Avoiding Unsatisfactory Astrology Readings on Ask the Astrologer

I was a guest on Matt Savinar's astrology-based radio show Ask the Astrologer recently. We delved into a very complex topic, and I hope we did it some justice.

Avoiding an Unsatisfactory Astrology Reading Part One

Avoiding an Unsatisfactory Astrology Reading Part Two

What to Do if You've Gotten a Reading With Which You are Not Happy

A Highly-Charged Full Moon in Libra

Photos: Willow

 

We have a very spicy Libra Full Moon in store March 26/27, coming out of the Pisces New Moon within massive Pisces stellium that occurred March 11. The Moon will be completely full in the early morning of March 27 at 6 degrees Libra.

The personal planets (all but Mercury) have now shifted from ethereal Pisces into rough and ready Aries, making the early March Pisces stellium into a late March Aries stellium.

This Full Moon falls opposite that Aries stellium (Sun, Venus, Uranus, and Mars tightly conjunct in Aries) and square Pluto in Capricorn. Sizzle and spice, and it won't necessarily all be nice!

The Sun and Venus are currently travelling through the zodiac in tight conjunction in war planet-ruled Aries. These bodies form conjunctions to Uranus in Aries on March 28 and squares to Pluto in Capricorn on March 31.

Mars is just out ahead of this pack in Aries. It was exactly conjunct Uranus on March 22 and forms an exact square to Pluto March today.

Our Arien desires for new energy, new direction, and new life are kept in check by bad boy Pluto in the sign of bureaucracy, institutional rules, finance, and hierarchy.

As if that weren't enough, female warrior asteroid Pallas Athene is finishing its transit in late Aries, adding some extra feistiness and fight, female-style, to the proceedings.

These aspects and transits are motivating but also stressful and potentially frustrating. People are going to be a little on edge this Aries season.

The final square between Jupiter in Gemini and Chiron in Pisces occurs March 27, exact during the Full Moon. We've been under the influence of this square since July 2012.

Communication and transportation planet Mercury will be conjunct wounded healer Chiron at that time, squaring Jupiter exactly on March 29.

The Mercury-Chiron square to Jupiter in Gemini indicates that conditions are ripe for conversations, connections, and information that create spontaneous healing. However, this square is also mentally and psychically taxing, increasing stress, sensitivity, confusion, and irritation. People are very sensitive to words and tones now, and certain perspectives will rub salt in old wounds - intentionally or unintentionally.

All this makes for a highly-charged and important week (March 25 - 31) as we surge into spring in the northern hemisphere.

The strong Aries influence squaring Pluto brings the potential for spats, battles, pissiness, and even epic meltdowns as we elbow the winter of 2013 out of our way. Coming out of the last dregs of this winter, we're like grumpy bears rolling out of our dens after a long and sometimes miserable hibernation period. We're hungry, we're dopey, we're annoyed, and we're not suffering fools all that gladly.

There's a large amount of cardinal energy in the zodiac now, indicating people will be chomping at the bit for new direction and movement. We're ready to get the show on the road. However, the post-equinox increase in action, activity, and enthusiasm can rub people entirely the wrong way if they feel things are moving in the wrong direction or at the wrong speed. People taking leadership roles upon themselves may find an air of mutiny if their actions and decisions miss the mark for the group. Sudden, unilateral power plays will more than likely be met with opposition. Our action is held tightly in check by slow-burn Pluto in Capricorn.

Aggression and power plays won't all be out in the open, either. With Venus in detriment in Aries until April 15, some passive aggressiveness can be expected. Watch out for that slow drip poison, especially from women dysfunctionally expressing anger and a frustrating lack of influence within the structures as they exist. The confines of the Pluto in Capricorn-era office environment - often emotionally and psychologically toxic - will be a particularly nasty breeding ground for this behaviour. Mercury is still in the sign of its fall, Pisces, sandwiched between Neptune and Chiron, and this increases the possibility of these "invisible" attacks, especially verbally or through the written word.

Those fed up in customer service roles will also be at their maximum level of tolerance with those "the customer is always right" dynamics. Compassion for people stuck in dysfunctional work systems would be more appropriate than bitching about bad customer service this week. Allow more time and more leeway for those working with the public. And if you are one of the lucky ones working with the public - work to hold your temper and your tongue, directing your energy into making changes and improvements wherever you can.

There's a lot to balance emotionally this week. The Libra Moon has its work cut out for it. And those who believe Libra is always nice may have some Pluto-and-Uranus-sponsored education on the docket...

All the personal-transpersonal connectivity creates a universe-directed surge into new territory, as well as the potental for radical breaks in relational form brought about quickly and instinctively, motivated by the new space our identities require.

Some changes in the cast of characters in your life are possible at this Libra Full Moon, stirred by both independence-oriented Uranus and metamorphosis-oriented Pluto. Certain relationships or relationship dynamics have run their course. Others have been cemented into place with Pluto's blessing. You have to love that. What goes forward from here has roots.

With these aspects, we're bristling under the top-down control of Pluto in Capricorn-era institutions and illegitimate hierarchies. Keeping ourselves under lock and key to the extent that we are trained to by the militaristic corporate regime is just not possible for many at this point.

We're committed to a new way, unfolding in the vital current moment, organizing as we go.

Any sudden changes or movement kicked up in relationships or money matters at this Full Moon are tied to the broader changes we're navigating as things continue to shift on the macro level. The personal planets touching the transpersonal planets indicates our personal directions are intricately tied to the collective shifts indicated by the ongoing series of Uranus-Pluto squares, experienced last in the 1930s during the Great Depression and the lead-up to World War II.

In other words, this is bigger than just you.

Things are very, very screwed up on this planet. Things have been intentionally screwed up on this planet. And we're doing our best to navigate personal lives within these circumstances.

Not only is Pluto taking part in the historic squares with Uranus, it is in another historically important position - within mutual reception to Saturn in Scorpio. The last time Saturn and Pluto were in this relationship was in 1776 and 1777, coinciding with the American Revolution and the break from English control (or at least, the appearance of it).

So you can see and sense some of the intense broader context here as major changes and new agendas unfold both personally and on the world stage.

Libra is the sign of justice, often overlooked by those who prefer its soft pastel shades, interior design, and relationship how-to. This Libra Full Moon indicates a point of high-water emotional illumination reached within stressed circumstances related to fairness, justice, and balance, as well as what more we need to do to achieve those things. There are many scales that must be tipped from injustice to justice on this planet. It takes all our courage and drive now to move toward that under threat from Pluto in Capricorn regimes.

Under these complex and challenging global circumstances, charged by the Aries stellium, make sure to allow enough emotional space for your own scales to balance this week. Don't overload. Focus on the lovely and the beautiful in your life and in this world and come back to a point of inner calm and peacefulness amidst all the fighting Aries - definite necessities with a Moon in Libra.

The Aries Stellium Charges Up The Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus Yod for a Grand Finale

By tonight when Venus enters Aries, most of the personal planets will be in the sign of the ram, clustered around Uranus, and the Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus Yod is being charged up to the max.

The Aries planets are sextile Jupiter in Gemini, forming a brash and chatty base for this Yod. This is a whole lot of young, yang energy looking for expression in a big and bold way. The Aries planets stimulating Jupiter in Gemini so intensely creates an instinctive urge to take action, to take charge of our directions, and to speak up from personal perspectives in a fairly aggressive manner.

Spring fever in the northern hemisphere is pretty much off the hook at this point after the massive Pisces stellium and harsh winter transits.

However, the finger of God or apex of this Yod is Saturn Rx in Scorpio. This becomes the navigation point of the potentially loud, over-the-top, and inflammatory energies of this formation. This indicates it's restraint, restraint, restraint that gets the job done over the next couple weeks, as well as careful withdrawal, sober second thought, strategy, grounding, conservatism, and seriousness. Saturn Rx in yin/feminine sign Scorpio plays its cards very close to its chest, avoiding immature drama and tempting diversions. Saturn is the wise and responsible filter for all this immediate and in-your-face Aries and Gemini. Aries and Gemini are not known as the most patient signs of the zodiac, so applying some of the grumpy old man Saturn in Scorpio energy keeps these bratty astro kids under control.

The Aries and Gemini Yod base is basically going to take care of itself. Air and fire are interacting in a big way. Connections are going to be made, and new directions are going to be initiated. It's the Saturn in Scorpio energy that will need to be more consciously applied. A good dousing of the party atmosphere by Saturn in water sign Scorpio will be required at times. And don't you secretly love doing that when it's necessary? Saturn sure does.

You can read more about the two Yod formations we're currently experiencing in this extensive post on the subject: Yods, Oddness, and Awkward Social Angles Create Breakthroughs in Understanding Through April 2013

As stated, we're currently under the influence of two Yod formations. As we entered March, Jupiter in Gemini was the apex or finger of God navigation point. You can read more about that here: Jupiter in Gemini and Our Alchemical Tongues.

Now, at the end of March, things have switched, and Saturn in Scorpio is the finger of God navigation point.

Did I mention we've been under some very challenging transits this winter?

The Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus Yod formation is fully in effect now. Jupiter in Gemini is quincunx Saturn in Scorpio exactly on March 23, and it's quincunx Pluto in Capricorn exactly on March 29.

We're also experiencing the final Jupiter in Gemini square to Chiron in Pisces at this time (exact March 27 at the Libra Full Moon), and this increases the possibility of a mentally and psychically challenging last week of March.

However, the good (Jupiter) news (Gemini) is that this is the last big stress point created by these Yod configurations. One last hurrah, and the Yods have done their thing. Mysteries will be revealed. Intricate and hidden communications networks will be unravelled. And the excessively loose lips of others can be worked to our own strategic advantage (just keep that on the up and up).

The Sun in Aries Brings the First Day of Spring in the Canadian Prairies

It sure looks like spring, doesn't it?

 

Standing in front of his handiwork for the winter of 2013.

 

This is how you shovel snow in Saskatchewan.

 

 

Happy Astrological New Year, all! The Sun entered Aries, marking March equinox, early this morning. I hope you're enjoying warmer and less snowy environments wherever you are.

 

Major Stelliums in Perspective

A stellium is made up of three or more planets in the same zodiac sign.

The more planets in the sign, the more rare the stellium.

Stelliums indicate a concentration of focus and energy in a particular sign, involving the themes of that sign.

During late February and March of 2013, we experienced a major stellium of bodies in Pisces. At its height, the stellium included six planets (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune) and Chiron, which is considered a comet nucleus.

Because Mercury and Venus travel close to the Sun in the zodiac, it is not uncommon to have those three bodies (Sun, Mercury, Venus) in the same sign in an astrological chart. There are 30 degrees in each sign of the zodiac. Mercury is never more than 28 degrees behind or ahead of the Sun. Venus is never more than 46 degrees behind or ahead of the Sun.

Mars takes a little under two years to move through the zodiac, and it goes retrograde about once every two years, as well. The largest stelliums often occur when Mars has reached the area of the zodiac inhabited by the transiting Sun, Mercury, and Venus. This was the case with the recent Pisces stellium.

Large stelliums of five, six, seven, or more bodies are more rare.

In order to have a stellium of more than the five personal planets, one of the intermediary (Jupiter, Saturn) or outer (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) planets has to also be in the sign.

The personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) move fairly quickly through the signs of the zodiac. The intermediary planets (Jupiter and Saturn) move a bit more slowly through the signs. And the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) move the slowest, spending approximately six to twenty years in each sign, depending on the body.

One or more of the slower-moving bodies must be inhabiting the sign in order for one of the largest stelliums to form.

According to my research, the next seven-planet stellium will occur September 5 and 6, 2051 in Virgo. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus will be in Virgo at that time.

There will also be a seven-planet stellium in Aquarius on the last day of Aquarius season, February 18, 2080. This will actually be an eight-body stellium because dwarf planet Ceres will also be in Aquarius at that time, along with the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Using Ceres, the seven-planet stellium is extended for about a week in February.

The most recent seven-planet stellium took place May 3, 2000 with seven planets in Taurus - the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Prior to that, a stellium was experienced January 10 - 12, 1994 with seven planets in Capricorn - the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune.

There was also a seven-planet stellium in Aquarius February 18 - 20, 1962. That stellium involved the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the South Node.

The Aquarius stellium in 1962 has been linked to the official start of the astrological Aquarian era.

If that Aquarius stellium marked the official beginning of the Aquarian era, the Pisces stellium we just experienced in March 2013 can be seen as the official end of the astrological Piscean era. Up to this point, we have been living in a layered, transitional time between eras when characteristics of both were prevalent. Now, we tip into the stronger Aquarian overlay and find a new expression for Pisces for the astrological Aquarian era.

Six-planet stelliums are also notable but are less rare than seven-planet stelliums. Some of the six-planet stelliums coming up include:

A six-planet stellium in Capricorn in January 2018.

A six-planet stellium in Aquarius in February 2021.

A six-planet stellium in Aries in April 2026.

A six-planet stellium in Gemini in June 2028.

A six-planet stellium in Gemini in May 2032 - this does not involve the Moon, so it's substantial.

A six-planet stellium in Scorpio in November 2041.

A six-planet stellium in Taurus in April 2047.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it does give some perspective on large stelliums.

They are not necessarily once-in-a-lifetime astrological events, but they are certainly not common. The meaning ascribed to each stellium will vary based on astrologer.

 

An updated version of this article from 2020: Major Stelliums in Perspective

The Dank Mental Backwash of Mercury Rx in Pisces Ends Just in Time for a St. Patty's Day Piss Up!

If you're confused...

Wondering if you've lost your way... 





Just keep following the trail.

Mercury stations direct in the afternoon of March 17 at 5 degrees Pisces, just in time to get your St. Patty's Day drank on, and the relief of this is going to be palpable.

(Unless you celebrate St. Patty's on Saturday night. In that case, your hangover headache may start to lift as Mercury goes direct!)

We're a little worse for wear at this point, a little shredded, but as Mercury starts to move forward with Mars blazing new trail in Aries, we can finally look ahead to spring equinox in the northern hemisphere after a fairly nasty stretch of transits and aspects throughout the winter.

We started 2013 with a heavy, pressurized, and sometimes beastly Pluto-infused stellium in Capricorn. Then we had the highly-stressed Jupiter in Gemini station within two challenging Yod formations and a square to Chiron in Pisces. That morphed into a massive stellium in Pisces, coloured strongly by the pain and dysfunction of Chiron in Pisces. And as if that weren't arduous enough, we also had the three-week Mercury retrograde in the sign of its fall, Pisces.

The Mercury retrograde period has brought us through the mental and verbal dregs with Mercury moving backward in a sign in which it is not the most effective, touching wounded healer Chiron and stirring many ouchy issues.

We've been experiencing an often uninspiring mental and verbal backwash during this retrograde in Pisces, but that now comes to an end.

Keep going...

In Canada, St. Patrick's Day is generally a party and a piss up, Pisces style. Some misty Irish romance, nostalgia, bittersweetness, and song washed down with gallons of green beer. At St. Patty's Day, we've made it past the Ides of March (tomorrow) into an end-of-winter, end-of-Pisces-season celebration of survival and of warmer and hopefully easier times ahead.

This St. Patrick's Day, we have a lot to celebrate. We've moved through "The End Times" of December 2012 into a monumental end-of-Piscean-era Pisces stellium, and through some very harsh transits during the first quarter of 2013.

Though it doesn't look like it where I'm sitting, this winter will soon be behind us, and so will another layer of end-of-Piscean-era themes.

The Moon will be in Gemini on March 17, sextile Uranus in Aries and conjunct Jupiter in Gemini. As the booze and the socializing melt the last of the icy winter tendrils, we are awash in gratitude and good will (or is that just beer buzz?).

You're sure to meet up with friends.

Bird tracks, coyote tracks, Willow tracks.

Congratulations on surviving the winter of 2013, everyone.

We now head to a March equinox with Mars conjunct Uranus in Aries and square Pluto in Capricorn. Zing! Uranus and Pluto are heading to their third of seven exact squares on May 20, and we can expect to start feeling those effects on the other side of this equinox.

Equinox will be followed by an Aries stellium made up of the Sun, Venus, Mars, Uranus, and later Mercury. Venus and Mars will form a conjunction at 20 degrees Aries on April 7, and that conjunction will be fully activated by the Aries New Moon April 10. More on that later...

For now, there's nothing to do but look ahead.

Happy Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere, and Happy Astrological New Year!

* Note: Willow's Web Astrology does not endorse the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, even after this Pisces season, and even when they're green.

Bird, coyote, Willow. Saskatchewan, 2013.

Juno Enters Aquarius Where it Remains for the Rest of 2013

The asteroid associated with marriage, commitment, and soul mates, Juno, enters Aquarius on March 13, where it will stay until January 1, 2014. This extended transit in the sign of the new astrological era indicates an at-times frictional move into stronger Aquarian-era relational themes throughout 2013.

Juno will retrograde through Aquarius from June 14 through September 22 (19 degrees to 3 degrees).

During its transit of the water-bearer, Juno will square Saturn in Scorpio three times: April 13, 2013 at 9 degrees of the signs, August 26, 2013 at 6 degrees of the signs, and November 29, 2013 with both Juno and Saturn at 17 degrees of the signs.

We're grinding these "new era" relational issues out from the gut, from the core, guided as always by our own inner knowledge of the way things need to be. We're digging deeply to find the emotional and psychological stability required this year as we are whisked into new dynamics and new situations.

Many frictional issues will be raised by Juno this year related to a shift in relationship dynamics, new forms of commitment, and new rules for marriage and commited relationships of all kinds coming into play under a stronger Aquarian umbrella.

We're looking to create the true egalitarian win-win here - no coercion, no unequal power dynamics, no swallowing things we don't want to swallow.

We're moving from crystallized marriage and relationship constructs determining the behaviour of the participants...to to the needs of the participants as individuals determining the shape of the constructs. And this is going to be highly frictional at times, as people resist the unfamiliar leadership of our lady Juno in Aquarius.

You can read more about this Juno transit within the context of the broader structural shifts we are experiencing in love, relationship, and commitment in 2013 in my paid article:

Venus, Juno, and Pluto: the Reconfiguring and Renegotiation of Marriage and Commitment in 2013 - $20

* Note: This is an article from the start of 2013 that I'm re-advertising now. You may have already purchased it.

The Pisces Circus Starts Pulling Up Stakes

The upcoming week opens into a New Moon in Pisces at 21 degrees on March 11, which conjuncts Venus at 17 Pisces and Mars at 29 Pisces, on the last degree of the zodiac.

At this New Moon, we have both relationship planets (Venus and Mars) along with Neptune, Chiron, Mercury retrograde, and the Sun and Moon in the sign of the fishies. This ongoing stellium in Pisces has had us swimming around in circles for over a month now. It's hard to even remember the last time things weren't soggy-foggy, swirly-whirly confusing. The Piscean mind fuzz.

All this mutable water has worn us down over the past weeks. Or is it over the past 2,000 years?

Some of  those gorgeous and glowing Neptunian mirages are looking mighty tantalizing right about now. Like the answers to our prayers. (Don't they always?) But keep your eye on things. Keep moving through the spectral images. Don't chase dead ends or tired siren songs. We're being tested on the end-of-Pisces karmic loops this week. Keep in mind that a lot of this is make-believe.

You can pick up a good and lovey Neptunian buzz from all this Pisces. You can indulge in some high romanticism and fantasy and woo woo. But don't make the mistake of believing these things are concrete, stationary, or long-lasting. The Pisces circus starts pulling up stakes coming out of this New Moon and will move on down the etheric highway, regardless of how many hearts may be broken in its wake.

We've been completely immersed, swallowed whole by this Pisces stellium, but it starts to break up after the New Moon, as Mars moves from the last degree of the zodiac to the first, entering home sweet home Aries on March 12.

At that point, though still very influential, the Pisces stellium energy has reached its peak.

This Pisces New Moon on March 11 marks the two-year anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. It also marks the two-year anniversary of Uranus entering Aries for its full transit of the sign. Fukushima was kicked off as Uranus moved from 29 Pisces to 0 Aries. Now, we have Mars moving over those degrees. In 2012, we had Mercury retrograde moving over those degrees. You can read more on that here: Stationing Mercury Conjunct Uranus in Aries on the One-Year Anniversary of Fukushima and a Retrograde Over the Zero Aries/29 Pisces Point

This 29 Pisces/0 Aries point is highly symbolic as the simultaneous close of one cycle and opening of another.

Jupiter in Gemini and Our Alchemical Tongues

Planet of luck, expansion, blessings, and all things big, Jupiter, has just pulled out of its January 30 direct station in early Gemini.

As Jupiter gets cranked up to full speed ahead in early March, it starts to more fully activate the two Yod formations in which it is taking part. We feel the stress on our minds, on our communications, and on our interactions, and we sense their taut importance at this time. You can read more about those Yods here: A Potentially Inflammatory Jupiter Direct Station: Awkward Yods, a Detrimental Sign, and Squares to Chiron and Neptune

The Yod involving Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn as the base with Jupiter in Gemini as the apex or "finger of God" is particularly highlighted at this time, tightening as Jupiter pushes to 10/11 degrees Gemini by the end of March. Jupiter is quincunx Saturn exactly on March 23. Jupiter is quincunx Pluto exactly on March 29. This gives a great deal of weight to even the seemingly smallest of exchanges this month. The lightest of connections or interactions can have very big and lasting effect. The people with whom you come into contact and the conversations you are having are more meaningful than you might imagine. Tone also says a lot, and it can be triggering.

In short, with Jupiter transiting this area of Gemini, our communications are charged.

At the same time, with Jupiter squaring Chiron in Pisces and dispositor Mercury moving retrograde in Pisces, our communication is meandering, floating, befuddling, disconnected, and often out of our conscious control. Words, information, and opinions have the potential to heal but also to wound and irritate - probably at the same time. Knowing when to apply our potent perspectives and when to keep it zipped is an ongoing effort.

The Saturn-Jupiter-Pluto Yod will be close to exact by the end of March, tightening all through the month, just as Jupiter in Gemini makes its final square to Chiron in Pisces March 27.

So Jupiter in Gemini is the star of our show this March, but it's a star under some level of duress. This is, shall we say, a bit of a toxic Hollywood star. Stressed by quincunxes to bad boys Saturn and Pluto and the square to Chiron, we're channelling an intense and at times immense amount of energy through our minds, our hands, our communications, our interactions, and our daily neighbourhood goings on. It's going to take a hero to keep going through all this. So you'd better get your hero pants on...

Speaking, listening, writing, walking, driving, telephoning, texting, messaging - these are all activities that keep the potentially constricting energy of the Saturn-Pluto sextile and mutual reception moving, flowing, functioning, and alchemizing. Doing its thing.

The Saturn-Pluto sextile and mutual reception indicate the potential for potent change in the structural set-ups of our lives and societies over the next two years.

The truth as we see it, from our own perspectives, is our guiding force now, spreading the concentrated Saturn-Pluto energy around with even the lightest of conversations. A piece of potent information here, a piece there. Keep it moving so it doesn't weigh you down and drag you under.

Words are energy, and they have a particularly concentrated energy now and into mid-April.

Even the most seemingly superficial and innocuous of comments can dig in over the next month, embedding in the structures as they exist and catalyzing ripple effect change.

With Ceres, Black Moon Lilith, and Vesta joining Jupiter in Gemini, the missing perspectives - particularly the deep and dark feminine truth-oriented perspectives - are finding their places now. It's getting a little easier to be a purveyor of these perspectives.

This is a Plutonically-charged tongue we're speaking with here, and surgical precision can be required. The right words at the right time - offered lightly and conversationally - can bust things open in a very beneficial way, exposing long-hidden aspects to the light of day. Speaking up with our own particular perspective or angle on the situation cuts like a laser through dense and oppressive Pluto in Capricorn-era set-ups. Telling the truth as you see it is one of the most powerful things you can do now - though it must be done carefully and in a socially palatable manner.

This is a stressed, irritating, and potentially volatile Jupiter placement, in the sign of its detriment, Gemini. Jupiter in Gemini can be a real loudmouth with an opinion on everything, so we must apply Saturnine restraint very skillfully over minds and mouths. Going verbally overboard or insisting on making that one last point could have some fairly major consequences now.

We're dropping verbal bombs without even knowing it over the next month. Let's just make sure we're only blowing up what needs to be blown up, shall we?

We start to become aware of people's deeper allegiances based on the perspectives they're sharing as truth. If these deeper allegiances are not in line with our own, this can be upsetting, disturbing, angering, or royally off-putting. The severing of communicative ties in certain arenas can also be expected under these Yods.

There's thick subtext here, and being aware of it is the first step toward working it to our advantage.

Potentially awkward conversations we've been holding off on having will be coming up over the next month. In particular, these conversations involve: sex, death, energy exchange, power, abuse, trauma, and underlying emotional and psychological realities. The trickiness of these conversations is compounded by Mercury retrograding in the sign of its detriment, Pisces. This is a bit of cottonmouth. Words that dribble away into a puddle, instead of having the big and immediate effect we would hope. Thoughts, impressions, and understandings that are almost impossible to put into words. Conveying our full meaning to another is not easy under this transit.

But with Mercury retrograding back to Chiron and Neptune and stationing direct there March 17, we can't afford to pass this opportunity up for healing of the spirit. Conversations had now can make us whole again. Let go of the upper hand. Let go of verbal control. Allow the universe, the great spirit, to guide your words now.

At the same time, our words are setting off tripwires, activating previously unseen connections, and this brings us right into the thick of things. Right into the heart of the Plutonic beast, so to speak.

Though it's your tendency, there's no need to exaggerate the situation on Planet Earth, Jupiter in Gemini. The stone cold Plutonic reality speaks for itself.

The power of knowing what's up on this planet - knowing what's really up - and speaking about it is a miraculous, inspirational, and blessed thing.

(Don't you just feel blessed, all you Plutonic truth tellers out there? Heh.)

Jupiter clears the orbs of the Yods and the square to Chiron in Pisces by mid-April, just in time for the Pluto retrograde station. Jupiter will then be into some less stressed - and quite exciting - territory. It will conjunct the degree of the May 2012 Venus Transit during the second half of April, and this should be a lovely boost. Miraculous things can unfold...

The personal planets entering Gemini in May and June also creates a flow of good vibes and meaningful exchanges with contacts to Jupiter. This Gemini season has a horseshoe up its butt that it will not have again for 12 years. Communication, transportation, networking, and relationships with siblings are lucky and blessed now.

On June 26, Jupiter will leave the sign of its detriment, Gemini, for the sign of its exaltation, Cancer, for a highly eventful one-year stay. Jupiter in Cancer will be in Grand Water Trine formation with Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces this summer.

So we're definitely heading to softer and less verbally/mentally abrasive ground with Jupiter in Cancer.

But to capitalize fully on the jovial blessings available to us now in Gemini, we have to work those awkward, annoying, aggravating, alchemical Yods like nobody's business.

So speak up! Get out there. Make a splash. Keep talking, keep circulating, keep interacting, despite the stress and difficulty. Just be responsible with the power and the potency of your perspective over this next month on Planet Earth. Be responsible with your power to annoy people. Draw back from convos that get you hot under the collar, as well - unless it's required that you go in for the kill. With a Scorpio and Pluto-influenced voice, that will often be a possibility...