Mutable Madness!

The Sun slipped into Gemini this morning and immediately we move to a Full Moon conjunct Mars retrograde tonight.

(The Full Moon is exact tomorrow, May 21, at 3:14 p.m. CST at 1 degree Sagittarius.)

This is the first of two Full Moons in Sagittarius - one at 1 degree on May 21, one at 29 degrees on June 20 - that will illuminate the wisdom (or the folly) of our actions, goals, and trajectories up to this point.

These book-end Sagittarius Full Moons ripen the faith, the understanding, and the sage wisdom we've been gathering - sometimes via the School of Hard Knocks - since Saturn first entered Sagittarius in December 2014. Under these Full Moons, we will have opportunities to apply what we now know, producing preferred outcomes even as our emotional cups runneth over...

The Sun moved into the mutable sign of the twins just ahead of ruling planet Mercury stationing direct at 14 degrees Taurus on May 22 (7:20 a.m.), as well.

This indicates some relieving "completion energy" for this Full Moon weekend and that, as of the start of the upcoming week, the show is officially on the road.

We've gained some new perspective and accomplished a whole lot under Grand Earth Trine aspects this spring that involved stationing Jupiter in Virgo as well as the North Node in Virgo.

Let's just put it this way: with Jupiter stationing direct in Virgo May 9, there was a lot (Jupiter) of work to do (Virgo). Add the personal planets transiting work horse Taurus, and spring 2016 has been a bit of an endurance test to complete all the things we had to complete.

For all intents and purposes, though, as the Sun moves into social butterfly Gemini, as we experience the first of two Sagittarius Full Moons, and as communication planet Mercury goes direct, we've accomplished much of what we needed to accomplish - via sustained effort, endurance, stubbornness, and maybe even a touch of brute force.

Now, as the Sun gets settled in Gemini (conjunct asteroid Vesta) and we experience the Mercury direct station, the circulation, communication, and connection wheels are being greased. Necessary information and perspective are rolling in. Mental tensions start to ease a little as we move through the last stretch of May. The things that have been stuck, fixed, cemented onto our minds during the Mercury retrograde through Taurus (April 28 - May 22) start to shift, ease, dissipate, spread out a little. As Mercury picks up speed, these seemingly fixed mental stresses start to resolve themselves, and we start to reap the rewards of our long haul through the sign of the farmer.

At times this spring, we may not have felt we could do it on our own. But we did. We persevered. And now we find ourselves on a new - or at least a more secure - foundation.

The Sun's ingress of Gemini, followed almost immediately by the Full Moon in Sagittarius, also throws us head-long into a highly mutable (changeable, transitional, fluid) span of time.

The Gemini Sun leads the charge - with Venus and Mercury following - into mutable Grand Cross formations that will be very active throughout the month of June.

These mutable Grand Cross formations will involve the Sun, Venus, and Mercury in Gemini, Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius, and Neptune in Pisces. The bodies form four squares or two oppositions - a cross - in the mutable signs.

This combination of bodies and themes indicates that some divinely-inspired change or transition is afoot. There is some fairly grand movement coming - even in areas we had feared were lost causes.

We must stay flexible, adaptable, and cheerful as we move through this busy and transitional month of June. Like water rolling off a duck's back...

With Jupiter and the North Node transiting Virgo, we must continue with clean-up duty. We must continue rolling up our sleeves and setting things right. We must continue to create order and simplicity and health and function, no matter how many monkey wrenches the universe throws our way, no matter how many slack-asses we come across who choose, instead, to slough things off.

With Virgo, there is a right way to do things. There may be many right ways to do a thing, this is true, but there are ways that are right and proper, and there are ways that are...less than that. We aren't looking for utter perfection. (Where does that truly exist on this wacky planet?) But we are looking for correct, proper, simplified, streamlined, sensible. This is what keeps us grounded as we move through the "mutable madness."

Under these mutable Grand Cross formations, if we've worked diligently - and continue to do so - we may very well see solid progress toward some of our most precious hopes and dreams. With Jupiter and the North Node in Virgo, work is key, though. This doesn't just fall in our laps. Don't let up, don't slack off, don't let things slide - no matter how hard the Pisces South Node conjunct wounded healer Chiron is trying to pull you into the helpless chaos abyss.

Yes, there will be some siren songs, some illusions, some blind spots, and some dead ends nipping at us, tempting us to go in the wrong direction, tempting us to just give up.

With this much mutable energy in the astro atmosphere, there is a possibility of chaos, confusion, ineffectiveness, and the dissipation of physical and mental energy.

But we can outsmart it all.

We must tame these energies, riding the waves successfully as we continue to move toward our cherished goals.

Keep rocking it, keep clearing it, keep streamlining and purifying it. Keep working hard, and these aspects can carry us into some very interesting and inspiring connections as we head into summer in the northern hemisphere.

The connections we make and the networking we do this Gemini season and throughout the month of June will be "of the spirit" in many ways. Connections made, conversations engaged in, and perspectives shared can validate our faith, bringing us back to the inspiring and loving bigger picture for our own lives and for the planet at large.

Phew. We needed that.

There is certainly some stress possible with all these mutable oppositions and squares. There is some pressure here. There are some moments of being a little flustered, a little overwhelmed, maybe with too many possibilities that we must filter through and pare down.

Our faith and our spiritual perspectives may be tested here - perhaps on all sides. We may have moments when our heart drops, when it seems silly to have had faith in the good in people, in things, or in this planet at all.

These are temporary stresses, though, indicated by these transitory squares and oppositions. Stay fluid and move through it. Don't get stuck seeing things through the desolate, heart-hollowing lens of the now-dissolving astrological Piscean era.

No matter what the circumstances, there is inspiration to be had on the path that is now laid before us.

Love, relationship, money, and aesthetics planet Venus enters Gemini on May 24 (3:44 a.m.) just as Jupiter in Virgo squares Saturn in Sagittarius for the final time (exact May 26 at 6:28 a.m.). We're officially on the move in one way or another - and maybe in many ways all at the same time!

Both the Sun and Venus in Gemini will activate the mutable Grand Cross (with Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune) from June 1 - 4 as we move to a New Moon at 14 degrees Gemini on June 4 (9:00 p.m.).

The Gemini New Moon is followed by the Sun-Venus exterior conjunction at 16 degrees Gemini on June 6 (3:49 p.m.).

This conjunction of the Sun and Venus picks up some beautiful threads that began under the Venus Transits of June 2012 and June 2004. The historic Venus Transits were an especially close alignment of the Sun, Venus, and Earth whereby Venus could be seen transiting across the face of the Sun during the Sun-Venus interior conjunctions.

The Venus Transits of 2004 and 2012 occurred in mid-Gemini, which is the same area of the zodiac where the Sun and Venus will conjoin on June 6, 2016.

So again, beautiful threads are being picked up, fortuitous connections are being made, and things are being drawn together in simply magical ways, often related to the events and experiences of those Venus Transits.

To illustrate: it was under the Venus Transit of June 2004 that I first became fully immersed in the study of astrology. That immersion has certainly not let up much to this day, but I can say that I was first brought into the study and practise of astrology in an epic way, body, mind, and spirit, at that time as Venus in Gemini traversed the face of the Sun. I remember that day, and I even remember having the particular realization that a major change had just occurred for me regarding astrology under the influence of the Venus Transit. I was being communicated with by the universe at that time, and I was also learning how to communicate via the language of astrology. An entirely new intellectual framework opened to me under that Venus Transit. All Gemini themes.

During the Venus Transit of 2012, building on the themes and connecting the threads that began in 2004, I was fortunate enough to visit California thanks to a very generous offer by a fabulous lady (and reader of WWA) who lives there by the sea. Other than short trips across the border to North Dakota, that was my very first trip out of Canada. On that same trip, I met fellow astrologer Matt Savinar in person and appeared on his radio show. The show was recorded for YouTube, making it my first YouTube foray. Matt and I also organized a little get together with other local astrologers at a nearby restaurant. So that Venus Transit certainly opened up some major avenues related to short trips, communication, media, and networking (Gemini), building on the themes initiated during the 2004 Venus Transit.

Now, as the Sun and Venus move to their exterior conjunction in mid-Gemini on June 6, we have the release of the third issue of Matt Savinar's Hexagon Astrology Magazine (June 8), a magazine that has drawn a number of astrological perspectives - and astrologers - together in new and potent ways.

Publications like Hexagon are information-based, Gemini-related endeavours, and there is something quite momentous-feeling about this third issue being released under the Sun-Venus exterior conjunction in Gemini. Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac and rules the third house (communication, interaction, networks, local society). With the release of this third issue, Hexagon has officially established a new astrological society along with a new network of astrology-related connections and interactions. This is no small feat, as astrology is often quite a solitary endeavour.

Hexagon has quite literally changed astrological discourse forever, bringing together astrological writing and astrological voices that are generally considered "niche" or outside the astrological establishment, giving them a broader platform and reach. Very influential.

The influence of Sun-Venus in Gemini in mutable Grand Cross formation at the time of its release indicates that this issue of Hexagon may very well be a conduit for the divinely-inspired connections and networking I wrote about earlier. Your anarchist astro-reporter has two articles appearing in this issue of Hexagon, one on the astrology of the punk movement and one on iatrogenic (doctor-caused) illnesses, Big Pharma, and the development of the Plutonic Sociological Imagination (PSI).

Things don't always happen in such textbook ways, but check back to what was going on in your life in June 2004 and June 2012 to get the flavour of the current Sun-Venus conjunction in Gemini on June 6, 2016. As this conjunction takes place within mutable Grand Cross formation, there is something fairly major being activated. Threads are being drawn together, connections are being made, and ideas are being communicated that have quite a massive scope. This formation draws in our faith and our hopes and dreams, as well as the sustained hard work we have put in thus far.

Winged messenger planet Mercury will enter its own sign of Gemini on June 12, activating the mutable Grand Cross yet again at solstice, from June 20 - 22. Saturn Rx in Sagittarius will also be square Neptune in Pisces at that time (exact June 17 at 12 degrees). This Mercury activation occurs as the Moon grows full on the anaretic (29th) degree of Sagittarius June 20, making for a very potent solstice time.

We can expect a very busy period of time June 20 - 22 when those lovely Venusian threads are picked up and activated yet again by Mercury, providing new context, new interactions, and perhaps new societies in which to participate. Short trips and circulation within our local societies and neighbourhoods will be potent. Attending or throwing a solstice party/bonfire may prove fruitful on the networking front.

There is some very necessary cross-flow coming around solstice time as Mercury in Gemini activates the mutable Grand Cross, a new co-mingling and interplay of perspectives and information.

And all this requires a little adjustment on our parts - maybe a lot of adjustment.

Again, some degree of mental stress is to be expected (though not guaranteed). Too many options, too many choices, too many irons in the fire, perhaps. Keep participating in the creation of order (Virgo North Node). Keep working your way through it.

We find new personal context within our societies via this Mercurial activation at solstice, learning new angles and picking up new perspective about our places in the world so that we can define these places and live them precisely. 

Anaretic Gemini Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, and This Post is Probably Already Outdated. It's Just That Lightning-Fast, People.

Our third of five anaretic degree Full Moons is also a total lunar eclipse busting things wide open at 2:13 a.m. CT on December 21, just ahead of the Sun entering Capricorn and Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere at 5:38 p.m. that evening.

The Moon at 29 Gemini opposes the Sun at 29 Sagittarius with Mercury retrograde tightly involved at 26 Sagittarius. That opposition forms a tight mutable t-square formation with Jupiter and Uranus conjunct at 25 and 26 degrees Pisces or a mutable Grand Cross if you include soul mate asteroid Juno at 26 Virgo.

Suffice it to say, this is a lot going on. The mutable signs relate to adjustments, changes, movements, rolling with it. So you can get a feel for the fluidity, especially emotional, required to squeeze the most out of this Full Moon. We're being jostled around and pushed to a high energy point before clicking more solidly into place with our Sun in Capricorn positions conjunct Pallas Athene, the North Node and Pluto, with Mars and Ceres bringing up the rear in the sign of the seagoat.

This Full Moon has a sort of "cleaning out the carburetor" feel to me. Running on high for a short burst of time to clear the old gunk so that we'll be at our best, infused with sparkling fresh faith and inspiration for the sometimes dry, old grind of reaching-for-our-grandest-potential Capricorn within Pluto in Capricorn season. The energetic push up to 29th degree fullness brings things to this emotional high point, albeit a short, chaotic, and bizarrely changeable one under Gemini total lunar eclipse/mutable t-square conditions.

From a previous post on this series of anaretic degree Full Moons:

"On the anaretic degrees, we're distilling the energetic lessons of the entire signs.

At these anaretic Full Moons, the Sun opposite the Moon creates a point of highest pulling tension, a harmonic tightening along the polarity that tunes up the full spectrum of energies and spins off whatever is not necessary moving forward, leaving us with a new mix to play with."

What needs to be said will be said, and what needs to remain wordless wisdom will remain wordless wisdom. Knowing the difference is the Full Moon fulcrum, and here the oppositional tendencies come to 29th degree culmination in Gemini and Sagittarius.

Adding to the challenge, all this will be changing and shifting, crackling with energy in each moment, according to the broadening and shifting of our up-to-the-minute radical spiritual awareness apparent at this Full Moon square Uranus in Pisces. Things are not as they were. The old Piscean constructs, especially the "spirituality" constructs, are losing their charge. In fact, I see this Full Moon as a Grand Finale curtain call for much of the Piscean Age and New Age rhetoric and ideology - one last high before things start to peter out, including the pop 2012 furor, which will be moving forward on fumes from here.

Staying relevant, effective and true with our language and communication, both verbal and non, is the challenge here. With Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius exactly square Uranus in Pisces at the time of this lunation, beliefs and especially structured belief systems are necessarily shifting. The way people communicate their beliefs and connect through them is changing, also. There is a process of sharpening of meaning, shifting language patterns and navigating through staid and stale language constructs and catch phrases within the context of these rapidly changing Pisces-to-Aquarius conditions.

The weakening New Age spiritual hierarchy is playing the same tired memes. You can hear them underlying every conversation and every "new" insight. But, as always, New Age is on the eagle-eyed look-out for fresh energy and converts to envelop into the fold, propping up the pyramid scheme and sustaining itself into Aquarius. Watch for the rebranding underway, the creation of new ensnaring trends, the attempts to cool itself up by co-opting the so-called "darker, edgier" aspects of life on this planet and placing them within their own controlled paradigm.

"This Ain't Your Pluto in Leo's New Age."
"New Age: It's Not Just Love and Light Anymore."
"New Age. For The Discerning Spiritual Fascist."

Watching coddled, privileged, mostly white New Agers trying to wrap themselves around something other than the glazed, Neptunian reinforcement of their own controlled beliefs is good for a laugh, if nothing else.

However, differentiating from New Age beliefs and reinforcing that differentiation will continue to be necessary for anyone who does not desire to be carried along by the stolen, puffed-up energy and momentum of the Love and Light brigade...

Let me tell you. As an astrologer, with so much of the current astrology merged with New Age beliefs and so few aware of the extent of New Age embedding (neither their own nor cultural), this is beyond tricky.

There is a thread available here, stripped of rhetoric and hubris, that we can work to uncover as individuals, making the vital and sustaining connections as human beings living on this planet at this time.

This Gemini Full Moon happens conjunct the South Node at 2 degrees Cancer ahead of the South Node entering Gemini and North Node entering Sagittarius March 3. On some level, our communication and connection in this internet age have reached a peak. The interplay of ideas and information has reached critical mass, and things shift greatly on that front from March until August 2012.

We're getting booted out of some of the emotional and social reliance on this form of connection and turned down the North Node Sagittarian path of direct experiences with the big, bad world, relying on our stores of information, the connections we've made and what we've learned through the interactions as the fires of Sagittarian faith and inspiration propell us forward. This will be a refreshing shift in the long run (barring a total internet crackdown by the Global Governors), but as a Gemini Moon and cyber-astrologer, this energy shift does make me a wee bit uneasy. I'll write more about it in March, but the point of no return is reached at this Full Moon.

Soul mate asteroid Juno at 26 Virgo makes the Full Moon mutable t-square a mutable Grand Cross, and the analyzed and verballized distinctions matter. Saying what you mean and meaning what you say...while things shift and slide all around us.

A sloppy, glossed-over idea of Piscean unity doesn't cut it anymore. Under the more Aquarian overlay, our differences are actually what make us strong and recognizing, honouring and utilizing them is what makes us truly unified. The Virgoan details count in a big way to place us in the positions and within the tribes where we most fully belong.

Juno in Virgo opposes Uranus in Pisces one minute off exactly at the time of the Full Moon eclipse, and this asteroid works to ground the over-the-top Full Moon eclipse vibes, keeping attention turned to what needs to get done with this energy. It's not all chaos and madness and Dionysian celebratory humping in the forest.

The longer-term communications shift indicated by this Gemini Full Moon lunar eclipse square Uranus in Pisces brings the heightened possibility of psychic communication, non-verbal interplay and transmission, and telepathy over long distances among like souls. But the placement of Juno in Virgo, again, shows us that this is not energy to be mucked around with. We're meant to be doing something - usually quite specific somethings - with it. This is actually not a "fly wide open" time with all these squares and oppositions, though many seem to be pumping things up to that point. Boundaries that must be closely kept.

Juno in Virgo brings people and experiences into our lives to help us make the refining and grounding adjustments and effectively work with these cosmic vibes. Juno will make itself known in your life to keep you on track, drawing attention to any areas that need a little tune-up, any rough spots that need smoothing, any neglected details that could trip you up in the long-term. This is the lingering impression of the Saturn in Virgo - Uranus in Pisces opposition cycle. Remember that? How could we forget? These Virgoan tune-ups, coming through the soul mate asteroid, will be especially prevalent coming from contact with other people. Remember: this isn't soul mate as in your one and only true love. It's soul mate as in someone who compells some change, work, adjustment, refinement or improvement in you or your life. These 'soul mate' connections could be irritating as all hell...but they're necessary.

Also colouring this Full Moon eclipse is the fact that Venus is just coming out of its retrograde shadow at 13 degrees Scorpio, finishing with the last degrees of the Via Combusta on December 23. This adds to the celebratory flavour, as Venus is ready to crack into fresh, new territory, integrate the retrograde themes and morph our relationships and relationship styles accordingly.



Anaretic Degree Full Moons

October 22, 2010 - 29 Aries
November 21, 2010 - 29 Taurus
December 21, 2010 - 29 Gemini (total lunar eclipse)
January 19, 2011 - 29 Cancer
February 18, 2011 - 29 Leo

Thirteenth Degree New Moons

November 5, 2010 - 13 Scorpio
December 5, 2010 - 13 Sagittarius
January 4, 2011 - 13 Capricorn (partial solar eclipse)
February 4, 2011 - 13 Aquarius
March 4, 2011 - 13 Pisces
April 3, 2011 - 13 Aries

Friendly Reminder Leading up to Mutable Grand Cross Full Moon

So there is a lot of buzz in astrology circles about the Full Moon this Friday, Dec. 12 at 9:37 a.m. MST. And well there should be.

(Not to mention that 12.12 has a numerology tie-in.)

We've got planets in all four mutable signs squaring off in a cross configuration - spelling change on a massive scale brought about through tension and struggle (does change ever happen any other way? Sigh). This is a big transitioning time...leaving the structures of the past behind on our way to creating something new and better.

The planets involved are Saturn in Virgo opposite Uranus in Pisces (which are in an on-going set of oppositions bringing revolutionary change to our structures, creating holistic health and a world in which we ALL want to live). The Sun, Moon and Mars in horizon-expanding, truth-seeking Sagittarius form the T-Square.

The Full Moon on the 12th is in Gemini at 21 degrees, and it forms the fourth leg, changing the mutable T-Square into a mutable Grand Cross. (Reminder - Full Moons happen when the Moon is directly opposite the Sun, so the Sun in Sagittarius will be opposite the Moon in Gemini at 21 degrees of the signs...forming squares to both Saturn in Virgo (exact at 21 degrees) and Uranus in Pisces at 18 degrees.)

That Gemini Full Moon is ruled by Mercury, which enters Capricorn just hours before the Full Moon and conjuncts Pluto in Capricorn at 1 degree two hours after (11:43 a.m. MST).

I wrote about all this in December's Astro Perspective, but here is a recap friendly reminder related to navigating these energies:

There is a lot of tension right now with the "powers-that-be" (Capricorn). They can see things are changing drastically, which can lead to grasping at the old structures that are falling away and to new strategic moves designed to keep power...which can lead to a lot of angry, irrational, unjust and just plain mean interactions.

Definite angst from the Old School Masculine who are becoming aware of the increasing power and influence...and necessity...of the feminine.

Our hierarchical power structures are highlighted, and people will be throwing their weight around if they can get away with it. Our power set-ups are shifting...and we have to roll with it, rather than getting caught up and taken down with the detritus Pluto is digging up.

Communications could be explosive. With Gemini/Mercury/Pluto involved, this is all going to go down in our day-to-day interactions.

This is not the time to take a verbal stand against people who have any kind of structural power over you, unless absolutely necessary. It's a time to, whenever possible, roll with the punches, let everything possible roll off your back (even though they are just so IGNORANT and THOUGHTLESS and have such a SUPERFICIAL perspective on things), and to just BE your truth, rather than spelling it out. There will be a definite subtext. People will know what you're getting at without you having to actually say it. Be safe and own your truth, your perspective, but don't be goaded into saying too much. With Pluto merging with Mercury, the wrong word or tone could be absolutely incendiary. If there is a way to include your perspective without hanging yourself out to dry, go for it. But if you are meeting with resistance and anger, just let it go. It's not worth it to get caught up in the dust of Pluto's raising...

Pluto has been digging up garbage - illegitimacy, lack of responsibility, lack of accountibility, impure motives, etc. within our structural hierarchies. At this point, the people who choose to be aware are aware of this stuff, to different degrees. And the people in power know that we know. It's being brought more and more to conscious awareness, yet it's still somewhat hidden in our day-to-day lives. There's the subtext again. Knowing...but having to play along to a certain extent so as to do what we have to do. This is a time to really watch our Ps and Qs. No sloppy moves they can latch onto. The influence of Pluto will be attempting to draw us into baser dynamics. Watch this closely, and choose not to participate. Keep yourself in check. Don't allow yourself to be triggered by garbage. Don't allow people to play on your emotions. As the structures break down, hold yourself to a higher standard than the powers-that-be do. :)

There is tension and anger seething. Underneath it all, our teeth are bared. Pluto is making us all very aware of abuses of power and of the struggle to throw off the weight of illegitimate authoritarian hierarchy of all kinds.

This is why the mutable energy is so crucial. Got to keep our eyes on the prize - on the knowledge that all this is changing, bit by bit. We don't take it down in one fell swoop...we use the momentum that has been created, we see the changes around the edges, and by living our truth day-to-day, but not partipating in those things that are beneath us, we assist the full-scale change, we help it along.

So pick your shots. Be strategic. And whenever possible, take the lighter path out. Stay aligned with the movement and levity of the mutable signs. Just drop the weight of it all and keep moving.

Two more quick notes leading up the the Full Moon:

The Sun in Sagittarius squares Uranus in Pisces in the early morning of Wednesday, Dec. 10. This brings whatever came up when Mercury squared Uranus on Thurs., Dec 4 to our conscious awareness to be faced.

Mars in Sagittarius squares Uranus in Pisces the next day, Thursday, December 11...this time late at night. The Mars square has a tendency towards battling and unexpected displays of aggression and anger. Yet more angsty energy that we are carrying into that Full Moon.

We've got the luck and faith of Sagittarius/Jupiter on our side, but honestly, it's still going to be dicey. :-P

Good luck to us all on this one!