Earth Trines To Ease Our Minds...

Photo: Willow

The Moon in Taurus conjuncts both Venus and Mars tomorrow morning (Friday) and then trines Saturn in Virgo. All this happens between 7:00 and 11:33 a.m. MDT.

The next morning, Saturday, the Moon moves to 26 Taurus and squares the Aquarius triple conjunction while sextiling Uranus in Pisces (also at 26 degrees).

These Moon aspects connect us emotionally to astro events just up ahead. We can feel them and start to get an emotional handle on them before they happen...

In Taurus, the Moon has an emotionally grounding and stabilizing influence. Thank goodness.

The astro events the Moon is preparing us for are the Venus-Mars conjunction in Taurus, the subsequent trines of Venus and Mars to Saturn in Virgo, and the squares of Venus and Mars in Taurus to the Aquarius bodies (Chiron, Neptune and Jupiter - all moving retrograde) while also sextiling Uranus in Pisces.

First off...the Venus-Mars conjunction in Taurus.

You'll recall that we have recently experienced a Venus retrograde period in Aries, which started a new 18-month Venus cycle. At the same time, we started a new 8-year cycle.

During its retrograde, Venus moved back to 29 Pisces, the final degree of the zodiac, for some relationship closet-cleaning. We turfed out old, dusty relationship dynamics and ghosts of relationships past that were taking up subconscious space.

As Venus was just moving direct again on that 29th degree of Pisces, Mars came along on April 21 and conjuncted it. 29th degree Pisces conjunction of Venus and Mars. Hmm...clearing out layers and layers of relationship dynamics and etheric impressions through spiritual/ancestral lines. Looking for a clean slate in the biggest, most all-encompassing way.

Combine that with almost immediate squares of both Mars and Venus in Aries to Pluto Rx in Capricorn, and we had a potent force designed to cut the crap in our relationships and in how we went about having our needs and wants met within those relationships. Nuclear meltdown time for any relationship detritus holding us back from our most vital, sustaining relations. Including entire relationships that we had outgrown.

As I said in a previous post, relationships that could no longer handle who we really were (or that were never quite right to begin with, all things considered) had to be left in the dust.

So throughout the second half of April, May and the first three weeks of June, Venus has trailed just behind Mars in the zodiac. They moved from the 29th degree of Pisces through Aries and half of Taurus in this formation.

And now Venus finally passes Mars in Taurus. They come together at the 15th degree on Sunday, June 21 at 7:09 a.m.

This has been a long-awaited union. It is with relief that Venus finally meets Mars here, and it should take some of the edge off. We've had a lot of battling, willful energy of late, and now Venus should soften the edges a bit. Here's the love, with Venus in its own sign. Earthy, practical, real, loving. Relaxing into the relationship changes we've made (including with the relationship to ourselves) and seeing that yes, they were all for the better. Getting a handle on where we are now, post-Arien battles and Plutonic meltdowns, and appreciating the new foundations we're building.

Big emphasis on maintaining boundaries. We've just learned a lot about ourselves and our relationships, and now we have to put what we've learned into practise. No falling back into old, habitual patterns.

Just after this conjunction, Venus and then Mars will trine Saturn in Virgo. A nice support for those Saturn in Virgo things we've been struggling with - health, daily work and service, habits, analysis, details, personal discernment, preferences, stripping away the unnecessary, making things right, staying on the right track, creating healthy, functioning systems, etc. If the weight and pressure have become almost unbearable on this front, these trines should offer assistance.

Things have been an immense struggle on the material/physical front for a lot of people. Money, employment, security, stability, trying to get things going in a concrete way...lots of stuck feelings, frustration and dead ends.

But the Sabian Symbol for the degree where Venus and Mars come together is encouraging:

An Old Man is Attempting, With a Degree of Success Unsuspected By Him, To Reveal The Mysteries To a Motley Group.

To me, this, combined with trines to Saturn in Virgo and in light of the Aquarian vibes, suggests that our efforts have not been fruitless. We are making more progress that we can see toward a better future for all.

Venus trines Saturn just after midnight, and Mars trines Saturn at 8:44 a.m. on Monday, June 22.

And all THIS goes down during the Dark of the Moon in Gemini, on its way to the New Moon at 1 degree Cancer at 1:35 p.m., June 22. Some nice, earthy, supportive aspects as we finish the lunar month and begin a new one...

But it just wouldn't be these times we're living in if it were too nice, would it? :)

Immediately after the New Moon in Cancer, the Moon opposes Pluto (2:22 p.m.). And during the wee hours the next morning (1:42 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23), the Sun in Cancer opposes Pluto in Capricorn at 2 degrees of the signs. Yet more Plutonic shedding related to emotion/decision-making, inner wisdom/external progress, home/business. Old school Capricornian structures and old school emotional habits getting the Plutonic meltdown treatment. Breaking down what will no longer sustain along those lines. Letting go of the structures of the past and the emotional ties that bind us to them.

The Moon's movement in Taurus over the next two days is also preparing us for the squares of Venus and Mars in Taurus to Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter in Aquarius.

Venus and Mars are moving toward these squares now, and we should experience some pressure building toward the end of June. Venus squares these bodies July 1, and Mars does July 6 - the day before the lunar eclipse at 15 degrees Capricorn (trining Saturn in Virgo). A lot of earth energy involved here, which makes me think there will be more concrete progress involved. (Fingers crossed!)

We've already experienced the Sun in Taurus and Mercury in Taurus (three times due to the retrograde) squaring the bodies in Aquarius. This Taurus energy is the grounding, "keeping it real" influence on that triple conjunction - which hasn't been an easy function to play. That triple conjunction has an intense agenda of its own, and staying in the here and now, feet on the ground, has been a challenge, to say the least.

But now, all three bodies in Aquarius - Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter - are moving retrograde. We go back over the territory we've covered since these bodies first came together. This is a good thing because I'm not quite sure just what ground we have covered. haha! So much of it was related to the unseen, energetic realms. A lot of dreamy, dreamy future-oriented stuff, but also with a wounded dystopic vision mixed in there at times. The dangers of not keeping it real were very apparent with this one.

Anyway, I think the Venus-Mars squares will now be able to hold their own with this triad. The earthy, grounded influence should be able to dig in more substantially now that these three bodies are in retrograde motion.

Not only that, but Uranus in Pisces (semi-sextile the Aquarius bodies at 26 degrees) goes retrograde, as well, on June 30. Uranus in Pisces disposits the Aquarius bodies, and Venus and Mars in Taurus will sextile it around the same time they square the Aquarius triple conjunction.

Making the promise of these times a reality. Keeping a realistic, practical outlook and taking concrete steps instead of being swept away/off course by the possibilities and the dreams.

So yes, this means that all three outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto), as well as Chiron and Jupiter will be moving retrograde by July 1. We've got a lot of processing and recalibrating to do related to what we've just experienced. (What WAS that all about? hahaha) There are a lot of pieces we missed the first time over these zodiac degrees (especially with Neptune and Chiron involved), and we need these retros so that we don't get too far ahead of ourselves. Don't think of retrogrades as a negative thing. It's very important that we stay on track, and we now take a sober second look at things while all these bodies are in retrograde motion.

Willow's May 2008 Astro Perspective

Mmm…now THIS is what I call a month! When I look at the aspects this month, the overall vibe is celebratory. Not celebratory in an over-the-top, party-party kind of way…but in the way that you can relax and enjoy yourself after a long, hard job well done. May rolling around is always a relief in the Northern Hemisphere after trudging through the cold, dark part of the year. And this May feels very nice indeed with a lot of cycles finally, mercifully, coming to an official close - all layers of them! The transformational (and many times, hell-tastic!) Mars - Pluto opposition cycle is finally behind us, hopefully well-integrated and with lessons learned, as Mars enters Leo and we have a second Full Moon in Scorpio at the final degree of the sign (29). We’ve been doing the hard work since September 2007, and now, all we have to do is go, slowly and steadily, to the finish line. If we gave it all we had over the past months, we can now enjoy a more comfortable time, one where we feel more in control of our circumstances. Chiron (the wounded healer) and Mercury (the messenger) are all over this month, putting a focus on communication patterns and the ways we need to streamline there. We’re going to have to take a clinical, practical look at the way we interact with others in our day-to-day lives and make any necessary tune-ups. The series of cardinal squares in April squeezed us, irritated us and basically made life annoying in an effort to provide impetus for action, forcing us to take responsibility for leading ourselves into the lives we desire. Then, the Grand Earth Trines helped our new directions become physical reality. Now, this month, we continue to build on that, while refining, refining, refining to get EXACTLY where we want to be. We’ve got some housekeeping to do this month, for sure, but the overall vibe will be much more relaxed than it has been. We’re focussing on finishing detail work now…not the heavy lifting.

May 1st marks yet another Grand Earth Trine at the beginning degrees of the earth signs. Venus now takes its place at 1 degree Taurus, creating a Grand Trine with Pluto in Capricorn and ultra-potent, stationing Saturn in Virgo. This basically means that our relationships (and how we value and are valued within them) are playing a big part in the process of bringing our “new paradigm” career and public responsibilities into physical reality. This Grand Trine continues the series of Grand Earth Trines from April, and Venus in Taurus will carry the momentum forward in our relationships all month (until it enters Gemini on May 24). Venus in Taurus has to do with being comfortable around the people in our lives, being valued by them, and being around people who increase our sense of self-worth, rather than chip away at it. It has to do with building strong and healthy boundaries within our relationships - knowing what we’re comfortable with and what we aren’t and enforcing our boundaries when necessary. With Venus in Taurus, we’re building secure and solid relationships, creating a foundation that is meant to sustain us for a very long time to come. That’s why we have to be sure of every step we take this month and go as slowly as necessary. Taurus relates to money and physical security, and combined with Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn, our careers and ways of earning a living are highlighted this month. Are we being valued for what we provide? Are we appreciated for the work we do and the roles we play? And do we appreciate and value other people in our lives in the same ways? Are there any holes in our foundations that need to be fixed? Any boundaries being breached? This is the kind of tune-up stuff we will be doing this month. There is no time to just accept situations where we are under-appreciated, under-valued and treated in a second-rate way. It’s time to trim the fat in our relationships and to keep only what is truly valuable to us.

For the past three months, we’ve gotten a taste of what Pluto in Capricorn will be up to for the next 16 years. We’ll be gutting and transforming our hierarchical structures (especially related to corporate/business and home). We’ll be working hard to balance and equalize masculine and feminine. Anything built on inequality, coercion, abuse of power or just plain unsustainable ethics will be on the transformation block in a major way. No more putting up with crappy situations and dynamics because that’s “just the way it is.” There is no more “just the way it is.” Pluto in Capricorn will see to that.

This month, Venus in Taurus combined with Saturn in Virgo are showing us how this Plutonic process is and will be coming up in our own lives. We need to value and appreciate ourselves and what we do before anyone else will. (And before the institutional structures in our society and lives do.) We need to make sure we are respected and fairly compensated for the work we do and the roles we play, and if we’re not, we need to demand those things! Get a little stubborn and dig in, as Taurus the bull does. Refuse to be put into the same old ruts. No more doing things we’re not being appreciated for doing because we feel we “have to,” we “should,” or that’s “just the way things are.” The only way things function properly within our structures (Saturn in Virgo) is if everyone’s work/role is valued and rightfully compensated. Work that has been quite undervalued and underpaid in our society, especially service industry work or work that supports others in achieving their goals, will come up for review. This includes the low-glory jobs a lot of people don’t want to do - any kind of labour or service industry, janitorial, farming, food production, food service/cooking, healthcare (especially aides, laundry and cooks), daycare/babysitting, administrative, etc. Anywhere people have been living in la la land, just expecting certain things (cheap food, cheap service, cheap labour, etc.)…anything that has been artificially supporting the current hierarchical structures will have to shift. This includes the sometimes invisible work of women and the feminine - the emotional supporting, the listening, the feeding (emotionally or physically), the healing, the cleaning up other people’s messes, the million little things that are done to support smooth functioning in day-to-day life. All this stuff is going to come up from the depths of our structures into the open during Pluto in Capricorn, and we should start to see these themes being highlighted in our own lives.

Saturn in Virgo turns direct on May 2, just after a trine with Venus in Taurus, making these themes potent. Saturn has been going retrograde for the past three months or so, allowing us to come to terms with a lot of issues related to health, diet, personal habits and trimming the fat in all areas of life/self - whatever we need to deal with before moving forward in life. Saturn has forced us to take responsibility for being our best selves and for making the adjustments and refinements we know we need to make in order for our lives (and ourselves) to function long-term in a sustainable, healthy way. Saturn has a maturing effect wherever it sits and creates step-by-step lessons to bring about that maturity. Virgo relates to work/service, self-mastery and holistic health, so we’re being challenged to make the changes we know we need to make in the pursuit of holistic health - body, mind, emotions, spirit. To really get serious about what our role is within the whole, what we bring to the table that is special, where we hold mastery, what gifts we have that we simply must offer publicly in order to fulfill our destinies and our duties. To express our spiritual understanding in practical ways (“The hands that help are better than the lips that pray”) and to bring that into the business world. All this is taking the form of cleaning, organizing, analyzing, clarifying, purifying, streamlining, getting rid of detritus, cutting excess, putting things in order, making changes, making things right. It can mean adopting a new, more adult diet, job or outlook. A new, more adult anything, actually. Doctors and dentists. Holistic practitioners and advice. Clean, clear, simple. The basics. Health on all levels. Taking things away rather than adding to. Replacing bad habits with good ones. Improving the function of systems in all ways. Making proactive changes now to head off disaster later.

Saturn turning direct on the 2nd means we can now “get on with things.” We’ve had a few months to adjust to our responsibilities here…to start the processes and emotionally come to terms with any changes we need to make, aligning inner and outer. We should be somewhat more comfortable with the processes we’re dealing with now. The initial realization and pain is out of the way, and now it’s just the getting on with it. Two more years of Saturn in Virgo getting on with it, to be precise.

I’ve noticed people doing a lot of home renovation projects lately (definite Virgo territory - related to improving what already exists) and dealing with long-standing health issues. A textbook Saturn in Virgo experience is the one my journalism school friend, Bella, is going through (major jaw surgery). Check her story out at: http://www.smilingbella.com. Bella’s taking responsibility for having a pain-free life - doing what she needs to do and dealing with (relatively) short-term pain for long-term gain. Virgo is co-ruled by Chiron (healing) and Mercury (communication), so jaw surgery affecting her speech and the healing process afterward are very much Saturn in Virgo territory.

Which brings up the Chiron - Mercury flavour of this month, in general. Saturn in Virgo is very active this month…as are Mercury and Chiron. Mercury enters Gemini on May 2 (just a few hours before Saturn turns direct) and almost immediately squares Saturn in Virgo. This challenges us to apply that more adult outlook to our social interactions and communication patterns. There is some maturing and streamlining required here. Some bad habits and old patterns need to be tended to. Where are we talking just for the sake of talking, out of nervousness or ego gratification or the pressure of our social identities? What needs to be said, and what is just needless filler? In what instances are we dropping the ball and not saying what needs to be said? And when should we choose not to communicate or interact? How can we communicate more effectively with minimal wasted energy? How many of our daily social interactions are based on social expectation and a feeling of what we “should” say? Mars in Gemini opposite Pluto in Sagittarius has already taught us about being true to ourselves and honest in our interactions with others - not to have a social artifice differing from your real beliefs or understanding. Now we have Saturn in Virgo asking us to use what we’ve learned and get rid of excess chatter in our day-to-day lives.

Not only that, but under the Taurean theme this month of valuing and being valued, we will have to take a good look at any ways that we are not being appreciated fully for the Mercurial roles we play - for what we do say, the information we have and then pass on, the ideas we come up with, and the social function we fulfill. Mercury is the sign of the messenger, tirelessly gathering information, communicating, interacting, offering ideas and keeping things moving on a social level. Busy, busy, busy. In our daily lives, the Mercurial function is typing, talking, texting, answering the phone, passing on messages, coming up with brilliant ideas, filling in the awkward pauses with just the right comment, answering questions, and juggling a million and one balls, keeping them all in the air. Problem is…because Mercury does a million and one SMALL things in everyday life, the cumulative role of Mercury (in both Gemini and Virgo) can be overlooked or downplayed. Both signs help keep things moving and functioning, and often, people only notice if there is a breakdown in the system (Mercury Retrograde, anyone?). If everything is going just fine, it’s easy to forget that that doesn’t just naturally happen. Someone (or more that one someone) is putting in a whole hell of a lot of work to keep it going just fine. Mercury in Gemini, especially, does it’s work on a social level - keeping the conversation going, coming up with ideas, greasing the social wheels with just the right words, keeping everyone connected and in the know on a day-to-day level. The individual interactions may seem small, but the overall cumulative function is crucial. The squares this month indicate that it’s more important than ever to make sure this function is fully valued, recognized and appreciated. And if it’s not, it might be time to get a little more tight-lipped, a little less free and easy with the information, ideas and perspective we provide. To show people that, no, it’s not effortless to do these things - we just make it look that way! It’s actually hard work and requires a lot of skill. Again, we need to appreciate the Mercurial function we and others play before anyone else (or our institutions) will. We can learn from Bella’s situation here by really valuing every word we put out there and every interaction we have…and by making them count!

Umm…this doesn’t actually sound all that celebratory, I know. But it is! It’s always a bit more complicated than just one theme. BUT! Things really are going to feel better and more on an even keel this month. Here’s the good news:

Both Venus and Mercury are in the signs they rule - very comfortable and functional. Venus will be in Taurus until May 24, and Mercury enters Gemini May 2 and will be there all month. This makes for some happy planets and some fairly unimpeded energies.

The Sun in Taurus is ruled by Venus in Taurus until May 20 (again, very comfortable, sensual, enjoying the sunshine and warmer temps kind of feel). Venus is riding alongside the Sun all month, which means we should be consciously feeling the love. Throw a little (or a lot) of Marvin Gaye on the stereo. (“Let’s get it oooooon!”) My feeling is that we will be happy to be in our bodies this month…it should feel better than it has for a while. Taurus is grounded in the physical senses, and there’s nothing it loves more than taking it easy, enjoying some good food, good drink and good company. This month, we should be able to relax into just that.

May 5 we have a New Moon in Taurus (ruled by Venus), and at the same time the North Node and Neptune conjunct in Aquarius. This is another positive, feel-good aspect. With this conjunction, Neptune infuses our current Aquarian path through life with its guiding spirit of love and understanding. The path to the Aquarian future is not so easy. It’s got some rough edges and some very tough spots. But Neptune dissolves all our struggles into complete unconditional love and acceptance. It renews our faith that we ARE getting somewhere. Things ARE changing. We’re closer to creating a world free of needless suffering, hatred, violence (on all levels) and injustice - a world we love living in.

May 9, we have two main events - Jupiter goes retrograde in Capricorn and Mars enters Leo.

Jupiter has been working on expanding our understanding of the Capricorn areas where Pluto is going to be working its transformational magic over the next 16 years. We’re gaining some wisdom here, getting clearer on the truth of the matter, and paving the way for our new roles in the career/public world. Now, Jupiter goes retro, back over that territory, to help us prepare for further expansion there. We can’t go too big, too fast, and this retrograde (ruled by Saturn in Virgo) will make sure we don’t. We have both the expansive force (Jupiter) and the restricting force (Saturn) working together to make sure we don’t get too reckless in our career growth and responsibility-taking. Jupiter in Cap is giving us the “big picture” while ruling Saturn in Virgo will make sure we don’t skip any of the details that Jupiter prefers not to deal with.

And on the same day, Mars enters Leo! That gets an exclamation point because Mars has been going over Cancer lessons off and on for seven months now. That was necessary…in order to infuse the masculine, action energy with feminine, emotional/soul guidance (more balancing and integrating of masculine and feminine). But Mars really could not be happier to head into Leo, a fire sign. This adds to the romantic, enjoyable feel of May in a big way. We’re ready to let our personalities shine (with egos hopefully balanced by the Mars - Pluto work). We’re ready for some fun.

May 11, Mercury in Gemini enters it’s retrograde shadow. That means Mercury will be revisiting all territory covered from May 11 to May 26. Things that come up during this period will be coming back up for review, revision, and internal recalibration during the retrograde itself (May 26 - June 19). Mercury in Gemini is a symbol of the messenger - so messages will be coming from a variety of sources in our daily lives. Things people say will have more meaning than they know. Words will be pieces of the puzzle. Pay attention to the symbolism in your daily lives. Listen to what your mundane experiences are telling you. On the day Mercury goes retrograde at 21 degrees Gemini, it will be in an exact trine to Chiron conjunct the North Node at 21 degrees Aquarius. Neptune is strongly involved at 24 degrees Aquarius, and the Moon moves over those Aquarian degrees throughout the day. These aspects indicate a powerhouse download of information about the way forward. Ideas, conversations and things overheard will give us clues as to what’s up ahead. Information comes at us fast and furious in Gemini, but luckily, we’ll have the retrograde period to go over anything we might have missed. With Chiron and the North Node involved, the way forward involves healing the wounds we’ve received from speaking the future. We’ve been hurt by standing apart from the crowd, interacting in new ways that were/are ahead of the current mainstream society. You know the old saying, don’t shoot the messenger? Well, they did. Often. We’ve had to deal with being ill-perceived, misunderstood and labelled weird, odd, eccentric, bizarre, crazy. A lot of interactions left a bad taste in our mouths because we knew we were not being taken seriously. We were being condescended to. Our ideas were completely discounted by mainstream brains that could not wrap around them. Gemini relates to being socially successful, which includes being accepted in society, in general. Well, with Aquarius involved, that hasn’t often happened. We’ve had to break off into our own alternative societies, all the while knowing that that wasn’t quite right, either. These aspects speak to the hope that people courageously showing the way forward at times when it was not popular to do so will start to be accepted on a societal level and treated more humanely. And hopefully, there will be a place for people with humanitarian vision in the leadership of the current mainstream - rather than people simply striving to maintain the status quo.

These aspects to Mercury have to do with healing our speech and what we hear (healing the throat and ear chakras). I know I, for one, have heard so much that displeases me related to the mainstream that I’m almost always bracing myself for more garbage. I cringe overhearing most people’s conversations (especially working with the public - don’t get me started!) or listening to mainstream media. But this conditions me to be bracing against what I don’t want to hear. It takes a lot of energy and overshadows what I do want to hear. I’m hoping this period will help us all to filter out the garbage and focus on the progress - which is the most important thing, anyway.

Mercury going retrograde coincides with Chiron and Neptune going retrograde, as well, so we’ll be dealing with these themes for a while. Neptune in Aquarius goes retrograde May 26, the same day Mercury does. Chiron goes retrograde in Aquarius just a day earlier - May 25. We’ll be dealing with all the issues related to having and expressing ideas that are ahead of our time and the social repercussions of that during these retrogrades, over the next six or so months.

During the Mercury retrograde, we should be receiving information and messages that give us perspective on the path forward while validating what we’ve been saying all along. Healing us through our interactions with others will be quite a positive shift.

May 19 we have the second Full Moon in Scorpio. The last one was on April 20 at 0 degrees. This one is at 29 degrees Scorpio, representing the last release of emotional residue (especially fear) and karmic dynamics related to the past. Final baggage check, people! Let go of it now! All the old stuff that is dead, dead, dead. No use lugging it around anymore. Feel it, right down to the gut, be honest about your feelings and then process/release. Choose better for yourself. Demand better. Mars and Pluto co-rule Scorpio, so this Full Moon at the last degree of Scorp shows us that we’re clearing out the last of the past-related residue brought up during the Mars - Pluto opposition cycle. We’re dropping the last of our baggage, alchemically burning it out of our systems, so that we’re free to move forward. A lot of things will come to completion - especially any tendencies to accepting abuse on any level. The Taurus - Scorpio polarity has to do, in part, with the emotional oppression we put up with (Scorpio) for fear of losing our security (Taurus). This has a tie-in with the feminine - masculine stuff, too. (Disclaimer: I’m sure this viewpoint is controversial.) Traditional relationships have often had to do with the woman exchanging her healing emotional support (and sometimes sexuality) for the physical security of being “taken care of” with a house, food, financial support, etc. This dynamic also shows up in the workplace, with women providing a lot of invisible support in exchange for the honour (ahem) of having a job to support themselves with. On the other hand, these trade-offs have created a huge amount of pressure and oppression for men, who can feel locked into the responsibilities of the traditional provider role. These are some of the dynamics related to this polarity that could come up at this time. Scorpio has to do with soul-level merging with another person, so on this Full Moon at 29 degrees, we should be more clear on who we can trust our souls with, so to speak - who we can merge with on the deepest emotional level, building trusting, soul-level partnerships. At the same time, Venus in Taurus will help us commit to building solid, valuable relationships with in the physical realm. This polarity helps us to give emotionally while keeping strong and healthy boundaries at the same time.

The Sun enters Gemini May 20, shifting our conscious focus to interacting, chatting, mixing, mingling, having a lot on the go. Venus enters Gemini May 24, putting a focus on our day-to-day interactions in our relationships and how we interact within society. This focus on Gemini reinforces the Mercury Retrograde themes talked about above (the ouchy parts of interacting with others when you’re on different wavelengths). But now we get to try our hands at speaking our truth in a way that is socially palatable (very important - can’t connect and be understood if no one can relate to what you’re talking about).

We will now consciously face how our manner of speech, listening, interacting and processing of information may need adjusting (likely triggered by our relations with others), as both the Sun and Venus square Saturn in Virgo immediately after they enter Gemini. This repeats the Mercury - Saturn square from the beginning of the month. Gemini and Virgo have tension between them, although both have Mercury as a ruler. Gemini is about bringing in as much information from as many different sources and perspectives as possible. Talking, exchanging, commenting, connecting, sharing opinions and tidbits. Virgo is about precision, separating the wheat from the chaff, focussing, analyzing, rejecting what isn’t necessary, streamlining. No wasted words. Gemini takes a more playful stance to communicating and seems to like a whole lot of words, not considering a single one a waste of time. But Virgo knows that too much surface chitter chatter can become toxic, and it’ll be chastising the planets in Gemini to tone it down a bit. As with all squares, the energies need only learn to respect the different strengths and modus operandi of the other and work together. Gemini can work the social scene, gathering info and learning from different perspectives. Then Virgo can pick through, keeping what is necessary and letting the rest slide off its back - as long as Gemini shuts the hell up once in a while. (Maybe possible, maybe not!) Again, Saturn in Virgo will be producing a maturing aspect in everything it touches, so we will be challenged to mature our communication style, to say what is necessary and to keep quiet more often when nothing need be said.

And with that, nothing more need be said...

Willow's April 2008 Astro Perspective

April is a month of fresh, new territory and concrete progress…combined with a mad Plutonic flavah, stripping us down to the core (yet more stripping!) as we move forward in our lives. Things will start to move, but we’ll have to do some digging to bring up and let go of any tail-end garbage (especially related to relationships) that threatens our progress. It’s never either/or these days…it’s both/and. We can have our fresh starts, our eased movement, and our spring-ish “lightness of being” after wrestling our way out of the karmic past in March. But we’re going to be constantly challenged this month to get serious about stripping away the detritus as we get to our most crucial desires. Anything wished for out of frivolous ego, any vision we’re seeing through deluded rose-coloured glasses, any desire or goal related to an older version of ourselves, will be dead once and for all in the name of streamlining. We only have the time and energy to go after things that are truly right, heart and soul. Not to mention that the planet only has time and energy left for us to go after those things. Nothing frivolous or unnecessary, Pluto in Capricorn says. Only what feels perfectly right, Mars in Cancer says.

Some very relieving news this month: the Mars - Pluto opposition cycle finally comes to completion as Pluto goes retrograde on the 2nd and Mars enters new ground for the first time since November on the 5th! This has been a rough transit. Irritating, frustrating, exhausting. Some nuclear meltdowns. Over the past six months, this cycle has forced us to align our personal desires, identities and physical energy with broader evolutionary desires…to place what we want personally into a larger context of what is desired for us evolution-wise. We’ve learned to listen to our soul self…to consult ourselves in order to make decisions that feel right on an intuitive, gut level - even when they don’t seem completely rational. This because, for many of us, it’s not a choice anymore to divide ourselves into the self we put forward into society and the work world and our “real” self that we become only when comfortable at home or with friends. Pluto and Scorpio are related to alchemical merging, and we’ve been challenged to merge all the compartmentalized aspects of ourselves and our lives into one integrated force to be reckoned with. We’ve been challenged to come from our core personal truth at all times, to come from a place of complete honesty and integrity, no matter what the consequences, because nothing less will suffice now. We’re meant to be who we really are, and things simply won’t function properly if we’re hiding that and creating false fronts.

Pluto goes retrograde on the 2nd of the month to give us time to internally recalibrate and prepare for what’s ahead during its 16-year transit of Capricorn. (Transforming our business/corporate structures into something that is sustainable on the planet.) We’ve gotten an initial taste in the past couple of months of the themes we’ll be taking on during that process (see the past two Astro Perspectives for Pluto in Capricorn analysis). Aligning our identities (“who we are”) and our emotional, soul-level selves with the visible public roles related to Capricorn is the first step of that process. We should now be getting clear on what we’re willing to take responsibility for. In order to shoulder responsibility, we have to feel right in the role. We have to feel as if we are meant to take that on, to do that work. At this point, we should be closer to knowing what feels right…like home to us. If we’re not quite there, we should at least know what we DON’T want, and this will make it easier to find or build what we do want.

As April begins, we have a lot of emphasis on Aries and Mars (the planet that rules Aries), representing action, breaking new ground and starting new cycles. The Sun is in Aries until April 19. Mercury enters Aries on April 2, and Venus moves into Aries just after midnight (MST) on April 6, less than two hours after a very powerful New Moon at 16 degrees Aries. All this Aries energy is ruled by Mars in Cancer, which is finally heading into new degrees of the zodiac (the same day as the New Moon!) after a heavy, six-month dance with Pluto. There is nothing Mars loves more than movement into new territory. Fresh challenges. New goals. Action. The fact that Mars has been going over old territory while simultaneously feeling quite oppressed by its connections with Pluto means that it will be desiring action and fresh territory even more than usual this month. Because of this, the New Moon in Aries on April 5 will create an especially powerful surge into new beginnings. Mars is ready for something new. We all are. So here we’re supported to initiate, to take action, to move toward what we want. As long as it FEELS absolutely right and takes into consideration our long-term, practical responsibilities, we will be supported to embrace the new in all aspects of life.

As Mercury and then Venus enter Aries this month (on the 2nd and 5th), they almost immediately square retrograding Pluto at 1 degree Capricorn. Just to make sure we haven’t forgotten the lessons of the Mars - Pluto opposition cycle, we can only take those actions that are in alignment with our evolutionary responsibilities. When personal will (Mars) and evolutionary will (Pluto) clash, guess which one usually wins? So we have to honour both, with a willingness to drop the things we’re being asked to drop and align with the momentum that has been created in our lives. As Mars/Aries likes to do, we can’t just jump into anything that suits our fancy. We can’t go too fast (even though we’ll want to, after being held back for so long). The urge to jump in head first will be kept in check first by the squares to Pluto in Capricorn and then by squares to Mars in Cancer. (Mercury squares Mars in Cancer on April 10 and Venus squares Mars on April 23.)

But now that the Mars - Pluto oppositions have streamlined us and what we want out of this life, there should be less danger of heading off in the wrong direction. Listening to our inner compasses should keep us on track.

This month, with the Aries and Mars emphasis, getting to a place in our lives where we can live as we truly are means we have to tap into the power of our own anger (Mars) as a guiding force. We’re going to have to fight for the changes we want in our lives and battle our way out of the past and out of the circumstances and dynamics we want to shed. It’s not going to just happen on its own. We have to courageously trust our impulses, make changes and keep fighting for those changes until we get to where we want to be. This month, Aries and Mars reinforce that anger is not something that needs to be purified out of us. It’s something we need to learn to trust and harness as a force for change in our lives. A lot of times, when we get angry about something, it’s a signal that we need to take action to change things. In our society, anger is often considered undesirable or “un-spiritual.” In reality, we have to honour our own anger and use it to our benefit, to follow its impulse as it leads us to new territory. With Mercury and Venus in Aries for a big part of the month, our relationships and how we interact in our day-to-day lives are going to be the battleground for change. So when how someone is interacting with you is pissing you off…trust it. There’s a reason why it’s pissing you off. There’s something that needs to be different. When you’re being drawn into a dynamic that doesn’t feel right, focus on changing how you’re interacting. Get pissed off and refuse to play ball! People get used to treating us in a certain way, and we can feed that. It becomes a sort of energetic rut where you just switch on the old auto-pilot and fall unconsciously into old roles and dynamics. It’s familiar. But this is not what is being asked of us this month. We’re being asked to make changes and to keep making changes until we find ourselves in a life we love to live. To practise taking a new stance, a new direction…to fight for that new way…and to keep practising until it becomes second nature. To get rid, once and for all, of what doesn’t feel right anymore…and to not invite those dynamics back. We need to get to the point in our lives where we say, “Screw this! I’m not putting up with this anymore!” And we have to mean it. And follow through. That’s where the energy is - not in old patterns. We need strong personal will to break the energetic pull back to older versions of ourselves and our lives, especially when making changes in our relationships. Staying close to our angry emotional reactions will help us see what needs to change. Doing that will help us to differentiate between our new direction in life and the things that are related to an older version of our lives.

Getting our new directions down (and down right) in the first part of the month is crucial because by the last third, we’re in Taurus territory. Taurus is the fixed earth sign of hunkering down and gittin’ ’er done. With Taurus, we commit our energy in a concrete way. Taurus is like a lumbering freight train - very powerful, and once it has been set in motion, it’s not easy to make adjustments to the direction. It’s even more difficult to change direction entirely. Taurus works with momentum in “here and now” physical reality. It digs in, building on the new direction initiated in inspirational cardinal fire, Aries, in an attempt to bring the goal to material manifestation. This is why we have to be sure of the direction we’re heading in, the goals we’re setting for ourselves. Once Taurus commits to a direction, it’s a big waste of energy and momentum to start over, and Taurus doesn’t like wasting its time or energy. It makes more work and less time for enjoying life. So checking in with ourselves and using our emotions for guidance before we leap ahead is important this month to keep ourselves on track.

Making the direction we choose to commit to even more imperative is the fact that we have a Grand Earth Trine forming mid-month, at the first degrees of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. After the Cardinal Grand Cross at last month’s Full Moon (initiating the new on all levels), the Grand Trine in earth signs represents the challenge to bring the new beginnings we so desperately need into physical reality. Time to get real, focus and take on the responsibility for doing what needs to be done.

Mercury passes the Sun at the tail-end of Aries mid-month and enters Taurus April 17. Mercury in Taurus will then trine Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo at the first degree of all three signs, creating the Grand Earth Trine. Trines are flowing aspects among signs of the same element. They’re “on the same page,” “reading each other’s mail,” so to speak. The energies understand each other and work together in a smooth, flowing way, without a lot of disagreements and butting heads. So when all the earth signs are working together at the beginning degrees, big things can happen and a lot of material progress can be made in bringing new beginnings into concrete, physical reality - almost miraculously. Things that would take much more time and effort at other times will seem to come about without much of a hitch. Mostly because they have been “in the works” for a while.

Just as Mercury moves out of perfect alignment in the Grand Earth Trine, the Sun enters Taurus (April 19) and takes its place, continuing the aspect. (The Grand Trine will be very potent from April 17 to April 22.) So at this point, we’ll be very aware, in our current conscious moment, of all the things that are unfolding. Things should be moving now that had been held up. The time will be right for things to manifest in physical reality…and they will, as long as we’re willing to do the sometimes unglamourous work related to the earth houses. There is work to be done, but hopefully, it will now have the flavour of the work we love to do, the work we are ready to do. We should be able to shoulder the weight of our responsibilities now…or be well on the way to that point, moving out of the structures and roles that make us feel oppressed.

While in the midst of our Grand Earth Trines, we have the first of two Full Moons in Scorpio on April 20. This is another indication of the completion of the Mars - Pluto opposition cycle. Mars and Pluto are the planets that rule Scorpio and a Full Moon is a point where things come to a head. So the next two Full Moons (this month, and next month on May 19) are related to a final clearing of emotional residue. The Full Moon this month occurs at 0 degrees Scorpio, and the one in May is at 29 degrees - representing the beginning and the end of the sign. So just like Scorpio, we don’t stop until we’re gutted completely! Anything that threatens our soul growth by keeping us in old energetic patterns will come to the surface during this Full Moon and throughout the next month. Repressed emotional truth (how you REALLY feel), dynamics that people would prefer to hide, abuse, self-worth issues, fear, domination and subjugation themes in relationships, emotional and financial dependence issues, the ways we stay in situations/dynamics because we’re scared to leave, we don’t feel we deserve better, we don’t think we’re strong enough to break out of it on our own, we fear the reaction of the other person…all that fun crap. It’s all part of the alchemical merging and integration we need in order to take the next steps in our evolution. The denied and compartmentalized aspects of ourselves will be asking for recognition and validation so that they can be brought into the whole. The ways we short-change ourselves by accepting mistreatment, especially emotional mistreatment, will be a theme. Again, Mars is a co-ruler of Scorpio, so we have our own anger to guide us. Relationships and circumstances that annoy or enrage us will drive us to make changes. We’ll have to confront the ways that we let fear control us and keep us in unsatisfactory situations. A lot of lines in the sand being drawn.

All this will be stirred up for release so that we don’t haul old emotional baggage into what we are building with the Grand Earth Trines. No more recreating the harshness of the past.

The caution this month (and with Mars in Cancer, in general) is not to deal with things in these ways: avoidance, denial, burying emotions, passive-aggressiveness, taking the weak way out, fearing the reaction of others and letting that fear keep us in unwanted situations/relationships, emotionally manipulating or controlling people.

Likely, things will come up during this Full Moon that will be processed all month long until reaching a final completion point next month at 29 degrees Scorpio. The 29th degree is the final degree of any sign and represents the master lessons - where we have to prove what we’ve learned throughout the entire sign. This is a little freaky because it means some ugly things that have been suppressed can come bubbling to the surface. Things that have been simmering for a while could boil over, and we could experience some “clearing the air” nuclear meltdowns in our relationships. Ways that we feel oppressed or de-valued in our most intimate relationships (with ourselves and with other people) could come to light. Dark undercurrents that people may or may not want to deal with. Severing ties to the past once and for all…and this includes any dynamic that is holding you down, keeping your oppressed and making you feel like hell. Epic, I tell you! It should all come out in the wash now, whether we like it or not. How “epic” these Full Moons are personally will have a lot to do with how much work was done (inner and outer) during the Mars - Pluto opposition cycle. If we did the work we were asked to do, these Full Moons will probably have more of a final clearance type of feel to them, rather than bringing up intense confrontations. There will definitely be some emotional cycles coming to a close. We’ll be sloughing off the past, driven by the will to move on, regenerate, evolve. We’ll be emotionally fortified for what’s to come, as long as we look at what is coming up and deal with it, emotionally uncomfortable as it may be. Physical processing (through the body) of emotion, especially old emotion, should be expected. So it could be a time of low physical energy but a lot going on internally.

The square between Venus in Aries and Mars in Cancer on April 23 will create the tension we need to make the required changes in our relationships. We need to be part of relationships that feel right and honour who we are. This relates to family, friends and mates.

After the somewhat intense Full Moon, we’ll be supported by more nice aspects. We can relax and enjoy the warmer weather that Taurus brings to the Northern hemisphere. Get out into nature and enjoy our physical senses.

Mercury in Taurus sextiles Uranus in Pisces and then trines Jupiter in Capricorn on April 27. This is an indicator that Mercury is doing its job as a go-between for the vision of the Aquarian Age and the expansion of our concrete physical world and structures. The plans for expansion are coming together, with an eye on creating the kind of world we all want to live in. Mercury is bridging the gap between physical and spiritual until we’re aware that there really is no gap.

At the close of the month, Venus heads into Taurus, reforming the Grand Earth Trine with Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo. Now our hearts are fully committed. Our relationships with others take their part in the manifestation process. We’re working with other people who share our vision. Things are feeling comfortable, real, concrete. It’s really happening…we’re on our way to creating something new and better for ourselves and our communities. We have others to share the work and the responsibility with. And as Venus transits Taurus, we build our relationships to the point where they’re a solid foundation for us and for what’s to come. We can count on the people in our lives. Our relationships will stand the test of time. They will endure. And the ones that can’t will be let go of…hopefully with good wishes, after any initial hurt. We should be well aware at this point that what is yet to come is so much better than holding on to times gone by. When we let go of the past, we free up the universe to create something better. We’re on the final leg of past completion and resolution. Letting go internally in a complete way so that things can change.