Mercury Retrograde Ahead

Cue the groans:  Mercury will be Retrograde from August 2-26.  

Remember!  It’s not all bad things that happen during Mercury Retrograde.  Lost pictures and memories get found, old friends pop up out of nowhere in random places, long buried ideas become workable again.  

That said, this looks like it’s going to be a particularly itchy retrograde.  Mercury will be in Shadow Phase as of Friday, and I’m already starting to see technical difficulties all over the place.  Back your stuff up.  Take care of any important equipment issues as soon as possible.  Make a plan.  Then make a plan B.  Remember it’s just the weather and prepare for it.  

Patience first, 

Adeline

Find out how Mercury Retrograde will be affecting your chart.  Order a personalized 3 month horoscope written just for you here.

Venus Square Saturn

12 July 2011

The square between Venus the grace and Saturn the disciplinarian will be exact just after midnight tonight here in California (12:37 am pacific daylight time). 

Venus wants to love.  Saturn wants to do the right thing.  Venus wants things to feel nice.  Saturn wants things to last.  Venus keeps the peace.  Saturn does whatever’s necessary. 

A square is like being cornered.  Something has to change to get past it. 

This is heavy weather for relationships.  Who’s feelin’ it? 

I’ve had that song from the 80s “Harden my Heart” in my head the whole damn day.  

Swallowin’ Tears, 

Adeline

Horoscopes for July 11-17, 2011

NEW MOON ON MONDAY ASTROLOGY

By Adeline Leigh 

The Full Moon in Capricorn happens overnight Thursday to Friday, shining the spotlight on the Grand Cardinal Cross.  Watch for stressful situations to reach important turning points where something finally absolutely has to get done.  A square between Venus and Saturn, the planet that’s all about limits, means some of these decisions are a lot about relationships.  Here’s the good news:  we’re at a turning point, and the sooner we start to take action, the sooner we can just get on with things.  This week is going to force us to start taking some of that action.  Capricorn is a sign that’s a lot about ambition and the hard work it takes to get there.  Focus on that part this week, instead of the stress, and you’re liable to be pushed to new heights.  The Moon in Aquarius over the weekend helps us all detach a bit.     

**If you know your Rising Sign and Moon signs, be sure to read for those too!

***Here’s a link to last week’s horoscopes / Order a personal horoscope HERE.

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ARIES

You’ve got a great hand but don’t show your cards.  Aries can be more impulsive than the rest of the signs.  This is a good time to step back and keep your eyes on where you’re trying to go, more than letting anything get to you.  Feelings are strong, but so are desires, and the more control you have over yourself right now, the more you’re going to get.  Find your game face.  You have the ability to focus on where you want to go in a way that’s more assertive than it is aggressive. 

TAURUS 

Quantity vs. Quality.  This week’s Full Moon in a fellow Earth sign is helping you figure out where you’re pushing for all the right things and where you might just be getting greedy.  You know more than anyone that it’s better to have just enough of what you really want than a surplus of the superficial.  A square between your Venus ruler and Saturn (the planet that’s all about boundaries), will be pushing you to distinguish between the two and what you’re actually striving for right now.  It’s all about figuring out what you really want. 

GEMINI

Mercury’s nod toward Mars in your sign at the beginning of this week is helping you find better ways to use your energy.  Right now is good for being out and about and active.  The alternative involves racing thoughts that just won’t stop and a hard time getting to sleep at night.  Start moving instead and you’ll be creating tangible things and situations that will lead you to all the right places by the end of the month.  Be especially aware of new connections that might possibly lead to situations you’ve never even considered before. 

CANCER 

This week’s Full Moon in your opposite sign might be shining a harsh light on certain situations.  Make sure that you’re being more constructive than you are critical.  Necessary adjustments are one thing, but don’t look in corners for problems that will blow away by themselves like dust.  You’re being especially hard on yourself right now.  Remember to match every negative thought you have with something positive, and you’ll soon find the balance between “should” and satisfactory.  Wait for the weekend to make any big moves.  By then you’ll be feeling a thousand times more comfortable. 

LEO

Just be yourself.  Leo is generous, you’re making time to do things with and for other people – but remember to leave some room for alone time this week.  You’re adjusting to weather that doesn’t quite suit you.  There’s plenty of activity, but you’re longing to get back to projects that have true meaning for you and your situation.  Watch out for having to make adjustments you weren’t expecting to make under this week’s Full Moon and remember your season is just around the corner.  It won’t be long before we’re planning the celebration.   

VIRGO

Keep your trademark methods. This week’s Full Moon in Capricorn, a fellow Earth sign, is showing all of us where we have to make the most important changes.  As much as you’ve been anticipating them, certain adjustments have the rest of us all shook up.  The more you can be an example of order, the more the rest of us can start keeping up with you.  Not only will that help calm things down in your life, it will also help the rest of us learn a more practical way of dealing with the circumstances. 

LIBRA

You’re more than able to move forward again this week.  If you still feel like you’re being blocked, take a look at what you think you have to prove to somebody else.  Then take a step back and try to see the big picture.  The more you can be sure of yourself right now, on your own terms, the more everybody else will believe in you.  Whatever you’re trying to make tangible in another person’s mind right now isn’t nearly as important as the absolute faith you have to have in yourself. 

SCORPIO

You’re in the midst of a major transition.  The question is how aware you are of where the changes should actually happen.  Watch out for focusing way too hard on minor irritations and ignoring the dinosaur in the living room this week. The biggest shifts that are going on for you might be a bit drastic and overwhelming to think about, but they’re also taking you to places you haven’t been able to access before.  You’re about to find the strength and the curiosity to go there, as long as you’re ready to see it. 

SAGITTARIUS

Hurry up and wait.  You get a great head start, but the week might turn out to be a whole anxious heap of anticipation.  The antidote, of course, is staying out and about in the world and present in as many situations as possible.  Something big is coming, but the more you can appreciate and fully be here for what’s happening right now, the more sense you’ll be able to make of things when it does.  There are major realizations to be found over the next few weeks, as long as you’re looking for them. 

CAPRICORN

You’ll have to make some decisions this week.  It’s as easy as choosing the right thing, but with the Full Moon in your sign, you’re all torn up about what exactly the right thing is.  It might help to remember that this choice is about you more than it is about anyone else, including what people think of you.  You know deep down what you want to do, even if it clashes with everybody else’s expectations.  Go with your gut.  You’ll be seeing the rest of us jumping on your bandwagon sooner than you think. 

AQUARIUS

You’re finally on the right track.  It’s been all about what you need to hold on to and what you just have to let go of the whole time, but that’s always easier to see in retrospect.  Aquarius likes to view things on its own terms, and now that you finally understand some key moves you need to make for yourself, you’re going to be able to take all the right steps.  As much as you already get that it won’t be completely easy, you also absolutely know how ready you are to get there. 

PISCES

You’re picking up on everybody else’s vibes. The question is, what do you really want to do with them?  Pisces has a way of taking the way other people are feeling upon itself, without actually separating where your boundary ends and another’s begins.  This is the perfect week for learning how to color within the lines.  Be as aware as you can possibly be about what starts with you, and what starts with someone else.  The better you can tell the difference, the more prepared you’ll be for everything that’s coming next. 

Prometheus Retrograde

9 July 2011

The planet Uranus goes Retrograde at 5:36 pm (pacific daylight time). 

This isn’t too strange of an occurrence:  Uranus (like all the outer planets) goes retrograde every year for at least five months.  What’s different about this particular retrograde is that the planet (the last still in Aries after this past Spring’s Aries pile-up) will be returning to the first degree of Aries between now and early December, when it returns to forward motion. 

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac.  All of the action there last April was the beginning of a brand new chapter for absolutely all of us.  New moves all over the place set things in motion that will be playing out for years.  

Whenever a planet goes retrograde, it appears to retrace its footsteps over a certain portion of the sky.  Astrologically, this translates to the numerical degrees within a sign. Saturn, for example, has stuck at 10 degrees of Libra since mid-May and is only now picking up speed and moving on.  Saturn is limits.  Are there any areas you’ve felt stuck since late Spring?  They should hopefully be moving forward again.   

The planet Uranus, on the other hand, represents the future, the unexpected, and the shocking.  The planet Uranus wants its freedom to do everything its own, brand-new way.  Especially when it’s in Aries, the first sign of the self.  The planet Uranus shakes everything up. It’s unpredictable. 

Uranus moved into Aries on March 11, the same day as the earthquake and tsunamis hit Japan.  It will be moving back to that first degree of Aries (the first degree of the zodiac) in mid-November and remaining there until early January, 2012.  This is of course not to say we’re in for disasters like that during that time period.  Retrograde periods (especially with the slow-moving, outer planets) are a lot about reprocessing the things that have come up in our lives the first time a planet moved through the territory.  Think about all that’s happened since March - it’s kind of a lot, right?  The next several months are giving us the chance to catch up with it. (Uranus will return to the place it is today in early April, 2012.)

Look for the cusp of Aries in your chart, and see which house it falls in.  That’s the area of life that will be unpredictable for the next few years, but also where you’ll be making brilliant changes. 

hang on!

Adeline 

More information on the planet Uranus  here.  

Venus Opposite Pluto

8 July 2011

Pluto’s acting up all over the place. First there was the trine between Pluto and Jupiter early yesterday morning, next there’s this evening’s opposition between Pluto and Venus (exact at 5:30 pm pacific daylight time). 

Pluto exposes the shadow side of things.  Venus brings attraction.  So here we have the shadow side of what we’re attracted to.  It’s perfect weather for bad girls. 

Look also for situations that are buried, or taboo, or karmic to get exposed in your relationships.  Drama from the past coming back to haunt you.  But don’t take it too seriously!  Venus moves fast, and will aspect Pluto several times throughout the year. 

Pluto also has a lot to do with intense focus to the point of obsession.  Pluto doesn’t want to let up until it absolutely knows for sure what’s going on.  

Pretty much, what it brings, is some intensity.  Especially within relationships. 

Who’s obsessing?

AL

Jupiter / Pluto

6 July 2011

Jupiter’s pretty happy in Taurus, where he’ll be for almost another year.  Jupiter brings exaggeration and Taurus is all about the things that feel good.  Jupiter in Taurus expands our desire for the delicious and the delightful and the soft to the touch.  Sometimes maybe to an excessive degree.  

Pluto’s doing some hard work in Capricorn, where he’ll be until 2024.  Pluto brings transformation and Capricorn is all about our foundation, our structure, our government.  Pluto brings out the dark side of things, exposing what absolutely needs to change.  And a lot of the times, the things that need to change are the very hardest to let go.

A trine between Jupiter and Pluto will be exact tomorrow morning at 6:53 am (pacific daylight time).  Trines bring enabling energy.  They open up the path between two planets or points so that they can work swiftly together.  Trines are always between two signs of the same element.  Tomorrow’s trine between planets in Earth signs means that it will manifest in tangible, material ways.  

There are infinite ways this transit might manifest.  It could exaggerate (Jupiter) the transformations (Pluto) that need to happen with our government (Capricorn). It could expand (Jupiter) our desire (Taurus) to feel more powerful (Pluto).  Excessive (Jupiter) spending (Taurus) could bring the breakdown (Pluto) of our foundation (Capricorn). 

And it surely doesn’t have to be as drastic as all that.  One of the things that Astrology is best for is learning how to use energy as productively as you can.  An earthy trine between Jupiter (the Great Benefic) and Pluto, the planet that brings absolute power is a very lucky time for planting seeds (earth) that can bring you a lucky, and very powerful transformation (Jupiter + Pluto).  This is especially lucky weather for Virgo, the third Earth sign.  

Jupiter is relatively slow and Pluto is slow as syrup, so this is an aspect that’s been affecting us all week and will take a while to dissipate.  It will also repeat itself toward the end of October, and again in 2012.  Plant the seeds now, and see how it manifests on October 28. 

Power Luck, 

Adeline

The Ascendant

edward hopper

The Ascendant (or Rising Sign) is the very beginning of the chart.  It’s the window that we look out at the rest of the world from.  It colors our perceptions and therefore our reactions and therefore the way that the rest of the world sees us. 

The Sun changes signs every 30 days or so.  The Moon changes signs every two and a half days.  The Ascendant goes through all twelve signs in 24 hours. 

The Ascendant is the sign that is rising in the eastern horizon at the moment of a birth (or event).  If a person is born at sunrise, their Ascendant will be the same as their Sun sign.  If a person is born at sunset, their Ascendant will be in the opposite sign as their Sun. 

The Ascendant is our facade, but that doesn’t make it superficial.  It’s actually one of the very most (if not the most) important points on a chart.  The degree where the Ascendant falls determines where the other 11 houses fall in the chart.  That’s why it’s so important to know what time a person is born.  

Look at the chart below: 

You’ll see the letters AC at the right hand side of the circle, right where 9 would be on a traditional clock.  Those letters stand for Ascendant.  This is the very first point in the chart, where the chart begins. 

Our Sun sign shows what we do, our Moon sign shows what we need to do, and our Ascendant shows how we do it.  Remember, it’s the filter we look through, it has everything to do with how we see things.  

//AL