This happens today, the 24th October, around 4:30 pm GMT.
Taurus is comfortable, habitual, slow to change. This full moon is not at all like that though. Prepare to be zapped out of your comfort zone.
The moon will be conjunct Uranus at zero degrees Taurus, so this full moon is really all about Uranus. And Uranus is about revolution. Uranus in Taurus, the sign of stability and physical reality, portends a radical shake-up to the structures of our lives: our habits and routines, our values, our possessions, our relationships. It's unsettling.
In this case, the earthquake is likely to come from the depths of your psyche, as you realise that you no longer value things or relationships you used to cling to for self-worth. The sun entered Scorpio yesterday, so we're at the start of Scorpio season, and Scorpio is about depth psychology and death-and-rebirth type transformation. We have a stellium in Scorpio for this full moon: the sun is conjunct Venus in Scorpio, and we also have Jupiter and Mercury conjunct in the later degrees of the sign. That's a lot of psychologically probing and intense energy, geared toward letting go of what's no longer viable in our lives.
The sun and Venus in Scorpio oppose the moon and Uranus in Taurus, and this is all about shocks and abrupt endings, in relationships especially. But Venus also has to do with money and values, so expect lightning shifts in those areas as well. As Scorpio is involved and both Uranus and Venus are retrograde, it's likely that the shifts will be deep internal realisations – sudden “ah-ha” moments that have you re-assessing the structure of your life and what caused you to build it this way.
With the Venus-Uranus opposition, relationships can also start up quite suddenly, but as Venus is retrograde till the 16th November, it's inadvisable to begin anything new – what's begun under Venus retrograde is likely to fizzle out when she resumes direct motion. Old relationships can also come back from the grave to haunt you, and this full moon can be the moment you see those dynamics for what they were and finally let them go. Flux and upheaval around Venus themes (love, money and values) will continue into early December, as the Venus-Uranus opposition will be in play till then.
Uranus is headed backward into Aries, sign of the self, for a final four months (6th November 2018 – 6th March 2019), so we'll have some time to assimilate outer changes into our self-concepts. And Venus will move backward into Libra this Halloween, staying there till the 2nd December – so we'll also be re-assessing our relationships.
This full moon is fateful and has long-range effect, as it squares the north node in Leo and the south node in Aquarius. Anything involving the moon's nodes like this involves a heavy dose of karma: the road ahead is defined by the choices you make now. The way forward is shown by the north node in Leo, which is all about living from your heart, with courage, playfulness, generosity and creativity. The way backward is about shadow Aquarius: a cold, theoretical dogmatism, or using an ideology to justify destructive rebelliousness.
The full moon also beneficially aspects Saturn in Capricorn – again, this is about karma, getting back what you've put in. It also suggests that if you're willing to work slowly and put the necessary groundwork in, beneficial changes can be made, lasting new relationship and money situations can be built.
We'll have a new moon in Scorpio coming up on the 7th November, and it's a big one. Uranus and the north node both shift signs the day before – Uranus into Aries and the north node into Cancer. Jupiter shifts signs the day after, moving from dark, intense Scorpio into sunny, freewheeling Sagittarius. All this represents an abrupt shift in tone – things are going to feel very different, very suddenly. The Venus-Uranus opposition will be heavily in play, sparking sudden shifts in relationships – you could meet the love of your life under this sky, or break up with someone you thought was that. Or both! It's just very volatile. But I think overall it looks pretty good. I'll write more about it closer to the time.
Libra is about relationships, aesthetics and social graces. It also has to do with justice, fairness and equality, as for relationships to work harmoniously, the balances of interpersonal give and take have to be roughly equal.
As new moons signify new beginnings, a new moon in Libra can be about new artistic projects or beauty regimens. Primarily though, we are looking at new beginnings in the realm of relationships. And the relationships being addressed here are deep, intense ones. The sign is known for wanting to keep things light and pleasant, but this new moon looks quite heavy and dark and obsessive – potentially uncomfortable. This is some Libra noir.
The sun and moon are squaring Pluto, king of hell, newly direct in the no-nonsense sign of Capricorn. That aspect makes for plenty of psychodrama in relationships. In addition, Libra's ruler (and dispositor of the new moon) Venus has just stationed retrograde in Scorpio.
Scorpio is an obsessive and intense sign, and Venus doesn't function very well here – you get a lot of toxic power dynamics, hidden corruption, betrayal, jealousy, triangles, emotional manipulation etc. You can also get fanatical loyalty and love unto death – it's either the best or the worst of relationship, with no grey areas. But the ugly stuff is unfortunately more common.
And with Venus retrograde till the 16th November, you're likely to have old lovers or friends popping up from the grave, messaging you on facebook or whatever. Or old relationships may reappear in your head for re-assessment. You might gain some clarity on why dead relationships had to end, and understand how to avoid making the same mistakes and enacting the same pathologies again.
Suffice it to say, relationship karma will be hitting hard this month, and it's inadvisable to start any new relationships until after Venus stations direct on the 16th November. (The same goes for making luxury purchases and investments, or re-vamping your look drastically.)
It may be hard to hold off, because we'll also have a square between Venus and Mars in Aquarius which speaks of hotted up romantic urgency and frustration, but if you want more than a fling, wait. If a fling is all you're after, go ahead – but don't be surprised if things get complicated and punishing under this sky. With Saturn and Pluto now both direct in Capricorn, sobriety, integrity, hard work, realism and limits are very important. These grim gods do not look kindly on flightiness or flings. They reward focus and commitment.
We are headed for an explosive full moon in Taurus on the 24th October, the culmination of a very intense month. Aaargh, let's see what happens. It should be interesting. Try not to get your knickers too twisted up before then. Sublimation of sexual angst into some kind of creative work might help.
This is on Tuesday the 11th April, about 7 am GMT.
The moon in Libra will be conjunct Jupiter and opposing the sun conjunct Uranus in Aries. Both these poles square Pluto in Capricorn.
This is a cardinal t-square and it's about CHANGE, ready or not. There is intense pressure, and also intense frustration here – it looks to me like being pushed through the birth canal.
Not so comfortable! You can pretty much guarantee that despite the Libran emphasis on harmony and justice, things are not going to be harmonious or just – they are going to be tense and overboard. Efforts to maintain an amicable façade will be severely tested. People who've had it up to here with appeasing and being tactful and polite – and getting shit on for their efforts – will be breaking out.
We do have the moon conjunct Jupiter for this full moon, which is usually a feel-good aspect. But in this case, the moon is also squaring Pluto, which is a feel-bad aspect. And opposing Uranus, which is a leave-me-the-fuck-alone aspect. So it really looks to me like Jupiter will magnify the emotional tensions of this full moon more than he'll mitigate them.
And the tensions have to do with self vs. others, war vs. peace: how much do we give others, how much do we appease, how hard do we try to please others at the expense of our own needs? What price social harmony? What are we actually getting out of keeping the peace, and is it worth it? Wouldn't it be easier to just quit interacting with these assholes – or to stop trying to keep them happy all the time? Or to be honest about what we feel for a change, despite the disruption it'll cause?
That kind of thing. And something I'm seeing with Jupiter in Libra (and this cardinal t-square): the energy dynamics of social interactions are highlighted, and bad social etiquette meets with less indulgence than usual. By “bad social etiquette”, I mean egotism, grandstanding, monopolising conversation, expecting attention and respect from others without giving it back. Energy and resources are feeling pretty limited these days, so people who drain us are harder to tolerate than usual.
At bottom, it's a question of our resources and our values. This is the theme of the Venus retrograde, which is in effect till the 15th April; and also of the Mercury retrograde which started on the 9th April and continues till the 3rd May. We are reassessing what we value and want, with an emphasis on what is practically feasible. Can we continue to please others at the expense of our own needs, going forward? Or do we value our own self-determination, even if it's at others' expense or costs us important relationships?
There is a balance to be struck between self and others here, and it looks tricky. Especially given the current condition of relationship planet Venus, dispositor of the full moon. She's retrograde, conjunct Chiron in Pisces and exactly squaring Saturn in Sagittarius, and this is painful.
It's an aching sense of deprivation and poverty and loss, especially regarding love and money. Real heartbreak, unattainable dreams.
Well what we can't change must be accepted, though acceptance is hard. It's time to give up waiting on a miracle - or Prince Charming, or the lottery - and to accept reality. But it's going to feel like crap.
Anyway, under the circumstances, there's not going to be a lot of energy or patience to spare for social niceties, and tempers will be frayed. Cutting people some slack is a good idea – you don't know what kind of heartache they're dealing with. Cutting yourself some slack is also a good idea. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to please everyone, and you don't have to throw yourself into difficult situations out of a misplaced sense of obligation .
This is on Wednesday the 28th March, around 4 am GMT.
There's a lot of pep in it! We have a stellium in Aries, sign of birth and raw energy: the sun and moon, plus Venus, Mercury and Uranus.
New moons signify new beginnings, and Aries is the start of the whole zodiac – the kickoff point. So a new moon in Aries is always a fiery new beginning, and a great time to set your intentions for the year ahead.
What do you really want, going forward? Where is your desire leading you? What's of value to you; where do you find your happiness?
It might take a bit of radical honesty with yourself to find out, and please be aware that there might be some major hurdles and blockages on the road toward it. There's a real need for caution and looking before you leap here: Venus is retrograde, Saturn will be retrograde as of next week, and we are also headed into a Mercury retrograde – and all these retrogrades have to do with clarifying our desires and values before heading off into uncharted territory. A radically new direction is called for, but that doesn't mean you can just shoot off heedlessly. You'll have to think about what you really want and lay in some practical foundations for the new life you want to build.
So it's worth asking yourself: exactly what is driving you and where do you want to be going? Where would you like to be this time next year? What practical measures will you need to put in place now so you can get there?
The new moon will be at 7 degrees Aries with retrograde Venus in Aries conjunct at 3 degrees. Venus is about what we love and value – so this really is all about desire.
But with Venus retrograde till mid-April, getting what we want is not so straightforward, and will likely involve some soul-searching and adjustment. Venus retrograde is not a time to rush after anything. It is more a time for careful reconsideration of what we actually love and value – especially re. relationships and money. Planning and long-term thinking are called for here. (And please hold back on major purchases until she stations direct on the 15th April!)
For this new moon, we'll also have Mercury conjunct Uranus in Aries (exact 26th March) – this is about new ideas, shocking information and communication, radical and abrupt departures from the status quo, sudden brilliant clarity. It might be that what you once valued no longer means a damn to you, or people / scenarios you've invested in prove not to have been worth your energy. Whatever form this takes for you, the value-shift will be brought home with abrupt force – and the necessity of figuring out what makes YOU happy instead of rushing around pleasing others will be highlighted.
All this Aries energy is very fierce and impatient, but it is currently disposited by Mars in Taurus, which grounds the reckless forward drive and stabilises things. This is useful! With Venus in Mars-ruled Aries, and Mars in Venus-ruled Taurus, we are looking at a very beneficial mutual reception between primal desire and pragmatism. New ventures and relationship / money prospects can be undertaken with patience, realism and an eye to the long-term.
We also have a Mercury retrograde in Taurus coming on the 9th April. Again, this is about pragmatism and rethinking our love / money / values – it really is a huge theme this month. Mercury will station direct on the 3rd May, conjunct Uranus... So this retrograde has to do with new directions opening up, followed by a period of practical consideration, and later, resolution / insight.
Give yourself time to process new ideas and information this month – don't rush into new commitments until you've thought slowly and deliberately about the practicalities involved. Be content with slow, incremental progress. And remember, you definitely don't want to be finalising anything or signing contracts until after Venus stations direct in mid-April. Hold off.
For this new moon, we also have retrograde Jupiter in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn (exact 30th March). Again, this speaks of a deep restructuring of our value systems, especially around love and money. There is a need for fairness and reciprocity in our dealings with others, and it will be pretty obvious when that need isn't being met: it's harder than usual these days to maintain relationships based on unbalanced power or energy dynamics. Jupiter in Libra wants a fair exchange, and Pluto in Capricorn intensifies this into an issue of resources and survival. You have to be getting back something equivalent to what you're giving, otherwise it's an unsustainable drain on your resources.
It's not exactly a recipe for light social interaction. And let's not forget, Jupiter in Libra is stressed to the max right now. He is part of a cardinal t-square involving Mercury, Uranus and Pluto. It's pretty hard to stay even-tempered and civil under these circumstances – our politeness and forbearance with others will be severely tested, especially as we head up to the full moon in Libra on the 11th April.
Another test: Saturn will station retrograde on the 5th April, in square to Venus and Chiron in Pisces. This looks quite painful – there's a real sense of poverty and loss here. What we most want will feel desperately out-of-reach, and this sense of deprivation will be in effect till the end of the month.
But after that, the Saturn retrograde brings us to a much sunnier place: we will have a grand fire trine between Saturn, Uranus in Aries and the north node (which moves to Leo in early May). This is a big energy shift, and it will hold for much of the rest of this year – an easy flow between creativity, self-determination and new visions for the future. Brilliant ideas, amazing new options, and we will NOT be doing the same old shit again, no thanks!
So there's a new world under construction, kicking off under this new moon in Aries. Just keep in mind that things don't always work out as fast as expected or stay within the budget. There will be severe blockages, and these will be pretty apparent over the next month. But they're not going to be around forever - a shift is coming. And for now, blockage will give you a chance to lay in some careful groundwork.
Remember anything worth building takes time and consideration. Patience is a virtue, have it if you can. With so much Aries in the sky, patience will be hard to come by! But it's absolutely necessary this month. However edgy and impatient you may feel, you can't rush this kind of major change.
This is coming up on Sunday, 12th March – about 3 pm GMT.
This full moon in Virgo - the sign of order, precision and hygiene - looks medicinal and astringent to me. It's a wound-healing moon. The wounds being healed are mental ones: confusion, delusion, addiction, self-deception, laziness of thought.
The new moon in Pisces a couple weeks back looked like a confused, angry mess – well here is the corrective. A dose of harsh reality.
Try to hold still – this may hurt a bit. It's for your own good though!
The sun at 22 degrees Pisces will be conjunct Chiron and Mercury. This denotes a painful, messy sense of unease – a wound to our minds and to our sense of collective reality. I'd say this has to something do with all the “fake news” stuff in the news lately. It has become very hard to know what to believe, and our confusion is being cynically manipulated for political ends.
But this has been a theme across the board, from the collective level to the individual. Look at your own life: what lies have you been telling yourself, how have you been evading reality, how have you manipulated and decieved others, how have you colluded in your own manipulation by others?
I think at this full moon, the extent of the cover-ups, obfuscations and distortions of reality will be coming clear. Information is bound to come to light that puts hidden things into proper perspective. We will be seeing through the lies and bullshit – lord knows we've had enough of listening to blatant liars discounting all criticism of their behaviour as “fake news”. Facts are facts.
Mercury in Pisces will be exactly square Saturn in Sagittarius for the full moon. This is harsh but credible communication – the voice of moral authority cutting through the smokescreen.
We'll see how it plays out on the world stage. But your own stage is where this really matters: if you've been zoning out, not facing reality, pretending life is whatever you want it to be and facts equal feelings – here is your wakeup call. Reality is reality, and it doesn't care about your feelings or your victim-story. This is harsh, astringent clarity, like disinfectant being poured on a wound. It's meant to wake you the fuck up, so please don't be resentful.
If someone calls you out on your shit or tells you you're being sloppy / lazy / careless / delusional, there's no point getting all indignant and defensive. The point is to heal the wound, remember. That means addressing the underlying pathology instead of denying or defending it.
Taking criticism on board in important here. With the Mercury-Saturn square, you can trust the information you're given – people are not going to be spouting off for the sake of it, or trying to wound you out of malice. They will be trying to convey their observations in order to help, and out of an uncomfortable desire for fair-dealing and justice (courtesy of a tense inconjunct between sun-Mercury-Chiron in Pisces and Jupiter in Libra).
The take-home message here: ignore criticism at your peril. We all have bad habits, and sometimes we all need a bit of a shove to show us what needs changing.
Listen to your inner critic as well. You know deep down what you have to get rid of.
It's important to remember that at a Virgo full moon, we are at the midpoint of the Pisces lunar cycle. Pisces is, at best, about acceptance and letting go – releasing, forgiving, forgetting – so that energy can flow freely instead of remaining stagnant and congealed.
Virgo is what helps us to clear out all our rotten gunk and blockages. You can take this literally and use this energy to organize your living space and get rid of whatever is cluttering it up – or you can apply it internally to clear your mental and emotional garbage. Or both!
The point is, we need to make some space for the new moon in Aries, which is a fiery rebirth – a time for focusing on new prospects and what we really want for the year ahead. (It comes on the 28th March this year). You can't really think about starting anything new when your life is cluttered up with old garbage! So this is clear-out time.
A caution about new prospects though: your dreams have to line up with what's actually possible and practical. There are hard limits here – you can work with them but you can't make them disappear. With both Venus and Jupiter retrograde, don't jump headlong into new ventures, especially ones involving relationship and money. Hold back until you have a clearer perspective. I'd say that'll be mid-April, and it's unlikely to feel so great – Venus goes direct on the 15th April conjunct Chiron and in square to Saturn. Bear in mind that your hopes may not measure up to the realities, or may require a lot more work and committment to fulfill than expected.
But don't let it get you down too much. Take the long view and plan to work toward the life you want in a methodical, stepwise way, and you'll be on solid ground.
PS- Venus retrograde is traditionally held to be a bad time for making important purchases. You'll regret your impulse-buys. Remember we are in a phase of clearing out here, not adding to the clutter of stuff we don't really need.
It's an annular (“ring of fire”) solar eclipse - the second and final eclipse of this eclipse season. The next round of eclipses won't be till August. Eclipse season represents a time of supercharged change.
Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac, has to do with endings – and we have a big stellium in Pisces right now. But new moons are symbolic of new beginnings, and we also have a very charged-up stellium in Aries, which is about birth.
So the symbolism here is very much about death and rebirth – endings and beginnings. We are looking at permanent endings here, but we are also looking at fiery, supercharged new beginnings. One door shuts for good, another door opens.
OK, that's all very well, but the death-and-rebirth process this new moon ushers in is unlikely to feel clear-cut. There may be intense delusion / nostalgia / confusion / deception going on, making it hard to know what the hell is happening.
Or else the true import of what's happening may be clouded or hidden – we'll look back and say “this marked the turning point!”, but it'll be impossible to understand it in the moment. The meaning will only come clear in hindsight.
That's because the eclipse is happening close to the south node. And the south node in Pisces is very swamplike – we are vulnerable to all kinds of self-deception, delusion and addiction here. Also illness: Pisces dissolves boundaries, allowing energy to leak out and contagion to leak in.
Having the sun and moon near the south node in Pisces indicates delusive egotism (sun) joined up to emotional hypersensitivity (moon). Plus the sun and moon are conjunct Pisces' ruler Neptune, which further confuses matters. And Mercury, which has to do with our minds and communication, is newly in Pisces too, and tied up with the eclipse. Meaning our brains are going to be underwater, and not too helpful in reasoning us through this or parsing truth from falsity.
Put it all together and it's a recipe for mind-fuckery, victim shit, deceit, muddled thought, addiction, self-delusion, stagnation, depleted reserves and generally feeling like crap. I could try to put a better spin on this – Pisces can be beautiful, dreamy, magical, spiritual energy. But in the context of this new moon, it doesn't look so pleasant. It looks like a big leaky mess.
Don't believe everything you hear. We are sure to be lied to and emotionally manipulated on a grand scale this month, and it's going to be hard to know whose version of reality to trust. Focus as much as you can on what you know to be factually true – and steer clear of reasoning that is informed by wounded emotion, unverifiable beliefs or sentimental nonsense. I expect it'll be easier said than done.
Don't believe everything you think or feel either. Try to fact-check yourself and to take a broader view than the personal. The risk of self-delusion here is high. (One particular danger is of using victim shit as a smokescreen: people will be taking on the mantle of outraged victimhood in order to minimise or excuse their own bad behaviour.)
Also, please be very careful with boundary-dissolving substances (alcohol, drugs) and addictions – you can fuck yourself up much more severely than usual at this time – and maybe irreparably.
That's because in addition to the Pisces south node stuff, we have some ultra-violence going on in the sky: a cardinal t-square between Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter in Libra and Mars and Uranus in Aries. Sudden shocking accidents are likely. Things can turn in a second and there'll be no going back – remember we are dealing with permanent endings here. So unless you want to blow-torch your life, extreme caution is advised.
This cardinal t-square is tough. Mars conjuncts Uranus the day after the new moon, and both exactly oppose Jupiter in Libra. It looks like an abrupt breaking point – for relationships especially.
I could view this more positively, as a psychological breaking point for relationship hangups and dysfunctional patterns. I do want to look at it positively! Maybe you'll get free of something that's been weighing you down forever.
Positive or negative though, it looks uncomfortable. It involves Mars, who is impetuous and violent, and Uranus, who is abrupt and shocking. Jupiter in Libra may moderate these two or inflame them, we'll see. But the scenario reminds me of the story about the straw that broke the camel's back.
“Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge...”
Not pushing people when they're close to the edge is a good idea here!
Anyway, please be careful this month. Be careful driving. Be careful drinking. Be careful drinking and driving. Be careful with machinery and electricity. Don't plug anything in while you're sitting in the bath. Keep your wits about you and try to avoid stupid drama. That won't be so easy, with Mercury zoning out in Pisces – but please try. These are dangerous days. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, etc.
This emphasis on caution is reiterated by our Venus retrograde, which starts on the 4th March. She'll move backward from 13 degrees Aries toward 26 degrees Pisces, resuming direct motion on the 15th April.
This is a rare enough event – it happens about every other year. It's a time for evaluating our relationships and thinking about what we really value. Powering full steam ahead in love or money matters is not advised until the retrograde ends.
Because this retrograde takes Venus back into square aspect with Saturn in Sagittarius, it will probably involve a depressing sense of blockage, delay and deprivation – especially around mid-April. Don't try to push your way though. Blockage, delay and deprivation are absolutely real here, but also unavoidable. Also relatively temporary, so there's no point freaking out! You can work with the reality instead of getting depressed about it.
OK, and while we're talking about working with reality - I know I've been harping on about the north node in Virgo for ages, but it's very important - especially at this confusing mess of a new moon. This is no time to slack off on the Virgo stuff.
Virgo stuff is about taking care of everyday tasks, sticking to routines and health regimens, attending to details, doing the mundane stuff that needs doing daily. Also helping others as much as possible, and keeping our minds on what's practical. Right now, that's our path through the fog.
Service, discrimination, humility, pragmatism, attention to reality! Virgo stuff can actually be lifesaving as we head into the atmosphere of swirling deception and rage that characterises the month ahead – so please keep doing your Virgo, as much as you can. Even if the most you can do is wash a few dishes. It's not nothing. It's grounding and it helps.
This is tomorrow, the 29th August, around 8 pm GMT. Maybe you can feel it already.
It's a big, dreamy, romantic moon – conjunct Neptune, meaning the emotional tone will be idealistic, deluded, sacrificial, suggestible, ungrounded. Drunk, actually.
The moon and Neptune will face off against Jupiter and the sun in rational, detail-oriented, pragmatic Virgo.
So we are looking at the need to balance practical, everyday, earthly reality with big swirling emotion, romance and potential delusion. Grounding ourselves in the everyday while feeling way out at sea. It's a very seasick kind of vibe.
Nice influence for artists and musicians – you can use this to give dreams and intuitions an actual form. Anyone spiritually inclined, or in a helping role or profession, should also benefit. But the danger here for many of us is that dreams and delusions will overwhelm our sense of reality.
Overall this looks like a tough full moon to me. Neptune is a confusing, disillusioning influence, and Virgo can worry like nobody's business...plus Saturn, now grinding his way onto the last degree of Scorpio, will be loosely squaring the full moon, adding an undercurrent of darkness, psychological pain, guilt and deep compulsion. And having Jupiter involved magnifies all this. Fun stuff!
Best case scenario – this is about dreams that can come true, given enough mental seriousness and attention to detail.
Worst case scenario – this is about worry, fear, emotional instability - and just generally feeling kind of seasick. Guts all knotted up with free-floating anxiety and dread.
And the worst worst case scenario, with so much Neptune, is getting in way over your head, screwing yourself over, drowning in your anxieties or addictions.
Personally I think this is not particularly comfortable cosmic weather unless you're comatose drunk or full of Valium - but beware drink and drugs, because the hangover for this one will be the Fear all right. With Jupiter (luck) in health-conscious Virgo, you're better off focusing on what's healthy and avoiding boundary-dissolving substances.
The motto of the Virgo-Pisces axis is 'Serve or Suffer'. So if you're feeling lousy and caught in painful mental/emotional loops, a good way to feel better is to focus on what you can do for others. With Jupiter in Virgo, pragmatism and quiet, unassuming service to others are favoured. These are sure-fire ways to transcend your worries right now.
And there is no shortage of suffering in the world, it's useful to remember. Much of it is particularly horrific these days.
Re. seasickness – this is literal for many, and puts most people's troubles in perspective:
Porous national boundaries, death at sea (Neptune), a lot of fussy bureaucratic anxiety (Virgo), and people willing to go through hell to get away from the hell they're living (Saturn in Scorpio). It all fits.
Anyway, on a less literal level, the full moon makes me think of this card in the Tarot:
Something will have to be sacrificed for the greater good here. It's not about getting what you want. It's about what serves everyone best; what serves life best.
The guy on the card is Odin, sacrificing his physical comfort for mystical illumination in a kind of symbolic death. Jesus on his cross is another example of transcendent human sacrifice.
And all the refugees in those Mediterranean coffin ships represent absolute sacrifice as well.
But the sacrifice required of you may not be so intense. It could just be a bit of your pride. Your story, your opinions, your rigidities of thought, your anger, your defensiveness. Maybe your conceptual apparatus is getting an overhaul about now. I'd say, roll with it - even if it feels like not having any ground under your feet.
Virgo's ruler, Mercury, is currently in Libra and conjunct the north node. It's a good time for seeing all sides of a story, particularly in terms of relationships – the aim here is fairness, justice and balanced relationship.
And Venus will be retrograde in Leo till the 6th September. Again, the theme is balancing, reconsideration, cautious delay, careful preparation for future success in love and money matters.
Starting new relationships or business ventures under a Venus retrograde is generally held to be bad luck, so waiting till she goes direct on the 6th before committing yourself is probably a good idea.
We also have Saturn grinding his slow way through the end of Scorpio – and this speaks of frustrated desire, blockages and delays...also deep fear.
Saturn will leave Scorpio for Sagittarius on the 18th September - not too much longer now! It should lighten things up a bit. (Unless you have refused to deal with your shit – in which case you'll be living with it for quite some time. Decades, actually. It's very harsh, but karma's a bitch.)
Anyway, frustrating as delay and blockage might feel, you can use the next few weeks - and the next week in particular - to ensure you have read the fine print on any interpersonal (or actual) contracts you're thinking of signing. This includes major purchases and new creative projects.
With Saturn in Scorpio, you can open yourself up to a world of long-term hurt by being careless or light-minded about energetic transactions and mergers. (Keep in mind that love and money matters are all about energetic transaction and merger.)
That's not to say there's nothing nice going on! Venus and Mars will be exactly conjunct in Leo on the 1st September, trining the moon and Uranus in Aries. This is a fiery, “expect the unexpected” influence for relationships. Anything could happen! People will be feeling revved-up with desire, and impatient.
The conjunction is in uncomfortable aspect to Pluto in Capricorn. Some skeletons in the closet coming out to play, maybe – some very tense power dynamics at work. It looks emotionally fraught, frustrating as hell... but exciting and positive overall.
I do think, under these skies, that delay and caution will serve you well. Jumping headlong into anything is not a great idea – especially with a full moon as emotionally ungrounded as this one.
Remember: take the time to read the fine print. We are trying to see clearly and lay strong foundations here, in order to create structures that can work in reality. That process takes the time it takes, not the time we might want it to take.
Being swept off your feet may sound very romantic and exciting, but it's not the best way to go right now.
It looks beautiful. Big shiny happy new cycle opening here.
Leo is the sign of creativity, fun, romance, generosity, open-heartedness. And the sun and moon in Leo will be conjunct Venus in Leo – this is just a big burst of joy and creativity.
Sun, moon and Venus trine Uranus in Aries – so be open to new opportunities, new creative and romantic openings, new opportunities to have fun and to be happy. It's a party kind of sky.
The weekend ahead should be lovely. And the month ahead looks pretty nice as well.
That is not to say it's just simple, uncomplicated party time – but when is it ever? Saturn in Scorpio squares the new moon, meaning whatever gifts are involved here, they are heavy, karmic ones. Not to be taken lightly. Commitment and work are involved here; there is nothing flippant about it.
But Mars in Leo also trines Saturn at this new moon, meaning there's a lot of energy to put toward working toward the objectives we deeply want. And by deeply, I mean deeply – like heart-and-soul-level.
What do you really want for your life; what would it take to be happy? Not just surviving, but really alive?
First song on that video (“standing in the sun”) is what it's about. (Though it's worth watching the whole thing cause she's adorable.)
“I would like to see you live / standing in the sun, standing in the sun. / Not survive but really live.”
Well, what would that take, for you? What would it even mean? What practical things would you have to do, or change?
Remember, Venus is retrograde, and this amplifies the theme of recalibrations, reconsiderations, laying the proper groundwork in love and money matters. The new cycle we are beginning requires that we be absolutely true to ourselves and to our hearts – and to our self-respect. We are going to get things right this time.
That means getting the details right: Jupiter is in Virgo now, and for the next year. This is helpful, as far as seeing clearly and paying attention to the small stuff. It's much more grounded, humble and down-to-earth than Jupiter was in Leo - much more conducive to ordinary, everyday happiness.
It is sort of a tough placement for Jupiter, as he is all about the big picture and Virgo is about the little details – so Jupiter in Virgo can be pedantic at worst, not seeing the wood for the trees. But the best way to use this is to attend to details, serve others, take care of health and physical routines, and stay humble and focused on the little things that keep the whole show running.
This year - and for the month ahead, certainly - happiness is not about the big gamble, the grandiose gesture, the overblown emotion. It's about what works in the real, everyday world. Our luck and happiness (Jupiter) will be attendant upon taking care of our ordinary, routine lives and health. And also on humbly serving others, in whatever capacity we can.
But first I want to talk about Pluto, everybody's favorite sex-dwarf fascist power planet.
I've written before about how the conditions under which a planet is discovered connect up synchronistically to the meanings assigned to it in astrology. (Here and here.)
Pluto, which signifies the Shadow – the darkness everyone is afraid to look at in themselves and would prefer to project outside – was discovered in 1930, during the run-up to World War 2 and the rise of fascism.
Fascism is about the union of corporate/business interests and government. Money and politics in alliance. It's a relatively new word for a dynamic as old as civilization – but it's basically about power being concentrated in a very small circle.
Fascism, in the 20th century, has also been about scapegoating in order to promote a perfect facade of order and control. The people turned into scapegoats are always the ones whose presence undermines the state ideology of order/purity – anyone with a bit of ambiguity to their identity is targeted for extermination, because they become the repository for the collective Shadow.
So the meaning of Pluto in astrology has to do with death, ruthless elimination, and power in its most brutal form. It is about the ugliness in ourselves that we are afraid to come to terms with – it is more easily projected outside ourselves and disowned.
As lord of death and the underworld in classical mythology, Pluto also has an association with transformation and wealth. Death is a transformation. And precious stones and metals are usually found deep underground, where heat and pressure transform ordinary minerals into something rare and valuable. (And psychologically, the greatest treasures are often found in the deepest, darkest parts of our psyches – the places we're most afraid to go.)
Pluto is also about extremes: the controlled and orderly surface reality vs. the rot at the core. The death drive (Thanatos) hidden in all life.
It's no accident that the 20th century's fascist societies were outwardly focused on creating a vision of peaceful utopia...but to live within them was to know the reality of hell.
Anyway, in light of the intensity and ugliness associated with Pluto, it's ironic that he has been demoted from planetary status in recent years, to dwarf planet. This is exactly what we do with the Shadow – we minimise and deny it. It seems like what this planet represents is too scary to include in the established representation of our solar system!
But psychological growth, per Jung, depends on a reckoning with the Shadow in ourselves – the internal acceptance of our submerged power drives, our socially unacceptable behaviours and ideas, our own darkness. Everything in us that is the opposite of what we'd like to believe we are, or be seen to be by others.
Pluto, in this respect, is one of the most psychologically important of archetypes. It is the descent into hell, into our unconscious darkness, that allows us to become conscious human beings (which just means being capable of acting outside of our unconscious conditioning – a monumental and unending task).
Reckoning with the Shadow involves a kind of dying: the destruction of what we thought we were, the acceptance as part of us of all we'd like to pretend we are not.
It can feel like an abduction. In the mythology, Pluto was an abductor and rapist. He kidnapped Persephone (symbolic of spring or the life force) and took her down to hell to be his queen, holding her there without her consent.
Anyone who has dealt with an addiction, a destructive obsession or an abusive relationship will be able to understand the symbolism of this myth at a deep level. Being in the grip of a compulsion can feel like being at the mercy of something much larger and stronger than you - something intent on your destruction.
In the myth, Persephone doesn't get free of Death – she has to spend half the year in hell for eternity. It's winter on earth while she's down there, summer when she returns. So she is a liminal figure. She doesn't belong completely to the light or the dark, but to both. She has to live with her knowledge of hell in the middle of summer – but she knows summer is coming, even when she's in the depths of hell.
In psychological terms, this is like owning your shadow – your darkness, your 'badness', your destructive compulsions – your death-drive. Your devil, whatever form he takes.
You don't defeat the devil. You learn to look at him, and to live with him, in yourself – and you stop projecting him outside. But this is enough work for most people's lifetimes.
--Anyway, I'm writing about this now because our little downgraded Shadow dwarf planet Pluto has recently come under scientific scrutiny! The NASA New Horizons probe approached Pluto in mid-January of this year, and did a close flyby on the 14th July – just before a very Pluto-influenced new moon, with Pluto opposite Mars and Mercury.
So we now have detailed pictures of Pluto. It's a strange place! There's a heart-shaped plain of moving ice (!), there's apparent volcanic activity, there are 11,000 foot high mountains, there is a methane atmosphere that may be on the verge of collapse – all on a world smaller than our moon.
The heart-shaped glacial plain is symbolically kind of amazing, considering Pluto's rulership of Scorpio, a sign concerned with deep, intense emotion buried under an icy facade. In fact, all the features seem symbolically amazing to me – there are such extremes at work on this tiny world.
So our unknown Shadow-planet turns out to be a very interesting place, and worthy of deep examination!
The New Horizon probe's timing is synchronistic - Pluto is important right now. We are just past the historic Uranus-Pluto square series, which was about radical change on the collective and individual levels. That was some fairly intense and gut-wrenching Pluto action.
And right now we have Saturn in Pluto's sign (Scorpio), and Pluto in Saturn's sign (Capricorn). This is called a mutual reception, and is about an easy dialogue between these two planets. The theme here is deep psychological excavation and restructuring. Unearthing the deep rot beneath the facade of 'normality' or respectability.
We had a Pluto-themed new moon in Cancer on the 16th July, and if anybody has gotten through the past few weeks without some sort of poisonous emotional or psychological vomit coming out of them or being spewed at them – well lucky you! At the very least, we are looking at deep, seismic shifts in family and relational structures and power dynamics at this time. And a reckoning with old hurts and grievances, old pain – our ghosts and demons.
We have a full moon in Aquarius on the 31st July (around 11:15 am GMT) – and this should be the culmination of this process, and a big shift. It looks like relief and a breath of fresh air to me!
It's a blue moon, meaning it's the second full moon in the same calendar month. Astrologically this doesn't mean much. But you can take it as symbolic, especially as the moon will be in Aquarius, a freaky oddball sign: this is something a bit weird and special.
There'll be some drama, no doubt – full moons are good for drama, and for this one, the sun is in proud, shiny, dramatic Leo. But the moon (emotional tone) is in cool, emotionally distanced Aquarius – and this puts a lid on the emotionality.
As full moons signify endings, I think we are seeing the tail-end of the emotional upheavals of the past few weeks. So maybe your pride (Leo) got wounded...who cares? Fundamentally, you are free (Aquarius).
Saturn resumes direct motion in Scorpio the day after the full moon, as if to underline the theme of “job done”. We have gone back into the hellish wreckage since Saturn re-entered Scorpio in mid-June. Hopefully we have wrestled with our demons and stood for our emotional truths and done the deep work. Anything rotten that wasn't dealt with during Saturn's initial transit of Scorpio (2012-2014) will have come up for revision – and hopefully, it is being dealt with now. At this point we know what's viable and what's not in our lives and our psyches – we have sifted through the garbage and know what has to go.
I think the hardest part of this transit will be completed as Saturn resumes direct motion after this full moon. From now until the 18th September, when Saturn re-enters Sagittarius – we are moving forward, amputating what needs to be amputated, clearing out the psychic debris.
The point of all this psychological purgation and energetic re-balancing is, we are clearing space for new things to happen – especially in the realm of money and relationships.
Venus (love and money planet) entered nit-picky, analytical, perfectionist Virgo on the 18th July, stationing retrograde at 0 degrees Virgo on the 25th July. She re-enters Leo on the day of this full moon, and she will be hanging out there until the 8th of October, after stationing direct on the 6th September.
Venus in Virgo is about having high standards in love and money matters, and Venus retrogrades are about relational and financial reconsiderations, recalibrations and fine-tunings. So the fact that Venus stationed retrograde in Virgo, a very picky, pragmatic and detail-oriented sign, is pretty significant here.
The next five weeks of this Venus retrograde are about laying new foundations in love and money matters. Reading the fine print, getting the details right, figuring out what works in the real world, having exacting standards and sticking to them.
With Venus retrograde in heart-centered Leo, this is also about our personal pride and happiness. Figuring out what really makes us happy without compromising our pride and integrity.
In other words, if you are putting energy into loving someone or pursuing some project that is actually detrimental to your happiness and self-esteem, it's time to pause and take a good hard look at what you're doing.
This Venus retrograde is about tempering our love and our creative/entreprenurial endeavours with realism. Laying the groundwork, making sure the opportunities coming our way now can translate into viable relationships and livelihoods. Something or someone might make you happy in the short term – but will it stick? Is it healthy? Is it in accord with your values? Can you bank on it?
If you answer "no" to these questions – well all the love in the world is not going to be enough, and you should be careful of how far you involve yourself.
Venus is currently retrograding in conjunction to Jupiter and in square to Saturn in Scorpio – and this is also significant. There is tremendous luck and opportunity here, but there are also huge, karmic blockages and restraints. You can take the blockages as a signal to slow down, look deeper and be super-realistic about what you're getting into. What's going on under the surface? What do you really want from this – what do you really need? What's it going to cost you, energetically / psychologically / monetarily? What is the actual state of your resources - can you afford this?
Mercury (mind and communication) moves into Virgo on the 7th August, and Jupiter (luck, expansion, blessing) follows on the 11th. This will definitely help us to be super-practical and realistic, to analyse all our options carefully and to come up with ideas that will help us to flourish in the real world.
I'll write more about Jupiter in Virgo another time, because this will be a big shift. We've had him in big, shiny Leo for a year now, meaning our luck this past year was tied up with exuberance, drama and creativity.
But Jupiter in Virgo will be the opposite! Virgo is systematic, analytical, humble and detail-oriented – so this will probably feel like cleaning up after a big yearlong party, sorting the empty bottles for recycling, doing the dishes. Back to reality.
I think this shift of Jupiter (and Mercury) from fiery Leo to rational Virgo is a blessing - because for the first half of August, we are looking at a lot of planets in Leo squaring Saturn in Scorpio, and this looks frustrating as all hell. Big, open-hearted exuberance and passion – shackled by the full weight of reality and the past.
Remember, all the love and passion in the world is not going to be enough if the thing doesn't work in the real, everyday world. Passion is fine for writing songs or making art or starting new endeavours or being Elvis... but it isn't something you can live on, anymore than you can live on a diet of ice cream sundaes. Eventually you are going to find yourself really run-down and sick. (Poor Elvis.)
If we want to be happy, going forward, we'll need to be a lot more grounded, finicky and focused on what works in reality – and on what is healthy. I think August will be a good month for learning about this!
*** Forgot to mention: Uranus in Aries (dispositor of this full moon) stationed retrograde on the same day as Venus: the 25th July. These two retrograde planets will be trining each other later in August (the 19th August) and trining each other again after Venus goes direct (23rd September).
The theme here is the overall theme of the Venus retrograde: we are blazing new trails in relationship stuff and money stuff. We're not doing the same old stuff again or replaying the same old patterns. And we have to insist upon absolute personal authenticity in these matters.
Basically, we are opening up a new cycle here - but it's tricky territory, and full of blockages and delays. Quite frustrating really. There's nothing to be done but bear with it, and don't compromise on your values or on what's really important to you.
I think come mid-September, we'll gain a much clearer view of where this story is going. It might seem like a long way away, but it's only a month and a half.
