New Moon in Aquarius

This is on the Tuesday the 20th Jan 2015, around 1:15 pm (GMT).

It has been a hard couple of weeks following the heavily emotional full moon in Cancer on the 5th January. We had Mars (energy, will) moving into Pisces on the 12th of January – and this represents a real dissipation of will and of emotional boundaries.

Mars in Pisces at his best can look something like this:

Such an effortless-looking physical flow. Is it fighting or dancing?

Or he can be a spiritual warrior, like Gandhi or Jesus. Or an inspired artist, or a musician.

At his worst, though, he is a self-pitying, deluded, addicted, emotionally-confused mess.

Yeesh.

On entering Pisces, Mars moved straight into a square with Saturn in Sagittarius (exact on the 15th January), and he will conjunct Neptune in Pisces exactly on the 19th January – the day before the new moon in Aquarius.

These aspects represent exhaustion, depression and lowered physical resistance. Also heavy delusion, scattering and misdirection of the will, addiction, self-sabotage, pain, frustration, cruelty. So we're much more likely to be seeing the worse aspects of Piscean Mars these days, and it ain't pretty.

In addition we have a very fraught and ongoing situation involving Uranus, Pluto and the nodes of the moon. The moon's north node signifies the karmic 'direction' of the story – what we are meant to be striving toward. It is currently in Libra, sign of peace, right relationship, harmony and balance – so these are the imperatives of the story. The south node, which represents what we are trying to get away from (but where we are liable to get stuck) is in Aries, sign of self-will, rage and war. (And as these Aries placements are disposited by Mars in Pisces, we are looking at an unhealthy dose of self-pity and delusion in the mix. Rage-aholic zombie stuff.)

So basically we are meant to be moving from conflict to harmony and balance - especially in relationships - but it's very fraught and difficult. And what makes the terrain even harder to navigate is that these points are bound up with the historic Uranus-Pluto square, which is about upheaval, destruction and transformation. Uranus, representing shock and upheaval, is currently conjunct the south node in Aries – and this conjunction will be exact on the day of the new moon in Aquarius. And Pluto, representing death and transformation, squared the moon's nodes exactly on the 15th January. It's a cardinal t-square, very tight through the middle weeks of January, which is where we're at.

A cardinal t-square is an aspect requiring – even forcing – change and adaptation. It is inherently tense and uncomfortable. And as this one involves the Uranus-Pluto square, the tension and pressure for change gets ratcheted up a few orders of magnitude.

What it all represents is big shock and absolutely necessary change, in the context of relationships especially. Tests, breakups, forced evolution to a new model of relating. It is also about the requirement to cut yourself free of the past, of destructive habits and relationships, of what is unworkable in your life, of what you are completely fed up with.

The problem is, things are very volatile and explosive courtesy of Uranus conjunct the south node – so the potential for reckless, indiscriminate destruction is huge. And with this Mars-Neptune stuff going on in Pisces, the past has a deep and very dangerous undertow to it. You may find yourself hypnotized by it, unable to pull away, drawn back into the same shitty old dramas. Self-sabotage is a big risk right now.

The question is: do you keep your ship firmly on course while the sirens sing all around you? Or do you steer it into the rocks in pursuit of them; do you let yourself become a wreck?

Here is Ulysses, lashed to the mast of his ship and listening to the sirens sing - and tormented by his longing.

Ulysses and the Sirens - Waterhouse

I think the story of Ulysses and the sirens is very pertinent to these skies. He wanted to hear their famous song, though he knew it would turn him into a deranged, self-destructive imbecile. So he ordered his sailors to plug their ears with wax and tie him to the mast as they sailed past the sirens. And he got to hear them and survive - something no mortal had done.

The mast he's tied to in the story and the temporarily-deafened sailors rowing the boat out of harm's way can be read as metaphors for the will – for the backbone and determination it takes to escape the pull of destructive desire.

But another lesson of the story is that you don't fuck around with this stuff. You don't idly decide to listen to the sirens sing – not unless you have a crew of devoted sailors around you to keep you on course and steer you out of harm's way. Most of us don't have that, so we're better off staying well away from whatever undermines our self-possession.

For “listening to the sirens sing”, substitute

--looking up old boyfriends on facebook
--revisiting the past obsessively, with sentimentality and misplaced nostalgia
--having a little teeny tiny drink even though you know you're a raging alcoholic
--indulging your emotional excesses and self-pity to the point that they get in the way of your relationships and everyday functioning
--eating another cupcake
--watching "Purple Rain" again even though it disgusts you deeply and there are constructive things you could be doing with your time...

Or whatever. Giving way to temptation, basically. You know what's good for you, you know what's destructive – so don't make excuses for yourself. Tie yourself to the mast and row on.

We are going to be dealing with a Saturn-Neptune square for the next couple of years, basically – so it's pretty important to learn how to be your own internal rock (Saturn) even when everything is crumbling and dissolving around you (Neptune). Fortitude and determination in the face of temptation and confusion – that's one lesson to take from Saturn-Neptune. This is a very good time to start learning it, with Mars in Pisces activating this square.

OK, so I have written a lot already without even looking at the main event! Which is, ta da... Our zero degree new moon in Aquarius on the 20th January! And what a zinger it is. Like a big jolt of electricity right up Uranus! Like a huge, cosmic kick in the ass. Like sudden, detached clarity and insight in the midst of pain and loss... Or like a door opening into a new world, a weird magical one where nothing is quite what you thought it would be, and everything keeps changing so fast you can barely keep track.

Aquarius is future-oriented, zany, progressive, excitable...and emotionally detached. This new moon should come as a relief to anyone slogging through the heavy swamps of Mars-Neptune right now. Aquarius is about liberation, so this is a great opportunity to get free of whatever is holding you in thrall.

But the danger is that all that murky, blocked energy will be released as rage. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, which will be exactly conjunct the south node in Aries, and this means acting like a rage-aholic is the path of least resistance. Especially in the context of relationships, as we've seen. It's 'fight or flight' kinda stuff, and could potentially be very ugly and destructive.

Don't overstep the bounds of politeness and civilised discourse, no matter how stressed you may feel. There is a high road and a low road here. The low road is the hair-trigger rage-zombie stuff. The high road is represented by Venus conjunct Mercury in Aquarius – this is about objectivity, open-mindedness, insightful and tactful communication, free expression. It's about allowing people the space to be who they are and to make up their own minds.

“Liberté égalité fraternité laïcité” as the French say. (“Laïcité” means public secularism and is a new addition to the old revolutionary slogan.)

The Venus-Mercury conjunction is stressed by an opposition to Jupiter in Leo, which can be about big ego issues. So again, it's very important to try to think and communicate calmly and objectively, and not with your ego. No matter how provoked you may feel. It doesn't matter how justified your anger is – letting it rip over your petty little ego stuff is not going to get you very far under these skies. If you use it to look at what needs to change in a broader sense – in your life and collectively – you'll be better off.

The best side of Aquarius is always personified for me by Mr. Spock, who is rational, humane, calm, insightful... and also a complete unapologetic freak (he's an alien after all).

A good way for navigating the emotional rapids of this time (or any time for that matter) is to ask yourself: “What would Spock do?” Try and channel your inner Spock.

(Spock says time out!)

Ok, what else. We have a Mercury retrograde starting on the 21st January, the day after the new moon, taking him back through the sign of Aquarius. This means Mercury will be in Aquarius till March. And I think it's a pretty good place for him to be, whether retrograde or direct. It gives a bit of clarity and detachment to our thinking and communication, and some future-oriented insight. The Uranus-Pluto squares (the last of which is on the 16th March) are about revolutionary change, and Mercury in Aquarius will help us to wrap our minds around revolutionary change as it goes down. (Things will be moving fast!)

Also, we have Venus entering Pisces on the 27th of January, which represents a softening of the general emotional tone. 

All in all, it's not an easy two weeks ahead - when is it ever these days? But it really doesn't look so bad overall! Not compared to the last couple of weeks, certainly. We are moving from the heaviness and dourness of Capricorn season to something much more free and light and unconcerned, and that's a nice shift, even with all the attendant drama. And there is potential for all kinds of weird magic to happen. 

Just remember:

ps: forgot to say, this new moon is very good for creativity and creative thinking. For getting out of ruts of all kinds and creating something new. It could be a solution to an intractable problem, or a new work of art or music, or a new insight that completely changes the way you relate to some aspect of your life...The point is there will be creativity and inspiration on hand. So use it to do something new.

Full Moon in Cancer / Cardinal Grand Cross

(From Ferguson, MO)

This is tomorrow, the 5th January 2015, around 5 am (GMT).

I'll try to be very brief here, because I'm late in writing this, and the full moon is nearly upon us! Maybe you can feel what it's about for you already. The moon is in her own sign – Cancer – and this brings some heavy emotion into play.

It's a very tense full moon, and coming as it does after the holidays, it's safe to assume people will be feeling exhausted and jagged. It's like a big tension-dump, where all the issues you've been trying to keep a lid on all through the holidays potentially get vomited out. Or cried out, or yelled out. Or maybe you'll just feel them rotting in the pit of your stomach like an indigestible Christmas pudding.

We have a cardinal grand cross - a very tense planetary aspect pattern – involving the sun and Pluto in Capricorn (control issues), the moon in Cancer (emotions), Uranus in Aries (individual anger and revolt) and the nodes of the moon in Aries (war) vs. Libra (peace).

On the world stage, it could look kinda like the photo below from Ferguson, Missouri. We've been seeing a lot of pictures like this lately, courtesy of the revolutionary Uranus-Pluto square. The public demand for radical change coming up against an entrenched, inflexible power hierarchy, with explosive results.

On your own individual stage, it could be about what you're trying to establish in your life vs. the obstacles. Your own capacity for self-sabotage; the drama and rage that keep drawing you back into the past. Specifically, the issues here revolve around family (Cancer), career (Capricorn), close relationships (Libra) and individual will / personal autonomy (Aries).

The cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn) are initiatory and commanding – all about the establishment of a new order. And this cardinal grand cross is tied up with the Uranus-Pluto square, which is about radical change and upheaval. It also involves the moon's nodes, which are about movement toward an objective – in this case, the objective is signified by the north node in Libra, sign of harmony, fairness and balanced relationship.

This story is supposed to be about moving from conflict and war to peace and coexistence, in the context of radical, necessary change – try to remember that.

The problem is, the path of least resistance here is war. Selfishness, rage, jagged nerves, destructive emotional distancing, abrupt relationship breakups and endings – these are all things we're likely to see, courtesy of the south node conjunct Uranus in Aries.

Basically, a new order is being established, but there are some fierce emotional rapids to navigate before we get there. However this plays out in your life, if you can calm yourself and try to stay calm as the people around you have their temper tantrums and blowouts, that should be helpful. Don't get sucked into drama. We have three planets (Mars, Venus and Mercury) in rational, detached, free-spirited Aquarius now – and if you can access this energy, it should help.

I don't mean that it's OK to act like an uncaring, self-absorbed, emotionally cut-off dickhead, which is one of the dangers of Aquarian energy - and one specifically highlighted by this full moon! But try to maintain your sense of internal freedom and individuality, however externally bound you may feel – that space inside yourself that is always already free, no matter what happens.

Also, catharsis is something entirely different to unthinking drama, and could be a very good use of all this tension.

“Catharsis (from the Greek κάθαρσις meaning "purification" or "cleansing") is the purification and purgation of emotions—especially pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration.” 

Here's a poem relevant to this theme of catharsis and release: Messengers by Louise Gluck.

A full moon represents a culmination or ending, so please remember that the emotional discomfort and intensity associated with this full moon is really a kind of summation, not a permanent state. This is the emotional high-water mark of a period of serious transformation that began around the time of the winter solstice a couple of weeks back. It's the release-point for what has been quite a stressful and heavy time.

We are headed for a zero-degree new moon in Aquarius on the 20th January, and Aquarius is future-oriented, progressive, full of novelty and excitement. Things will start to feel lighter, so hang in there.

Full Moon in Leo

This one is just in time for freaking Valentine's Day, brilliant! Around 11:50 pm (GMT) on the 14th February. By that time of night everybody should be all liquored up and ready for some drama. 

And it looks pretty dramatic all right! I think we should listen to some L7 to get in the right mood for this one. 

"So you wanna have some fun? Well break out the big guns!" 

"DON'T CROSS MY LINE!"

It looks like that kind of full moon. Lines could get crossed. People could flip out and break out the big guns. Especially if they feel slighted or unappreciated...things could get ugly. 

Of course, it could also be this kind of full moon, if you're lucky:

Or this:

But I think this is equally likely:

Anyway, what's the story here?

The sun in cold, rational Aquarius is facing off against a romantic, fiery, attention-hungry full moon in Leo. Like so:

Well, what do you think the dialogue here is going to be like? Probably a little stilted, it's safe to assume. Plenty of mutual incomprehension.

Wires could get crossed, with a retrograde Mercury in Aquarius conjunct the sun - this is real glitchy, communications-wise. Expect your phone to conk out just before you text to say where you're gonna meet your hot date. Or you meet your hot date even though your car's radiator just exploded and then you start hiccuping too hard to hold a conversation...or the lights go out in the cinema, mid awkward romcom. Or you realize he/she is actually from another planet and it's time to beam back up to the starship but your transponder is on the blink...

Yep. If you are actually able to sit and converse like a normal human (whatever the hell that means), uninterrupted by glitchy tech shit and shocks and general weirdness... you'll be doing pretty well.

But then you get to the real hurdles.

A moon in Leo craves attention, romance and fun. It's a party moon. But this Leo moon is disposited (and opposed) by the sun in Aquarius, which is not exactly a party sun.

And Saturn in Scorpio is involved, squaring the sun, Mercury and the moon. This means it's actually NO GODDAMN FUN at all. Everything feels too heavy for fun. Emotions are heavy, communication is heavy (and difficult), intentions are heavy, the weight of the past is heavy...

And Venus is still conjunct Pluto in Capricorn; still in cardinal t-square formation with Jupiter in Cancer and Uranus in Aries. Love is heavy. Building a viable future is heavy. Relating honestly is heavy. Being true to yourself and trying to be true to the demands of a relationship at the same time is heavy. Unexpressed rage is heavy. All the shitty things we've done to each other are heavy; our collective baggage around relationships is heavy. The imbalances and injustices that go along with traditional gender relations are heavy.

More L7 - I feel like we need them for this. (Off "Bricks Are Heavy", ha.)

People are likely to be feeling blocked-off, unseen, unheard and undervalued in their relationships, and liable to vent explosively.

(More fight music!)

A defining feature of this full moon: the north node (an eclipse-point signifying the 'slant' of the whole story) will be at 0 degrees Scorpio. This is the last lunation we'll have with the north node in Scorpio for 18 years or so. And Saturn in Scorpio will be squaring the moon and the sun, as we've seen.

So there is a heavy, fateful, Scorpionic emphasis to this full moon. Scorpio, remember, is about death and rebirth. Transformation. Amputation of what's dead or rotten so that new life can grow.

And bearing in mind that full moons are about things coming to light, culminations, endings...and we have Saturn (karma) aspecting this one...this full moon is actually very serious. No matter how many silly Spock pix I may post, please bear in mind that this is actually a big deal!

We've had a year and a half of the north node in Scorpio. A year and a half to examine the energy imbalances in our lives, the power games, the decayed rotten collective patterns of relating. A year and a half to focus on the dark shadow stuff that we'd all rather pretend doesn't exist...but with Saturn in Scorpio as well, there's no sweeping the dirt back under the rug. If we've done our work, we know the worst now, about ourselves and others and the kind of world we live in...and there's no way back.

No way back... I mean, it's actually impossible, once you've seen the corruption inherent in a particular dynamic (whether it's a family, relationship, job, political system or whatever) to go back and relate to it in the same old way. You transform it if you can; you walk away from it and create something new if you can. But once you've really seen into what's happening and how deep the rot goes...you have to act upon that knowledge. The imperative of Scorpio is survival. You do not hang around and allow yourself to be poisoned.

If the rotten dynamic is something happening in yourself, it's just as stark. You have to cut it out already. Addictions, toxic relationships, destructive delusions. Fears and insecurities, unquestioned assumptions, culturally mandated attitudes, ego games....

You know what form the rot takes in you and you know what you have to do.

The north node shifts to Libra - sign of relationship, social harmony and justice - on the 18th February, straight into a conjunction with Mars in Libra. There is a tremendous drive for right relationship embodied in this shift.

But before you can move towards fairness and balance in your relationships, you have to get rid of what's rotten. That means weeding out your own self-destructive behaviours and attitudes, and not putting up with crap from others. Refusing to carry other peoples' garbage for them. Refusing to stay in dynamics in which you're not being met halfway.

Mars in Libra will be harmoniously aspecting the sun, Mercury and the moon for this full moon, which is nice. If you remember that your goal is ultimately to relate with fairness and decency and to have balanced, just relationships...it should give you the energy and drive to stop doing what you know is no good for you.

And the sun and Mercury in Aquarius, disposited by Uranus in Aries, mean that there is clarity and mental detachment available here, as well as a burning drive for personal authenticity at any cost.

On personal authenticity at any cost: this person is an object lesson. And the song fits these skies...

New Moon in Libra

Hasui Kawase "Autumn at Funatsu, Near Lake Kawaguchi"

On the 4^th of October, we have a new moon at 11 degrees Libra. New moons represent new beginnings, and this one looks like it’s about making a commitement to confront difficult, covert relational issues and energy imbalances—even if it hurts. It’s a kind of verbal and intellectual surgery that is required here. Clear-sightedness and honest, direct communication that cuts through the bullshit and rot.

Let’s break it down. Libra is an airy, intellectual sign ruled by Venus, planet of relation and values. Libra energy is all about finding the balance-point between different people and their differing needs and values. Bridging the gaps between people and creating harmony.

As a high-powered cardinal sign, and one so concerned with beauty and pleasure (Venus), Libra can be controlling and shallow. Libra energy can lazily whitewash out difference instead of doing the difficult work of enacting a fair balance. It can insist on a superficial show of outward harmony even when everything’s rotten underneath the pretty façade.

Thankfully, this kind of strategy is just not an option under these skies. Or say: it’s an option, it’s always an option. But it won’t work, so whitewash at your peril!

Why won’t it work? For one thing, Libra’s ruler, Venus, is in Scorpio, a no-bullshit sign that sees straight to the core and strips away the layers of rot surrounding it, cutting in order to heal. Venus in Scorpio is just not ok with superficial relation. It requires something volcanic, molten, metamorphic; something from the depths.

For another, Mercury, planet of thought and communication is in Scorpio too…and conjunct Saturn and the north node in Scorpio. This is the conjunction Venus passed over last month, the day before the full moon in Pisces. The karmic direction of the current story is in Scorpio, and Scorpio doesn’t whitewash. Scorpio transforms.

But with Scorpio, this transformation involves stripping away what’s dead or amputating it. Flaying the dead from the living tissue so that regeneration is possible. Scorpio is about surgery: careful, precise, unsentimental… and necessarily painful. But at best it is a form of compassion, bloody and wounding though it may be.

Venus’ conjunction with Saturn and the north node last month highlighted the need for sorting out our values, especially regarding love and money. With Mercury involved this month (and until December, as Mercury retrogrades through Scorpio), necessary relational transformations are effected via careful, precise, unsentimental thought and communication.

And in case there were any doubt as to what it this story is about, the sun and moon in Libra form a cardinal t-square with the ongoing Pluto-Uranus square, the traumatic and transformative aspect which defines these years.

It’s very simple really. Transform or die. No illusions, no excuses. Break free of what you already know is draining and depleting you, cut your losses, get out of unbalanced energetic exchanges. If words are called for, be simple and honest and direct; lay the situation bare, but try to stay balanced and kind. With Mercury conjunct Saturn in Scorpio, less is more in terms of verbal communication.

It’s beautiful when the sky is this unambiguous. Not to say it is easy. There is really not much ease or let-up to be had here—it’s all pretty hardcore. And just wait till we hit November and the fourth exact Uranus-Pluto square, and a new moon in Scorpio that pounds home these same themes, in case you haven’t been listening!

But awareness of just how much is required of us these days is a great fortifier. Knowledge is power: that’s a perfect phrase for Mercury in Scorpio. And there will never be a better, more powerful time to transform how you relate to the world than right NOW. 

There is really not much choice. “The fates lead him who will; him who won’t they drag”, as Seneca wrote.

--As an aside, Seneca was a Roman poet and dramatist of the 1^st century AD. Stoic philosophy combined with a life full of political intrigue and scandal, culminating in a forced suicide after an alleged plot against the emperor Nero. The skies make me think of him, speaking as they do (as he did) of stoicism, perseverance and integrity. Here are some more quotes, very relevant to the current astro-weather:

What progress have I made? I am beginning to be my own friend.’ That is progress indeed. Such a person will never be alone and you may be sure he is a friend to all.  

Throughout the whole of life one must continue to learn to live and what will amaze you even more, throughout life you must learn to die.

Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.

Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more when you see him act than when you hear him speak.

 You want to live-but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying-and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead?

Every day, therefore, should be regulated as if it were the one that brings up the rear, the one that rounds out and completes our lives.

What view is one likely to take of the state of a person's mind when his speech is wild and incoherent and knows no constraint?

Rehearse death. To say this is to tell a person to rehearse his freedom. A person who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. He is above, or at any rate, beyond the reach of, all political powers.

What is required is not a lot of words, but effectual ones.

Retire into yourself as much as possible. Associate with people who are likely to improve you. Welcome those whom you are capable of improving. The process is a mutual one. People learn as they teach.

A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.

You have to persevere and fortify your pertinacity until the will to good becomes a disposition to good.

So called pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit, are but punishments.

I am telling you to be a slow-speaking person.

Be harsh with yourself at times.

 

Ok, enough heaviness! (But no question, it's all very heavy. No way around it.)

Happy heavy October!

 

Venus Conjunct Saturn & North Node / Full Moon in Pisces / Pluto Direct

We have a few days of heavy-duty magic as we drift toward the full moon in Pisces on September 19^th. And by heavy-duty, I mean no bullshit. This story is about having the power to change your life, no lie—but it only works if you use it the right way. There is definitely a right way involved, and a wrong way.

The right way involves seeing (in an intensely focused, probing, detail-oriented way) what is unworkable or diseased in your life… and REMOVING it. Cutting it out. 

The wrong way involves wishful thinking, pining for the impossible, fantasy, escapism, self-delusion. But thankfully, the current cosmic weather makes grand illusions hard to sustain. Reality itself, seen clearly, will have more than enough magic and strangeness in it—you are not going to be needing your bullshit, or anyone else’s.

How does it play out? Well first, on September 18^th, Venus in Scorpio conjuncts Saturn & the north node at 8 degrees Scorpio. The conjunction exactly sextiles Pluto at 8 degrees Capricorn and trines Neptune and Chiron in Pisces. (The moon is involved today on the 17^th September—so you can try to tune in on what these themes mean for you via feeling, the day before it all really goes down.)



This is a very big deal. The theme of the skies at this time (signified by the north node) is all about karma coming due—and the reckonings involved are profound. Venus (love and money) joined with Saturn (responsibility) in Scorpio (depth and death), backed up by Pluto (transformation).

--I put a picture of a pearl here because the sky these next few days is making me think of pearls. Irritation and wounding (Chiron) transformed (Pluto) over time (Saturn) into something of great beauty and value (Venus). And it happens down in the depths of the sea, hidden from sight (Neptune). And the product of this deep-sea transformation (Pisces) becomes a symbol of purity and integrity, absolute simplicity (Virgo). The themes are all accounted for.

Regarding Saturn in Scorpio: this is all about getting back the energy you've given. Energetic return on investment. So if you've invested wisely in solid relationships or ventures and done the necessary work, you will know it. And conversely, if you've wasted your resources somewhere, it will be quite clear--you will know it's time to cut your losses.

We can't keep throwing good money after bad under Saturn in Scorpio--it's untenable; there is just not enough to spare. Resources (financial, relational, energetic) must be conserved and invested wisely. Squandering your love or your money or your limited and valuable life energy on folly and delusion—will not fly for long under these skies. Casting your pearls before swine: ditto.



However, there IS the opportunity to use your compassion and idealism in concrete, practical ways that ground and heal: that’s courtesy of Chiron and Neptune in Pisces trining the Saturn, Venus and north node conjunction. And Pluto in Capricorn gives backbone and integrity.


As I said above, it’s all about seeing clearly. Using discrimination. The sun is still in precise, detail-oriented Virgo, and Virgo’s ruler Mercury is Libra, just moving out of tense cardinal t-square formation with Uranus and Pluto. All the flaws and imbalances in your relationships have been on full display this past week, right? Maybe you’ve managed to stay out of any toxic verbal exchanges…but I’m sure you’ve felt the tension in some way. I sure have! The mental urge (Mercury) to completely torch what’s inherently flawed (Uranus square Pluto), and do it in words that can’t be taken back… To give the world a good tongue-lashing.

Well, I held back, mostly. And for me that’s been a good thing. It would only have made things worse…and in the end, Saturn (karma) will do what he does regardless. Rottenness WILL be laid bare under these skies, whether I open my big mouth about how rotten it all is or not.

But if you have something burning in you that MUST be said or done in the interests of individual human freedom (not individual self-aggrandizement—be clear on this)…well the days ahead might be the right time. Mars in Leo and Uranus in Aries are in easy trine formation, and Mercury is leaving the cardinal t-square—so the potential for explosive conflict via communication is reduced. Speaking up might even revolutionise matters.

Use discrimination, caution and compassion (in the form of ‘tough love’) and you’ll be backed up by the cosmic weather. Speak the truth if it falls to you to speak. Do it quietly and clearly and with concision—do not go overboard or fall back on emotionally manipulative tactics. The potential for doing so is built-in, via a square between Jupiter in Cancer and Mercury in Libra, so try to stay mindful. But don’t back down from what you know is true, either. And accept the fallout. Of course there will be fallout—there are situations and people you will have to walk away from, or they may need to detach from you. It may hurt. But it is imperative to accept the loss of what is no longer necessary and vital.

The day after the Venus, Saturn and north node conjunction, we have the full moon at 26 degrees Pisces. 19^th September: here is the pearl of great price, fully illuminated. Nurturance, compassion, sacrifice, suffering (Pisces moon) versus method, organization, discrimination, clarity.

It is entirely possible to balance these energies via service to others: that is ultimately what the Virgo-Pisces axis is about, and the energies complement each other. Notwithstanding the brashness of Mars in Leo, this is not a time for self-assertion, unless you are doing it in the service (Virgo) of the transpersonal (Pisces).

And finally, the day after the full moon, Pluto goes direct, having been retrograde since April. There will be no avoiding deep structural changes to your life now. The gears mesh up and the big wrecking machine sputters to life. Whether it’s going to grind your world to dust or seed the ploughed-up ground for new growth, the machine has its own momentum—you really just have to suck it up and get out of the way when Pluto’s involved.

What in your life needs to die? What are you holding onto that is already dead? By now you know exactly what it is…it should be clear as day.

Whatever you are unwilling to let go of now will be ripped from you regardless—so best let go if you can. Make a sacrifice of it on the Pisces full moon. Sit down and name it, define it (Virgo)…and then let it go.