are we running so fast? This is the time to go to ground, hibernate, recoup, rebuild.

During this retrograde, Mercury will revisit the intense Capricorn lineup, forming a tight conjunction with Mars and Pluto on December 13. Are we walking our talk? Are our actions in the world congruent with our values? On December 15, Mercury meets the North Node. Are our thoughts and actions aligned with our life path?

Mercury slips back into Sagittarius on December 18, allowing us to revisit our connection with that expansive, philosophical, adventuring energy, meeting the Sun on December 19. At the Full Moon on December 21, just hours before the Sun reaches the Solstice point and enters Capricorn, Mercury is three degrees away, reminding us that our journeys are also returnings.

The Moon in Aquarius helps us grasp the paradox of Mercury turning retrograde in this powerful waxing lunar cycle. Just after Mercury turns, the Moon trines Saturn, a reminder of the need for balance, beauty, and responsible action.

The Sun and Moon flow energy in sextile Friday, gathering momentum as the Moon grows in the sky. Here, the retrograde reminds us that the crescent phase also includes one last chance to release whatever stands in our way from previous cycles.

Moving forward while turning back, reaching for enlightenment with the waxing Moon as the Sun reaches the darkest point of his cycle, we are challenged to integrate dark and light, past and future, growth and death.

If we head into this season with frenetic energy, Mercury retrograde may stop us in our tracks. Instead, this year, we might want to slow down, recognizing "the uncertain hour before the morning, near the ending of interminable night, at the recurrent end of the unending" when we know in our bones that "what we call the beginning is often the end, and to make an end is to make a beginning."

T.S. Eliot might have written Little Gidding for such a Solstice, when our felt sense of Earth's cycles are intensified by Mercury turning back in Capricorn even as we move forward into a celebration of light returning. This year, we're invited through the "unknown, unremembered gate, when the last of earth left to discover is that which was the beginning."

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 Capricorn

Today, even as the Moon presses forward in determined Capricorn, heading toward next week's Full Moon and the release of what has been achieved in this cycle, Mercury goes retrograde. Does this mean everything comes to a halt? How do we balance these energies?

This morning might feel like a push toward a deadline, as the hard-working Capricorn Moon challenges Venus (exact at 12:45pm EDT) and then Mars (12:49pm) in serene Libra.

Both Capricorn and Libra are cardinal signs, with Libra the Air-based planner and Capricorn the Earth-based actor. The Moon challenges Venus and Mars to stop planning and get doing. Venus (Libra's ruler) reaches her exact conjunction with Mars (how we get things done) at 2:49pm, reinforcing the energy of taking action on our creative plans. With the Sun in creative Leo opposing visionary Neptune, the actions we take can be especially inspired if we link to our intuitive guidance.

Mercury goes retrograde at 3:58pm EDT. Conventional wisdom says forward action stops at that point, and we're all in trouble. And yet, retrograde periods are built into our experience of life; they are natural. The Capricorn Moon is ever the realist, honoring the way things are. Under this Moon, we can become balanced realists about Mercury retrograde.

As I wrote at the end of the last Mercury retrograde, it's more grounded as well as more helpful to work with retrograde periods than fight against them. We know time is not as fixedly linear as sometimes like to think. The time-space continuum eddies and flows. If we insist on pushing forward with linear goals, we can find ourselves pushing again a current far stronger than we are.

Today's Mercury retrograde is in Virgo, the Earth sign known for careful thought and committed service. Auntie Moon describes Virgo as the wise counselor, pointing the way to a healthy partnership with this Mercury retrograde:

We're reaching a crucial time in this lunar cycle, nearing the Full Moon release of our efforts into the world. The role of Mercury, retrograde in Virgo, is to keep us on course, away from the wrong road, if we pay attention. The goal is finding the balance between driving forward and consulting the map.

The Moon in Capricorn is absolutely committed to reaching her goals, but this savvy builder understands the importance of checking the plans. At 11:45pm EDT, the Capricorn Moon flows energy in trine with the newly retrograde Mercury, where she does exactly that. Today's motto: Measure twice, cut once!

The images of the relay race and builders consulting plans are from WikiMedia Commons.