Anarcho-Capitalism is a Fraud

As some of you may know, I'm not a fan of Alex Jones and crew. While I appreciate some of the information put out by this group, I believe it is a controlled opposition operative, forcing certain ideas into the minds of the questioning and researching public and re-directing away from more relevant topics and independent thought.

The Alex Jones Nation is mostly male, and it puts forth that oh-so-successful mostly-male perspective that has proven so beneficial to the planet. (Yes, sarcasm.) It is influencing millions of minds, mostly young, disenfranchised, angry males - a potent and malleable group looking for its TruthTelling (TM) leader and saviour at the end of the astrological Piscean era.

The Alex Jones Nation is a pack of "libertarian capitalists" or "free market anarchists." It has millions of foot soldiers out there preaching the cause, and I was hanging out with one of them recently. This was eye-opening and quite aggravating, as I saw the hold the Alex Jones Nation has on the minds of a big swath of the researching populace.

However, the primary system promoted by this gang of "libertarians" is, in my mind, a fraud. I say there is no such thing as a successful merger of capitalism and anarchism. It's impossible, as the ethics of each system are at odds.

Capitalism is based on a system of inherent inequality where one group (the owners/capital-holders) profit from the labour of another group (the workers/capital-deficient). Anarchism is based on a non-coercive system where each human is of equal importance, and the amount of money one has does not put him or her in a markedly advantaged or disadvantaged position over other sovereign human beings. (The use of a money system at all as we currently think of it would be debatable among anarchists.)

To me, anarcho-capitalists are selective anarchists, adopting what suits them and disregarding what would create conflict with their ideology.

Capitalism is based on a form of economic inequality that divides people into owners and workers, also referred to as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Most often, the bourgeoisie own the businesses because they have increased access to capital and resources. This is why they are able to be in the position of business owners rather than labourers, selling their labour and time for whatever the owner will pay.

Capitalism is based on a (corrupt) money system that is inherently coercive. Some people will have increased power and liberty over others simply because they have more money/resources or more access to money/resources.

People will also be doing things they wouldn't naturally do simply because this is how they have to make money to survive.

Capitalism is a system driven by money and the desire to accumulate increasing amounts of money and material resources, and that will never be a fully just or healthy motivation according to anarchist ethics.

Full Moon in Scorpy Scorp Scorp Conjunct Bad Boy Saturn

There is a Scorpio Full Moon on May 13/14 (exact May 14 at 1:16 p.m. CST at 23 degrees), which will be opposite the Taurus Sun and conjunct Saturn retrograde in Scorpio.

Moon-Saturn conjunctions have a bit of a bad astrological rep for being challenging, dry, and depressing. Our circumstances may seem unbearably difficult under this aspect. It's possible to feel cut off from any emotional sustenance under this conjunction, as we are heavily challenged to move on from detrimental emotional habits.

Some old comfort zones are being razed under this Moon. You can run, but you can't hide. And this is for good reason. If we stay there, in those cozy comfort zones, we don't advance the way Saturn wants us to advance, the way Saturn knows we can advance. 

Moon-Saturn has a maturing influence on our emotions, blocking us from using family or the past as either an excuse or a comfort zone.

So Saturn is squeezing us out of some deeply-embedded emotional patterns here, but as always, the short-term discomfort is for our own long-term good.

Detrimental and unconscious emotional patterns are being pushed to the surface under the light of this Full Moon, especially related to family dynamics and conditioning (Moon). You can pick a thread up now, unravel it, and see how certain constructs in your life are based on outdated circumstances and experiences.

We're shedding some limiting emotional conditioning now - potentially picked up in early childhood or even so far back as the womb - that is serving only to hold us back.

So we're blocked, we're stymied, we're emotionally constricted and uncomfortable. But we're working our way to a point of emotional catharsis related to the Saturn in Scorpio work we've done so far. 

This Full Moon shines a light on the progress we've made under the transit of Saturn through Scorpio, as well as on areas that still require a little work. Saturn entered Scorpio in October 2012, and it doesn't leave Scorpio for good until September 2015.

Here, we're challenged to peel the layers to get to how we really feel about things - and to then use how we feel to make successful decisions.

Clear and true motivations are key with Saturn transiting Scorpio, but there are some complex emotions (and situations) clouding and confusing our motivations now.

There is a strong fear - not unwarranted - about getting stuck in some emotionally-detrimental construct or contract.

We may be afraid to lose something or someone we hold dear if we are honest about how we really feel.

But the truth is, using that absolute line of honesty, uncomfortable though it may be, is the only way our lives are structured correctly, rather than unconsciously building hell frameworks that entrap and oppress.

Staying honest and authentic under this Full Moon, with the Moon in the sign of its fall, is going to take courage. It's going to be a challenge. But it's also the only way we can move into new and less draining emotional territory.

You have to be willing to let something die this week in order to infuse it with new life.

Love, money, and relationship planet Venus is in battle-ready Aries at the time of the Full Moon, activating the cardinal Grand Cross formation. This indicates a time when relations are highly charged, highly volatile, and prone to reversals.

All in all, the week of this Full Moon is quietly intense. The actions we take or don't take now (especially in relationships) have long-term ripple effects.

This Full Moon pushes some deep and complex emotional material to the surface, potentially explosively or via crisis state. It makes us newly aware of aspects of our own motivations and of the motivations of others. This is not necessarily going to be comfortable. Some will look away and pretend it isn't there. But with the strong influence of Saturn in Scorpio, turning a blind eye is not advisable.

We're working for that emotional catharsis point, stripped bare and standing in our own emotional reality and truth. We're working to prove ourselves, our emotional maturity, and our progress, so we can shed old, detrimental emotional habits like a snake shedding its skin. So we can shed desires that are related to an era now past. So that we can be released from the Saturn in Scorpio lessons we have mastered and integrated so far.

We are following any emotional discomfort or disturbance to its high water mark, to this Full Moon point, so that we can get to the bottom of it once and for all.

Courage, friends!

The Moon enters Scorpio at 7:07 p.m. tonight.
The Moon forms a conjunction to Saturn Rx in Scorpio at 6:02 a.m. on May 14.
Venus in Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn at 11:50 a.m. on May 14. 
The Full Moon at 23 Scorpio occurs at 1:16 p.m. on May 14.
Venus forms a conjunction to Uranus in Aries at 5:54 p.m. on May 15, marking the final aspect of the Grand Cross formation.

Mercury Enters Home Sweet Home Gemini, and the Synapses are Firing Fast and Furious

Communication planet Mercury entered its domicile of Gemini this morning, a sign it loves. 

The messenger planet sliding into home sweet home Gemini indicates a period of time when things are full speed ahead on the mental and verbal fronts. With Mercury just coming out of laidback and relaxed Taurus, it may take a few days to get our brains back up to full capacity. But get them back up to full capacity we must. Things are swinging into gear. Communication, information, interactions, connections, and movement in the local society all speed up now. New ideas are starting to form. The synapses are firing fast and furious. There is mental and verbal fluidity and an ease that we haven't enjoyed since Mercury was in exaltation in Virgo way back in August/September 2013.

Interactions within our local societies and neighbourhoods are highlighted and of greater importance now. The smallest of interactions in our day-to-day lives are meaningful. Heading into full-on spring (allbeit a frosty one in much of Canada) with transiting Mercury in Gemini, we want to get out into our neighbourhoods, check in with our neighbours, re-establish contact, get things moving.

However, Mercury is also forming a square to foggy, gauzy Neptune in Pisces (exact May 11), indicating a bit of confusion and space cadet-itis. Our interactions can have a bit of a dream-like quality, and it may be hard to keep our minds on one subject for any length of time. The "mind fuzz" effects indicated by this Mercury-Neptune square are fairly short-lived, though, and should start to dissipate May 12 when Mercury in Gemini trines Mars in Libra, slowing to station direct. 

It is advisable to stay mindful now, keeping an ear out for any silver-tongued deceptions or diversions. Anything that hits your ears as "not quite right." Liars would generally do well under a Mercury-Neptune square. So would con artists. We are looking for information and tips that can put us out of reach of those elements, disarming them. If it sounds too easy or too good to be true, it is. You just have to keep gathering information until that is proven.

It's important that we get a handle on any illusions or false impressions we may be under now, asking questions and seeking other viewpoints as we gather information and perspective. Context is everything with Mercury transiting Gemini, and we have to be willing to seek information until we fully comprehend our situations, even when that information could disappoint or disillusion us, even when that information could drop our hearts out.

Our perceptions could be a little off here. Misunderstanding is possible. We may pick up a wrong idea or two from conversations or gossip.

If you don't understand something, ask. Even if you think you understand it, ask. Assuming people are on the same page now is not advisable.

Mercury will square wounded healer Chiron in Pisces on May 17, indicating the possibility of new information or perspective painfully puncturing an illusion or dream - but also providing healing context and new understanding. Conversations could be uncomfortable as painful topics are raised, topics we may be pinning a lot of hopes on, but they can also be healing, especially if we are conscious not to throw verbal salt into any wounds.

We have to be following the narrative keenly all along here, or this Mercury-Chiron square could catch us unaware and provide a reality-checking wallop. 

On May 15, Mercury in Gemini forms productive and supportive sextiles to Venus and Uranus in Aries, just as those two bodies form a conjunction at 14 degrees Aries. This indicates a revved up, "bright ideas" type of day with the potential for flashes of exciting, long-range insight into our futures. Things are moving and snapping and popping. Interactions, conversations, and pieces of information gleaned are opening vast new expanses of possibility around this time - but they are also closing doors on other, old-era possibilities, and this can be a little rough. We will re-visit some of the more beneficial effects of these sextiles on May 28, as Mercury in Gemini slows to station retrograde and forms a second sextile to Venus in Aries at 29 degrees of the signs.

The Mercurial action now is definitely related to the change of eras, wrapping our minds fully around where we are now and where we go from here. The way we thought things were going to go is coming into tense contact with the way things are actually going, and this can be painful at times. We are challenged to maintain an understanding of our own context - particularly within our local societies - during a very confusing, changeable, up-and-down, and uncertain period on the planet.

Any painfully-punctured illusions or stepped-on dreams can be seen within this context. As hurtful as it is, we have to apply logic now, setting our sights on movement into new and interesting scenarios and out of the dissolving dreams of an era now past.

We're gradually shifting our mental focus to the possibilities of the new era and off the devastation of the dreams and ideals that did not materialize as the Piscean era came to a close. We are looking at what we still have and getting excited by that, rather than focusing on what has been lost.

Not easy territory, but territory we must mentally master, nonetheless.

And we'll have plenty of time for these mentally masterful pursuits, as all this provides fodder for our next Mercury retrograde period, occurring June 17 to July 1 (3 degrees Cancer - 24 degrees Gemini).

Mercury enters its retrograde shadow (the degrees to which it will return during the next Mercury retrograde period) on May 22, so keep an ear on the themes around that time. The information and exchanges will be coming up again during the retrograde. 

Mercury retrograde re-enters Gemini June 17, where it will remain until re-entering Cancer direct on July 12.

Bold Moves and Plenty of Friction in Relationships with Venus and Mars in Mutual Reception May 2 - 28

Love, value, and relationship planet Venus entered warrior sign Aries, the sign of its detriment, on May 2, where it will remain until May 28.

With Venus transiting the first sign of the zodiac, it's time to move, it's time to go, it's time to surge into stronger and fresher relational territory. We fight to move relationships into new territory now, beyond the reach of old patterns, or we watch them wither.

Radical and unpredictable Uranus is very influential over our relationships and money concerns this month. Uranus heavily colours the transit of Venus through Aries, with an exact conjunction May 15, indicating a break from the old with some social shake-ups involved.

New relationships are emerging, rattling some cages and changing some established social orders. Ongoing relationships are going to the next level or splitting apart. With Venus conjunct Uranus in Aries, we are not looking to continue the same toxic relational patterns that have been dogging us for years, decades, and generations. We are looking to move into new territory here with stronger degrees of individuality and personal freedom built right into our relationship constructs.  

Venus in Aries is now forming a mutual reception with Mars retrograde in Libra that will be active until Venus enters Taurus May 28. Venus is transiting the sign ruled by Mars, and Mars is transiting the sign ruled by Venus, creating an intense burst of action in relationship and money matters designed to move us into new position.

Our instincts, our anger, our courage, our desire to move out of stagnant territory, our willingness to exert ourselves, our willingness to take risks - all these are guides this month.

Both Venus and Mars are transiting the signs of their detriment within this mutual reception, and neither is loving the other's territory all that much. We have a double dose of "love + war" energy going on here, and this is creating some friction and heated moments as we fight and squeeze our way into new relational territory.

Things are up and down, hot and cold, uncertain, unstable, likely to change. And this makes for some discomfort as far as knowing where we stand in either relationships or money matters this month.

We aren't comfortable with where we are at the moment - this will likely improve with Venus in Taurus and Mars direct at the end of the month - but this discomfort keeps us "hungry," compelled to keep trying for something that suits us better. This discomfort provides the courage to try a new direction or a different tack with relationship issues.

So there is action going on in relationships and money matters this month. With Venus in Aries activating the cardinal Grand Cross formation (May 11 - 15), things are moving. But with Mars slow in Libra all month (stationing direct May 19 at 7:31 p.m. CST), we can't count our relationships (or our dollars) before they've hatched.

Reversals are probable.

People's stated desires and goals can change on a dime under these conditions.

Actions are pressured, tricky, or thwarted.

A person's word can prove unreliable.

We can be moving passionately in one direction one day. The next, we are just as passionately moving in an opposite direction.

The better you know yourself and your own truth, the better able you will be to navigate these wishy-washy, off-and-on, "do I or don't I?" energies

Allow enough time and space for people and circumstances to re-balance themselves this month. Allow enough time and space to maintain your own balance.  

Circumstances are changing rapidly under the effects of the cardinal Grand Cross formations. In many cases, our feet are not on solid ground, and we must blaze a trail and keep on blazing in order to get to more stable territory.

This month, it's time to make some bold moves in relationships, with money, and with aesthetic. It's time to follow our instincts into something that has more life, excitement, and energy. But we have to make these bold moves under a socially acceptable cloak (North Node in Libra). We are moving with grace to get what we want without stepping on anyone's toes.

Certain relationships will be coming to the surface now, emerging, peeking out, ready to be seen and recognized in the broader community. There is a stronger "couple identity" possible here- in personal or professional relationships. People will be strongly identified with those they associate with now, so make sure you are with the right people.

With Venus transiting Aries in Grand Cross formation, first steps are being taken in new partnerships of all kinds, while ongoing relationships are moving to the next level (or splitting apart). There may be a feisty or resistant attitude prevalent this month in reaction to this relationship movement. Each new relationship coming to the forefront changes a whole network of relations, a whole web of social power dynamics. It shifts the established social wisdom. It has ripple effects. There will be some resistance to this, and we will have to fight on certain points that are important to us.

Venus in Aries will re-activate the cardinal Grand Cross formation May 11 - 15, forming an opposition to Mars Rx in Libra (May 11 at 3:27 a.m.), a square to Pluto in Capricorn (May 14 at 11:50 a.m.) and a conjunction to Uranus (May 15 at 5:54 p.m.). Feisty times.

This configuration creates a big push forward in relationships, a big structural shift. We are taking on new social leadership, forging into new territory while shedding or side-stepping old relationship patterns and pitfalls.

Break-ups can be expected, especially around the May 11 - 15 configuration, though it might be surprising which partnerships come apart at the seams or go down in flames.

Relationships are not all that simple or easy this May. Things are a wee bit spicy, a wee bit heated, a wee bit hotheaded and frictional. But also exciting. Refreshing. Moving forward.

Until Venus enters home sweet home Taurus on May 28, relations have a bit of an edge. (Watch the passive aggressive barbs that will be flying around this month.) We are battling for full rights in relationships. We are battling to have our full identities considered. There are also some potential powder keg dynamics in store, with the friction of both relationship planets in the signs of their detriment indicating some battles of will on the social stage.

In any case, we will be in different relational position by the end of May than we were at the start. Go after what you really need, even as that changes with the circumstances...

Suicide Prevention Post: You are Loved & You Are Needed. Stay Here With Me.

Photos: Willow

We are in the thick of the Pluto (corruption/death) in Capricorn (business/hierarchy) years, and people are being placed under layers and layers of manufactured stress. These manufactured stresses often stem from corrupt institutions that are being accepted by people as normal, sane, and legitimate.

These corrupt institutions include the money system and stock markets, as well as business and governmental models.

People feel forced to play roles and to keep up in structures that are increasingly insane, inhumane, illegitimate, violent, deadly, and devoid of soul.

People are being ruled through fear, coercion, and artificially-stimulated adrenaline - a very weak foundation, indeed, which works to break people down over the course of time.

Many are unaware of the extreme emotional and psychological violence being perpetuated by these institutions and blame themselves solely for the troubles they are encountering.

All this can break the human psyche down pretty quickly. In fact, the manufactured pressures are designed to do just that.

In an attempt to cope, people are taking pharmaceuticals for which suicidal thoughts or actions are known side effects.

There is also a covert use of energy weapons and electromagnetic frequencies underway that is creating suicidal thinking and actions in people.

If you are feeling suicidal or are having suicidal thoughts, please know that you are not alone in what you are experiencing. It is a widespread phenomenon. Also know that you can move out of the most detrimental suicidal thinking with enough time, awareness, and support. It may require some changes in your life and in the way you think about things, but you can do it.

Suicidal thoughts are temporary - even if they last off-and-on for years. The problems you are experiencing are not as big or impossible as they seem to you, and many of them have been intentionally manufactured by forces outside yourself.

Please know that the pressures being intentionally heaped upon you are not of your doing. You have not created them. You have not done something terribly wrong. You are not a failure.

Hate the state, and hate its violence against life. Don't hate yourself.

Don't allow the state to trick you into hating yourself.

From a previous post:

"In a great many instances, institutions want you to fail. They train you to fail. Because they benefit from, make money from, your failure.

Institutions destroy people. They sometimes destroy people quickly. Usually, however, it's a slow, eroding, toxifying collapse over the course of time...

The current constructs and power dynamics have lost legitimacy in the minds of all but the most conditioned.

What you have to do, pretty babies, is destroy its importance in your mind before it destroys you.

Get out from under the psychological weight of it however you can.

Step right out from under it.

Annihilate it.

Because it will crush you if you give it the chance.

Whatever is oppressing you so heavily right now doesn't matter.

Whatever is stressing you out doesn't matter. It's bullshit. Take responsibility for what's yours and get rid of the rest. Give it up to the universe, your higher power, God.

You're what matters.

You are loved...

To a great extent, our institutions are devoid of humanity. But that doesn't mean we have to be...

One of the ways they crush us is by isolating us. They make us feel as if we're the only ones going through it, as if we're irretrievably damaged goods, as if we'll never have access to what's good in life.

Understand that whenever Pluto is involved, the roots of the situation are immensely complex. Each individual struggling is part of a massive Plutonic network struggling with the same thing...

We have to work to connect with each other, even though it's hard, and to love and care for each other, or they've got us. They've stripped us of one of the primary things that makes life worth living on this planet - our loving, compassionate humanity, given and received...

Understand, if you're going through hell, there are hundreds, thousands, millions more who are going through it right alongside you. They're living almost the exact same story...or worse.

You're never alone. Please reach out when you need to. Express what's going on to those you trust, even though it's hard.

They keep us isolated in shame and embarrassment. Feeling like damaged goods. Feeling abnormal. Don't be ashamed. There isn't one thing we need to be ashamed of. It's the ones enforcing this violence who should be ashamed."

The personal planets are now moving through Taurus and will make tough oppositions to Saturn Rx in Scorpio from the end of April through mid-June. This indicates a time period that could be quite rough on the self-esteem and self-worth.

"These oppositions indicate a time period (late April to mid-June) when resources are tight, money is tight, and accumulation is difficult. We are aware of this tightness even more than usual, and this can create points of acute frustration." You can read about this in more detail here: A New Moon Eclipse in Taurus and Themes of Complex and Hidden Value.

As we move out of the intense stresses of the exact cardinal Grand Cross configuration (April 20 - 23) and into these tight Taurus-Scorpio themes, it will be easy to feel crappy about our finances and our material insecurity. It will be easy to tie our self-worth to our dwindling earning potential or bank accounts. It will be easy to forget our inherent worth.

So we must buck that trend.

Please know that you are loved, and you are needed on this planet. You are worth so much more than any amount of money or material goods. You are so much more than a paycheque.

Please do not forget all the people who need your presence in this world. There are people you don't even know who are glad you are alive. You being on this planet makes life easier and better for so many - even people you have only met in passing, even the slightest of acquaintances, even people you haven't met in the flesh. You don't have to earn any money or live the high life to please these people. All you have to do is be you in the world and keep being you in the world.

Don't forget how much you are loved and how devastating it would be for you not to be here anymore.

And please check in with other people - even those you do not know well. A random kind word or light conversation can make all the difference in the world for someone feeling isolated and miserable.

You can write about anything you are experiencing in the comments section of this post or at The Wicked Web. Both these places are safe for people to be honest about what they (and we) are going through.

A New Moon Eclipse in Taurus and Themes of Complex and Hidden Value

Photos: Willow

Communication planet Mercury moves into earthy Taurus early tomorrow morning (3:16 a.m. CST), joining the Sun in the sign of physical resources, material comfort, and sensual splendour.

It's Taurus season, spring in the northern hemisphere, and the strengthening Sun is stirring an urge to secure our material footing via good, old-fashioned hard work. But it's also stirring a competing desire to laze around soaking up the sunshine and filling our faces.

What's a bull to do? Work hard and then relax hard. The Taurus way.

We've officially come out of our winter slumber in the northern hemisphere, wakened by equinox, Aries season, and the cardinal Grand Cross formations. Now we're ready to dig in from fixed sign Taurus to get this show moving on down the road.

Taurus season is a time to keep our heads down, working independently, accomplishing things gradually and with sustained effort. 

Mercury and soul mate asteroid Juno will join the Sun and Moon in a conjunction in Taurus as we experience a New Moon solar eclipse at 8 degrees Taurus on April 29 (12:14 a.m.). The eclipse ramps the energy of this Taurus New Moon up a few notches, indicating:

Our mind's on our money, and our money's on our mind. To a fairly intense degree.

And it will be, to a certain extent, for the following 28-day lunar cycle.

Taurus is the sign where we work our butts off to move out of the "raw battle for bare survival" of Aries and into a more solid and secure footing in the material world.

Taurus is the sign related to stuff. Accumulation. Physical goods and resources. Comfort. Luxury.

It is a sign related to both money and value, and at this time on consumer corporatist-driven Planet Earth, monetary value and inherent value are almost entirely out of whack.

The work that brings in the most money is often destructive to people, living things, communities, and environments.

Work that is absolutely crucial to the continuing of human society is undervalued or even made completely devoid of monetary value.

People who make plenty of money for the work that they do are often held up as societal success stories, yet the activities they carry out to receive that money can be morally corrupt, spiritually bankrupt, or ethically or legally criminal.

A Series of Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipses in Aries/Libra Intensifies Relationship Re-Balancing & Re-Structuring for 2014-2015

The intensity is building ahead of the Full Moon total lunar eclipse in Libra early Tuesday morning (1:42 a.m. CST). Sizzle and spice and all things nice (and not so nice).

Relationship issues are being pushed to a head here, and it's going to be difficult to hide how we really feel about it all with Juno, the Sun, and Mercury opposing from aggressive Aries.

Communication and ideas planet Mercury in Aries is currently activating the cardinal Grand Cross formation (exact Monday, April 14), and our words and interactions have long-term ripple effects now. Make sure your tongue is fighting just the right battles.

We need to know when to speak up and exert ourselves and when to yield to others. Determining which is which under these stressed conditions is not always simple. 

Adding to the intensity of the cardinal Grand Cross-flavoured eclipse season, Pluto is stationing retrograde at 13 degrees Capricorn on April 14, as well. This indicates a greasy and nauseated energetic moulting process involving complex power issues that are also putting us on edge.

There is a strong requirement to move relations into "new era" territory now, guided by what really works for the individuals involved - rough edges and all. Fight for new life under new-era rules in your relationships, or watch things wither.

Locking ourselves into old school relationship dynamics out of fear or out of a sense of false security simply will not do.

Tuesday's eclipse is the first in a series of four Full Moon total lunar eclipses that will occur along the Aries-Libra polarity:

April 14, 2014 - Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 25 degrees Libra, opposite the Aries Sun
October 8, 2014 - Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 11 degrees Aries, opposite the Libra Sun
April 4, 2015 - Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 14 degrees Libra, opposite the Aries Sun
September 27, 2015 - Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 4 degrees Aries, opposite the Libra Sun

These are cardinal Moon eclipses, again, indicating that new direction and new social leadership will be required in relationships of all kinds throughout this period.

Things are being shaken up along the "me" versus "we" polarity, as a new relationship backdrop comes into play for the new astrological era. 

We have also entered a new, two-year personal goal cycle, being kicked off by the Mars retrograde period in Libra, where relationship direction and re-direction figure strongly. We are working out a new balance between men and women, masculine and feminine, "me" and "we," self and other. And we're doing it all within a potentially confusing and pressure-fueled collective scene.

This Mars in Libra-flavoured cycle is an intense mash-up of the Aries/Libra themes with the action planet that rules Aries being challenged by Libra themes into spring 2016.

From a previous report:

"Most people are going to want (Mars) a relationship (Libra)...This desire will be acute and even overpowering, at times.

But let's be stark-reality honest here. There are a whole lot of people on this planet that don't know which way is up right now. They don't know which way is up in their own lives, let alone when they bring another person in...

In a state of balance, Mars in Libra does know what it wants, and it likely wants togetherness and long-term relationships.

But out of balance, as transiting Mars in Libra will be at times within highly-stressful cardinal Grand Cross formation, you get some unpleasant behaviours popping up, especially socially...

Under the cardinal Grand Crosses, we are struggling with a huge amount of change, shifting, and upheaval on a grand, global scale. There is a lot of chaos - much of it orchestrated - and this affects personal relationships."

You can read more about the grand-scale relationship re-structuring being kicked off in my report for 2014. * PLEASE NOTE: * This article was released at the beginning of the year and has already been sent out to patrons:

Venus and Mars Retrograde: Cardinal Relationship Shifts and a Fight for Right Human Relations in 2014 - $15

 

The Lunar Angles

We started this cardinal Grand Cross-flavoured month off with a bang with an Aries New Moon conjunct Uranus on March 30 that activated the first wave of the cardinal Grand Cross configurations. This was a cardinal New Moon in the first sign of the zodiac, which indicated a 28-day lunar cycle involving the forging ahead into new emotional territory. Conjunct Uranus in Aries, this involves the emergence into full individuality and self-sovereignty, and this process has its traumatic moments. Accepting who we really are in 2014 and what that really means moving forward is not a simple thing.

The Moon will re-activate the Grand Cross from the other three cardinal signs throughout the month, indicating ongoing emotional adjustments and inner progress required in relation to the dynamism, the pressures, and the rapid, out-of-nowhere movement of this month.

The Moon enters cardinal Cancer on April 5 (3:40 p.m. CST), activating the Grand Cross on April 6 and 7.

The Cancer Moon will also square the Aries Sun on April 7 (2:31 a.m.), marking the First Quarter Moon. This generally indicates a period of internal pressure which forces us to take action in some way to further the themes of the New Moon cycle. 

However, the Moon also squares Mars retrograde in Libra April 7 (6:34 a.m.) as we open into that First Quarter Moon. This Moon-Mars square is challenging and has the potential to frustrate on a fairly intense level. What we're feeling (Moon) and what we're doing (Mars) are somewhat at odds due to the broader circumstances in which we find ourselves. It's difficult to get emotional needs met under the stressed conditions, especially when they involve other people.

Recall that our fiery pal Mars is highly stressed at the moment. The action planet is in pretty much the opposite condition it prefers - retrograde, in the sign of its detriment, being pressured on all sides by the cardinal Grand Cross. Can you say "frustrated will?" Can you say "delayed action?" Can you say "under the universe's thumb?"

Emotional pressures may force us to act, but there is no guarantee that our actions will be effective or that they will take us directly to our goals. Movements made (or not made) - especially in relationship - are highly karmic this month and have ripple-effects we cannot fully predict.

The Moon enters Libra, another cardinal sign, on April 13 (2:33 a.m.), activating the Grand Cross on April 14. This does increase the possibility of us keeping our emotional cool, but the conjunction to Mars Rx in Libra (April 14 at 10:00 a.m.) makes for some antsy and irritated social energy, particularly when involving relationships with family or those who feel like family.

From there, the Libra Moon forms a super potent total Full Moon eclipse on April 14/15. Relationship themes and underlying emotions are pushed to a head here. One relational backdrop ends, and a new one is erected under pressurized circumstances. Identity, independence, and self-sovereignty - and how those things fit successfully into new-era relationship constructs - are strong themes. Under this Libra Full Moon eclipse, we are pushed to determine how we really feel about the relationships in our lives and to initiate any changes that must be made in order to support our full identities and the full identities of others.

The Moon enters the final cardinal sign of the zodiac, Capricorn, on April 19 (7:28 p.m.), joining the proceedings for the exact Grand Cross involving Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer, Mars Rx in Libra, and Pluto Rx in Capricorn on April 20 and 21. This marks Last Quarter Moon, indicating inner changes required in light of circumstances. The Moon is in its detriment - in a tough sign - in Capricorn, and the conjunction to Hades-dwelling Pluto (April 20 at 6:32 p.m.) is particularly harsh, indicating that we must maintain our responsibilities and get the job done even when the proceedings are not going exactly as we would like. This Last Quarter Moon could produce a "bitter emotional pill" or two to swallow, as well as some degree of emotional deprivation. Fun times!

The Moon will return to Aries on April 26 (4:01 a.m.) until entering Taurus April 28 (8:23 a.m.). This final cardinal Moon in Balsamic phase closes out the jam-packed lunar cycle begun March 30. We experience a New Moon solar eclipse in Taurus on April 29 (12:14 a.m.).

This month is a little hard on the emotions at times, it's true.

The pressure (emotional and otherwise) is spurring us to take action, but the action planet (Mars) is buried under some fairly adverse conditions at the moment.

The proceedings require some strong objectivity, as we are existing under conditions that are only partially in our control.

If actions or plans crap out this month, understand that further re-direction is required. If your desire for movement is thwarted, understand that your actions would not have taken you to your ultimate goal - or that the ultimate goal requires some honing.

We are being re-positioned this month within some very complex circumstances. Keeping the peace, keeping our balance, and keeping our cool are our challenges.

Dates that may require emotional re-orientation and action under pressure:

April 6/7
April 14/15
April 20/21

Venus in Exaltation to Soften the Edges

Venus enters Pisces, the sign of its exaltation, on April 5 (2:31 p.m. CST) where it will remain until May 2. This is the love, money, and relationship planet in a sign it thoroughly enjoys being in, and we love it when the love planet is enjoying itself!

Venus in Pisces taps us into the universe's love and guidance at a heart level, and it elevates our interpersonal relationships, placing them within the context of their ultimate spiritual purpose.

Venus in Pisces is soft, it's sensitive, it's sweet, it's kind, it's glowing with love and compassion for all the living creatures on this planet.

So the love is flowing this month - in interpersonal relationships, from psychic communication and connections, from dreams, from guides, and from loving spirit itself.

Venus transiting Pisces for the month of April works to soothe and smooth some of rough edges and tough angles of this cardinal Grand Cross-flavoured month - and yes, there are plenty of rough edges and tough angles to navigate.

With Venus transiting Pisces, we're more strongly aware of our personal relationship with spirit and with the loving guidance that seems to come to us when we need it most. We're tapped in to the broader spiritual meaning and purpose of some of the interpersonal connections in our lives - including the most challenging ones - and it is from this point of increased understanding that we relate.

Ultimately, the people and relationships the universe brings our way have a broader meaning. We're doing something important here on this planet - though we can sometimes lose sight of that in the day-to-day struggle - and we're here doing it together. Our hands are clasped, we walk together, though our physical bodies may be miles (or lifetimes) apart.

With Venus transiting Pisces, it is easier to grasp and to experience the spiritual purpose of human lives and relationships. We can see and sense the etheric connections that link us, that weave us into the same web of love, beauty, meaning, and togetherness.

It's true that we are experiencing levels of suffering on this planet that need not exist. It's true that we are experiencing suffering that is being intentionally brought down upon us. Because of this, this suffering seems to have no real purpose, no necessity.

Venus in Pisces helps us to see the struggles, the pain, and the suffering as part of the same whole, alleviating us from our isolated sorrow about the state of it all. Anyone with a loving heart feels sorrow about the levels of suffering being experienced on this planet, and anyone with a loving heart desires to alleviate that suffering wherever possible. This is not sorrow that anyone bears alone. With Venus transiting Pisces, we are aware of how these struggles and challenges link us to every human being that has walked this Earth and to every human being who one day will.

Our hearts are wide open when Venus is transiting Pisces, and we have to take it all - the joy, the love, the beauty, the meaning, along with the struggles, the pain, the challenges, and the disappointments.

We are also challenged, at the change of the eras, to love smarter - without detrimental self-sacrifice, without foolishness, without denial, without delusion - and these challenges are with us throughout the month. As Venus moves to a conjunction to wounded healer Chiron in Pisces on April 20, we are becoming aware of the areas where we have been too open-hearted, too trusting, too giving, too go-with-the-flow, and part of our healing process now involves tightening those areas up while applying new boundaries.

Overall, however, Venus in Pisces brings some beautiful water magic and some delightful relational flow this month.

Venus will conjunct Neptune in Pisces April 11, and our hearts are full to the brim, overcome with the beauty of these odd little lives together on this odd little planet. (Though the Moon in Virgo opposing certainly works to keep our feet on the ground. Nothing like a few irritating details from mundane life to step on that Neptune buzz!)

Lesser Benefic Venus in Pisces then forms a gorgeous trine to Greater Benefic Jupiter in Cancer on April 17. This, too, has hearts and emotions singing, as we are so very sensitive to all that is going on around us.

At the same time, Venus will sextile Pluto in Capricorn (April 18), bringing a sense of shared struggle and loving collective effort to the battle for survival on this planet in the face of capital, finance, corporate business, and Global Government run amok.

Finally, on April 24, Venus in Pisces will form a trine to Saturn Rx in Scorpio, and we gratefully surrender some of the deep, dark realities we are uncovering to their place within the whole. Under this Venus-Saturn trine, we are better able to keep an open and loving heart in the face of the intense emotional, psychological, and financial struggles we are facing on the planet. We are able to bring even the darkest and bleakest of realities back to the loving whole, back to the spiritual intent under the ultimate responsibility of God, spirit, or our higher powers.

This is a trine that can lighten the load at a time, following the exact cardinal Grand Cross April 20 - 23, when we may feel as if we are breaking under the pressure. It brings us some much-needed love. If we've given it everything we had to give, if we have not shirked, we will likely receive a loving boost from the universe here, along with some rejuvenation at the heart level that increases our gratitude for these oh-so-brief lifetimes on this planet, no matter how difficult they may be.

The underlying spiritual framework of our relationships and of our human societies is peeking at us this month in delightful ways. We may come to understand more fully how we fit into the broader web of human relationships, and we may start to see new meaning and importance in some of the small, daily interactions we often erroneously shrug off as meaningless. Those who are most invisible and taken for granted in our societies are often some of the most important players, acting as glue that holds complex webs of relationships together.

The struggles of others are tugging at our hearts this month, and we are made aware that, despite the strong sense of isolation often present these days, we do not struggle alone. We all shoulder the burdens of the human condition at this time. 

Use this Venus in Pisces transit to connect with others on a spiritually loving level, even if invisibly.

When you're feeling stressed - and oh boy, are there some stressful points this month - take a moment to check back in with the force that loves you. Under these Venus-fueled water trines, I don't believe support or assistance will be too far away. 

Understand that we are here together for such a very short time. In light of this, love each other in spite of any foibles, in spite of the pain we must endure to love one another on this planet. Forgive everything you can, but don't accept even a lick of mistreatment. Don't keep your heart wide open in areas that have brought you devastation.

Love smarter, not harder. But love, just the same.

And one final note:

Contributing to the "Venus in Pisces easing trend," communication planet Mercury moves out of Pisces, the sign of its detriment, and into Aries on April 7 (9:35 a.m.). This gets sluggish connections firing again, decreases the possibility of miscommunication and misunderstanding, and allows information and conversation to start moving in a much snappier way. 

The Patrons of Willow's Web Astrology

The underlying idea for patronage of Willow's Web Astrology is: a currency exchange. Value given for value received.

If you regularly find valuable insight and information from Willow's Web Astrology, a patronage is a way of offering value in return for that insight and information. This keeps things balanced, it keeps things fair, and it ensures that this source of valuable astrology and analysis does not become depleted. It ensures that the astrology keeps flowing from a deep, deep source.

If you are a patron, the underlying idea is that you want Willow's Web Astrology to continue, and this includes as a business.

There is an old school Piscean-era idea (now less and less relevant) that "spiritual work" should be done for free. The idea is that if you charge for your work, you are something of a scheister, a charlatan, or a swindler.

I simply have to call bullshit on that one.

Many of us doing "spiritual" work (I just call it work, by the way) must pay the same rents, the same bills, and the same expenses as those doing "less spiritual" work. (Honestly, you can see how characterizing some work as "spiritual" and some as "less spiritual" is fairly ridiculous, can't you?)

I don't live in a monastery. I don't live in a convent. I don't live in an ashram. I don't have a parsonage provided for me.

I don't have an organization to provide the basics of living to me. I provide those for myself.

It's come to my attention that some occasional readers are not aware of this fact, but astrology is my full-time business. Willow's Web Astrology is a business, and I work as a professional astrologer. I run this business according to metaphysical rules as much as by rules of the physical plane, but it is a business nonetheless.

I would never ask anyone to work for free. So why would people expect me to?

I would never expect people to charge less than their work is worth. But for some reason, my work, by its very nature, is often devalued.

A patronage is meant to cover the totality of what is provided by Willow's Web Astrology in a 365-day period. 

The idea of a patronage should not be how much extra you can get from Willow for your patronage amount.

The idea is that you are paying for the value you receive organically, without demanding anything more than what naturally comes to you.

I can only write what comes through me to write. I can't force the issue, or it could have dangerous results for me and for readers. With this blog, it has to be quality over quantity.

If you do not find that you are receiving the full value for your patronage amount, I'm sorry to hear that, but it's your responsibility to determine that and to cancel your patronage if this is the case. Astrological tastes can certainly shift over the years, and it is not uncommon for people to move on from an astrology blog, including from mine.

There are certain articles - particularly detailed, energy-intensive, and in-depth articles - for which I must charge an additional fee. This means, even if you are a much-appreciated patron of Willow's Web, you will not necessarily receive every article I write for that patronage amount. There may be the odd article that everyone has to pay for, patrons included.

I'm very highly tuned to what's fair. I'm a Libra Sun, after all. I will not charge for an article unless I know it's the right thing to do and unless I have to. If I know it's the right thing to do, however, it's fully sanctioned both on this Earth and off, and no one else has a say in it.

I thank all patrons of Willow's Web Astrology and all customers who purchase my articles. Without you, this site would not have continued - at least, not with most of the content being provided for "free."

But I also have to ensure that people are becoming patrons for the right reasons.

If you feel you aren't getting your money's worth, if you're angry that I charge for some of my work, if you're miffed that you have to pay to get full articles, or if you resent the fact that I must make a living running my business, I would kindly ask you to reconsider your patronage. There is no anger or hard feelings on my part. It's just that I only want the right energy coming in in the form of currency.

I'm doing nothing below board here. I do not feel guilty for charging what I charge. I feel that the amounts I charge for readings, for patronages, and for additional articles are fully reasonable. I have a niche audience, and please believe me when I say: I'm not getting rich doing this. Far from it. But I do need to make a basic living if I am to continue this work.

It doesn't matter to me what other astrologers are doing. I'm not other astrologers. And contrary to what some nasty pieces of work have suggested over the years, you will not find my particular brand of astrology or astrological analysis elsewhere. It's unique in the true sense of the word.

Knowing that, I will not abuse my position. I will never keep anyone on the hook or charge an excessive amount for my work.

I'm from good, old, working class prairie stock, and I understand the value of a (non-inflated) hard-earned dollar. I understand that many are going through tough financial times now. But I also understand that under the current systems people can't work for free, especially when that work is top quality and energy-intensive.

I run my business in a way that I feel is fair. I charge the smallest amount I feel is fair for the energy, time, and effort I've put out. Case closed.

I thank you for your support of Willow's Web Astrology, both financial and energetic.

I also thank those who have left wonderful comments on the site over the years, as these have provided necessary encouragement to continue through tough times.

I want Willow's Web Astrology to be a feel good enterprise with no underlying resentments or hard feelings involved.

Please know that I do my very best to provide astrological guidance and insight for these times. But I can only do my best. I can only do what is in my power to do.

The same is true for astrology readings. I do my absolute best with every reading that comes in to me. I give each one my full attention and focus, and I do the reading with the intention that it will help the individual, that it will provide the information and insight the person needs at that time (which is sometimes different from the information and insight he or she wants at that time!).

If Willow's Web Astrology is no longer doing it for you, there may be another astrologer out there who would.

No one is stuck in this Willow's Web. You are all free to come and go as your soul sees fit.

My love and gratitude to my comrades.

Peace out. 

The Cardinal Grand Cross Report

This is an excerpt from The Cardinal Grand Cross Report on the exact configuration forming April 20 - 23, 2014. It is 3,500+ words and can be purchased for $8.00.

"The Aries New Moon on March 30 (12:45 p.m.) occurs within cardinal t-square formation, conjunct revolutionary Uranus in Aries and square both Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn. This New Moon in the warrior sign blazes new emotional trail, kicking off an extremely potent month for new initiatives, new direction, and new leadership on multiple fronts. Successfully navigating the month of April 2014 is going to take courage, vision, and the willingness to move on from old emotional quagmire subjects. This New Moon in Aries infuses us with all this and more. 

We’re all ready for a change as spring rolls in in the northern hemisphere, so why not make it a big one?

The workplace, the home life, personal and professional relationships, and even our sense of who we are are all between the cross-hairs this upcoming month. These things are being shaped and moulded and tempered on all fronts by the pressures of the exact Grand Cross configuration, made up of two oppositions (180-degree aspects) or four squares (90-degree aspects) by bodies at 13 degrees of the cardinal signs.

New directions are being chosen or forced. New partnerships are coming into being out of desire or necessity. New power structures are being catalyzed for good or ill..."


What readers are saying about the Cardinal Grand Cross Report: 

"Willow! Wow! You have thrown a spotlight/searchlight over a minefield covered with barbed wire that I will now have consciousness to pick my way through in the coming days and weeks. To me this is absolutely awesome reporting and interpreting for what we are headed into this spring."

A Full Moon in Uber Karmic Territory Indicates a Necessary Tune-Up for Health, Diet, & Mental and Psychic Environments

Photo: Willow

We're currently moving to a Full Moon in late Virgo (26 degrees) on March 15/16 opposite the Sun in late Pisces. This area of late Virgo-Pisces is very glitchy, sensitive, and karmic territory at the best of times, and at this late hour of the astrological Piscean era, we need to be oh-so-careful with the themes stirred now.

Our systems are very sensitive at the moment, and even the smallest misstep or over-indulgence could create some undesired effects heading into this Full Moon and for the following two weeks. (Keep particular watch over the Dark of the Moon period in Pisces March 27 - 29 ahead of the Aries New Moon March 30.)

This Virgo Full Moon is the high water mark of the Pisces New Moon lunar cycle that began March 1. That Pisces New Moon occurred conjunct wounded healer Chiron, making holistic health and healing strong themes for the month of March.

With Chiron in Pisces so strongly involved in this lunar cycle, we are working with collective injury, collective dysfunction, and ripple-effect causes of ill health. We are working to sidestep the ways in which we have been collectively set up for ill health.

This Full Moon in Virgo highlights the things we are responsible for personally as far as health and wellness.

Despite what the New Age and all those "creating your own reality" types would have you believe, there is only so much we can do to overcome the layers of poison being heaped upon our systems via air, water, soil, food, toxic psychic environments, media, and energy weapons.

But at this Full Moon, we have to do whatever is in our power to do - and we have to do it right.

This Virgo Full Moon shines a light on any areas of weakness related to health, routine, and overall systemic function, and these areas of weakness are ours to tune up and ours alone.

Virgo is most often about refining things out of our systems rather than adding things in, trimming the fat in all areas. It is the final sign related purely to the self, and, in particular, to the mastery and refinement of the self and the biological system.

This Full Moon in Virgo can take on even a critically important tone, as we are currently completing the final stage of the two-year Mars in Virgo-flavoured goal cycle kicked off by the Mars retrograde in early 2012. This is our last opportunity to focus on perfecting our personal health and function before we are fully immersed in a new goal cycle being initiated by the current Mars retrograde in Libra.

We are about to be immersed more strongly in the lives and habits of other people, entering a two-year period where relating to others becomes a prime focus.

In short, we have to have our own individual systems humming, perfected, and in strong working order so that we can maintain our standards, our health, and our balance as we come more strongly into contact with others.

As the Moon grows full this week, we are looking to tighten up any areas where we have been letting things slide, where we have been a little too soft, and this can involve diet, exercise, organization, cleanliness, details, work/over-work, as well as mental and psychic environments. Bad habits and unhealthy coping techniques we have picked up through our family lines (Moon) are particularly highlighted.

Moving through this Chiron in Pisces-infused lunar cycle, we are looking at the methods we choose for escape, for self-medication, and for anesthetic purposes in an attempt to insulate ourselves from the painful issues facing us personally and as a species at this time.

We are looking to streamline and to eliminate any energy sucks that masquerade as "feel good" activities.

With Virgo, the smallest of changes produce big results.

We may be looking to eliminate television, shopping, alcohol, drugs, sugar, junk food, video games, certain web sites, fantasies, cigarettes, or the like.

Or we may be looking to apply those things only in the most proper and rightful medicinal doses.

Your body will tell you which is the case for you.

This Full Moon is a good time to analyze any emotional eating, addressing underlying feelings rather than covering them up, and applying new comforting techniques.

It is a good time to pinpoint, analyze, and re-jig any addictive behaviours we fall into when desiring escape from the pressures and pains of life on Planet Earth.

Information sources and what we put into our brains may also require tune-ups now. Just as we must limit junk food, we must also limit mental junk food. This is particularly important ahead of Mercury re-entering Pisces, the sign of its fall, on March 17 (4:24 p.m.) for a transit that lasts until April 7. Mercury in Pisces brings its own particular mental and psychic hazards, outlined in this February 3 post: Reeling it Back in Mentally, Verbally, and Psychically During an Era-Shifting Mercury Retrograde.

In light of the third anniversary of the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan and the accumulation of radioactive isotopes in North American water, food, milk, and soil, here is some advice.

How to Avoid Radiation or Reduce Risks Associated with Radiation:

- Stay out of the ocean.
- Avoid sitting or walking on beaches.
- Decrease your time outdoors. Don't run or exercise for prolonged periods outdoors.
- Do not eat Pacific Ocean seafood. Consider eliminating all foods from the sea, if possible, as the contamination is not contained to the Pacific.
- Eat more foods grown in greenhouses.
- Use a Geiger counter on food items before ingesting them. However, please understand that ingestion of radioactive particles can be dangerous to health even when the background radiation levels are relatively low. A Geiger counter will show you only background levels of radiation and only some of the radioactive isotopes present may register. Uranium and Plutonium produce relatively low levels of radioactivity, but they are highly toxic to the human body.
- Stay out of falling rain and snow.
- Do not take unnecessary airplane rides, as this exposes you to high levels of radioactivity. Airline pilots, flight attendants, and celebrities have all shown increases in radiation-related illnesses since March 2011, including passing out in-flight, heart attacks in-flight, seizures, hair loss, rashes, and thyroid problems.
- Boost your immune system with vitamins and minerals (particularly Vitamin C) and natural supplements like garlic, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, dandelion, and the like.
- Consider an iodine supplement to protect your thyroid like J.Crow's Lugol's solution, which is derived from mined crystals, not from seaweed. 
- Have "outside clothes" and "inside clothes." Don't bring shoes or clothing into your home that have been exposed to the outdoors.
- Take baths with baking soda in the water.
- Consider activated charcoal or bentonite clay to remove other toxins, taking stress off your body.
- Drink water filtered by reverse osmosis with added minerals.
- Use your intuition and follow your guidance about how to stay as safe as possible.  

How to Avoid Genetically Modified Organisms in Food: 

 

The major genetically modified food crops currently being grown are corn, soybeans, canola, and beets for beet sugar.

If you'd like to avoid genetically modified organisms as best you can, avoid all corn, soybean, canola, and sucrose products. This includes things like maltodextrin and lecithin, which are derivatives used in processed foods. Unfortunately, even organic varieties of corn, soybean/soy, canola, or sucrose (beet sugar) cannot be guaranteed 100% GMO-free at this point. Unlabelled GM sweet corn (corn on the cob) is also being sold at supermarkets currently.

Soy and corn are often used as livestock feed, so avoidance of conventional meat, eggs, and dairy is required, as well. Certified organic meat/dairy/eggs or the purchase of products directly from a farmer who you know does not feed GM feed are options for eating as GMO-free as possible.

Other GMO crops include papayas and cotton. There are currently plans to release GM salmon - the first genetically modified animal for human consumption - as well as a GM non-browning apple. 

Another issue involves the commercial planting and growth of GM alfalfa, which began in the United States in 2011, with plans to grow it commercially in Ontario and Quebec in Canada as early as this year. GM alfalfa is the first ever genetically modified, feral, perennial plant released in North American history. Its spread and contamination of the natural alfalfa crop have already begun. Alfalfa is used as livestock feed (hay), so this affects meat, eggs, and dairy directly. Alfalfa is also used as fertilizer in organic agriculture and as the field transition crop from conventional-to-organic. We must ultimately end the sale and growth of GM alfalfa if we are to maintain any semblance of GMO-free agriculture or any certified organic soil.

The Moon enters Virgo on Friday, March 14 at 8:17 a.m. CST. It opposes Neptune in Pisces at 7:41 p.m. that evening. It then moves into an opposition to wounded healer Chiron in Pisces at 12:02 p.m. on March 15. The Virgo Full Moon at 26 degrees will be exact at 11:08 a.m. on March 16.