Honky Tonk Beer Slingin' and the Detrimental Dating Habits of the Pluto in Scorpios

I recently started working casually at the little honky tonk bar in town.

(It's the only bar in town.)

Beer slingin' is just in my blood, I guess.

I worked off and on as a waitress and cocktail server for 10 years, but those years were many moons ago, and when I got poisoned by Cipro and my tendons started breaking down, I thought my service industry days were over.

But it's all about that Scorpionic regeneration and resurrection, don't you know? Through excruciating focus on my diet and overall health, I was able to recover from the worst of the Cipro effects, so back in the bar I am.

I wondered if I would still be able to do it, but it turns out that slinging beer and cocktails is kind of like riding a bike. It comes back to you pretty quickly.

Being back in the bar has brought me into contact with people a bit younger than I am, and I have to tell you, this has opened my eyes to some of the absolute nastiest aspects of the sign of Scorpio via the heinous mess that is the Pluto in Scorpio dating world. (The members of the Pluto in Scorpio generation were born roughly from November 1983 to November 1995.)

Seriously, mouth agape. Shocked.

Now, the redneck version of the Pluto in Scorpio dating world (which I'm privy to) is quite likely worse than standard - probably much worse. But the word "sociopathic" would not be too strong a descriptor for the dating behaviour of some of this generation, from what I see.

My Libra/Pluto in Libra social sensibilities and consideration for others are in a constant state of wounded shock. 

(Just so I don't piss people off (it's likely impossible not to), I'm not saying all members of the Pluto in Scorpio generation are manipulative messes. Just the majority. Ha. I would say the majority of any generation does not have its Plutonic shit together, but because Scorpio as a sign is so damned extreme, this is extra detrimental.)

I always had a feeling I might have to help straighten this generation out one day. I have a Scorpio stellium in my natal chart with Pluto conjunct the Sun. I grew up through the transiting Pluto in Scorpio years with Pluto forming conjunctions to all my Scorpio placements, which was a little harsh, to say the least.

So I always had a feeling that my hard labour in the Scorpy under-realms would not go to waste. I had a feeling I could help other people whose experiences had them wishing for sweet, sweet death due to the almost impossible difficulty of Scorpio/Pluto themes. I mean, I've been doing it on this blog for the past seven years, right?

But the task at hand with these redneck Pluto in Scorpios seems too big for even your anarchist astro-reporter, I tell you. Too big.

I can honestly say I've never witnessed more using, manipulating, lying, cheating, and lowdown dirty tricks than when coming into contact with these Pluto in Scorpios. Their festering and emotionally-toxic dating scene is your classic Plutonic hell-world. And I'm not exactly dealing with the most mature or emotionally/psychologically-sophisticated people on Earth here, either.

As I say, too big.

As a person who has done my best to be responsible with my own Scorpio stellium and the nasty potential dynamics within it, it disgusts and saddens me to see what's going on. It disgusts and saddens me to see people hurting each other, often intentionally. It disgusts and saddens me to see the wicked lack of regard for others' emotions and inner states. It seems that for many of these young Pluto in Scorpios, as long as they're not left holding the "hot potato" of terrible, roiling emotions, they're happy to pass it on down the road to someone else. Scorpio, in its immature state, is known for being vindictive and cruel.

Now, I'm not blaming this generation for these dynamics. They've been with us for millennia, and they're just concentrated in this particular generation of people. I'm holding this generation responsible for how it's dealing (or not dealing) with these dynamics. I'm holding the members responsible for what they're furthering via their behaviour.

One of the main problems I see with this generation as a whole (and yes, I understand I'm speaking in generalizations and that there are individual exceptions to this) is an almost complete lack of awareness of energetic and emotional responsibility. These are two areas that it really would have behooved everyone, especially the Pluto in Scorpios, to get up to speed on as Saturn transited Scorpio in the first pass (October 2012 - December 2014).

Scorpio/Pluto energy is like a figure 8 dynamic. When you're connected intimately to someone - emotionally, psychologically, sexually, psychically - you're also intimately connected to the energy dynamics that pass back and forth between the two of you. This is the case whether you like it or not. You're affected by the energy passed between you, both pleasant and not-so-pleasant.

Taking full responsibility for your end of the figure 8 energy dynamics (what you pass to the other) is a true act of love toward that person. Even if you come to hate that person at some point (another common Scorpio/Pluto theme), maintaining that responsibility is an act of general human decency, ethics, and integrity.

From what I see, though, taking full responsibility for these energy exchanges is not exactly how it's going down with many in this generation.

What we have is the classic detrimental Scorpio themes, that nasty, nasty shit, being passed along and passed along and passed along in some sort of fucked up game of Hot Potato.

Get screwed over; screw someone else over; get screwed over; screw someone else over. Get stung; sting someone else.

We have people being burned, used, manipulated, and lied to - and then passing that same treatment on down the line, rather than doing the more difficult (and more mature) thing to process, resolve, and ground that nasty charge so it can't be passed along to some other poor sap.

So what are some of these nasty Scorpio dynamics being passed around like a bad case of V.D.?

- obsessions, particularly obsessions with an individual in a love or sexual relationship, which are then used to justify any and all bad behaviour
- dating someone or sleeping with someone just to get back at someone else. This includes the classic "sleeping with all your ex-boyfriend's/girlfriend's friends" thing.
- dating someone or sleeping with someone just to get your mind off someone else
- manipulating someone who has fallen for you, misusing that power and the "upper hand" it gives you
- faking feelings for someone
- using people as a means to your ends
- saying all the right things and pretending to be interested in a real relationship to get someone into bed
- keeping a relationship "unlabeled" so as to keep your options open
- playing games like making plans and then breaking them, getting close and then withdrawing, using your social crowd as a power play over the other person
- lying, deceit, and omission of necessary information
- cheating, emotional or sexual
- taking advantage of the emotional vulnerability created in intimate relationships
- taking no responsibility for how your behaviour or words badly affect another person
- having multiple men/women on the go at once without their knowledge. This is absolutely chronic in the days of constant cell phone and social media usage. The texting games alone are enough to fill entire social psychology textbooks.
- having sex with people just to compete with your friends
- dropping someone out of the blue, discontinuing contact, and ignoring messages from that person ("ghosting")
- refusing to end or resolve a relationship maturely and face-to-face
- leaving someone "hung up" on you
- getting satisfaction, glee, or a sense of personal empowerment from the pain and upset you've caused others

These are just a few of the nasty figure 8 Scorpio dynamics being passed around, and they all create emotional and psychological damage. They create wounds that may not be visible to the naked eye but that are often much more difficult to heal than physical wounds.

And it's all a bunch of crap. It's all a bunch of nasty, disgusting, inconsiderate, uncivilized crap. Yes, Libra speaking there again. The North Node (our successful path) is driving us right through Libra right now, remember?

I predicted this a few years back: the shining stars of the Pluto in Scorpio generation will have their work cut out for them rising above this mess. There will be members of this generation who work hard and move beyond the generational mindfucks, achieving a point of true legitimacy, honesty, and emotional integrity in their lives and in their conduct with others - but these individuals will be in the minority. I wrote about some of these themes in this post from 2011: Don't Believe Your Own Astrological Press. (Pluto in Scorpios, This Especially Relates To You Right Now.)

The thing it would benefit us all to keep firmly in mind is this: Scorpio is a very, very karmic sign. (And we all have Scorpio somewhere in our natal charts.)

In very basic terms, this means, what goes around comes around. Again. And again. And again.

If you burn someone, you'll get burned - until you change your ways and make up for the damage you've done.

There are natural consequences for your actions. And there are basic spiritual principles that govern life on this planet and the human relations here.

The universe doesn't allow people to get away with this bullshit indefinitely. It doesn't allow people to be base and low and damaging to others forever.

The Plutonic karmic comeuppance coming for the irresponsible members of the Pluto in Scorpio generation is mighty, let me tell you.

The hammer will come down. It's a matter of when, not if.

Transiting Saturn has just stationed retrograde in early Sagittarius. The planet of karmic challenges and necessary maturation will dip back into Scorpio from June 14 to September 17, 2015, colouring the new relationship cycle that gets underway during the Venus in Leo retrograde this summer. You can read more about that in this patron article: Saturn Retrograde Sets its Steely Gaze on Late Scorpio: the Final Resolution of Old Heartbreaks, Hurts, and Unfinished Business

Saturn taking one last dip into late Scorpio marks the hammer coming down. Some shit will officially be hitting some fans this summer. And we will all be wise to deal expeditiously with anything Saturn puts on our plates. "Yes, sir. Yes, Saturn, sir. Absolutely, sir. Let me take care of that immediately."

Saturn dipping back into Scorpio from June to September 2015 will be one final chance for anyone living out of honesty and integrity to get his or her act together.

But if people squiggle and squirm out of Saturn's grip, if they avoid their responsibilities, if they knowingly make the wrong decisions, they'll carry the consequences of that forward with them for the next 26 years until Saturn makes its way back to the sign in 2041.

Pretty heavy load of bullshit to carry until then, eh?

Sounds like, if you don't dig in this time, you're pretty well screwed.

And that goes double for anyone playing nasty Scorpio tricks from the Pluto in Scorpio generation. You guys are old enough to know better now.

If you're behaving badly, get to the root of it. Figure out why. Change your ways.

If you're hurting and damaging others with your behaviour, stop doing what you're doing. 

If you have wronged someone, make amends. Apologize honestly and from the heart (if the person wants to hear it). Correct your behaviour. Make it up to that person, if possible. And make sure it never happens again.

That goes for everyone.

If you can't handle that load of Saturn-delivered humility, you'd better just get used to things being a big old headache of a mess in your life. You'd better get used to life out of alignment with what's right and good.

Strong words, but this is not kid's stuff. Scorpio is life-or-death. And Saturn in Scorpio most certainly means business.

As Saturn Rx slides through early Sagittarius and back into the heart of the beast in late Scorpio, I'll just be slinging some beers, mixing some cocktails, listening to some jukebox tunes, and looking for opportunities to help Saturn with his work.

Come in for a cold one if you ever find yourself on this lonely stretch of prairie highway...

Photos: Willow

Equinox-ing, Tipping Toward the Sun, and Watching Each Others' Backs For Dirty Piscean Tricks

Happy Equinox!

Photo: Willow's Mama 

We are now coming out of the 29-degree Pisces New Moon total solar eclipse March 20 that kicked off spring with a bang in the northern hemisphere. The "backdrop change" themes of that eclipse are now carried through Aries season (March 20 - April 20).

We're opening into an all-encompassing new expression of Pisces over the next 28 days - an expression that will carry us successfully into the astrological Aquarian era. We've been putting these "new-era Pisces" themes into practise for quite some time now, but this is final exam time.

Communication planet Mercury is closing in on a conjunction to wounded healer Chiron in Pisces on March 24, and the wounded and wounding themes of the astrological Piscean era are very much on our minds. Under the influence of this aspect, our troubles may seem more overwhelming than usual. Our damage may seem more unmanageable than usual. But take heart. We pretty much all feel this way at the moment.

If Pisces teaches us anything, it's that individual struggles are actually shared struggles. Individual problems almost always connect to a common root, shared by many through time and space, and we certainly share many very large issues amongst us on Planet Earth at the moment.

(The ongoing nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, Japan and the oil/Corexit contamination of the Gulf of Mexico are two of the larger open Chiron in Pisces wounds, pertaining to the oceans (Pisces)).

The Mercury-Chiron aspect is past exact as most of us wake up on Tuesday (7:15 a.m. CST), though the themes will be colouring our experiences for the rest of the week.


This is an excerpt from the article, "Equinox-ing, Tipping Toward the Sun, and Watching Each Other's Backs For Dirty Piscean Tricks." It is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons, or it can be purchased for $4.75 by PayPal or email money transfer.

Please note: I send these articles out manually, and there may be a short delay after you pay before receiving your article. I'm sorry for any inconvenience.

Intensity Buffers

Communication planet Mercury has just nicely settled into Pisces (late on March 12) after an extended stay in highly-cerebral Aquarius since January 4, including a retrograde period from January 21 to February 11. That extended stay in Aquarius pretty much blistered our brains with an overload of flash-bang Uranian insights since the beginning of the year.

Whether you found the Mercury in Aquarius transit of 2015 simply intense or downright traumatic, it was definitely one for the history books. The house or houses where Aquarius lies in your natal chart was the fertile territory for mental rewiring, information downloads, and the intense "new era" crossover being experienced throughout the first months of 2015.

We are required to change our thinking in certain ways in order to be successful moving forward into the new era. The at-times overbearing challenges of the Mercury transit and retrograde through Aquarius pertained directly to that process.

Now, Mercury has glided into surreal-and-dreamy Pisces, where it will stay until breaking new ground in Aries March 30 (7:44 p.m. CST). This transit of Mercury through Pisces gives us a much-needed mental rest, allowing our minds to just drift for a while. We're bobbing along in a more passive and surrendered mental state (what else can we do but surrender at this point?) with the universe bringing us information and bits of necessary perspective in oddly serendipitous ways.

During the Mercury in Pisces transit, we will start to see the spiritual connections and the threads that link us to others through time and space, in struggle and in love, but the universe has a mind (and a timing) of its own. We're in a more transcendant mental space now, surrendering certain worries and concerns that dogged us relentlessly during Mercury in Aquarius, and this is a sweet relief.

Pisces is considered a sign of Mercury's detriment, being a sign opposite one it naturally rules (Virgo), and this is generally considered a challenging placement. It can be difficult to communicate our perceptions clearly or in a concise way with Mercury in Pisces. It can be difficult to know what our perceptions even are, exactly. Pisces is a sign of dreams, ghosts, illusions, going-with-the-flow, spiritual guidance, and otherworldly connections - all things that are diffuse, boundary-less, and hard to define in Mercurial terms. There can be some confusion, forgetfulness, and brain fog associated with Mercury in Pisces, attuned as it is to the otherworldly as much (or more so) than to the concrete, physical world.

However, the softened definitions and rosy hues of Pisces are just what our over-taxed synapses need following the Mercury in Aquarius transit. Even the more challenging aspects of Mercury in Pisces should be fairly welcome at this point.

With Mercury transiting Pisces until the end of the month, our dreams and "the other side" will be communicating with us more vividly than usual. We may need more unconscious processing time (ie. sleep) than usual. Drifting away from intensive conversation or social media connection could be just what our tired brains require. Allow for more unstructured time, less scheduling, fewer details, and a lighter mental load until the end of the month.

Mercury in Pisces squares Saturn in Sagittarius tomorrow morning (3:41 a.m.) before forming conjunctions to Neptune (March 18 at 2:49 a.m.) and then wounded healer Chiron in Pisces (March 24 at 7:15 a.m.). These Mercury aspects all occur in the morning, indicating again that there is a lot going on, a lot being processed, as we slumber. Some disrupted sleep patterns can be expected over the next couple weeks as we move through a roller coaster of an eclipse season...

We have a second intensity buffer on its way this week with Venus entering home-sweet-home Taurus on March 17 (4:15 a.m.) for a transit that lasts until April 11. This adds some much-needed Earth Mama energy and loveliness to the proceedings. Basic, simple, natural, healing, nourishing.

Venus has been transiting the sign of its detriment, warrior-esque Aries, while triggering the Uranus-Pluto square, so coming home to Taurus provides some much needed calm, grounding, and relaxation. It has been quite a triggered and sometimes-hostile transit of Venus through hot-blooded Aries (February 20 - March 17) as we battled our way into new relationship territory, and the ingress into earth sign Taurus allows us to move out of "high alert," particularly in relationships and with money matters. Things start to settle out a little on the other side of the Uranus-Pluto square March 16, and Venus in Taurus leads the way.

Venus and Mars came together in a conjunction at 1 degree Aries on February 21, 2015, propelling relationships into white-hot "new era" territory, like it or not. This was then taken up a few notches as both Venus and Mars in Aries activated the Uranus-Pluto square, creating relationship turmoil, upheaval, and re-positioning particularly between March 4 and March 11. More can be read on those aspects here: Just a Little "Intensity Heads Up"

We can expect further upheaval, changes, and developments along "new-era relationship re-positioning" lines as we move to the Libra Full Moon total lunar eclipse on April 4, followed by both the Sun and Mercury in Aries triggering the Uranus-Pluto square April 5 - 7. More will be shaken out there, new directions will be taken, and much of the current positioning in relationships and social scenes will likely be temporary. Expect things to be rocking and rolling on the relationship/social fronts during the first 10 days of April.

The Main Event

The Moon is currently transiting Scorpio (until it surfaces in Sagittarius at 5:30 p.m. CST on March 11), which means the general emotional climate is coloured strongly by dispositor bad boys Mars in Aries tightly square Pluto in Capricorn. You can cut the tension with a knife.

The emotional state is deep, dark, and compacted with some simmering rage possible. No one, and I mean no one, is in the mood to be messed with over the next few days.

Things are moving in and out of "crisis state." But most of us are used to this by now. Some of us were born used to it.

Mars in Aries will trigger the applying Uranus-Pluto square exactly on March 11, forming a conjunction to Uranus (10:06 a.m.) and a square to Pluto (4:41 p.m.). Something's about to blow - unless we can ease the pressure somehow.

All this is going on as Saturn slows to station retrograde March 14 (9:02 a.m.) and Uranus and Pluto form their seventh and final exact square aspect March 16 (8:54 p.m.). The state of things is weighing heavily upon us. Keep breathing; keep moving.

This is the final event of the Uranus-Pluto square series (2012 - 2015). The Big Show. The one we've been working toward. Capitalize wherever you can.

We have the momentum to move mountains now, to change detrimental patterns that have been with us for generations - so long as we find the courage to make the necessary changes and then stick with them.

Where do you dearly desire to create change in your life? The universe is supporting this now in a way that we will likely never experience again. So don't hold back. Don't settle for less. It's do-or-die, now-or-never.

Clinging to the way things have always been is the best way to get walloped by this square aspect between the planet of upheaval and shock, Uranus, and the planet of transformation and endings, Pluto.

Be ready to move. Be ready to change. Be ready to grow in unexpected (yet required) ways. Be ready to have your heart dropped into the dirt a few times, but we're moving too fast to spend much time dwelling on it. This is the big surge and the big purge all in one.

We are absolutely hurtling into the 29-degree New Moon total solar eclipse in Pisces on March 20 (3:36 a.m.). This is the New Moon to end all New Moons. Or rather, it's the New Moon that begins all Aquarian Age New Moons. This is a New Moon on the very last degree of the zodiac, and it's a full, total eclipse backdrop change.

This is the end of the astrological Piscean era. It's sad and devastating and exciting and exhilarating all at the same time.

From a previous post:

"We're blowing some major Piscean-era karma - personal and/or collective - out of the way here, and it may be a bit of a bumpy ride. We're advancing beyond old siren songs, mirages, illusions, disappointments, and old-era traps, and only Uranus and Pluto moving full speed direct into this final square in the cardinal signs could provide the energy and catalytic forward-ho we need to get this job done."

The psychic cacophony of pain and jubilance and chaos and sweetness and disappointment and love will be pushed to a head at the Full Moon total lunar eclipse at 14 degrees Libra on April 3/4.

The Libra Full Moon triggers the Uranus-Pluto square directly, as well, so the emotional edge we're experiencing now is really not going anywhere for the next few weeks. Enjoy any moments of reprieve while they last. The Moon in Libra will form a square to Pluto in Capricorn and an opposition to Uranus in Aries just after the opposition to the Aries Sun marks the Full Moon on April 4 (2:31 a.m.).

We are officially operating within "new era" relationship themes as of that Libra eclipse, so expect some relational detritus to be flying off at a pretty rapid rate around that time. Things will be "getting real," as they say, during the first week of April, particularly in interpersonal relationships and social settings.

The emotional backdrop change we're moving through involves dropping the love and relational ideals of an era now past while embracing the exhilarating current moment that we are experiencing together - the only moment that exists. 

Both the Sun and Mercury in Aries will trigger the Uranus-Pluto square yet again following the Libra Full Moon, and we have officially arrived. The changes are right in front of us now, permeating our minds and our current moments. We can't look away, and we can't go back again.  

The Sun in Aries will move from Full Moon position into a square to Pluto in Capricorn April 5 (9:08 a.m.) and a conjunction to Uranus in Aries April 6 (8:08 a.m.). Messenger planet Mercury in Aries will follow shortly after, forming a square to Pluto in Capricorn April 7 (6:07 p.m.) and a conjunction to Uranus in Aries April 8 (6:20 a.m.). We can expect more turbulence here as people upset apple carts by moving in new and unexpected directions. During the first week of April, we are gaining the full awareness and perspective we need to continue breaking new era trail, but this is not without its challenges and difficulty.

The Sun and Mercury will follow all that intensity up with their own exterior conjunction at 19 degrees Aries on April 9 (10:00 p.m.).

These are some amazing times we're living through. Intense, difficult, painful but with immense potential that is only just beginning to unfold.

I'll see you all on the other side of it. 

Patrons Not Receving Articles in their Email Inbox

I've received word that a couple patrons are not receiving their articles in their email inbox.

Patrons, would you please check to make sure that you are receiving the articles from me?

The last article that was sent out was titled: "Saturn Retrograde Sets its Steely Gaze on Late Scorpio: the Final Resolution of Old Heartbreaks, Hurts, and Unfinished Business," and I believe it was sent out on February 23, 2015.

My email address is also sometimes put into the Spam folder, so please check there, also.

If you have not been receiving your articles, please let me know. I will start a second mass mailout list and see if that solves the problem.

Thank-you.

Willow

Just a Little "Intensity Heads Up"

It's apparent that things are just plain too intense on Planet Earth at the moment, but the tension and edge don't appear to let up all that much for the next six weeks.

We're closing in on the seventh and final square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn, exact March 16. This is the first square of the series where both planets are moving direct, and the velocity with which things are moving and changing could make one's head spin.

We're blowing some major Piscean-era karma - personal and/or collective - out of the way here, and it may be a bit of a bumpy ride. We're advancing beyond old siren songs, mirages, illusions, disappointments, and old-era traps, and only Uranus and Pluto moving full speed direct into this final square in the cardinal signs could provide the energy and catalytic forward-ho we need to get this job done.

These themes are carried right through March equinox and the 29-degree Pisces New Moon total solar eclipse on March 20 and into the following 28-day lunar cycle. Pace yourselves.

Expect particular turbulence between March 4 and March 11, with a Virgo Full Moon at 14 degrees on March 5.

Relationship-related planets Venus and Mars are breaking new trail in feisty, hot-blooded Aries. We've gotten a taste of the fresh relational territory within our grasp, and nothing can stand in our way now but ourselves.

Jupiter Rx in Leo forms a fiery trine to Uranus in Aries on March 3 (6:25 a.m. CST), and we are creating the new forms as we go. 

Love planet Venus in Aries will trine Jupiter Rx in Leo on March 4 before forming a conjunction to Uranus in Aries and a square to Pluto in Capricorn later that day. We're being propelled beyond the draining Piscean-era relational constructs and dynamics and re-positioned in relationships of all kinds for new-era success. But we have to be willing to fight for it. We have to be willing to settle for nothing less. We have to channel the warrior spirit here and stand up for ourselves in relation to others whenever necessary. Any turbulence experienced around the time of these Venus aspects is related to this process of endings and beginnings all rolled up in one. Stand back from any relational turbulence, allow the detritus to be spun off, and don't take it personally. Just keep moving toward the relationship dynamics you wish to experience.

Action and goal-related planet Mars follows Venus into the same aspects on March 10/11. Mars in Aries will trine Jupiter Rx in Leo early on March 10 (12:04 a.m.), providing a burst of energy and motion. If you're pissed off, use that anger as fuel to move you out of the same old crappy dynamics, beyond their reach.

Mars will then rub up against the Uranus-Pluto square, forming a conjunction to Uranus and a square to Pluto on March 11, and this could create some friction. Changes in direction, desires, and goals can be expected around this time.

Communication planet Mercury leaves its retrograde shadow at 17 degrees Aquarius on March 3, as well. Expect the messages of the Mercury retrograde period to become clearer now. Final bits of information and perspective about the way forward from here are coming together during the first days of March.

The extended stay of Mercury in Aquarius, disposited by Uranus in Aries, has been a bit intense. Mercury will move into the slippery sign of its detriment, Pisces, on March 12 (9:52 p.m.), and I have a feeling that even the confusion and brain fog associated with Mercury in Pisces may be welcome as a reprieve from highly-cerebral Aquarius. Mercury in Pisces certainly softens the edges a bit, if nothing else.

With Saturn stationing retrograde in Sagittarius, remember: Breathe. Meditate. Be philosophical about it all. Allow the mystery and magic of the big picture to take over. Step aside. Sit it out. Allow the intensity and hub-bub to pass you by whenever necessary. There is wisdom in slowing down and in allowing nature and the universe to take care of themselves.

Avoiding the Seven-Year Itch at Willow's Web Astrology Blog

Today is the seven-year anniversary of the first Willow's Web Astrology blog post, which hit the astro blogosphere with a bang on February 25, 2008.

I was living in oil-rich, gentrified-and-cleansed Calgary, Alberta at the time, working at a magical import art store called Art of My Heart. Art of My Heart was, unfortunately, bulldozed over by the Pluto in Capricorn steamroller in early 2009. And then I got poisoned by Cipro. But for a tiny window of time there during which WWA blog was spawned, things were pretty A-OK in Willow's world!

Now I'm back where I came from, living in the rural area where I grew up. I'm still in oil country (with the oil flares to prove it! sigh), but I'm also right where I need to be to continue reporting on the critical (and buried) issues of the times. I live in the primary uranium-producing province in all of North America. I'm in the middle of the Bakken oilfield. I'm surrounded by chemical-intensive genetically modified agriculture (but also plenty of great gardeners and greenhouse growers, as well). The politics here run right-wing conservative and Old Boys' Club. The relationships run to the "traditional gender roles/family units that don't really work for anyone at this point." There's plenty of work to do, plenty of work to do.

So my baby is seven years old today, no longer a baby at all.

Wow, time sure flies when humanity is on the brink of annihilation, doesn't it?

Thank-you for your support of Willow's Web Astrology over the years via comments, emails, and patronages. If I didn't know that these energy-intensive articles were hitting the mark, I doubt I would have had the confidence to continue writing and pouring my heart and soul into them. So thank-you for letting me know.

To the whiners, the complainers, and the overly-entitled sorts who think they have a say in what goes on here, as always, I thumb my nose in your general direction and will continue to do so as long as this blog is operational. *eye bat, eye bat*

I will continue to write some content that is free for the general public and some that is available in its entirety only to patrons and paying customers. There will likely be fewer articles than in the past, but the articles that do appear will be substantial, as usual.

I don't ask anyone else to work for free, so please don't ask or expect me to. Astrological analysis and writing are work. They're hard work. And I deserve fair and basic compensation for the work that I do and for the assistance and guidance I provide in these times.

If you don't believe I deserve fair and basic compensation for the work that I do, you are no friend to Willow's Web Astrology, and I would ask that you hitch your wagon to another astrologer instead. There are plenty out there.

I have to say, I've perused the Solar Return chart for the blog for this year, and I like it. I like it a lot. There will be some intense challenges, of course, but lots of good stuff going on, too. Sun conjunct Neptune in Pisces. Venus-Mars in Aries trine Saturn in Sagittarius. Moon in Gemini trine Mercury in Aquarius trine the North Node in Libra. Ceres and Pluto bringing their hardcore power together with a conjunction in Capricorn.

All in all, this baby has the fire to go another year for sure and maybe even another seven, who knows?

(We really can't plan too far ahead with Fukushima spewing into its 4th year, now, can we?)

This blog has been a lifesaver for me over these past seven years - not least of which because it has provided me a way to survive financially through utter Big Pharma-induced health devastation. This blog has allowed me to improve and utilize my skills, and it has brought me into contact with like-minded people from all around the globe, something I very, very rarely find in my day-to-day life. For that, I am forever grateful.

Happy Seventh Birthday, Willow's Web Astrology blog! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. Here's to many more to come.

Saturn Retrograde Sets its Steely Gaze on Late Scorpio: the Final Resolution of Old Heartbreaks, Hurts, and Unfinished Business

The planet of karmic challenges, Saturn, is currently slowing to station retrograde in Sagittarius, and the squeeze is on during the last days of February and first three weeks of March.

Saturn will station at 4 degrees Sagittarius on March 14 (9:02 a.m. CST) for a retrograde period that lasts until August 2, 2015.

With Saturn stationing retrograde, we may experience increased feelings of frustration or restriction. Our forward progress, previously inspiring to us, may now feel stymied or slowed. Our responsibilities may be weighing heavily upon us, and our fears could be grinding at us a little. We may feel just plain tired and old. We may experience some setbacks, being pulled back into territory we thought we had already progressed beyond, and this can be demoralizing and depressing. The expansion we were working toward is not quite here yet.

These effects can be expected - off and on - from late February through the first three weeks of March.

The Saturn retrograde also occurs during the seventh and final exact square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn (March 16 at 8:54 p.m.). This adds to the intensity, potentially increasing the fear/anxiety/frustration/arghhhhh of the Saturn station.


This is an excerpt from the article, "Saturn Retrograde Sets its Steely Gaze on Late Scorpio: the Final Resolution of Old Heartbreaks, Hurts, and Unfinished Business." It is available in its entirety to Willow's Web Astrology patrons, or it can be purchased for $6.50 by PayPal or email money transfer.

Please note: I send these articles out myself, so there may be a short delay before you receive your article. This is especially the case over a weekend. Sorry for any inconvenience. 

"Pisces For the Aquarian Era" and More Post-Pisces Clearance on the Love Front

 Pisces Season. Sleepy. Shh.

Photo: Willow

We are now moving into a 29-degree Aquarius New Moon on February 18 (5:47 p.m. CST) - the bookend New Moon to the zero-degree Aquarius New Moon we experienced January 20.

New Moons indicate new cycles opening and something fresh about to unfold, especially related to emotions and emotional patterns. With bookend New Moons in Aquarius, we are developing and securing an emotional anchor that will carry us through the turbulence and into the new astrological era.

Now, according to my data, this February 18 New Moon occurs on the very last breath of Aquarius, at the very last possible moment of the sign. Other people are calling this a zero-degree Pisces New Moon.

To me, it doesn't really matter all that much. We are in a major "change of eras" transition and a major clearing of the emotional slate as we move through the first months of 2015. It's a little messy, a little confusing, but a lot exhilarating. And it likely isn't necessary to quibble over the details.

What we can be sure of is that this New Moon keeps those "change of era" themes rolling.

From now through the 29-degree Aquarius New Moon, both relationship-related planets, Venus and Mars, are traveling through oh-so-karmic late Pisces. It requires nothing less than Uranian dynamite charges to break up and change the dynamics and patterns held here. Lucky for us, Uranus is in very strong and influential position at the moment. You can read more about the effects of the strong Uranus energy during the first months of 2015 in this post: "Powerfully-Positioned Uranus in Aries Leads the Charge Through Aquarius Season."

As we move into Pisces season 2015 (February 18 - March 20), we're making the final transition into a new expression for the sign of Pisces - Pisces for the astrological Aquarian era. This is true for all 12 of the zodiac signs. The way we express them in the new era is different, and we are tasked with experimenting and figuring out what will be successful in every passing moment. Challenging!

But Pisces may just be the trickiest sign to transition, caught as it is so often in the attachment to old-era love ideals, dreams, and illusions. The cycles of bliss then torment, hope then despair. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

Another "Valentine's Day for the Aquarian Age" Piece From the Vault

As an addition to the previous post on celebrating the love for our friends this Valentine's Day, you can listen to me and Matt Savinar bantering away about love and relationship, Aquarian era-style, on his radio show at the link below. This show was originally aired in February 2013:

Willow and Matt Savinar on the North Bay Astrology Show

 

I'm grateful to call Matt Savinar a friend and colleague, and I'm grateful for all the wonderful, whip-smart people I've come into contact with via this blog over the years. Finding you like-minded souls has helped keep me sane through these wild-ass times on Planet Earth. 

Please note that this show was done under Jupiter in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces, so it is admittedly a little meander-y. If you like me and Matt as astrologers, you might think it's cool. If you don't like me and Matt as astrologers, why are you even reading this? heh

Communication planet Mercury is currently stationing and will go direct at 1 degree Aquarius on February 11 (8:57 a.m. CST). This Mercury retrograde has been a little tough on the Scorp brain, so I'm just riding it out. Things will be rolling again soon, though, and I'm currently working on a juicy article that will be presented a little later.

Happy Juno Day, comrades! With Venus and Mars in Pisces, I hope the "new Pisces" love is flowing to you and through you.

Celebrating the Love for Our Friends this Valentine's Day

In honour of Mercury retrograde in Aquarius (and spurred by a suggestion from a treasured and timely colleague), I've updated an older post on Valentine's Day for the astrological Aquarian era. The themes still apply as we continue to adapt relationship rules and conventions for weird and wild Aquarius:

The Piscean era is over - if we choose to make it so. And the last layers of wounding Piscean-era thinking, particularly around love and relationship, are set to go now.

We can have the best of Pisces in relationship - the full and spiritual love, the delightful intermingling of auras, the compassion, the magic, the bliss, the romance, the sweetness. But we don't have to turn relationships into one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs by insisting in juvenile fashion that they be only those things. Or even primarily those things.

Pisces has a place in love and relationship in the astrological Aquarian era. A big place. But it isn't the only place, as it has been. It doesn't colour the ideals as heavily. It isn't the version of love placed atop a pedestal to worship.

Love and relationships are different in the astrological Aquarian era. That's all there is to it.

Under this umbrella, we're complete as we are. Self-contained. We don't need anyone to prop us up, to complete us, to add what we lack. That doesn't mean we don't need people or that we don't need love. It means that we aren't incomplete without it. We aren't damaged beyond all recovery by not having a personal love relationship.

We come together as two (or more) equal and self-contained units in Aquarius. We create the win-win by being ultra fabulous and skilled in what we bring to the partnership and by partnering with others who bring ultra fabulous skills to the table.

We don't fully immerse ourselves in the energetic forcefield of another. We don't lose ourselves or allow another to be lost in us. We don't join with people purely for healing purposes. We stand on our own and accept the healing that comes to us through love and relationship.

We don't pin expectations on anyone to fulfill our pink-tinged dreams of Hollywood romance and Happily Ever After. We make the Happily Ever After ourselves. We build it together one step at a time. And some of those steps are pretty fucking rough. Don't let that convince you that your relationships are anything less than the New Age's "twin flame" variety.

The personal relationship planets (Venus and Mars) are in dreamy Pisces this Valentine's Day with the Sun and Mercury in clear-minded Aquarius, and the transition of the eras is being translated through love, sex, desire, companionship, relationship, and friendship.

This Valentine's Day is a good time to fall fully and deeply in love with your friends, as well as with your lovers/mates.

Aquarius is a sign relating to friends, community, and like-minded individuals. Part of the shift into Aquarian-era relationship constructs involves the friend relationship coming into its full status. It has been relegated to second best for far too long. Friends have taken a lot of shit playing second fiddle to the ideal of the Glorious and Perfect Love Relationship, and this has been very painful at times.

Under the astrological Aquarian-era umbrella, our friendships are love relationships. We're in love with our friends.

Under Aquarian-era relationship rules, we can hold a space open, a new Aquarian space, for the high privilege of and deep gratitude for real friendship. Friendship can come into its full value.

And in the Age of Aquarius, we are not too weird for love. We are not too weird for relationships. There is a match for anyone who needs love.

As we exit the sometimes-torturous final years of the astrological Piscean era, we are not too damaged for love, either. We are not too damaged to love. There are people who are traumatized by the same things that traumatize us. They'll understand. They'll love you for all you've been through, just as you'll love them for it.

The conjunctions of relationship planets Venus and Mars to wounded healer Chiron in Pisces (Mars January 31; Venus February 7) remind us that we are all pretty much damaged by the way things are. We've been damaged by it, and we continue to be damaged by it. The astrological Aquarian era just democratizes the damage. We're egalitarian comrades, like it or not, in our inability to remain fully unscathed - physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, psychically, spiritually - by the current ways of doing things on this planet.

Honouring the love, companionship, and sanity that friends provide us (including friends who are lovers) is a beautiful way to spend this Valentine's Day.

Friendship is hot. Our friends are super cool hotties. This Valentine's Day, appreciate all the depth and the nuances of friend love.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends, from Willow's Web Astrology!

Powerfully-Positioned Uranus in Aries Leads the Charge Through Aquarius Season

We move through the zero-degree Aquarius New Moon portal on January 20 like a shot.

The velocity with which things are moving now and for the following three months is astounding - but we need all this velocity in order to break through.

We are changing the blueprints, changing the rules, and changing set patterns. These are patterns that have been continued for generations, for thousands of years in many cases, and we need the big, bold Uranian charge, as ruler of Aquarius, to both disrupt these patterns and to propel us forward into something new, beyond old traps and sticking points.

So you see, the disruption of the standard ways is necessary now, nothing to mourn or lament.

Things are busting loose on Planet Earth over the next three months, and there's no going back. If you've been following the true narrative on this planet, you'll realize we don't want to go back. We have nothing to go back to. Despite the temptations of nostalgia, there has never been a fully satisfactory time on this planet.

We have to keep moving. And move we will.

This Aquarius season is disposited (heavily influenced) by electric rabble rouser Uranus in Aries conjunct the South Node of the Moon and tightly square Pluto in Capricorn. Intense. Powerful. The moving of mountains.

Uranus forms an exact conjunction to the South Node in Aries on January 20 - on the day of the zero-degree Aquarius New Moon (occurring at 7:14 a.m. CST) - and this aspect produces the dominant themes for the following 28-day lunar cycle.

Uranus is also hurtling into the seventh and final Uranus-Pluto square, exact on March 16, 2015 - the first square in the series where both Uranus and Pluto will be moving direct.

We're spinning things off left and right as we move into new era energetics - in our selves, in our lives, in our relationships, in our families, businesses, societies, and institutions. There isn't one area of life that is left untouched by this final square aspect between the planet of revolution and the planet of transformation.