Scorpio Solar Eclipse: Alchemical transformations

Today’s New Moon Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, sign of passionate depths, merges with Venus on the far side of the Sun. It initiates a new chapter in the watery Scorpio realm of our charts, which involves a transformative death and rebirth-like release. Eclipses trigger powerful shifts of fate and fortune, which can begin unfolding a month prior and up to six months after the Eclipse itself. Solar Eclipses are like super-charged New Moons and open up new possibilities, pathways and storylines but when they’re aligned with the South Node they’re also likely to involve a shedding. 

This Eclipse, which is conjunct Venus at 2 degrees Scorpio, occurs two days after the planet of love and attraction entered the heart of the Sun at 29 degrees of her own sign, Libra for the first time in 150 years. This shift in Venus’ synodic cycle signals a radical albeit incremental improvement in Venusian topics over the next 150 years. Women’s rights, gender and racial equality, democratic and social justice movements, fairer financial systems and the arts should all develop significantly during this period, although the process of advancement is likely to involve the aggravation of issues that are currently in dire need of balancing and correction. Venus and the Sun will make a final conjunction in Scorpio at 0 degrees in 2026, suggesting continued power struggles in these areas, however this Venus-Eclipse conjunction, which also trines natal Venus in the chart of Iran almost exactly, reinforces the significance of the move into Libra and suggests the potential for lasting social change in the long term.

Mars rules this Eclipse from Gemini, and as it slows down to station retrograde on October 31, it places intense emphasis on our thoughts, words, ideas and perceptions as we parse the stories we tell ourselves and glean the important facts from the data. In Scorpio we’re willing and/or able to delve deep, to research underlying dynamics and reflect on the mythical significance of our own evolutionary processes. As we consciously adjust our perceptions and direct courageous actions inwards, we create openings for insights that transform our view and offer us greater freedom. Mars, the god of sharp things, excels at cutting, pruning and surgery, and shares a similar impulse to its ruler Mercury who’s an expert in dissection and discernment. This South Node Solar Eclipse offers us an opportunity to change our minds, to eliminate malignant thinking, to release toxic patterns and ideas and eradicate the baggage that’s been blocking our transformations, and it offers us a new lease on life.

The Nodes of the Moon hold mythical significance in Jyotish tradition, as the severed head (Rahu) and body (Ketu) of the dragon-demon Rakshasha. Slain by Vishnu for stealing a sip of the elixir of immortality, amrita, churned from the cosmic ocean of milk that produced Venus and the Moon, immortal Rahu is ceaseless hunger, worldly desire and obsessive focus, while Ketu, eternally dying, is associated with the mystical processes of liberation that are derived from loss and the surrendering of our material ambitions. The Moon, which is exalted in the sensory pleasure-realm of Taurus, finds her fall in the deep, dark depths of Scorpio, and Venus too must work overtime to harmonise and achieve equity in the sign of passionate extremes and power struggles. There are quincunxes agogo on this lunation too, which further emphasise the confusion, discomfort and self-doubt we may feel as we work to plant the seeds of an unknown future in the darkness as we release dead weight. If we can find beauty in the fecund, albeit emotionally intense, subterranean caves and waterscapes of the psyche, and succumb to feeling, we find rich nourishment and abundance that activates the alchemical magic of Scorpio. 

Scorpio is the sign of dragons, the occult and healing through confrontation with the wounds of the unconscious, and it rules evolutionary development in our response to fear and security. Pluto, whose name means ‘riches’ is the modern ruler of Scorpio. God of death and Lord of the Underworld, Pluto demanded a tax to cross the river Styx at death. Scorpio rules the ‘cost of life’ - the taxes we pay, literal and metaphorical to be alive, investments and other people’s money and the will to power. The magic shapeshifting symbolism of Scorpio, which encompasses the scorpion, spider, lizard, snake, wolf and eagle, represents a process of strategic sophistication in attaining true security, autonomy and abundance. Primal defence strategies give way to freedom in flight. It’s a powerful moment to consider the fears that are preventing us from becoming the soaring selves we imagine but also to consider our own concepts of power. In an almost identical story told by Kimberley and Celtic peoples, a contest for supremacy was staged by the birds, with the winner determined on the basis of altitude. Eagle, unsurprisingly proclaimed itself victor from high above its peers. But Wren had secured passage under the shelter of its wing, and darted above Eagle, declaring itself the winner. It’s a sweet reminder, both of the power of small things and of the potential we each possess to achieve the impossible. Birds have been reminding me to appreciate small beauties, to sing, to know that what we’re doing is enough, and to avoid becoming mired in feelings of inadequacy by trusting the prevailing winds. 

Mars is still making its long square to Neptune, planet of flood, fog, delusion and deceit, healing and visionary imagination, until the end of November. When Jupiter retrogrades back into Pisces on Friday October 28, the tension and opportunities are amplified. Although the Greater Benefic rules Pisces, it’s moving through the final Saturn and Mars-ruled degrees of the sign and towards the planet of water, Neptune, signalling more wild weather, floods, hacking and internet scams, ideological violence, political delusions and large-scale deceptions. It’s also incredible energy for reworking and revising projects and ideas of imagination, for healing wounds of the mind and psyche, for meditation, art, writing and journalling. Mercury will join Mars in Scorpio on October 30 right before the action planet stations retrograde - the moment when its energy is most intense. The two are in mutual reception, which should help us channel the tensions into reflective and creative activities that produce insights. Expect surprising news of all kinds while Mercury and Mars hang out in each other’s signs.

#solarsouthnodeeclipse #scorpio #solareclipse #venus #venuscycle #eagle #wren #dreaming #kimberley #celtic #nodes #ketu #rahu #rakshasha #jyotish #mars #gemini #jupiter #neptune #pisces #art #astrology

Precious jewels of possibility

If you’re feeling a little pummelled in the feels this week lovelies, take heart. As Venus, planet of love & harmony, & the Sun - our vitality, conscious awareness & spiritual growth - in Libra square Pluto, planet of death & rebirth in Capricorn today, the vibes are intense but the potential is alchemical.

With Venus on the far side of the Sun, feelings of disconnection & isolation may feel bigger than usual as we traverse the wastelands of old relationship patterns, old traumas, old expressions of self-worth & old forms of material identity. It’s a time to tend to inner sensitivities with tenderness & compassion & to remember that we also find access to power and rejuvenation in this realm. Plutonic eruptions may lay waste to the dodgy structures in our lives, which are ill-equipped to resource our current needs, but they also thrust diamonds to the surface from deep within the molten lithosphere. This week’s astrology is rich ground for fossicking & the jewels of insight we discover both empower our transformations & enrich the quality of our relationships.

Both malefics are close to Earth at the moment - Saturn stations direct on Sunday & Mars stations retrograde on October 31 - which could potentially intensify feelings of hopelessness, exhaustion, melancholy, anxiety, anger & reactivity but it’s worth remembering that the malefics actually work extremely well in concert, bringing drive & determination to the materialisation of passionate ideas, & more so as they move towards an expansive & optimistic cooperation on November 29.

Mercury, planet of communication, also opposes Chiron today, the asteroid associated with wounds that lead us to mastery, suggesting an opportunity to communicate insights about triggering situations in ways that allow us to heal, release, share & integrate their wisdom. Both planets are quincunx the Nodes, an aspect that can point to dilemmas that exist more in our minds than in objective reality, which is also good to remember. Humour & creativity are the ideal tools for working with these kinds of riddles.

Tuesday’s Solar Eclipse in Scorpio holds a powerful signature of death & rebirth, which make the coming days powerful for considering what we’re truly ready to release & bury with a sense of sacredness & reverence, & what precious jewels of possibility we want to bring forth in their place. They too will require polishing with awe & careful devotion.

#sunvenussquarepluto #pluto #venus #sun #chiron #mercury #southnode #northnode #quincunx #capricorn #libra #scorpio #gemini  #aries #likeengirding #floridstate  #diamonds #gems #scorpiosolareclipse

The fire in our blood: Aries Full Moon 2022

This is a detailed two week report lovelies, which takes us up to the first eclipse of the season on October 25. 🌞🌙🫀

The Full Moon at 16 Aries on Monday October 10 reveals to us the fruits of actions and events that were seeded on the Aries New Moon in April 🌶 one of the big activation windows in the astrological year. Whatever raw energy was driving us forward then has achieved a degree of concreteness now that we can see in clear light. The Full Moon illuminates areas that now require further consideration, adjustment and/or integration, and brings energies to a peak. In Aries we may feel a greater struggle to resolve our conflicting drives, however, with the Full Moon conjunct Chiron, the centaur healer and teacher of heroes, this lunation highlights the ability to gain deeper wisdom and understanding of the wounds that propel us and their power since what we struggle with eventually becomes our strength.

The Aries-Libra axis deals with the poles of self-assertion and identity and the reflective receptivity required of relationship. Venus, planet of love, relationships, diplomacy, friendship, creativity and abundance, is in home territory in Libra and lends benefic influence to these topics. Venus is also travelling with the Sun in a superior conjunction, moving as far from Earth as she can possibly get, now and into early November. Invisible beneath the Sun’s bright rays, her focus is on inner work that serves conscious growth. Combustion can be like a kind of burning that saps the power of planets moving too close to the Sun but Venus is protected in her Libran chariot until Sunday October 23 and lending her positive influence to the Sun. Although the Sun is exalted in Aries, where it’s empowered to enact its intentions, it finds its fall in Libra, where it must compromise with others and learn how to collaborate harmoniously/connect intimately with other desires seeking expression. Organise important relationship/business/project or other conversations while Venus exerts this benefic influence. 🌸

The planet of passion, conflict, courage, action and ‘what we want’, Mars, rules this Full Moon however, and as it slows down to station retrograde in Gemini on Monday October 31, it’s close to the Earth and gaining intensity. In the sign of the mind, communication, writing, technology, data and local travel for a full seven months, Mars will spend two months retrograde until Wednesday January 11. It could be a more inward-focused, reflective time of reviewing and refining ideas in the behind the scenes work involved in getting a project in motion, of reintegrating elements from older experiments into the materialising idea. Those born with Mars retrograde on the other hand, may feel empowered to take action on launching projects during this period. In Gemini, Mars can both sharpen the mind and cause mental agitation and during the retrograde period, grounding activities, breathing exercises and journalling are excellent remediations for reducing stress and optimising mental acuity. The various data breaches/cyber attacks we’ve seen on Australian telecommunication companies and the Australian Defence Force recently are a textbook malefic expression of Mars in Gemini, and at a personal level, we should make a habit of thinking twice before expressing words in anger throughout this period.

With Jupiter still retrograde in Aries, the sign associated with the primal urge to be accepted for who we are, small, courageous acts of faith in the face of our self-doubts will still be required. There can be an unconscious impulse in Aries to react aggressively from feelings of unworthiness but Venus brings a greater ability to harmonise differences and perceive other perspectives. Mercury also lends its communication and cognitive prowess to relationship dynamics on Tuesday October 11 when it moves into Libra, potentially providing greater clarity on a relationship scenario playing out in late August and September. When Mercury opposes Jupiter on Wednesday October 12, it’s  an exchange that could expand our view of ourselves and the scope of our relationships and reveal the details that still require balancing.

On the same day, the Sun in Libra trines Saturn in Aquarius. It’s a window for crystallising future-oriented visions and the closing trine in a cycle that began on 5 Feb with a Sun-Saturn conjunction at 15 Aquarius, one of the four World Points. It initiated the process of materialising a new vision. The last Sun-Saturn trine on June 16 was an opening aspect with the Sun in Gemini, a point in the cycle when we were only beginning to give form to our nascent ideas. Now we’re busy making them manifest. Growth areas are in diplomacy, creativity and collaboration. Mars also squares Neptune, planet of fog and confusion, deception, transcendence,  imagination, compassion, grief and forgiveness on October 12, which cautions us against taking action before carefully assessing the necessary information or considering all relevant perspectives, or projecting on others as a source of conflict. At the same time, activities of a more imaginative, reflective, creative or healing nature are well-starred for transmuting the tensions that may surface.

On Friday October 14 Venus trines Saturn, which affords us a greater sense of realism in relation to our visions whilst enhancing the ease and artfulness of their current materialisation. A great day to work on the things that we value and want to be long-lasting. On Tuesday October 18 the Sun trines Mars, which empowers us to take action on business, project, relationship and other intentions with Venus offering harmonious support. On Wednesday October 19 Venus trines Mars, which enhances the power of our charm offensives, making us delightfully magnetic, appealing company. Get out and socialise or stay in and make great art. The next day, the Sun and Venus square Pluto as Mercury opposes Chiron on Thursday October 20. This turn of events suggests more intense confrontations with the wounds that have shaped us, and insights that reveal the power forged through them.

On Sunday 23 October Venus is briefly cazimi the Sun (8:17am - 6:52pm AEDT). The ancients conceived of exact conjunctions with the Sun as a planet’s exalted empowerment at ‘the heart’ or ‘throne’ of the Sun. It doesn’t last long unfortunately. Milk the artistic and conversational potential before Venus enters Scorpio in the evening. Things get more intense and far less comfortable when she’s exposed to the Sun’s burning rays in the sign of her detriment. She’s unable to act on her own authority and we may see Venusian topics suffer accordingly. Adding to this tense state of affairs, Saturn also turns direct this day (@ 3:07pm), which could tilt authoritarian leaders towards heavier crackdowns. Both Benefics will be at 0 degrees of the Mars-ruled signs in a quincunx aspect on this day also, which suggests an attempt at resolution that has no guarantee of success.

The upside of Venus in Scorpio on the far side of the Sun however, is that we can focus our energies on inner transformations that empower us to attract what want we most passionately in our lives. With Venus so far from Earth, we also have greater objectivity in our ability to see situations from a distance, and in Scorpio we’re more strategic in our plans, keeping things under wraps until we’re ready to launch at our targets. The ancient Babylonians knew Venus as Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Goddess of both Love and War and her synodic cycle with the Sun is described in her myth. She was considered most war-like in her Morning Star phase, which she entered this year a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, as she travels with the Sun, she remains invisible in the sky until December 22. When she finally emerges again it will be as an Evening Star, when her more peaceful, diplomatic and amorous qualities are said to be enhanced. We can only hope that on the global stage, cooler Evening-Star Venusian heads will prevail also…

And that takes us to Eclipse season! Until then lovelies, follow your sweet hearts and enjoy the Venusian magic. 💗♥️🌞🌙🌟🔥☄️🌶🌺

#venus #mars #inanna #babylonianastrology #morningstar #eveningstar #saturn #mercury #jupiter #pluto #neptune #chiron #scorpio #aries #libra #aquarius #pisces #gemini #ariesfullmoon #fullmoon #marsretrograde  #astrology #forecast

Saturn-Uranus square 1-12 October 2022: Grounding the breakthrough vision into reality

I’m feeling super-inspired and grateful for the special group of people who contributed to Saturday’s spontaneous workshop-experiment, which explored some of the dynamics of the final Saturn-Uranus closing square, happening this week. I always encourage my students to take risks and embrace the potential for failure in their creative experiments but I get why it’s so hard to do. The pressure is so intense not only to be hyper-productive in this mad capitalist society but for our outputs to be of spectacular quality. We compare ourselves with the masters of our crafts, and when everything is documented for a digital eternity it feels prohibitive to risk failing publicly. Which is a shame because failure has so many great benefits for experimentation. All of which is to say that I’m feeling so energised by the failures of this creative experiment. The shame I felt afterwards was great practice for self-compassion, the people who accompanied me on this spontaneous journey were the very best I could have hoped to fail with, and the whole experience turned out to be incredibly rewarding in some incredibly unexpected ways.

Suffice to say that I did not succeed in cutting back, streamlining or reducing my workload in this experiment! The recording is available in two parts as a result, for anyone who’s interested to check any of it out and I’m sorry about the crappy quality. I’ve gotten worse at Final Cut Pro in the long gap between videos. The first video (Saturn-Uranus square: Grounding the breakthrough vision into reality) describes the context of the bigger cycle that this week’s closing square fits within. Hopefully it helps to inspire insight into the significance of some larger storylines playing out in our lives and in the opportunities and challenges that we’re individually grappling with now. The second video (Saturn Uranus closing square: All Rising Signs) contains an overview of the astrology in this 12 day period with time-stamped rising-sign readings. If you’ve found them interesting previously hopefully they’ll be worthwhile this time also but after this experiment I know I won’t be doing rising sign readings in future… (If you’re reading this in Insta you can check the videos out via the link in my bio).

But for those who don’t have time for epic astrological overviews etc, here are some of the take-aways in a nutshell: This last roughly 10 year phase of the Saturn-Uranus cycle, we’re mastering our ability to ground a vision into the world. But right now we have time to get things wrong. As we make choices in relation to what we value most, cutting away, little by little, the things that aren’t working, experimenting, failing, innovating, stumbling, course-correcting, trying new things, and practicing what we care about, we’ll attain the kind of excellence we’re aiming for, eventually. The next two weeks may contain some stress-tests but they’re powerful portals through which breakdowns have the potential to reveal liberating insights and energising breakthroughs. They’re not a sign that we’re not doing it right. They’re signals of opportunity that require a deeply compassionate and tender acceptance of ourselves. We’re doing a bloody great job, all things considered my friends. So if you’re feeling a little shook and pummelled around this time, keep reminding yourself of this very important fact with Saturnian persistence. The keys lie in trusting ourselves and what we have to offer; embracing the kinds of creative risks that could both result in failure and open us up to revolutionary shifts that align us more closely with our vision; and simplifying and refining the structures that support us in this work as we keep dancing around those sweet fleeting moments of balance…

#saturnuranussquare #experiment #workshop #astrology #art #failure #breakthrough

Planting seeds of possibility: Libra New Moon

I’ve been feeling inspired by the powerful, inceptional energies of this Libra New Moon and wanted to share a little visual reminder, lovely friends, to clarify your intentions around self and relationship/s today and over the next few days as the New Moon waxes into crescent phase. Gift yourself some sacred me-time to contemplate your true intentions and especially those that inspire you with beauty, which direct themselves towards the desire for balance between self and other/s in friendship, marriage, romance, family and/or business, which emphasise relationships that support us in our courageous efforts to be true to ourselves, and which honour the beauty and creative potential of our differences.

I have a million intentions to plant in the rich earth of this particular Moon phase, and one of which is for a shift in the way I’m able to share the astrology I love that isn’t so incredibly taxing for me. As my natal chart-reading skills have increased, the pleasure and privilege of being able to speak to the specificity of each person’s chart also affords me a glimpse into each person’s heart, soul and power, and this is both profoundly beautiful and deeply moving for me. Unfortunately, the down side is that I’ve found my mundane forecasts and their necessary generality increasingly difficult and they take me a ridiculous and unsustainable amount of time of energy to produce. I’m a much better natal astrologer than mundane astrologer I think. But I’m planting intentions on this New Moon for breakthroughs in this Libran domain of connections and conversations.

Which brings me to the final impending square between the heavyweights, Saturn and Uranus, which begins on Saturday October 1 and runs to October 12. Because my chart highlights the themes above with the Saturn-Uranus square, and because the intensity and pressure the two planets exert offer us all an opportunity to cultivate conditions for breakthroughs that liberate - especially in areas that have been feeling oppressive for some time - I wanted to do something different both for myself and you!

I’m working on a whole bunch of new content that I’ll be releasing at some point down the track, but I’ve decided to experiment with a workshop that will allow me to connect more with you, my lovely friends, focusing on the ways that each rising sign can use these powerful energies in the service of their intentions.

I’ll be hosting a special live Zoom workshop on Saturday October 1 at 12pm AEST to explore the final Saturn-Uranus square from the perspective of each of the rising signs. So if you’re interested shoot me a DM with your email address and I’ll send you the invitation. And if you can’t make it, don’t worry. I’ll record the session and put it on my socials afterwards so you can watch it any time.

This is a FREE workshop and you’re all welcome to attend. And if you feel like you want a little more, if you’re feeling the pressure and want some insight into how you can navigate these energies to your best advantage, or you’re curious and want to understand the deeper opportunities for you personally, and you’re happy to share your chart, for a $20 contribution I’ll speak to it directly as one of our example charts. Again, shoot me a message if you’re interested, and I’ll send you the deets. If you know of anyone else who you think might benefit or be interested, feel free to share my details.

I’m excited both because I love a breakthrough and because Venus will be moving through her temple in Libra priming us for beautiful conversations. And although Saturn,  god of Time, presides over the limits of reality, the domain of Uranus extends far beyond the realm of Saturnian limits, which means that when those limits are broken, they are changed forever. The tension produced by the co-rulers of Aquarius and their contrary approaches to future-oriented progress is challenging but also highly productive, and because Uranus refrains from meeting the ’NO-God’ Saturn by turning inwards, it suggests both inner breakthroughs and innovations that liberate.

#bringiton #saturnuranussquare #saturn #uranus #venus #libra #libranewmoon #newmoon #workshop #free #harnessthepowerofthetransits #plantingintentions #intentions #relationships #art #astrology

Libra Season: The magic of relationship and finding freedom in committing to what we value most

We’re entering a super-powerful portal in time - both beautiful and intense - which begins today (September 23) with a Cardinal shift into Air with the Spring/Autumn Equinox, my friends. The Equinoxes mark two fleeting moments of perfect balance in the year when when the Earth’s tilt produces exactly equal lengths of night and day. As the Sun crosses the equator from our perspective and enters 0 degrees of Libra, days begin to lengthen in the Southern Hemisphere and shorten in the Northern and the shift in season brings an influx of change, endings and new opportunities in the realm of the relational.

This afternoon, Mercury retrogrades into the Sun’s embrace at 0 degrees of Libra. This cazimi moment at the ‘heart of the Sun’, which is exact at 4:49pm AEST, represents a moment of power for the planet of the mind, which brings illumination to conversations, insights into the nature of karmic entanglements and their transformations, and the sublime ability to speak the truth in service of relationship. We experience a growing clarity around what we want and possess the skills to communicate in ways that support our connections. Tomorrow, on Saturday September 24, Mercury will retrograde back into its exaltation, providing some friendly, empowered support to burnt-out, hard-working Venus. We have a chance to revise the details in our routines that require some tweaking, to burn off dross and clear away detritus that’s been cluttering our Venusian powers to attract.

Also on Saturday, Venus in Virgo opposes Neptune, planet of mysticism, illusion, imagination and universal love in Pisces. With Neptune in rulership, and Venus, planet of love and abundance, in fall we could feel overwhelmed by the irreconcilable gap between our ideals and the realities of our situations. If so it’s a good day to remember that the real situation is far from hopeless. Venus moves into Libra on Friday September 30 where she’ll experience a dramatic improvement in dignity. The same day Mercury Rx will move in to oppose Neptune, stimulating mystical insights and messages received in altered states of daydreaming that help us to clarify the vision and the practical details. Venus’ ingress into Libra could also lend us interpersonal superpowers; we’re better at harmonising and coaxing beauty from conversations through which we’re revealed to ourselves through the eyes and ears of the other.

On Monday September 26 the New Moon at 2 degrees of Libra, sign of relationships, opposes the Greater Benefic Jupiter at 3 degrees of Aries, sign of the self. It emphasises the pull between our intentions for relationship and our need to be true to ourselves but there’s good fortune in honouring the simultaneous and opposing drives that allow both us and our relationships to thrive. It’s a powerfully initiating New Moon, well-suited for sowing relationship intentions that provide the space for us to grow into the truest version of ourselves.

In the early hours of Tuesday September 27, the Sun moves into its exact opposition with Jupiter, reinforcing and enlarging these themes. Messenger god Mercury takes Venus into his chariot at 26 degrees of Virgo, offering her momentary reprieve from the burning rays of the Sun, as the two planets simultaneously trine Pluto, planet of power and transformation at 26 Capricorn. This complex scenario suggests a powerful opportunity to speak up for what’s fair with Mercury and Pluto revealing information about systemic injustice and abuses of power that depend on the suffering of certain people to preserve the status quo.

A couple of days later on Thursday September 29, Mars in Gemini trines Saturn Rx in Aquarius at 19 degrees. This harmonising conversation between the malefics stimulates the determination and drive of Mars and the patience and persistence of Saturn and focuses our attention on the facts of matters at hand and how they shape the future vision. Venus moves into the temple of Libra on Friday September 30, which sweetens the mood for celebration and artful conversation as we prime ourselves for the next 12 days of intensity.

On Saturday October 1, Saturn begins its final of four epic squares to Uranus. The two co-rulers of Aquarius will remain at the same degree until Wednesday October 12. Although their square never perfects to the minute, the tension between diametrically opposed viewpoints and/or conflicting demands, both personal and global, should feel palpable. This final ‘squaring off’ between the gods rekindles both the material and ideological conflicts of 2021 and the storylines in our own lives, which began in February and peaked again in June and December 2021. This energy triggers a confrontation between revolutionary energy and authoritarian rule, the old ways and the new, the assertion of boundaries and the fight for freedom from suffocating constraints. The likelihood of a heavy-handed Russian response to Ukrainian advances is extremely high for example, but so too is the likelihood of rebellion and other unexpected events in this and other politically and culturally polarised scenarios. These dynamics also feed into questions about how we want to advance as societies (Saturn in Aquarius) and how we manage our natural and economic resources at a time of climate crisis (Uranus in Taurus).

Although we’re likely to witness some heavy events on the global stage, the pressure will hopefully dissipate before coming to full-scale violence given that Uranus refrains from making an exact square to the dominating influence of Saturn. It’s as if we face the reality at some level and turn inward to find innovative ways of responding to the challenges. At the personal level this period provides us with powerful opportunities to practice the kind of reflective maturity that’s been hard-won over recent years and to consider where we need to establish healthy boundaries and structures, and what old problems need to be radically reconsidered from new vantage points. There’s a potential now to shift problematic patterns by considering the kinds of innovations that emphasise simplicity and beauty and promise us greater freedom in relation to what we value most.

Mercury finally stations direct at 24 degrees of Virgo on Sunday October 2, putting an end to the worst of the technological glitches, hopefully, and priming us for some inspired improvements with a heightened ability to think through the details of our plan and organise. The two benefics make an exact opposition on this day with Venus at home in her rulership of Libra and Jupiter at 2 degrees of Aries re-emphasising the themes of the New Moon and the opportunities for growth, good fortune and affinity as we artfully strive to balance the opposing needs of me and we. There’s the potential for beauty and breakthroughs as we work to simplify, keeping what we most value like a jewel in our minds.

#libraseason #hugeastrology #libra #newmoon #equinox #mercuryretrograde #jupiter #aries #buildingpressures #saturn #uranus #finalsquare #love #relationships #intentions #meandwe #innovation #structures #boundaries #breakthroughs #longlastingchange #venus #libra #justice #beauty #friendship #art #astrology

Pisces Full Moon: Connecting with the dream

Saturday’s Full Moon in Pisces offers a watery reprieve of dreamy inspiration in a month of building pressure, problem-solving and detail-oriented pragmatism. Situated so close to Neptune, planet of imagination, healing and visionary insights, we’ll hopefully feel the magic rippling beneath the surface of this lunation as it plays against the cross currents of practical and creative tensions.

Tomorrow’s Pisces Full Moon (@6:59pm AEST) is ruled by the Greater Benefic Jupiter, which is retrograde in Aries and dancing in and out of opposition with Mercury in Libra, planet of mind and communication, which stations retrograde in the sign of balance in relationships five hours before the Moon reaches fullness. The two planets have radically different modus operandi and oppose each other again exactly on September 19 indicating the need to integrate the objective and subjective facets of our experience in a way that is authentic and meaningful. Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system,  rules small things - data, details, facts, ideas and the division of things into their component parts. Jupiter, the largest planetary body in our system, naturally rules the large - the big picture, the expansive vision, the philosophical framework, the story. With Mercury turning retrograde in the sign of relationships and Jupiter already retrograde in the sign of the self, their opposition suggests a need for balance between opposing needs and approaches in relational dynamics. There’s a need for risk-taking and courage to take action on our personal vision and a simultaneous need to bring beauty, refinement, diplomacy and sense of equality to engagements of all kinds and the stores we tell.

Jupiter, planet of good fortune and largesse also makes a secret opposition with its Piscean co-ruler Neptune on this lunation, potentially flashing back to some of the themes that were surfacing for us around April. This triangulation between Jupiter, Mercury and Neptune seems to speak to both the inspiration and the confusion involved in balancing the ambitions of the self with the needs of relationship in the context of a higher and more creative spiritual vision that allows us to keep track of the facts. Jupiter also makes a positive sextile to Mars, its planetary ruler, which reminds us to trust both ourselves and that thing we feel driven to do. Courage and faith - both in ourselves and the universe - is required to act on our passions and ideas and we’re being encouraged to take the risk now even if we think we might fail - because it’s actually necessary for the kind creativity, excellence and innovation we’re aiming for. As Mars moves back and forth through Gemini, the sign of doing things twice, until February, we’ll undoubtedly be getting things ‘wrong’, doing them again, rethinking, revising and/or reimagining various aspects of our projects until we get them ‘just right’ and ready for launch around March. So don’t lament mistakes, repetitions or failures during this period if you can. The final outcomes are going to be significantly better as a result of the revisions we’re required to make than if we’d done a satisfactory job the first time around.

Venus, goddess of beauty, love, pleasure, creativity and abundance has also just begun her journey through Virgo, and traditionally, this is her least favourite place to be. Her preferred posture is reclining, and in Virgo she’s on her feet, doing the kind of nitty gritty problem-solving organisational work and analysis that can feel physically and mentally exhausting. Thankfully, Mercury offers Venus extra dignity and support, which should increase over the course of the month, making the daily slog feel a little less gruelling. And as Mercury moves back through Libra, we may find ourselves revisiting old conversations, re-engaging with people from the past and reconsidering how we’ve been doing relationship in general, with a clear focus on where our communications are in need of improvement and what needs correction in order to establish a sense of balance in relations that inspires love, service and beauty. With Mercury in Libra there’s an emphasis on diplomacy and fairness in personal, business and other communications, and while work-weary Venus has a tendency to be overly-critical in Virgo – a possibility further emphasised by a square between Venus and sharp-tongued Mars in Gemini - Mercury rules both planets and reminds us to bring beauty and fairness to mental, communicative, organisational and intellectual endeavours. There are energising creative tensions and harmonious solutions available in all challenges now, and although foggy Neptune may try to convince us otherwise, taking opportunities to indulge in meditative daydreaming can allow our deeper intuitions to surface wisdom, solutions and insights. It could also feel deeply healing and restorative both on this Full Moon and over coming weeks.

With so much emphasis on the tedious Virgo work we’ve been doing to bring our visions into reality, this Full Moon in Pisces emphasises the watery, imaginative, visionary, creative and healing intentions that underpin them and asks us to check in on the vision. What are we trying to create at the level of the dream? And are the adjustments, corrections and improvements we’ve been making actually working in service of that inspiration? Or are we losing sight of the big picture and getting lost in the detail or the things that seem to be wrong? A day after the Full Moon Saturn retrogrades into 1 degree of its near-exact final square with Uranus, increasing the pressure that will continue to build towards the beginning of October. Keep in mind the big themes that you were grappling with in 2021, particularly in February, June and December, and how those themes have evolved. What breakthroughs do you still hope for and how can you take innovative action to create a greater sense of freedom? And where are you being asked to persevere and practice discipline, maturity and restraint? The push and pull between these diametricaly opposed energies are key to shaping the new paradigm. The work we do between now and March 2023 prepares the ground for another massive shift in the status quo when Saturn moves into Pisces, Pluto moves into Aquarius, Mars finally leaves Gemini and enters Cancer and all planets are direct. Big times indeed. So, lovely friends, may this weekend’s Pisces Full Moon provide sweet reprieve, nourish altered states of creative connection and healing and water your dreams with inspiration.

This artwork depicts my favourite Neptunian posture: lying on the floor. Rainbows and all-seeing eyes optional. I literally c a n n o t wait to get down on the ground and like a real Venus in Virgo I really wish I didn’t have to vacuum the carpet first.

#fullmoon #pisces #piscesfullmoon #mercury #venus #venusinvirgo #libra #mars #jupiter #saturnuranussquare #marsingemini #neptune #virgo #art #astrology #daydreaming #communication  #mercuryretrograde

Magic and the mundane: Virgo New Moon 2022

Tomorrow's New Moon activates the feminine, changeable, earth energy of Virgo, the sign in which Mercury - guide of souls and god of the mercantile mind - is both exalted and at home. Though often criticised for being overly critical and exacting 😂 Virgo is the sign of both magic and the mundane aspects of our daily experience. The Virgin goddess - whose purity relates to her autonomy and independence as opposed to sexual experience -  belongs to herself. And yet there’s a tension in Virgo between this drive for autonomy and the need to be of service, which seeks balance in the give and take of relationship as the wheel of the zodiac turns to Libra. As goddess of the harvest, Virgo rules rituals of abundance, processing and refinement, organisational skills and the capacity to critically appraise, and work routines that allow us to maximise the longterm benefits of our endeavours. Virgo’s keen eye for errors - in systems and thinking processes - allows us to streamline our operations and eliminate the faulty mechanisms clogging up our creative outputs, reducing our vitality and aggravating scarcity.

This New Moon asks: how could we do this better? What kinds of questions could we be asking to get to the essence of the problem? And how can we keep our tendencies toward over-criticality in check? Virgo skilfulness involves the critical analysis of day-to-day routines, habits, systems and communication processes that allow us to identify what’s critical whilst avoiding the kind of harsh criticism of ourselves and others that blocks creativity and hampers opportunity. This need for mindfulness in both our inner dialogues and communications with others is further emphasised by an exact square between tomorrow’s New Moon and Mars at 4 degrees of Gemini. The planet of conflict and aggression entered the sign of the Twins this week where it will undertake a seven month-long sojourn, which could see us channeling our energies into some of the courageous ideas we want to action. It’s a long transit for sharpening the mind. Focusing energies into passionate acts of endeavour potentially related to writing, digital media, teaching or studying, information gathering, competitive intellectual feats, cutting edge journalism etc could all be highly productive during this period. Mars in Gemini also signals the possibility for hostility in communications, however, and a classic  expression of this negative manifestation is ‘a sharp tongue’. For this reason, over the next seven months, we’ll all benefit greatly by thinking twice before we speak whilst taking the cutting words of others with the proverbial grain of salt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🌊🔥

Significantly, both Virgo and Gemini are ruled by Mercury, which has just slipped into its retrograde shadow in Libra, sign of relationships and balance. As such, the planet of mind is nicely placed to help harmonise these tensions in communications, and with Venus still moving through Leo, making creative adjustments and consciously recalibrating our intentions to the compass of our hearts should help us in our efforts. As Mercury turns retrograde in Libra on September 10, it gives us more time for reflection, refinement and finding the sweet spot in ongoing communication dynamics. Although activity levels typically fire up in Virgo season there’s also a reflective quality to the busyness compelling us now, and it may feel as if we’re occupying a strange kind of frenetic slow-motion time zone with so many planets moving retrograde. Uranus joined the other outer planets in this week and when it meets with Saturn for the fourth and final time in October, both planets will be moving backwards, suggesting opportunities for reckoning and revision as we gauge the extent of our progress and maturity retrospectively. With Mars remaining in Gemini for so long and triggering the tensions of this lunar cycle from the outset, we may also be able to increase its positive influences by actively shifting our thinking states from left to right brain - from cognitive control to open intuitive receptivity - and by inducing flow states with activities that allow the mind to access different levels of insight and information. After labouring for hours to identify the important messages of this lunation, this whole story flowed out as I was walking by the creek. It felt like a joyous release! And it’s a reminder I’ll be carrying with me as we move ahead. Shifting gear mentally by connecting with nature should also help to soothe the anxieties that can often be highlighted in Virgo season anyway. Virgo is also associated with the Hermit card in the Tarot, which reminds us that seeking autonomy and communion in solitude and following the lamp of our inner light can lead to brilliant solutions and wisdom.

A last note forSunday and Monday: we could feel a little more emotionally intense than usual as Venus moves into opposition with Saturn. Thankfully, it’s a short transit but not a fun one. Approach it with super-low expectations and make a sacred intention to practice self-love as a kind of discipline. Saturn will give us props for that. Travel well beautiful friends and may you feel the quotidian Virgo magic this weekend. 🌞🌑🌙🌱🌿🌳

#newmoon #virgo #harvestgoddess #magicandmundane #virgonewmoon #mars #gemini #uranus #mercury #venus #saturn #leo #libra #aquarius #taurus #hemisphericthinking # astrology #art #nature #listenforthemessages

Aquarius Full Moon: portals of portent and possibility

Well loves, today’s seismic Full Moon at 19 degrees of Aquarius acts like a kind of portal into the remainder of 2022. It’s another Super Moon, which means we’re likely to feel it more intensely, being closer to the Earth. This Full Moon in Aquarius is also conjunct its ruler, Saturn, the planet of boundaries, borders and the tests that lead us to maturity, which is retrograde at 22 degrees. It also squares Uranus, modern ruler of Aquarius, at 18 degrees of Taurus, with whom Saturn has been engaged in a bitter struggle for dominance since February 2021. The two planets made three exact squares in February, June and December of 2021, which coincided with many of the year’s dramatic peaks, and the fourth and final square in this series occurs between 1-12 October 2022 also at 18 degrees, and this lunation triggers some of the themes we’re likely to be working with during that event. Although the final Saturn-Uranus square won’t reach exactitude, it acts like a final test to gauge how much we’ve matured and awakened.

Saturn demarcates the limits of observable reality as the last planet in our solar system perceivable by the naked eye. Uranus, the first planet discovered using a telescope, revolutionised astronomy and broke the limits of the solar system by expanding it beyond any previous imagining. Its discovery also coincided with the first in a chain of revolutions that transformed political power structures globally, initiated the institution of human rights and accorded greater power to the people. When activated, Uranus breaks through the Saturnian limits of what is real and possible, suddenly and forever.

Although the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction, which took place at 0 Aquarius on the December Solstice in 2020, didn’t mark the beginning of the famed Age of Aquarius (according to the axial precession of the Earth it’s not set to begin for another hundred years or so) it did initiate a 200 year Aquarian-flavoured era of social change that forms a bridge into the Age of Aquarius, a 2000 year age associated with the rise of the people and a fairer society in which decentralised networks of power provide channels for individuals to express their unique gifts in ways that serve the evolution of society. What that actually means though is blatantly clear to most of us already: the actions we take now will form the foundations of the world our descendants will inherit.

It’s not an easy transition. Saturn, aka the mythical Titan Kronos, god of time and ruler of the original Golden Age - a conservative period of divine harmony and privilege - ate his own children to prevent the destabilising emergence of the new and the usurping of his power by his own descendants. Uranus, the slower moving, has been trying to exert change in the sign most determined to preserving the status quo while Saturn’s been ruling from its fixed domain in Aquarius. And although we all felt Saturn’s oppressive limits acutely in 2021 we’ve seen the dramatic increase in Uranian influence in 2022 with the North Node transiting Taurus turning the energy up to 11. Recent economic, climate and geo-political shocks have been highly Uranian in nature and even the increased influence of authoritarian powers in Russia, China and Afghanistan, which seem so Saturnian in nature, have also been negatively impacted by Uranian disruptions particularly in the supply of resources.

The backwarding and forwarding motion between the old and the new, progress and constraint, the conservative and revolutionary, the sober and reactionary is nonetheless the means by which long term shifts in society are painstakingly forged as Uranian shifts and breakthroughs are grounded into reality through Saturnian influence. The balance, which the Saturn-Uranus square seems to address, is that between progress and conservation. What’s worth keeping from our old ways of doing things? What requires change and innovation? Where must we withstand the challenges of reality with discipline and the wisdom of maturity, and where do we need to relinquish our rigid grip on control? What areas of our lives do we cling to for security, and where could we voluntarily surrender to the kinds of changes that liberate? What innovations and new ideas could we implement at the level of our skills and self-worth, at the level of our social and economic structures and at the level of our relationship with the natural workd in order to ensure greater rights and freedoms for all beings? And how can we be more true to ourselves and do so with more love?

As always, Full Moons mark a moment of culmination and illumination that gives us an opportunity to see how things are tracking, and where our plans, efforts and strategies might require adjustment, correction or reorientation. We have time to succeed. The Leo New Moon, which initiated this cycle asked us to courageously lead from the heart; a few hours before the Full Moon, Venus, planet of love, relationships, beauty, abundance, art and pleasure, also enters Leo and supports us in this task. Her stay until September 5 highlights opportunities for creative, playful, restorative acts of self love and the lavishing of love and listening, gratitude and admiration on the excellent souls who surround us.

On Monday 15 August, we’re ushered into the working week with two powerful transits that we may well already be feeling by Sunday. In the early hours of Monday morning Saturn in Aquarius opposes the Sun in Leo at 21 degrees. Four hours later Mars in Taurus trines Pluto RX in Capricorn at 26 degrees. On the heels of last week’s Sun-Uranus square and Venus-Pluto opposition the Sun-Saturn opposition could feel temporarily like it’s raining on our dreams but it reminds us to slow down, lower our expectations and practice the disciplines necessary to cultivate our dreams so that they flourish long into the future. The Mars-Pluto trine, though intense, emboldens us to cut away decaying material that may have surfaced in the Venus-Pluto opposition and take passionate action on what it is we truly want. And if volcanic feelings surface with this energy, getting underneath it to examine the foundations of our anger, and expressing what we find there creatively can propel us even further in our transformations. Honouring the unique idiosyncrasies of who we are and expressing ourselves from the heart act like a balm.

#fullmoon #aquarius #leo #taurus #art #sun #saturn #uranus #mars #pluto #venus  #saturnjupiter #ageofaquarius #society #socialchange #breakthrough #control #creativity #transformation #selflove #saturnuranussquare  #astrology #2022

Relationship riches and breakthroughs in purpose

The goddess of beauty, diplomacy, pleasure and resources, Venus, meets the dark lord, Pluto, god of death, destruction and psychological depths and the wealth derived from transformative processes of power, pressure, and decay on Tuesday in a short but powerful opposition. Like Full Moons, oppositions bring issues into full view and Pluto, planet of power dynamics rules the hidden realms while Venus rules love and relationships.

In the late degrees of Capricorn, Pluto is in the final stages of exposing the rotten foundations, both in our own lives and in the bigger financial systems and social and political institutions around which our worlds revolve. Oppositions can take the form of conversations or confrontations and they tend to mirror the polarities and extremes we’re striving to integrate in our lives. Between Venus in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn we may confront the shadow material blocking the way of true intimacy and relating. In Cancer, Venus may take the form of mothers, wives, sisters, friends or lovers, or issues relating to home, family and nurturing. Because the power of Venus is in its ability to attract and harmonise, tuning into what we value and wish to nourish can help to magnetise their power. And although Plutonic communications may bring traumas to the surface for purification under this dynamic, they have the power to transform how we love, create, relate and invest our energy in what we truly value.

The Moon, our celestial satellite and mirror of worldly, material, bodily and emotional matters rules Venus in Cancer but joins Pluto retrograde (RX) in Capricorn where feelings can overwhelm. As the Moon squares Jupiter RX in Aries, self-doubt may feel debilitating but there’s nothing a Capricorn Moon loves better than a project into which it can redirect challenging emotions. Channelling big feelings into activities that produce tangible outcomes (decluttering cupboards, building lego mansions, slow-cooking meals, meticulously working on creative projects etc) can help to reduce anxiety whilst facilitating the processing of deep subconscious material.

Venus Pluto oppositions can speak to the confrontation of all kinds of deep issues in relationships, to revelations of painful historical or familial power dynamics, abuses of power, cathartic releases of emotion relating to sexual trauma. It’s also a classic signature of the current power dynamics relating to women’s reproductive rights. As an interaction between planets of wealth and resources it could suggest the potential for significant financial shifts or economically beneficial outcomes, particularly for vulnerable groups, perhaps resulting from the act of speaking truth to power with strategic diplomacy. It might even deliver some power to those wronged.

At a personal level, it has the potential to cleanse, purify and renew relationships, and restore intimacy, care and passion through the expression of powerful but difficult feelings. It might ask us to consider what outdated structures are undermining our quality of life, work-life balance or ability to experience pleasure, security and connection. What foundations are needing to be dismantled that would allow us to feel more emotionally nourished or to live in closer alignment with our values? If circumstances feel too intense, remember that Pluto destroys what no longer serves us (though we usually refuse to let go of such things voluntarily) and is associated with the transformation of painful or traumatic material into truly extraordinary riches. We can optimise this potential by seeking beauty in the intensities that surface and recognising the enormous power in small and tender feats of love, connection and affinity as we surrender the parts of our lives that are ready to die.

Right before Friday’s Full Moon in Aquarius, the Sun in Leo squares Uranus in Taurus Thursday, signalling innovative thinking around our goals, aspirations and the things that light us up in life. As always with Uranus, unexpected events can trigger shifts, and although squares are characterised by tension, it feels to me that this encounter holds the potential for breakthrough recognition of what it is we’re here to do and what we need to change in order to get out of our own way to make that happen. An excellent day to be guided by what inspires and to commit to taking the roads less travelled (literally and figuratively) choosing unusual, adventurous, unexpected, eccentric and non-habitual approaches in all activities while keeping the heart’s goals front of mind. Shine your unique light radiant uncommon beings 🌞⚡️💛

Artwork: Untitled 2022, Gouache on cotton rag. 61 x 43.5cm. First left-handed painting post dog mauling. Seems suitably ominous for the purgative power of Venus opposing Pluto!

#venus #pluto #opposition #art #sun #uranus #breakthrough #catharsis #renewal #abundance #relationships #astrology

Mercurial prowess, malefic drive & tenacity, and remembering the beauty & healing power of the dream

Thank you all SO MUCH for your incredibly beautiful well wishes and support lovely friends, my heart has literally been full to overflowing all week. I never imagined that the New Moon in Leo, which rules both the heart and the power of being seen, would deliver such a beautiful gift, and I hope that you’ve all been experiencing some of this sweet magic and affirmation this week too.

In reality I know it’s been a tough week for many, fuelled by the explosive Mars, Uranus and North Node conjunction, and if that’s been the case for you friends, I hope that unexpected intensities have also brought illuminating insights and a sense of liberation from unconscious holding patterns or actual restraints.

The good news this week my friends, is that Mercury, planet of magic, mind, business and communication, has just made its annual ingress into Virgo, where it will remain until August 26. Mercury finds both its rulership and exaltation in the sign of the goddesses of harvest and hearth, of sacred service, independence, critical thinking and analysis, and in the temple of Virgo, Mercury promises extra facility in all matters relating to the mind: increased acuity, effectiveness, discernment, organisation and productivity, and it bolsters our capacity to put project inspirations into practical action in ways that could sustain us into the future.

In its recently reborn phase as evening star, when it’s considered even more like Virgo, this highly dignified Mercurial influence emphasises follow-through. It heightens our capacity to discern what is and isn’t working, allowing us to refine our processes, eliminate extraneous detail and communicate our ideas and concerns with clarity and efficiency. As with all things, however, even exalted placements have polarities and there’s a caution to avoid getting lost in the detail, leaning toward over-criticality or allowing anxieties to overwhelm. Taking care of the body supports the mind all month. Nourishing food, releasing nervous energy through physical activity and grounding in nature further enhance our minds and intellectual vitality.

(*Edit: So I clearly overstated the extent of our mental prowess under the influence of Mercury in Virgo by accidentally deleting a whole paragraph, although I did recall most of it from memory before I had to run out of the house to pick up one of my dearest friends from the airport last night, who I haven't seen since before the pandemic! So despite hiccups, it's still a pretty strong Mercury! Missing para as follows:)

As the shoot of our lunar intentions struggles to establish itself against the Saturnian gravity of soil and stone, Friday’s first quarter Moon in Scorpio may intensify passions and emotions, and processes of transformation may require a kind of letting go. Nonetheless, the conditions are fertile for growth. On Sunday the Moon moves into Sagittarius and makes a grand fire trine with its ruler Jupiter in Aries and the Sun in Leo enhancing optimism and self-expression but it's tempered by the Moon’s square to Mercury and its discerning editorial qualities.

On Monday we receive an exact square from Saturn, in its rulership of Aquarius and Mars in Taurus at 22 degrees, which may place frustrating constraints our abilities to act as we’d like on recent breakthroughs and initiatives. But although squares are stressful, they’re also highly productive and creative aspects, and the malefics, for all their bad press, work brilliantly in such a dynamic, pushing us to combine our passion and drive with the discipline and persistence that’s ultimately required for success.

On the same day, Venus in Cancer trines Neptune Rx in Pisces at 25 degrees, bringing a harmonising influence to these dynamics, which reminds us of the vision, imagination and beauty we’ve been nourishing in the realm of home, family and life-giving creative pursuits. The grace, tenderness and potential for healing we experience helps us to nurture the dream.

PS: I'm aiming to do a short post on Monday about Tuesday's  opposition between the planet of beauty, love and resources, Venus, and Pluto, the Lord of the underworld, planet of deep and profound transformations, and the riches derived from destruction... Stay tuned lovelies xx

Thanks again beautiful friends, wishing you much Mercurial magic and love this week

#mercuryexalted #virgo #saturn #mars #mercury #venus #neptune #moon #scorpio#sagittarius #astrology #caduceus #arT

Seeding courageous love and leading from the heart

My lovely friends, I’ve been hibernating in a cave, regrowing a limb like an octopus post-shark attack for the last four months. Back on the Aries New Moon in April my painting hand was badly mauled in a dog attack while I was painting a two-storey mural in public housing (part of a multi-mural project I’d been curating & project managing since November). It’s been a long slow process of recovery. I’d hoped to emerge from my cave on this Leo New Moon to share some of the big astrology coming our way but I burned myself out trying lol, which made me realise that I’m not quite back to ‘normal’ & that I wanted to let you know why 👻 It’s been a bit traumatic but my injury has also been teaching me a bloody lot about limitations and boundaries & about how my urge to be of service can easily veer into workaholism and make me vulnerable to exploitation. I’m still learning how to assert boundaries for self care & how to do social media properly! Cue: This week’s astrology! 💥

So on today’s Leo New Moon I’ve been trying to attune to the wisdom of cats, basking in the literal and metaphorical sunshine, shoring up energy to act with power, grace & courage down the track. But as you can see, there’s a fair bit of room for improvement. Jupiter turned retrograde three hours after the New Moon & as it moves backwards through Aries it tests our belief in ourselves. But we’re building muscles every time we practice leaps of faith. This New Moon also leads us into some of the biggest astrology of the year & on Saturday & Sunday we’re likely to feel the pressure building. On Monday Mars meets Uranus in Taurus. Open all channels to receive insights & intuitions but be mindful of the potential for accidents. On Tuesday, the North Node meets Mars & Uranus at 18 degrees, intensifying the electrical, unexpected energy. This is huge astrology, which initiates a new 15 year cycle that contains the power to liberate energy from old patterns & revolutionise the way we attract energy & resources whilst disrupting capitalist models of self-worth in favour of value ecosystems that nourish abundance through diversity.

Uranus rules breakthroughs in innovation as well as shocks that liberate. In Taurus it rules the kinds of disruptions in supply chains, shocks in inflation and the price of food, fuel, gas and electricity, we’ve been seeing for months, triggered by the climate disasters and the Russian invasion of Ukraine - a shocking war (Uranus) over territory (Taurus). But these events have also compelled governments to begin getting serious - at last - about investing in renewable energy solutions, food security and minimising the impacts of climate change. These same kinds of forces are at work in our personal lives and unexpected events hold the power to radically shift the status quo, influencing the way we value our talents, skills and resources to take action in the period ahead.

If you’re curious to explore the influence of these magical influences in your chart, send me a DM me lovelies. I’ve started doing readings again and I’m in the process of updating my website but I am exceedingly slow!!! And finally, one of the gifts my injury gave me was the joy and liberation of making art with my left hand. This left-handed number captures the vibe I’ve been aiming for today, I didn’t get it right but I will continue practicing tomorrow 🌞🦁🌑🌙

And finally finally! Get out and have a look at the Piscis Austrinids meteor shower around 11pm tonight if you can! Should be near the east about 45 degrees above the horizon, and the Southern Delta Astrinids tomorrow around 11pm, 45 degrees above horizon, east-north-east 🌟🌟🌟

Virgo Full Moon: Ritual preparations for future abundance and trust

The Sun is slowly moving out from Neptune’s dream-haze as it opposes today’s Full Moon in Virgo, sign of ritual preparations for future plenty and the anxieties that surround such endeavours.  As always, the Full Moon indicates a moment of peak activity and culmination, and in Virgo we find ourselves appraising the harvest of recent efforts and events. 

Mercury rules Virgo but on this lunation we find the planet of magic, mind, communication and business in the boundless oceanic flux of Pisces, the sign in which it was considered by the ancients to be in both its detriment and fall. Mercurial skills of discernment, strategy, critical analysis and the parsing of data, resources and information are debilitated in the emotionally flooded, mentally foggy realm of Pisces, but it’s also a richly fertile rock pool for poetic, mystical and creative communication and mythos. 

Jupiter, planet of magnification and extremes, and Neptune, planet of imagination, delusion and forgiveness, are the ancient and modern rulers of Pisces, and they’re ruling together from their own temple for the first time since 1862. In the ocean of Pisces, Mercury, Neptune and the Sun are all enlarged by the influence of Jupiter, lending enormity to feelings and events, aspirations for the future and the delusions that would derail them, the burdens of work and recovery, and the potential for compassionate grace.

The Full Moon at 27 Virgo trines Pluto at 28 degrees of Capricorn as Pluto sextiles the Sun. This window of opportunity suggests the culmination of an intense period of trauma, toil and elimination, I hope. In a moment of catharsis, release and transformation, we see something extraordinary revealed beneath the smoking, flooded foundations of old structures that have been razed to the ground and recent catastrophes raise deeper questions about how we can forge a better way forward in the aftermath, though challenges remain ahead.
The Moon acts as a mirror and as she opposes each of the Pisces planets she activates them in turn. In Virgo she focuses our attention on getting things in order, on clearing and healing, and practicing rituals of intention, forgiveness, compassion and release. Most of all she begs the conscientious cultivation of trust: that the lessons we’re encountering now are precisely the ones we need to  b e c o m e  in accordance with a bigger vision. And for many, that is a very challenging task. But it’s especially worth remembering now with Venus besieged by the malefics. War god Mars sits at her back, god of authoritarian power, Saturn, dominating in Aquarius, in front. 

Although the ability of Venus to exert positive influence now in diplomacy and economic recovery is severely limited there’s reason for optimism moving forward.  Venus sextiles Chiron today, indicating the potential for tangible healing in relation to the wounds of identity and society. Chiron was the first centaur, an orphaned child of rape whose wounds ultimately facilitated the acquisition of wisdom, leading him to become the famous healer and teacher of heroes. Venus squares Uranus, planet of sudden changes, in her own sign Taurus - the domicile in which she traditionally presides as the ancient goddess of war, tomorrow. This intervention by Uranus, which temporarily breaks up the enclosure of Venus by the malefics, triggers unexpected plot changes, acts of rebellion and breakthroughs related to women, finance, diplomacy, relationships, creativity and beauty, and could result in genuine breakthroughs that bring a degree of liberation.

The besiegement of Venus intensifies on March 20, however, as she comes within 7 degrees of Saturn. It’s also the day on which Venus reaches her maximum elongation from the Sun, when she’s shining brightest in the pre-dawn sky, making her equally energised and limited in her capacity to act. But Venus has learned a thing or two in the enormously transformative ordeals of recent months, and as she approaches her conjunction with Saturn on March 28, it’s as if she’s shoring up strategies to exert maximum diplomatic prowess. Saturn is exalted in Venus’ sign of Libra and there’s a good chance that she may be persuasive. Venus finally breaks free of the malefics on March 29 and on April 6 she will move into her exaltation in Pisces as Jupiter edges closer towards Neptune. The first and second weeks of April are monumental, containing both incredibly transcendent creative and relational potential, and the possibility of an intensification of the kinds of recent catastrophes we’ve already been witnessing. However, with Venus in exaltation, I’m deeply hopeful about the potential of her harmonising influence.

But back to this week. The Sun will move into 0 Aries in the early hours of March 21, the sign of its exaltation, which marks the Autumn/Spring Equinox and the beginning of the new astrological year. On the same afternoon, Mercury, god of acumen conjoins Jupiter, god of belief at 18 Pisces, highlighting the potential for synthesis between contrasting forms of intelligence. It suggests a new way of mentally approaching a situation that combines micro and macro scales of perception,  optimistic analysis and visionary thinking. It’s a hopeful indication on the Equinox when the Earth itself attains a moment of balance, that we too may find equilibrium between the conflicting parts of our own psyches, perceptions and beliefs. It’s another moment worth ritualising. Today’s Virgo Full Moon is especially ripe for Virgoan/Piscean rituals that involve practical, earthy, sacred actions and offerings that harness intentions for healing, compassion, abundance and wisdom for the year ahead.

#virgofullmoon #virgo #venus #jupiter #mercury #neptune #mars #saturn #uranus #fullmoon #art #astrology #venusbesiegedatmaximumbrightnesswithmercuryinfallinpisces

Divine contradictions: Dreams, delusions and the moral arc of history

Today’s Piscean New Moon (4:34 am AEDT) represents an exceptionally powerful initiating moment in an extraordinary period of historical and astrological time. Pisces, the sign of divine discontent, the dissolution of boundaries and borders, and non-ordinary forms of consciousness, has two planetary rulers: the Greater Benefic, Jupiter, planet of magnification, amplification and growth, and Neptune, planet of dreams, delusions and water. Although Jupiter is associated with good fortune, it also enlarges everything it comes into contact with, and its steady movement towards and inflation of Neptunian  tendencies is reflected in enormous floods and extremes of ideological aggression. Possibly the most mystical and disturbing of the planets, Neptune rules dizzying extremes. It can veil reality in clouds of toxic illusion, paranoia or addiction, it rules mass manipulation and the kinds of delusional ideologies that lead to devastating violence. And yet, Neptune also governs the highest forms of human love, profound acts of compassion and forgiveness, visionary imagination, and transcendent musical, artistic and mystical experiences that stimulate higher consciousness. 

Today’s lunation is intensified by a number of significant transits that immediately surround it. Three minutes after the New Moon, the planet of love, diplomacy and material resources - Venus - conjoins both the god of war - Mars - and Pluto - god of power, obsession, death, destruction, the ordeals that lead to transformation and the riches that result from them - at 27 degrees of Capricorn. It marks the third and final encounter between Venus and Pluto in a cycle of trials that’s been playing out since December 11. Less than an hour later, Mercury, planet of mind, magic, communication and mercantile endeavour merges with Saturn - planet of obstructions, repressive force and established orders of reality - in Aquarius, sign of the people and potential futures. Another three hours later, the waxing Moon merges with Jupiter at 14 Pisces, triggering a fresh torrent of its magnifying influence. It’s a day of immense potency for prayer and meditation, and for seeding intentions that open a path for collectively moving forward in the world with a new level of spiritual maturity and integrity. 

The next two months contain more of these increasingly amplified and polarised energies as Jupiter edges closer towards exact conjunction with Neptune on April 11: sublimely beautiful moments of creative transcendence, and frightening encounters that evoke  such profound feelings of compassion that they take on a kind of mystical quality. On March 7, Mars and Venus conjoin at 0 degrees of Aquarius, a critical, world-changing degree since 2020. But as Venus finally overtakes Mars she also moves into a malefic enclosure between the god of war and Saturn. Challenges and obstructions in relational, creative and resource-related matters should be expected but as always, we can find mitigation by ‘serving the gods’, which is to say, by cultivating their highest expressions. Mars rules violence, aggression and the severing of things but is ennobled by passionate acts of courage, chivalry, and the protection and defence of the vulnerable. Saturn represents authoritarian power and repressive control but rewards maturity, discipline and wisdom. As we emulate their best selves, we become co-participants in their field of influence, opening ourselves more fully to these channels of energy. And as Venus heads towards her own exaltation in Pisces on April 6, we should hopefully see the plight of Venusian topics - love, peace, diplomacy, creativity and fortune - begin to improve incrementally.

Since Mars and Venus began their passionate entanglement on February 14, we’ve seen the unimaginable intensification of war. In the ancient world, Venus was known as Inanna, Queen of Heaven, one of the most powerful gods in the Sumerian pantheon whose cult continued from 4000 BCE until the 6th century AD when she was finally deposed by Christianity. Although Inanna possessed the same Venusian attributes we ascribe to her now, in the ancient world she was also known as the Goddess of War. Driven by a territorial lust for power her murderous acts of betrayal resulted in the death and rebirth process associated with the stage in her synodic cycle, which we’ve been moving through since December. And in her current phase as a morning star she was considered by the ancients to be most warlike.

This third and final encounter between Pluto and Venus today also coincides with the last conjunction between Pluto and an exalted Mars in Capricorn in our lifetime. As mentioned previously, an exalted Mars with negative intentions is an incredibly dangerous Mars. Today the planet of war is at its exact degree of exaltation. The lovers’ encounter with Pluto will be transformative at some level, and specifically in relation to the storylines that have been playing out in our lives since December, but they may be cathartic and intense. Putin is Mars-ruled, and transiting Pluto, Venus, and Mars are currently wreaking destruction from his third house of neighbours, local territory and the mind. Driven by Venusian lust, Martial aggression and a Plutonic obsession with power, his desire to regain the glory of former empire is being enacted through the violent theft of a neighbour’s territory. The Ukrainian resistance, in turn, reflects some of the nobler Martian, Venusian and Plutonic qualities, and has been surprisingly disarming, seemingly rudely awakening Putin’s troops from the Neptunian fantasies of their allotted mission as they face the reality on the ground. Saturn is still powerful in its rulership of Aquarius, however, which continues to give Putin the upper hand now, but there’s something about the conjunction with Mercury that speaks to the potential for sober and sophisticated strategic analysis and breakthroughs that favour the people and reality checks that curb the growth of delusional ideologies but also of a downturn in markets, increased censorship and repressive controls over those who dare to speak out against authoritarian aggression.

Neptune’s  discovery (1846) closely coincided with its last transit through Pisces from 1848-1862, and the themes that were playing out then are once again activated in the unfolding narratives of our time. It’s a moment, which strongly brings to mind the famous words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., and one of my favourite quotes of all time. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”. King borrowed the phrase from the Transcendentalist Unitarian minister and Abolitionist, Theodore Parker whose sermon ‘Of Justice and Conscience” was published in 1853 when Neptune was one degree away from today’s New Moon. It’s worth remembering, as devastating floods and aerial bombardments continue, that these events too bend the arc of history eventually towards justice. Make sure you take a moment today to disengage from the human drama and tune into the subtle dimensions of the energetic world and the higher expressions of consciousness that animate our awe-inspiring cosmos… And send powerful prayers out into the world today for all those who need them.

Much love beautiful people 🌞🌙🌊🐋♥️

#piscesfullmoon #pisces #newmoon #thearcofthemoraluniverseislongbutitbendstowardsjustice #drmartinlutherkingjunior  #theodoreparker #jupiter #neptune #venus #mars #pluto #saturn #mercury #inanna #putin #ukraine #peace #dove #flood #molotovcocktails #art #astrology #2022

Leo Full Moon: Smoking hot, old school vibes and unexpected opportunities

Today’s Leo Full Moon takes place in a week shaped by some remarkable planetary dynamics. With the Sun in the final degrees of Saturn-ruled Aquarius exerting gravity over the glittery, charismatic Leo Moon, there are both bright and shadowed dimensions to this experience. Leo represents the aspect of ourselves that longs to be seen and validated, to express itself and shine but with Saturn ruling the Moon from Aquarius, there may be limitations in our ability to express ourselves as freely as we’d like. It’s a kind of balancing act between being true to ourselves and honouring our responsibilities to others, whether to friends, peers, communities or society at large. But as we rise to meet those responsibilities with courage, humility and trust in the gifts that are uniquely ours to offer, we amplify the esteem in which others hold us, which is just what our little Leo hearts desire.

This energy is enhanced by the union between the cosmic lovers in Capricorn. In the aftermath of her long retrograde cycle, Venus still moves unusually slow, keeping pace with an exalted Mars who’s usually slower moving. Conjunctions were traditionally thought of as a “bodily union” between planets and with Venus and Mars, the sexual metaphor is apt. The lovers met first on Valentine’s Day (the Super Bowl Halftime show struck me as perfectly reflective of the lovers’ energy in Capricorn: smoking-hot, old school vibes) and they were exactly one minute apart at the Full Moon (3:35 am AEDT). They continue to dance in and out of bodily union until March 7 when they meet for the final time at 0 Aquarius, the exact degree of the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction on the December Solstice in 2020, which initiated a new social era. It reactivates our intentions for the lives we wish to live for the next 20 years. 

Before the lovers merge again at this fresh degree of Aquarius they’ll also make an exact conjunction with Pluto, planet of death and transformation at 27 degrees Capricorn on March 3. This will be the third and final conjunction Venus makes to Pluto. The first was December 11. The second in retrograde motion on Christmas Day called our attention to relationships from the past and their potential for transformation. This final meeting between Venus, Pluto and an exalted Mars suggests both the completion of this cycle and the fruit that this 8 week cycle will eventually bear. In mythology the enduring but illicit relationship between Venus and Mars produced many children, first a daughter - Harmonia - followed by various gods and goddesses of love who served as attendants of Venus and the gods of fear and panic who attended Mars. As we move towards the culmination of this Venus-Pluto cycle, which seeks to transform the old structures of our relating, we may experience emotions from across this spectrum, however the balance, it seems, favours love. But it also bears remembering that this mythic relationship between the goddess of love and the god of war speaks to the significance of conflict as a form of creative tension in love. We only fight when we care deeply. It’s also worth noting that the signature of both an exalted Mars in Capricorn and Mars-Venus conjunctions frequently appear in the charts of sexual predators. 

Two men in the news this week for historical accusations of sexual assault both have Mars in Capricorn. Prince Andrew’s exalted Mars is at the same degree as transiting Pluto and also conjunct Venus. Interesting that he’s expected to pay Virginia Giuffre around AUD$20million to in a private settlement reached this week given that Pluto rules power, sexual trauma, destruction of the status quo and enormous wealth. The disgraced high court justice Dyson Heydon is also the subject of a landmark compensation settlement by the Australian government this week in relation to allegations of sexual harassment. He too has an exalted Mars at 24 Capricorn conjunct transiting Pluto. Ghislaine Maxwell has an exalted Mars at the critical degree of 0 Capricorn but creepily Jeffrey Epstein’s Mars-Venus conjunction features an exalted Venus in Pisces. Under the influence of these planetary dynamics, we’re likely to hear more of similar kinds of abuses over coming weeks, but with Venus collaborating so closely with Pluto since December, entitled predatory Mars energy may be more likely to get its comeuppance. 

Their planetary union just as the luminaries square the Nodes of Fate on the Full Moon is especially significant because the North Node in Taurus is ruled by Venus, representing an area of increase, and exalted Mars in Capricorn rules the South Node in Scorpio, which is a site of decrease. This suggests there may be a heightened capacity to both relinquish old wounds and hold problematic behaviours and entitlements to account. It also suggests increases in self-worth, improved relationships to the body, increased access to resources, greater engagement with the natural world and enhanced use of our gifts, talents and creative expression. These positive indications are further affirmed and amplified by another major transit taking place later this afternoon. The Greater Benefic, Jupiter, planet of good fortune, expansion, optimism and belief in its rulership of Pisces makes a sextile to Uranus, who rules the vault of heaven, planet of radical breakthroughs, innovation, and unexpected events that lead to liberation in Taurus at 11 degrees. This electric and inspiring but fairly short-lived aspect continues until Sunday. Stay alert for fleeting and unexpected windows of opportunity - they will require our active participation to be harnessed. Listen in for profound insights and intuitions that shift perspectives and enhance self-worth. Look out for positive breakthroughs relating to money, environment and resources. And say yes to generous offers that offer the potential for levelling up.

Even situations that necessitate a frustrating adjustment in our approach, and which appear like obstacles in our path may turn out to contain the seeds of unexpectedly positive opportunities and breakthroughs this week. Full Moons mark a phase in the lunar cycle when a process of development comes to culmination and greater clarity, which allows us to identify areas of necessary change. On this Leo Full Moon consider the adjustments needed to shine your light more brightly into the world 🌞🌕🌟⭐️🦁🔥 Celebrate with a dance party and show off your dance moves to some smoking-hot old-school vibes 🔥♥️💃🏽🕺🏽♥️🌞

#fullmoon #leo #leofullmoon #aquarius #pisces #taurus #capricorn  #marsvenusconjunction #venus #mars #pluto #jupiter #uranus #nodesoffate #breakthroughs #opportunities  #sexualassault #comeuppance  #superbowlhalftimeshow #smokinghotoldschoolvibes

Cultivating courageous vision and doing the work: Aquarius New Moon, Lunar Year of the Water Tiger

Today's New Moon marks the beginning of the Year of the Water Tiger and the Chinese Lunar New Year! Kung Xi Fat Choi! The Water Tiger is considered an auspicious sign but one associated with extremes, and with change and prosperity, aggression and protection, confidence and leadership, and under its influence, those who courageously embrace new opportunities, manage their tempers and make compromises with others are said to benefit most.

Today's Aquarius New Moon echoes this energy in some interesting ways. It initiates the most dynamic and inspired period of 2022, however, with the Moon at 12 Aquarius conjunct its ruler Saturn, planet of gravity, responsibility and the material realm at 15 degrees, it’s a slower and more serious beginning. It could feel a little heavy. New Moons are always powerful times to seed intentions but today’s lunation is particularly geared towards longer term goals and especially those that benefit community and that take an innovative approach to addressing existing challenges in order to realise freedoms that were previously considered pipe dreams. The New Moon’s proximity to Saturn suggests that the dream is indeed realistic but it also reinforces the fact that it will take maturity, discipline and plenty of hard work to bring it to fruition. And some of that hard work may involve cultivating clarity and reminding ourselves that we are indeed worthy and do have what it takes to make the true vision manifest. With the New Moon also tightly squaring Uranus, the modern ruler of Aquarius and planet of revolution, revelation and innovation, at 10 degrees of Taurus, which reactivates the year-long Saturn-Uranus square of 2021, we’re likely to be reminded of old tensions - imposed limitations that provoke rebellion as well as heavy feelings that inspire serious reflection and liberating insights and intuitions that allow us to perceive something luminous beyond the parameters of the status quo.

Venus, planet of harmony, relationships and abundance, has been retrograde since December 20, triggering reversals, relationship flashbacks and cathartic emotional scenarios. She finally stationed direct on January 29 and will retrace her steps through the same territory until March 2 but the lessons we’ve learned about the things we value most in this period bring new insight and understanding to these dynamics. As Venus simultaneously trines Uranus on this New Moon, there’s an opportunity to free ourselves from ancestral narratives and patterns that no longer serve us. When Venus conjoins Pluto for the final time, along with an exalted Mars on March 3, we may experience a powerfully transformative rebirth in relation to these storylines.

On Friday February 4 Mercury too stations direct at 24 Capricorn. Saturn is cazimi the Sun at 15 degrees of Aquarius and an exalted Mars in Capricorn makes a superior sextile to Jupiter in its rulership of Pisces at 7 degrees. The shift in energy should feel palpable. Nonetheless, Mercury’s influence is intensified when it stations so take it slow and steady, bringing extra mindfulness to thinking and communications. For the most part however, these energies are likely to be experienced as a reinvigorating commitment to our own power and a powerful drive to step up and take responsibility for our aspirations in a considered way. This increase in determination, stamina, courage, optimism, drive and self-discipline will be powerfully directed into project work now and any activities that build towards a collective vision, especially one in which individuals feel empowered to contribute to the whole through the maturing expression of their own unique gifts.

From Friday until the end of April these increased levels of energy, motivation and commitment will allow us to get the necessary structures and processes in place to begin giving form to the vision. All planets will be moving forward with a tangible feeling of momentum, which builds to a social and creative crescendo in April. This inspiring window of time contains, unsurprisingly, some equally challenging dynamics so it’s worth remembering at the outset that their purpose is to act as grist for the mill and/or grit in the pearl shell in the forging of something collectively nourishing and uniquely beautiful.

Wishing you all a very Happy Lunar New Year my lovely friends. May the Year of the Water Tiger bring you courage, prosperity and inspiring change

🐅🌑🧧

#lunarnewyear #chinesenewyear #kungheifatchoi #watertiger #aquariusnewmoon #venusretrograde #mercuryretrograde #newmoon #aquarius #saturn #uranus #jupiter #mercury #venus #mars #art#illustration #astrology

Shifts in feeling and intuition: Cancer Full Moon 2022

Full Moon in Cancer opposing Pluto January 18 2022, nodal shift, direction change for Uranus and Venus’ heliacal rise January 19 2022

The Moon rules today’s Full Moon at 27 degrees of Cancer. It makes her extra sensitive and reflective, and more so given she’s in an almost exact opposition to Pluto at 26 degrees of Capricorn. This could surface some intense feelings and deep issues relating to home, family, ancestry, memories and legacy, which could be connected to processes of transformation that have already been underway since mid-December with Pluto repeatedly triggered by Venus and Mercury. Feather a beautiful nest to weather big feelings and pay attention to memories, insights and intuitions this week. Cathartic emotions promise the possibility of regeneration and transformation so hang in there if today and/or recent days have felt tough. These continue to be big times and much is changing.

Tomorrow the nodes shift into Taurus and Scorpio for the next 18 months. But on today’s Full Moon they’re in the very last minutes of Gemini and Sagittarius, which intensifies both their significations and influence considerably. Breakdowns in relationship are more likely than not to be driven by emotional beliefs, which are at odds with the facts. The best remedy may be to take ourselves off to the aforementioned nest and to ask ourselves: what’s actually happening here? What are the absolute facts of the matter? And what are we making them mean?

Mercury joined Venus in retrograde motion on January 15, turning Rx at 10 Aquarius in an exact square to Uranus, planet of revolutionary breakthroughs and innovation. Mercury rules the North Node at this critical degree of Gemini so the best course of action now is to stop, turn back and reconsider the issues at hand from a new perspective and a more innovative approach by first reassessing the past. We have time to get this right. Mercury will station direct on Feb 4 and between now and then we’re almost guaranteed to find a better way of dealing with some persistently challenging issues that have been activated for us recently. Breakthroughs are guaranteed if we can reflectively reconsider our positions and reimagine opportunities for more liberating outcomes for all parties involved. Mercury Rx offers optimal energy to rethink, revise, reimagine and reinvent our ways forward and rest and relaxation will help immensely.

This Mercury Rx cycle is also closely tied to the immensely potent retrograde cycle of Venus, which has been underway since mid December. Together, Mercury, which rules the mind, communication and business, and Venus, which rules relationships, creativity, money and resources, are promising to transform the way we’ve been going about any number of these topics. As these two personal planets repeatedly encounter Pluto at the latter degrees of Capricorn, the decaying matter of our experience falls away to nourish treasures that are born in an underworld of dirt.

Significantly Venus also begins her heliacal rise tomorrow on the 19th. Although she’s still moving retrograde until January 29, she’s far enough away from the Sun now that we begin to see her rise as a Morning Star, a powerful symbolic stage in her journey, which equates with Inanna’s rebirth and ascent through the underworld. Venus rules the North Node in Taurus, emphasising the immense power available now in paying attention to the simple things that make life worth living: good food, beautiful, sensually enriched opportunities for connecting with family and close others, health and well-being, nature, the sustainability of our resources, skills, talents and livelihoods, and cultivating love and beauty as intrinsic elements within the everyday fabric of our lives.

Uranus also stations direct on the 19th, giving the planet of breakthroughs, sudden changes, shocks and innovations a forward moving momentum. In Taurus, this may be immediately noticeable as insights and intuitions that are anchored in, emanate from or relate to the body. Changes and innovations in relation to our material resources may also be immediately noticeable. Alternatively these may be a source of anxiety about how we proceed. Uranus can affect our nervous systems as it changes direction and feel like an amping up of anxiety. As mentioned, Mercury’s current retrograde cycle is linked to Uranus and suggests that we will definitely find new, more effective and liberating ways of dealing with these issues over the next couple of weeks. For now, we’re best served by practicing patience and trust, staying alert for insights and ideas, meditating on possibilities for simplifying scenarios when situations feel overwhelmingly complicated, and seeking solace, insight and rejuvenation in nature to ground anxious energy 🌿🌳

Overall this shift in direction for Uranus on the same day the North Node has shifted into the same sign of Taurus and its ruler Venus begins her heliacal rise is another powerful indication of the potential for breakthroughs that will lead us forward into better ways of living our lives in future 🌿🌳🌸🍑🌏

(View towards the Twelve Apostles from my trip on the Capricorn New Moon!)

Gemini Full Moon 2021: Mycelial metaphors

Sunday’s Full Moon at 27 Gemini is ruled by Mercury, planet of mind and communication, who joins Venus, goddess of love, relationships and the things we value, and Pluto, lord of the underworld and planet of trauma and transformation, in Capricorn. The Full Moon makes a near exact trine to Jupiter at 28 Aquarius highlighting inspired conversations and social interactions that could spark brilliant new ideas or provide valuable insight into scenarios we’ve been grappling with. At the same time, the Sun sextiles Jupiter renewing optimism regarding our soul’s aspirations as Jupiter prepares to move into its own mystical temple on the 30th.

Tomorrow’s Full Moon is also the last lunation with the nodes of the Moon in Gemini and Sagittarius, which suggests a fruiting and culmination of some of the lessons we’ve been learning over the last 18 months, although the full nature of those learnings may still be coming clear. In Capricorn, Mercury gains an earthy, grounded quality, and in the sign of age and decay, I’m reminded of the communicative powers of mycelium. As the primary decomposers in ecosystems, fungi recreate the world through processes of death and transformation, creating life from dying matter, turning waste into riches, transmuting poisons and toxic pollutants, digesting plastics, dissolving rock and even facilitating mystical visions. Only 8% of the Earth’s fungi are currently described and although we’re most familiar with their exotic fruiting bodies most fungal activity occurs below ground in the chthonic Plutonic realms in symbiotic relationships with trees. These mycorrhizal systems comprise vast underground bio-informational and trade networks that nourish all life above ground via complex webs of fungal mycelium. Trees pass water, nutrients, deterrents, warnings and other messages we’re yet to understand, to plants connected via the network, and it retains 30% of the sugars generated by trees to continue powering the mycelial web.

These extraordinary processes of communication, transformation and interchange are, of course, also occurring beneath the surface of our own relationships. With Venus conjunct Pluto and the Gemini Full Moon triggering the goddess’ retrograde descent the day after, we’re reminded of the power of supportive intentions and of cooperating with others in our networks as we generate life-giving energy from the parts of our lives and relationships that need to die. Although we may fear exposing the rot or shame at the heart of certain relationships, or the traumas that have prevented true bonding and connection, we can trust that we will receive what we need through this web of relations, and that the parts of our experience that have been subject to deterioration are being purified as they nourish new life in the psyche. All processes, including decomposition, are sacred and mysterious, and there may be extra power in addressing them now. In Capricorn, Mercury would often prefer to dispense with the flowery rituals of diplomacy in favour of getting to the root of matters, calling a spade a spade and calling out the rot, but how we articulate important information could have a significant impact now and difficult truths may be best delivered in the form of mutually beneficial sugars.

Mars in Sagittarius:

The planet of conflict and aggression, Mars, is in Sagittarius, indicating the potential for overreaction and emotional responses blown out of proportion. However, it’s also conjunct the South Node on this lunation, which suggests it might be easier than usual to release anger and avoid reactivity. Seeking mindful outlets for combustible energy whilst cultivating curiosity about other people’s perspectives should also help to prevent the accidental burning of bridges. Directing Martian drive and passion into activities that re-energise and inspire us could make it easier to release old patterns of belief that could deactivate certain triggers altogether and expand our relational horizons. As the guide of souls, Mercury possesses the power to move between the realms, highlighting the potential for insight, transformation and healing in relationships that have important history. Mars also rules infections and injections, and in the sign of Jupiter, we can expect increased numbers of both so staying masked and mindful and booking in boosters could help to minimise unnecessary chaos in coming weeks as well.

Venus retrograde:

On Monday 20 December, Venus begins her retrograde journey. She begins her descent into the underworld as an evening star, travelling through Capricorn for 40 days and nights, disappearing from view and finally making her heliacal rise and emerging as a morning star, on January 15. This is an extremely significant process, which although challenging, provides profound opportunities for renewal in the areas of life ruled by Capricorn in the natal chart and their relationship to Venusian themes: love, relationships, money, power, beauty, art, pleasure, sex and friendship etc. Under the influence of Capricorn, this journey takes on a more serious calibre. We may be contemplating true value, considering longterm investments and the need for boundaries, cultivating discipline, reviewing episodes from the past to shed light on unfolding narratives. Venus retrograde cycles can indicate temporary reversals in relationships and finances but they are also an excellent time for reflection, review and reimagining, and to prepare for the exciting energetic shifts and creative opportunities that could begin fruiting by March 20 when Venus attains her maximum brightness and influence as morning star.

The myth of Inanna, which was associated with the retrograde cycle of Venus, offers us a few extra warnings about this cycle. The Queen of Heaven entered the underworld with intentions to usurp her sister’s power and was stripped of the trappings of her own at each of seven gates, judged guilty, killed and hung on a meat hook for three days before being returned to life by the Galla, two sexless beings created from the dirt under Enki’s fingernails. Her story reminds us that we may be able to prevent unnecessary suffering by avoiding power plays, dishonesty, greed and manipulation. With Venus configured so closely to Pluto in this story, we will find power in working to understand the roots of jealousy and by regarding it as an invitation, which speaks to the soul’s desire for change. What kind of beautiful life are we aiming towards in the next 10 years, and what do we need to change in our own lives in order to get there? Aligning our actions with our values, sloughing off old habits and patterns that no longer serve us could make this powerful period of personal transformation feel like less of an ordeal.

Saturn-Uranus square:

Saturn remains immensely powerful until March, ruling from its own domicile over Pluto, Venus, Mercury and as of the Solstice on December 22, the Sun. Saturn’s influence emphasises the need for maturity, discipline and restraint and suggests the likelihood of limitations, restrictions and obstacles we may need to navigate. No surprises really. The peak astrological event of 2021 could well be the final exact square between Saturn and Uranus on December 24, which intensifies the year-long, epoch-shifting dynamic between the two rulers of Aquarius. In a nutshell we could describe the vibe as painfully slow progress. Revolutionary breakthroughs tempered by depressive restrictions. Violent rebellions in response to repressive controls. Unexpected obstacles, disruptive delays. This epic Saturn-Uranus dynamic, which continues into the 25th, is additionally intensified by the second exact conjunction between Venus and Pluto, which occurs on Christmas day, which emphasises deep feeling in relationships. Jealousy, passive aggression and manipulation are signatures of this energetic combination but so too is the healing power of love, which unites and harmonises our differences, providing opportunities for renewal and regeneration in relationships. This Saturn-Uranus/Venus-Pluto combination is excellent energy for initiating new traditions that break free from expectations that have previously deadened connections. Consider small, heartfelt innovations that ritualise affection.

In mythology, Uranus and Saturn are father and son, and the shift in power from the elder to the younger was associated with the emergence of the Golden Age. However this transfer occurs through a process of highly stressful, incremental change, which is necessary for achieving long-lasting progress in society as well as in personal growth. The Aquarian rulers continue their progress by square until March 2023 and this dynamic provides ideal conditions to cultivate the discipline necessary to work towards personal liberation. Meditation and mindfulness are ideal tools for harnessing the discipline of Saturn and the profound awakening potential of Uranus, and establishing a daily practice will turbo-charge the slow and steady release of lasting breakthroughs.

Of course it goes without saying, but nonetheless bears repeating, that the 24th and 25th are definitely not good days to engage in power struggles over opposing views; the fall-out could be more explosive than usual. Difficult truths would be better aired on December 29/30 when the Greater Benefic, Jupiter, planet of good fortune and the higher good, moves into its own watery temple of Pisces, a sign associated with compassion and forgiveness. Mercury joins Venus at 24 degrees of Capricorn on the same day and conjoins Pluto the next, eliciting communications that centre on the revelation of deep truths or reveal more of a story, enhancing understanding and compassion. Either way, Jupiter’s entry into Pisces should hopefully feel like a tangible shift of energy, which brings renewed inspiration, optimism and enthusiasm as it hints towards a renaissance of creative possibilities to come when Jupiter conjoins Neptune in Pisces in April 2022.

Final things:

Venus will turn direct on January 30, returning through the seven gates of the underworld until she meets Pluto again on March 3. This time they’ll simultaneously conjoin with an exalted Mars, further emphasising the powerful opportunities for personal transformation that are available to us in this cycle. And if at times we feel overwhelmed by grief or hopelessness while Venus undergoes this life and death journey, this is an important reminder: things are not hopeless, we’re just in the tricky process of transmuting toxins into riches. As we embark on this cycle of endings that precedes the birth of a new creative era, we can look again to mycelial metaphors. By grounding intense feelings in nature, paying attention to the information received through networks of support and our own intuition, and mindfully processing emotional poisons in order to derive the sweet benefits of their transformation, the old forms and patterns falling away are guaranteed to nourish an abundance of new life…

Congratulations on making it through nearly two epic, world-changing years of social and personal upheaval my dear, beautiful friends. You are fucking

A M A Z I N G!!! Sending much love and wishing you all a richly deserved, deeply restorative break in which to relinquish the old and dream into new and inspiring energies.

#feednewlife #geminifullmoon #fullmoon #venus #pluto #mercury #mars #saturnuranussquare #saturn #uranus #christmas #inanna #enki #underworld #mycelium #fungi #jupiter #neptune #pisces #renaissance #art #astrology

Venus conjunct Pluto: preparing for Inanna’s descent

From around 4000 BCE Inanna, the ancient Sumerian goddess of love, war, beauty and political power was associated with the planet Venus. A far fiercer deity than her later Greek and Roman counterparts Aphrodite and Venus, Inanna was revered amongst the gods as Queen of Heaven. The most epic of her myths involves her descent into the underworld (in Greek cosmology the domain of Pluto), a fatal but ultimately transformative journey specifically associated with the retrograde cycle of the planet Venus.

Tomorrow this story begins its re-activation as Venus, planetary ruler of women, friendships, art, pleasure, harmony and relationships joins Pluto, lord of power, wealth, death and transformation at 25 degrees of Capricorn. The two remain interlocked until Tuesday. On Wednesday Venus slows to a standstill at 26 degrees Capricorn and finally stations retrograde on December 20. The two remain one degree apart until Christmas day when they’re exact again at 25 degrees just as the third of 2021’s culturally, politically and personally defining Saturn-Uranus squares takes place at 11 degrees of Aquarius and Taurus. Suffice to say that this Christmas will be unlike any other and is most definitely worth preparing for emotionally.

The intense encounter between Venus and Pluto initiates an immensely powerful period of transformation, which is taking place between now and March 2022 in the areas of our charts occupied by the sign of Capricorn. Hidden truths are likely to surface. Power dynamics are highlighted. Addictions could reach tipping points. Psychic wounds and sexual traumas arise for healing. Gender transitions and transformations gain significance. Social taboos and dark obsessions gain visibility. Challenging storylines involving powerful, wealthy, famous people, artists, sexual predators and/or beauties come to our attention. Whatever has begun surfacing now in our own lives, as well as collectively, points us toward the areas in which deep, powerful and extremely valuable transformations are needing to take place.

Pay attention to all messages that arrive with a signature of intensity. If we can take courageous action on those messages that are asking us to change, the transformations we experience will be both immensely powerful and empowering. Journal the significance of encounters that feel significant now. These will continue unfolding over coming months and we will become clearer the more time we attend to these experiences reflectively as the cycle progresses.

Inanna journeys to the underworld under the pretence of attending the funeral of her sister’s husband but in reality she has her sights set on stripping her sister Erishkegal of power as Queen of the Underworld. But she herself is quickly stripped of power and exposed, judged guilty and put to death. This cycle is one in which we too may have to take responsibility for our actions. Inanna is forced to do so the hard way, hung on a hook for three days before being brought revived by Enki, god of mischief, knowledge and creation, and by the same token, we can activate some of his magic by tending to experiences of intensity with humour, creativity and a hunger for both greater knowledge and greater wisdom.

These are powerful times and time is short. I’m also extremely hung over in the aftermath of far too many margaritas at my workplace Xmas party last night and I haven’t had time to make a new artwork for this update so I’m recycling… And sure, it’s not a race and it’s not a competition, but if it were this print appears to be winning. So if you or someone you know could use a visual reminder to listen in to the true heart’s wisdom and its beckonings, then it’s here, waiting to be at your service... You can check it out at:

https://www.moniquelafontaine.com.au/artworks-for-sale

Big love to you all dear ones and stay tuned for much more on this epic cycle and the astrological climax for 2021, coming soon…🌟♥️🔥

#venusplutoconjunction #venus #pluto #inanna #queenofheaven #erishkegal #queenoftheunderworld #venusretrograde #enki #sumer #babylon #astrology #art #listeningin #fineartprint

Honouring change: Sagittarius Solar Eclipse 2021

Anyone else been feeling the big feels this week? Tomorrow’s Solar Eclipse at 12 Sagittarius (6:43pm AEDT) feels super-significant. As the final eclipse on the Gemini-Sagittarius axis, it feels especially profound as we release, let go and close-out a highly significant course of collective life-learning. It feels like the exam week leading up to graduation. Sagittarius is associated with higher learning and Gemini with the foundations of knowledge but with the North Node in Gemini since May 2020, we’ve been learning to refine our critical thinking faculties and become more conscious of the spaces between our perceptions and beliefs. The last 17 months may have intensified our anxieties but they’ve also midwived the mental shifts that have propelled us toward new dreams of the future. This emphasis on the Gemini North Node has helped us break down those expansive Sagittarian visions into the smaller achievable tasks that can be actioned and realised, and when the nodes shift into Taurus and Scorpio in January we begin growing the dream from seed.

Solar Eclipses are like super-charged New Moons. They initiate but they also deliver unexpected events that can powerfully alter the course of lives. And thus they also necessitate endings. The North Node marks the Moon’s ascent towards the ecliptic so it’s associated with increase, indicating topics that are likely to grow in prominence either consciously or unconsciously during that period. Since 2020, Gemini qualities of curiosity and non-judgemental consideration of data and information have expanded our understanding but we’ve also seen communities becoming increasingly polarised in relation to their beliefs (Sagittarius) about the facts (Gemini). The South Node is associated with decrease as it marks the Moon’s descent away from the ecliptic and similarly suggests that we benefit from interrogating the truth of our own fiercely held convictions whilst relinquishing old, inherited, outmoded beliefs that limit our possibilities or those of others.

Medieval astrologers actually considered the North Node exalted in Sagittarius and the South in Gemini, which is interesting given the extraordinarily challenging period we’ve been living through while they’ve been in their ‘fallen’ or ‘depressed’ positions. And yet the South Node is also associated in Vedic philosophy with the potential for our greatest spiritual growth. The nodes originate with Swarbhanu in Vedic mythology, the dragon who snuck into line with the gods to receive the nectar of immortality, the last of the gifts churned from the milk of oceans. When the Sun and Moon discovered Swarbhanu immediately after drinking they complained to Lord Vishnu who severed the dragon’s head. Its immortal disembodied head became the desirous North Node Rahu. The body, Ketu, the South Node, became associated with spiritual liberation. It makes sense given that our desires propel us forward whereas our losses facilitate deeper transformations.

Mercury, the magician and North Node ruler is currently combust within three degrees of the eclipse in the sign of its detriment, which suggests challenges, uncomfortable news and/or issues arising in relation to the stories we tell ourselves and/or others. But it’s also operating within its own terms, which brings greater clarity and perceptive insight to situations that have been constrained by ideologies, sweeping generalisations or closed-minded thinking. Mars, still in its rulership in deep-feeling Scorpio, is making simultaneous aspects: a sextile to Venus and Pluto, square to Jupiter and trine to Neptune, which fires up our feeling centres and complicates our desires whilst encouraging us to take action on the things that matter most. With the ruler of tomorrow’s Solar Eclipse, Jupiter, approaching its own temple in Pisces on December 30, there’s cause for long-term optimism. But for now, as we release the parts of our experience that are falling away, we may want to light candles. They’re symbolically associated with Sagittarius. As we honour the gifts of these experiences with tender feeling and gratitude we carve out psychic space for the new dreams to take root… 🌱🌿🌳

Much love dear friends 🫀🌑🌞🌙👁🕯♥️🌟