Another year is nearly behind us, and I’ve left another year of writing in my wake here on the site. Here are the most popular posts of 2010:

On the Ascendant: Moon Rising

A look at the characteristics of people with moon conjunct the ascendant.

Transiting Moon Opposite Chiron

Information about a specific monthly transit to your natal Chiron.

A Conversation With the Pisces Moon

My bizarre inquiry into a birth pattern of a lot of the people in my life.

Moon Transit Adventures

A particular transit pattern I experience each lunar cycle. You may have a similar period of time, especially if you have a stellium (planets clustered together) in your chart.

The Finger of Fate

Observations of a Saturn transit to a natal chart yod.

An Odd Expression of Mars on the Midheaven

Some thoughts on an unusual Libra/Mars/midheaven pattern I’ve observed.

On the Ascendant: Transiting Mars and Mars Retrograde

Personal experiences as Mars was transiting my ascendant early in 2010. This post has my favorite photo, too.

Did You Inherit Your Birth Chart?

A look at astrological family trees and generational karma.

Prenatal Eclipses

Experimenting with prenatal eclipses. I’ve done some significant work on this since then, that I will be writing about in 2011.

How to Get a Free Copy of Your Birth Chart

A step-by-step guide to downloading a color copy of your natal chart.

It’s the last week of 2010– the time of year when society has a gift-giving hangover, people start making resolutions for the new year, and everyone laments that they don’t know where the time went.

Monday, December 27

Today is the calmest Monday we’ve had all month. Fitting, since so many people are on holidays right now, but it’s still possible to get work done if you transmute stuckness into action on smaller things. The energy that is out there is active, so if you can avoid feeling frustrated it is a good workday. You might be impatient with shallowness and small talk, so be diplomatic or excuse yourself if someone’s prattle is really annoying you.

Tuesday, December 28

Today can be a day of productivity, or possibly melancholy. You might feel reflective today, so if you’re planning to do a year-end review this is a fine day for that sort of activity; weighing your year and making plans for 2011 will feel satisfying. The evening is good for socializing.

Wednesday, December 29

The moon is void all morning, until 12:49pm Pacific (2049 GMT) so this is not the morning to return your unwanted holiday presents or to try to hammer out a last-minute project. It’s a lovely time for retail therapy, although the purse strings will be a bit loose so be warned. This is another good day for year-end reflection; between an exact Mars-Saturn square and Mercury stationing direct late in the evening, you’re going to feel stifled if you try too hard to make things happen.

Yes, Mercury turns direct late in the evening, at 11:21pm Pacific. Another three weeks of trickster shenanigans is behind us; Mercury’s next retrograde period begins at the end of March 2011. It will take another week to pick up speed though, so be careful of some communication whiplash over the next week.

Thursday, December 30

This can be a downright pleasant day. You might even feel like you’re in a bit of a bubble as things calm around you. This is a good day to continue your year-end reviews, or year-end retreat if you feel like doing nothing.

The moon is in Scorpio, making two friendly aspects today with a nice lazy break in between. If people make a situation difficult for you today, the moon is playing with fixed energy in their charts. Let them be stubborn and wear themselves out; don’t feed the fire.

Friday, December 31

The moon goes void just before noon today, and enters Sagittarius at 5:21pm. If you have to work today, everyone will be in party mode so forget productivity and settle for avoiding last-minute trouble. The morning is your only hope for getting anything done.

Aspect-wise, it’s quiet for the rest of the night. The Sag moon will make a nice party atmosphere if you’re going out, but be careful not to spill your drink on that nice dress. The year ends on a quirky, optimistic note, and thank goodness for that.

With today’s moon in Cancer, the recent eclipse, and the inner work we’re all doing as the year comes to a close, I’ve collected a few of my most popular posts about the moon.

In astrology, your moon relates to your emotions, your habits, your subconscious, and your inner life. Learning more about your moon placement will help you understand your personal patterns better, and become more emotionally healthy and happy.

During the month, the moon makes a full circuit through your chart, touching off every part of it. The monthly moon cycles affect all of us in different ways so if a piece of conventional lunar wisdom doesn’t jive for you, it probably toys with your chart a little (or maybe more than a little).

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Balsamic Moon: Give it a Rest
What exactly a balsamic moon is, and how you can use it. Has super-balsamic moon dates through February 2011.

Just One Card: The High Priestess
The primal lunar archetype of the Tarot.

Moon Transits and Lunar Returns
Quick questions and answers about moon signs and transits.

On the Ascendant: Moon Rising
Moon conjunct ascendant in the chart, and some celebrity comparisons.

Moon Transit Adventures
Everyone loves a pretty Libra moon, but I turn into a hermit. Here’s why.

Moon Phases and Transits Grab Bag (audio)
Annotated audio about the new moon, full moon, and the complete lunar cycle.

Tomorrow is yet another odd full moon.

We’re in the middle of a series of full moons that take place at what astrologers call the anaretic degree, the very last degree of a zodiac sign. Events that occur at 29 degrees of a sign are significant in astrology, as they symbolize maturity and transition. This full moon is the third in a series of five full moons at anaretic degrees; tomorrow’s full moon at 12:13am PST (0813 GMT) will be at 29 Gemini.

If that wasn’t enough, the full moon (moon opposite sun) is the final aspect before the moon goes void of course, mirroring the transition from the outer world to the inner world.

And if that wasn’t enough for one full moon, this one is a total lunar eclipse as well. Humans have known since antiquity that eclipses herald periods of transformation and transition; old patterns dissolve and new options open up.

And if all that wasn’t enough for one event, tomorrow is also the winter solstice; the sun will move into Capricorn later in the afternoon, signaling the official beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere.

As far as signals of personal transformation and transition go, this is a pretty dramatic one.

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With the moon at 29 degrees, the energy of the Gemini full moon will only coalesce for a short time—just over an hour—before the moon slips into the sign of Cancer. With the curious, processing feelings of Gemini and the adventurous, bold nature of the sun in Sagittarius, we can experience a whole inner revolution in the time today leading up to the full moon, and feel it shift dramatically tomorrow after the moon enters its ruling sign.

In this month’s video forecast Rick Levine referred to this as a “monster moon”; with the 29th degree emphasis people instinctively feel like time is running out… and what do we do when we feel rushed? We tend to make stupid mistakes. But if we can hold our ground emotionally today and tomorrow, we have a chance to really let go of things from the past that don’t serve us anymore.

Tomorrow will be a crossroads on many different levels. We are being pushed to raise our game, to explore new options and act on our values. This is an existential time; are you doing what you’re meant to be doing? Who are you exactly? What does that mean?

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I will be painting a small series of eclipse and solstice talismans tomorrow. If you are in a period of personal transformation, or if you resonate with eclipses, one of them may be meant for you. They will be available later this week.

Our families are one of the biggest influences on our life, whether we’re from peaceful homes or troubled ones, adopted, interfaith, close, split, together, or anything else. And so our families, for better or for worse, are part of us, and show up in our birth charts in different ways.

Some aspects in a chart describe how you saw your parents’s relationship with each other, some describe our early home life, some reveal which parent influenced you most and how.

There are some aspects in a chart, too, that simply echo our families; these describe ways we are like them (and perhaps are more similar to them than we want to be).

In each other’s orbit

In many relationships, two people will have some similar feature in their charts– part of the attraction is that the other person really gets how they think, or feel, or relate to the world. My own parents split up decades ago, but it wasn’t until I looked at their charts that I understood why they were together so long in the first place.

My own parents share a Virgo signature (Virgo sun/Mercury/ascendant for one, Virgo moon for the other) and each has a strong moon/Saturn conjunction. Two married friends of mine share a (highly unusual) sun/Venus retrograde conjunction. My husband and I share a prominent Mars/Venus square.

There are, of course, many intricate layers in relationships and their charts, but generally a few features stand out in particular; these are often the ones that become hereditary in some way.

Going backward

If you have birthdates for grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, and even great-grandparents, you can trace further back and look for emerging patterns in the family line. Even when there is no birth time (producing a chart without houses), hereditary aspects will emerge. Sometimes seemingly minor patterns are the common thread, so a professional astrologer can be helpful for this part. Don’t forget step-parents and -siblings, and adopted family members, as they will share aspects too.

In families with several siblings, there may be one or two in particular that pick up the “family aspect” and play a bigger role in generational issues. The aren’t necessarily the oldest, but the ones with the strongest echo of the family pattern will become more involved with the family’s intergenerational issues one way or another. This is one reason it is useful to have charts for all family members in a generation, because sometimes only one or two will display the family’s big aspect strongly, while the others will have a weaker signature.

This is correlation, not causation– I’m not saying people are enmeshed in family patterns because of aspects in their charts, only that there is an observable connection between those two things. The aspect indicates the tendency. You still have free will, and can create new patterns through your own efforts!

Going forward

Your own children, or nieces and nephews, will have aspects that reflect their parents as well. The charts of children are about potential, not the developed personalities of adults, so it is important not to limit kids by their family aspects. It is interesting and helpful, though, to see what is significant enough to be passed on, and to continue working on them in your own way.

For example, my family has a strong Plutonian thread and my young niece is no exception. While I cannot know the particular way hers will express itself, and there is no reason to fill my sister’s mind with doom-and-gloom prattle, I can make an effort to be a good role model of the higher expressions of Plutonian energy (healing, insight, willingness to change).

Unto the seventy-seventh generation

There is definitely a thread of family karma that can be traced through astrological family trees… sometimes it’s fairly clear what that is, and sometimes it takes a lot more detective work and picking at things until the true nature of it comes through.

Looking for karmic signatures in charts is one of the most interesting and descriptive ways to do generational work in astrology, because the undercurrents of emotional debt, family atmosphere, and obligation are invariably tied to that root issue. Families that are able to heal the troubled aspect in some way will experience a major shift in the way they relate to each other, instead of staying trapped in the same generational patterns and repeating them over again.

This relates to blended families too. Step-families and adopted family members that play a major karmic role for each other will be reflected in family aspects as well.

Clues along the trail

Some aspects that are commonly interlaced between family members:

• A prominent sign or house (lots of Leo/5th house)

• The total or near-total absence of certain signs

• Interlaced signs, rulers, or elements (dad has a lot of Aries, child has a strong Mars or fire element)

• Rising signs that echo a parent’s sun sign or stellium

• Rising planets that echo a parent (mom has a lot of Aquarius, child has Uranus rising)

• Shared chart aspects (sun conjunct Venus, moon in aspect to Pluto, moon on the ascendant, etc.)

• Related aspects (mom has Mars conjunct Mercury, child has Mars trine Mercury)

• Shared retrograde patterns (parents and children have the same planet rx, or have several planets rx in general)

• Shared or opposite lunar nodes (family lineage karma)

• Planets conjunct or aspecting lunar nodes (karma between family members)

No family has all these things, but some will be significant factors.

A quick example

I’ve worked with four generations of charts in my own family, and a few things stand out at different levels.

1. the chart traits that relate to my parents specifically
2. the “family karma” that stretches back further

My parents both have moon/Saturn conjunctions. My mother has strong Virgo with Mercury rising and a 2nd house Libra/Scorpio stellium; my father has sun conjunct Pluto in Leo, a strong Mars, and Mercury tucked into the moon/Saturn.

Throw all that into the cosmic blender…

Meet the parents

I have Leo rising with a strong Mars (hi dad!), and sun conjunct Pluto in Libra (paternal family aspect, with mom’s Libra). My moon is in the 10th house, which relates to Saturn (I “escaped” the moon/Saturn but the house acts as sort of a hangover effect of that). I have a strong Mercury on an angle (hi mom), opposite my moon (more dad) and conjunct Pluto (mom’s a Virgo with Scorpio moon/Saturn).

So I’ve ended up with my own remix of my parents’ major astrological traits, plus others of my own. I have a big 3rd house stellium, which relates to Gemini, siblings, and shorter travels, and neither of my parents have indications for that.

Climbing the tree

The big threads on my mom’s side are moon/Mercury/Saturn/Pluto entanglements; mainly Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio planets, weak or debilitated Mars, strong earth and water signatures, and Cancer-Capricorn lunar nodes. Moon conjunct Saturn in Scorpio is a hereditary trait in my family! We’re intense.

Counting my niece, we have four generations of Pluto tied to Cancer-Capricorn nodes, which reverse each generation. Heavy family karma there, which is its own post. It’s interesting that I have maternal family karma baked into my chart, but inherited reverse aspects (moon in Taurus instead of Scorpio… no one has Taurus in my family) and things from my dad’s side that neutralize a lot of the weaknesses (lack of fire and Mars energy).

Playing detective

Even if you only have birth dates for your parents, it’s very enlightening to compare your birth chart to theirs. You can get a free copy of your chart here. Astrological family trees, like any kind of genealogical research, are a long-term project, so don’t be discouraged if patterns don’t emerge clearly at first.

Are there certain aspects, even minor ones, that run in your family? Do you sense a strong common thread that you haven’t uncovered yet?

Photo by Kenny Louie (cc)

Last week was busy, full-speed-ahead rocket ship week. We’re a few days into the retrograde period now, but… there’s no rest for the wicked. Sorry.

Every Monday this month, and a few bonus days besides, is full of astrological weather that just wants to push your buttons.

Monday, December 6

Last Monday was a busy transit day. Reflect back on what you were doing, so that you can encourage good patterns and nip unproductive ones in the bud.

Monday, December 13

Today is a big, in-your-face day if you’re out interacting with the masses. Do your best to keep your cool, because not everyone else around you can or will. If you’re working alone or with people who have the best interests of others in mind, it can be a productive day. A major Mercury-Mars-Pluto-north node conjunction in Capricorn raises the stakes on the messages you’re delivering.

Getting your ego involved in things today, however, is a short road to a long power struggle. Don’t start something you don’t want to live with for a while.

Monday, December 20

Another busy day here. It’s not all bad, but the sheer amount of traffic and info flying around, combined with Mercury and tomorrow’s looming lunar eclipse, is enough to frazzle anyone’s nerves. Keep an open line of communication with people you like, so they can help you stay sane today.

This is a good brainstorming and projectizing day, if you have that sort of work to do.

Monday, December 27

The weekend may be full of productive juice, but an early-morning void of course moon makes it difficult to get a jump on this Monday. Although easier overall than the last few weeks, this could well be one of those days when you feel like Sisyphus rolling that boulder up the mountain.

Sidestep the frustration by engaging other people’s assistance. This is a good day to focus on diplomacy and the middle way of things.

What’s a “station” in astrology?

When a planet stops moving in the sky, and appears to stand still before moving in the other direction. Astrologers use it as both a verb and a noun:

Mercury is stationing retrograde tomorrow morning. Uranus stationed direct last weekend.

or

I’m thinking about getting a new cell phone, but I probably shouldn’t buy it until after the Mercury station.

The verb form is more common than the noun.

A little about retrograde mechanics

Planets, of course, orbit the sun just like we learned in elementary school. Every planet has a regular orbital period depending on how far away it is from the sun. Astrologers aren’t arguing otherwise.

However, since we’re here on earth, and astrology is about how planets and stars relate to earthly events, astrologers also use astronomical data from a geocentric (earth-centered) perspective.

As we stand on the surface of the earth and look outward, the planets appear, from our view, to sometimes come to a stop, and then move backward. Later on, they appear to come to a stop again, and then resume their original forward motion. The frequency and length of time this occurs depends on how far away the planet is from us, and how fast it orbits.

Here’s a visual example:

Retrograde motion is an observable astronomical phenomenon. The precise points where the planet changes direction are what astrologers refer to as stations.

If you watch the animation, you can also see the planet appear to slow down as it prepares to change direction. This is what astrologers refer to when they speak of the speed at which a planet is moving. Planets move at a constant rate of speed, but sometimes they appear to be moving slower or faster than other times.

Sometimes a planet will remain at the point for several days with no observable motion, corresponding to odd or important events we experience here (many people observed this over the past week or two as Uranus stationed direct– a wide variety of people experienced an unusual uptick in minor disturbances, erratic behavior, and unusual electronic events).

All planets move in retrograde motion periodically. The sun and the moon never move in retrograde.

Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (cc)

On the first Wednesday of the month I shlep over to Redmond to see Rick Levine and Jeff Jawer’s live forecast for the coming month. I’ve been doing this for a whole season now, so I think it’s become an actual part of my routine.

This is an intense month- here are some of the topics that get covered:

• Mars/Pluto and the Capricorn stellium

• the shift between Sagittarius and Capricorn

• a walkthrough of the upcoming Mercury retrograde phase

• high-stakes communication periods during the month

It’s helpful to know a little bit of astrology mechanics for these, but they’re very descriptive so it’s extremely beginner-friendly. The full forecast is about an hour, working chronologically through the month.

Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

Photo by Darlene (cc)

For pretty much the entirety of 2010, Neptune has been playing cat-and-mouse with my natal Mars.

I have Mars in the 1st house near the end of Leo (26°) so I am on my third (and final, thank #@*&) pass of Neptune opposing it. February, and then the end of September through now have been exact– Neptune was “kind” enough to station precisely opposite at 26 Aquarius during the beginning of November, driving the whole experience home a little harder. And don’t even get me started on Chiron.

The fog lifted for a bit during my Mars return at the end of May, but having a year-long transit on the heels of last fall’s Mars retrograde adventure has left me pretty ragged.

Enough astro-babble. What’s the point?

I feel like I can’t get a thing done. This transit can play out in different ways, with various combinations of action and dissolution. My personal experience hasn’t been one of boondoggles and bad ideas, but rather a serious, persistent energy drain. External progress this year has been of the treading-water sort: moving, consolidation, finding new direction, and collecting resources.

Being unsure (Neptune) of the right thing to do (Mars).

My birth Mars, because of where it’s placed, is pretty Mars-ish: I have an idea, I think of ways to make it happen, and then I do it. If I’m tired, I make it happen anyway. It’s normally a pretty straightforward process. Not so much this year. I’ve had the fight knocked out of me.

Although really, we’re talking about Neptune here, so it’s more like the fight has been dissolved or vaporized. whsssshhhh

Don’t force action

One of the main things I’ve been working on, both consciously and accidentally, is paying more attention at the points when I need to stop working so hard.

A particularly relevant passage from Bil Tierney’s Alive and Well With Neptune:

The way to be alive and well with our Neptune/Mars transit is to listen more carefully to our inner voice—as well as to people we trust—when the message is, “Stop working, you’re tired. Get some rest and refocus energy for a while. Listen to some music, or take a nap. Don’t force action.

Too bad I haven’t always been smart enough to do that before I’m running on fumes, but then maybe that’s one of my big takeaways from this whole thing. I was smart enough to go to the Playground though, and to drag El Pisces along with me.

Double Neptune transit – hold on!

To make things more exciting, I did get married this year, to a highly Neptunian sort. Whose Mars is exactly square my Mars. And who, therefore, has Neptune squaring his Mars at the same time I’m muddling through this opposition business. Mars figures quite highly in our composite chart as well.

Like you would expect, our relationship this year shot from hmm-sailing-the-seas-of-Neptune to Clash of the Titans. Look out! It’s pretty reckless to dive into a new relationship under this transit, but we had already been together for a couple years so we had some tools in place to work on this. And now we have more tools! Out of necessity. Dual hard-angle outer planet transits are not for the faint of heart. We’re tough cookies.

Some positive ways we’ve used all that contentious energy:

• Traveling. Going places and doing things, particularly near water.

• We took a road trip. I got to be Mars, and drove most of the time. He got to be Neptune, and see the vast, unimaginable expanse of North America.

• Working on (Mars) empathetic communication (Neptune). Nonviolent communication has been a good thing to study this year.

• Going to the Playground together.

• Using flower essences, salt baths, and working on caring for ourselves better physically.

Incoming radio transmission

One thing that has definitely ramped up in the past year is that I’m far more empathically sensitive again, to a degree I haven’t been in decades. It’s good, yes, but it’s a mixed bag because I’m so much more easily overwhelmed than I used to be, and I pick up and retain a lot more energy from other people than I used to. I have never been so thankful I work from home, because if I were still going off to a regular 9-5 gig I would either be a basket case or have a lot of enemies at this point.

I’ve had to learn to be much more conscious about setting energetic boundaries between me and other people, and at having regular clear-outs so I’m not accidentally walking around with other people’s stuff. I think this is one of the major themes of this transit for me, because it comes to the forefront when the transit becomes exact.

Two sides to every coin

I have Mars trine Neptune by birth, so in some ways this whole transit doesn’t feel like uncharted territory to me. But I’ve definitely learned about the frustration contained in an opposition in contrast to the easy gift of a trine. I think I’ll be able to make much better use of the innate resources connected to it, now that I’ve had to work a lot harder with the same energy.

Mars/Neptune is also a planetary combination that has a tremendous amount of negative astrology associated with it, due to being a feature in—how to put this delicately?—the charts of serial killers, cult leaders, and sociopaths. More than a few astrologers err on the side of “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”, so there is less information out there about these natal and transiting aspects.

I’m hoping that after I’ve had some time to process the whole experience, that I can contribute some more practical insight to this area, instead of more hysterics or condemnation.

Some Mars/Neptune resources

1. Hat tip to Diane Lang, whose recent transit post spurred me to write this.
2. Take a look at the Mars/Neptune keyword list at Astrofix.
3. Bil Tierney’s book Alive and Well With Neptune: Transits of Heart and Soul
4. Maurice Fernandez’s book Neptune, the 12th House and Pisces

Photo by Debbie Chialtas (cc)

Uranus turned direct yesterday after being retrograde since the beginning of July. Finally, for a few precious days, every planet is moving forward. The new moon this weekend puts us at the beginning of a new lunar cycle, and this new moon was in Sagittarius– perfect for beginning new adventures.

Mercury turns retrograde early Friday morning (4:06am PST / 1206 GMT), so the best use of this energy is to generate awesome momentum for the next four days, then shift gears on Friday and either:

• look through your older ideas and projects for things you can incorporate and people you can recontact, or

• let your neat new thing incubate for a few weeks until Mercury goes direct, picking it back up at the end of the year and making a new push with the next new moon on January 4th.

If Mercury is retrograde in your own chart, you get a free pass and can make a lot of progress before the end of the year. I know, right? You may not be used to the idea of a natal Merc Rx being an asset, but these periods where everyone is running around fearing that the sky will fall? These can be some of your most productive times of the year.

Monday 12/6

Today is a busy transit day, plus we’re all getting our footing back after Uranus turned direct yesterday afternoon. Ideas are flowing, and so are opinions and half-baked thoughts. Don’t let other people’s stuff get stuck to you, and hold on to any money-generating, particularly creative, or make-things-happen ideas. Don’t act on them today, though, and you may not feel like talking about anything tonight. Don’t start any fights, just go to bed early if it’s getting to you.

If you had a particularly rocky week last week, either Uranus fell on a sensitive part of your chart, or you have a lot of Mercury/Gemini/Virgo being twanged by the approaching Merc retrograde. Ride it out today, and focus on using this week to get reoriented so you don’t get knocked off your feet over the next few weeks.

Tuesday 12/7

This is a great day for taking care of business. Sun sextile Saturn, three planets in Capricorn (plus the north node) and Mars also moves into Capricorn later in the afternoon. It’s a good day to evaluate yesterday’s new idea-sprouts and see which ones might turn into something realistic.

You may get more frustrated as the day goes on, so if that’s the case don’t get caught up in the “look out for number one” side of Capricorn.

Wednesday 12/8

This is a great day to ask for help with your (better) ideas, and a good day to offer other people help. You can cover a lot of ground today, but remember to knock off for the evening when the moon goes void of course at 5:07p PST. Reward your full workday by kicking back and watching a movie, going to dinner, or taking a bath. Or, since Capricorn is a conservative sign, you can don that old smoking jacket and break out the habanos.

Thursday 12/9

Today is a very light day, transit-wise, and you will be more able to see the long-range path of the new stuff you’re cranking along on. If you’re a Mercury-ruled person, you might feel like things are already going haywire today, so focus more on making sure you have your house in order for the next few weeks. Is your data backed up? Do you have task lists so ongoing projects can stay on track? Practice writing everything down- you’ll need it for the rest of the month.

Friday 12/10

Mercury turns retrograde early in the morning, but the aspects for today and tomorrow are all positive. Don’t let the doom-and-gloom interpretations get you down; use this time to revive old ideas, reconnect with people you miss (need an excuse? It’s the holidays!), revisit old materials, ebooks, and resources you might have bought but not used effectively enough, and recharge your internal batteries.

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As for me, I’m “lucky” enough to have Mercury retrograde by birth, but I’m in the last pass of Neptune (foggy/ethereal energy) opposing my Mars (action and capacity), so my projects will have to involve more imagining and less “making things happen” if I’m going to get anywhere. It’s important to work with your current situation instead of fighting it, else you’ll wear yourself out and have nothing to show for all that effort.

Happy rocket-ing!

The Nine of Coins is a card of mature development, stability, and progress. A woman stands in a serene vineyard, enjoying abundance and admiring her parrot. The number of coins describes the resources gathered through patience and good judgment.

This is a card about material gain, but not about constantly striving for growth and accumulation. The image clearly shows the woman pausing to enjoy the existence her resources have made possible. She hasn’t gained money, she has gained spaciousness and peace of mind.

The Nine of Coins is a card of good fortune, but most importantly it reminds us that resources that are gained but not enjoyed have no true value. When we seek out and collect more and more resources without pausing to enjoy the life they can give us, all that wealth is useless. Good fortune, in small or large doses, creates the possibility of delight, beauty, and harmony.

Some thoughts:

• Wealth, like happiness, isn’t a single point we strive for and then achieve eventually. Our ideas of prosperity and “enoughness” change with our experiences. When you were first starting out in your business, your passion, or even your first apartment, how did you define success? That has almost certainly changed by now, but are you able to enjoy what you have at this moment, even if it’s not your goal anymore? “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” goes the old saw.

• Things have been troubled—possibly huge amounts of trouble—but periodically the clouds lift and we get relief. Are you able to act when the pressure lets up? Can you enjoy what you have at that point, or are you still braced for more trouble? What do you need, in that space, to experience safety and ease with what you do have?

• How much is enough? What point are you striving to reach so that you can enjoy your accumulated bounty? Would your life today have been out of reach for you five or ten years ago? Are you actually living the life you used to want? Why or why not? What do you look forward to now?

Are you able to enjoy the resources you have accumulated? Money, connections, information, training materials, material possessions… these are all resources. Do you use what you have now, or do you seek to accumulate more without using what you have to its fullest? How can you enjoy what you have now even more?

Photo by Jon Rawlinson (cc)

Yes, my peeps, it’s about that time. Mercury will turn retrograde next Friday morning for the last retrograde round of the year. Sneaking one more in before New Year’s! Lucky us. I’m posting this now so you can get your house in order beforehand.

A few points, if you like to read fast:

• No, Mercury retrograde will not cause mass panic and mayhem

• This lasts about three weeks each time.

• No, everything electronic you own will not break (unless you’re having a Mars or Uranus transit at the same time; then I can’t promise anything)

• Nevertheless, it would be very smart to back up hard drives, give your car some love, and make extra time in your schedule for commuting and errands

• If Mercury is retrograde in your birth chart, you might enjoy the next few weeks

On your mark

Mercury will station retrograde (visually slow to a stop and then start moving backward) at 4:06am PST (1206 UT) next Friday, December 10. We’ll be in the retrograde period for just under three weeks, until late on the 27th. It will be in the sign of Capricorn, then rewind back into Sagittarius for a bit.

Mercury goes through retrograde periods about three times a year, for about three weeks each time. People are more easily overwhelmed with information at these times, and are processing internal information more thoroughly. It’s also pretty common to have more commuting, communication, or technology issues than usual.

Another reason that things get weird during Mercury retrograde periods is that everyone is focusing more on their internal workings, and less on external functioning. When a huge group of people does that all at once, you have weird breakdowns in everyday things.

Get set

Things to take care of beforehand, over the next week:

• Back up your hard drive. If you have a blog, back up your files and your database. WordPress users can check it out here.
• Take a look at your car. If you need the oil changed soon, or need repairs, it’s better to do those things now than during the retrograde period. If you take public transit, buy your pass beforehand AND carry change as a backup.
• Make clear task lists for yourself. Be prepared for them to not work, but having a plan to deviate from is better than no plan at all.
• If you’re thinking about a technology purchase, do it beforehand or after the retro period is over. This applies to holiday presents too!
• Speaking of holidays: if you’re traveling, be sure to budget plenty of time if you can. This is a given during the busy season, but even more relevant than usual when we’re in rewind mode.
• Get as much holiday shopping done as you can ahead of time. Try not to wait until the last minute, especially if you’re having things shipped. If the shipping goes awry…
• If you use online banking or billpay, double-check everything before, during, and after.

Some ways to survive and thrive while Mercury is retrograde:

• Have patience and a bit of humor. Things may be quirky, especially anything dependent on technology or smooth communication.
• Make lists. Practice clearer communication with yourself about your needs.
• Reread your favorite books.
• Recommit to a healthy routine: maybe it’s time to return to taking a vitamin every day, or meditating for a few minutes.
• Revive an old project or idea.
• Write a letter or an email to someone you haven’t talked to in a while, and reconnect with them.
• Renew your living space with a vase of flowers, a new photo frame, or a lit candle.
• Get plenty of rest and take time to relax.

If Mercury is retrograde in your own birth chart, you may find this to be one of the more productive times of year for you; quite simply, it’s because everyone else is on your wavelength for once. You have an advantage by being used to it!

Not sure if you have a natal retrograde Mercury? Get a copy of your chart. Look at the bottom for Mercury- if it has a little “r” next to the word, you’re one of us

Go!

Above all, try to maintain a sense of humor about things. Setbacks and miscommunications are inevitable, but you determine hour you react to them. Keep your cool, and be patient!

Here are some past posts, if you want to read more:

The Mercury Retrograde Muck (audio)

Reduce, Reuse, Recuperate

Mutable energy (audio)

Image by Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig (cc)

Time to rethink and reclaim some archaic words. Here are a few to test on your tongue:

Solitary

From the root sol, relating to the sun. Describing something or someone as solitary implies they’re a bit of a loner, but it also means one-of-a-kind. Your sun sign, and the placement of your sun, describe how you’re different from everyone else. What unique qualities do you possess?

Lunatic

Once upon a time, people thought the phases of the moon made you crazy… hello, werewolf stories and full moon jokes. We know now that that’s not strictly the case, but the full moon does stretch your brain. And certain transits to your own moon may make you feel like you’re losing your mind, even if you’re not.

Mercurial

Flighty, flashy, fast. Changes at the drop of a hat. Clever and witty. Slippery, like quicksilver. What’s another name for quicksilver? Oh, right. Mercury!

Aphrodisiac

Venus and her love potions… the root of this word is Aphrodite, the Greek counterpart of Venus. An aphrodisiac stimulates the sensual side of things- which of your senses need stimulating? Architecture, music, tomatoes, trees, stars… these are all things that can get the blood moving in their own way. What things fill you with love, motivation, and desire?

Martial

Strong, warlike, having to do with the military or with mercenary forces. Physical training, like martial arts. Aggressive, belligerent. All Mars, baby.

Jovial

Jolly, happy, sunny, good-humored. Good-natured, even. Friendly. People like that are good luck, in a way. Sounds a lot like Jupiter, by Jove.

Saturnine

Gloomy and moody; a melancholy sort of person. Serious. Alan Rickman has played particularly saturnine characters in everything from Harry Potter to Galaxy Quest to Dogma. He’s been nominated for a Saturn Award, even.

::

See? If you love words, you already know more about astrology than you thought.

Photo by Inger Maaike (cc)

I’m back in Seattle now after several days of ducking out in Portland with Havi.

Her adventures with finding a not-office space and turning it into the kooky awesomeness of the Playground was… strangely compelling. Partly because it sounded like a ridiculous amount of fun, and partly because her descriptions of things sound suspiciously like the way El Pisces talks about things.

So I decided I had to go, both to work on a bunch of stuff and because I had a sneaking suspicion that a trip to the Playground would be like inhabiting my husband’s brain for a few days.

I love him dearly, and I try to empathize, but I have a third-house Mercury in Libra– I’m way more Mr. Spock than Dr. Seuss. Time to conduct an experiment!

Oh, the places you’ll go

So off I went to the land of pie. And socks. And Creative Outlets. I sat under a tree and had a brainy new idea. I drank tea and made weird free-associations between things. I picnicked on the floor and drank out of robot mustache glasses. I admired art about getting drunk and eating waffles. I went to the grilled cheese bus. I hung out with a bunch of super-awesome people.

Can’t forget the costumes and escaping and SILENT RETREAT and naps either. I don’t think I’ve ever been so in touch with the good parts of my twelfth house. whoooosh…

You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

~ Dr. Seuss

And, of course, there was Shiva Nata. I love it dearly, but in the past I’ve noticed a correlation between when I’m motivated to do it and when my DVD goes missing. But after three days of swirly spirally chaotic mental madness, I was thoroughly hooked all over again. I figured out a bunch of weird stuff I do. My mathy brain was ridiculously confused. My patterny brain was deliriously happy.

I got a surprising amount of work done. Especially considering that I felt like I was screwing off most of the time. But yes, things started to happen.

Playing foreign-exchange student

El Pisces actually came down for a day to hang out with us and eat pie on Thanksgiving. He didn’t say a whole lot about it while we were there, but now that we’ve been home for a couple days he concurs that that’s basically what his head is like all the time.

“Wow,” I told him at one point yesterday. “no wonder you’re frustrated all the time! It’s like inside-out world compared to ‘regular’ life.”

“You have no idea,” he grimaced.

I told him I feel like I’ve been a foreign-exchange student in his brain now, and he’s amused at the idea. I think I’ve raised the bar a lot higher for myself though, because now if I look confused by something he says, I get a “well, you know how my brain works” at first instead of an explanation in English.

Mad scientist to the rescue

I haven’t quite figured out what all the results of this bizarre experiment are yet, but our household is running more smoothly and I’m getting a lot of work done so there may be something to all this fishie nonsense. I’ll let you know if I’m able to wrap my own brain around it.

Photo by Carlos Mesa (cc)

It’s snowing in Seattle right now… we’ve gotten about two inches in my neighborhood so far.

When I lived in Miami, winter was about 75 degrees Fahrenheit– I was happy to get used to that kind of cold weather. But occasionally, a frigid Canadian storm front would sag all the way down to us, and the temperature would plummet. I heard more than one person refer to this as “iguana-dropping weather”.

What the hell?

In Florida, iguanas and little lizards lounge around lawns and trees the way people up north are used to seeing chipmunks and squirrels. Apparently, when the temperature drops so rapidly, the iguanas will automatically go into hibernation no matter where they are. If they happen to be in a tree… well, they’re up in a tree, immobile and stiff as a board. If the tree shakes, or if their footing wasn’t so solid, down they go. Wham!

“Don’t park your car under the trees when it’s cold; the iguanas will dent your hood.”

That’s some life wisdom, right there.

Ok, so what’s all this about iguanas?

I picked up the iguana metaphor from Havi, who got it from Karen Lloyd. Iguanas are, basically, Things That Don’t Want To Be Done Yet that persist in hanging around and getting in your way until you stop avoiding them and do something.

One of my iguanas is SYSTEMS. I persist for some reason in thinking that I can carry everything around in my head because I can’t create systems that will handle everything I need to do. The problem with that is, of course, that my poor brain doesn’t maintain lists with 100% accuracy and so things fall through. 80 or even 90% completion isn’t good if you’re part of the 10% of people or stuff that gets un-dealt-with.

This summer I blew it pretty bad with a communication issue- the systems I had didn’t scale as fast as I was taking on work. Now I’m trying to set it right and build a system that will keep that sort of thing from happening again. I’ve also gotten buried in Email Hell and haven’t quite yet figured out a system that works for me, although the new Gmail priority inboxes may give me a fighting chance.

Damage control

I noticed that various chickens came home to roost (I’m so totally mixing metaphors in this post) for a few different iguanas after things started moving direct again on Thursday. And most of them have to do with not releasing work until it’s perfect, or not establishing solid enough communication.

But today it got cold, and snowed, and my iguanas are all going into hibernation and falling out of the metaphorical trees. I feel like I’ve gotten more done today than I have in weeks. So I’m going to continue emailing and calling and systemamizing and moving iguanas while it’s cold. I hope the weather holds.

How are your iguanas holding up?

Photo by Matías Ferreyra (cc)

Some days are rather “quiet” astrologically. Others are anything but. Today is the latter.

Stephanie Gailing has a great reflective piece at Planetary Apothecary on what’s going on upstairs today. It’s a busy day for astrology! Jupiter has just turned direct after being retrograde since July, and Venus is about to do the same a little later today after being in reverse for the past six weeks.

What’s all that supposed to mean?

We’ve all been looking inside. What do we want? How can we get it? Do people want to hear the things we have to share? What are we willing to put up with to get the things we want? What have we been dealing with, thinking it’s getting us what we think we want? How can we contribute?

On one level we’ve been doing this for weeks, and on another we’ve been doing this for months. Looking inside and pulling things apart is good, and necessary, but after a while it gets frustrating because often it feels like outer progress is stalling as a result.

Over in this corner…

I underestimated the effect this would have on me personally, too. I’m comfortable with self-reflection, and an extended period of navel-gazing didn’t seem like a bad thing if a lot of my fellow humans were going to be joining me at the same time.

But what I didn’t anticipate was, as both Jupiter and Venus slowed to a stop over the last week, that I would too in a lot of ways. Hindsight is 20/20- Jupiter is very closely tied to my sun (my core self) in my chart, and Venus rules almost all of my planets. Small wonder that I’ve ground to a halt right along with the calendar!

Thankfully, I’ve covered a lot of that inner-reflection ground in the last several weeks, so I feel that I’m coming out of this with new things to draw on. But I am so ready for things (and the benefics, in particular- Venus and Jupiter are considered the “good” planets) to start moving forward again.

What’s next?

It will be back to business as usual around here now, and I’m excited to roll out some redesigns that I’ve been sitting on until Venus retrograde was over.

Have you experienced a lot of inertia in the past week or so? How are you feeling now?

Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6

You can get Rick and Jeff’s 2011 astrology guide here.

Photo by Olivier (cc)

Right now we’re in the balsamic phase of the moon- the last couple days before the moon goes totally dark. This is the final phase of the moon cycle. If you’ve studied astronomy, you may already know of this phase as the waning crescent.

Going dark

As the light of the moon grows darker and finally fades out entirely, we become acclimated to darkness. There is a sense of mystery, of seclusion, even karmic connection right now. Mysteries become more compelling when it is dark. We become more concerned with unfinished business.

Slowing down

This is the point of the moon cycle where we naturally want to slow down, tie up loose ends, and get ready for the beginning of the next cycle. It feels more difficult than usual to start a project right now, and people may be less receptive to your messages because everyone else is going through their own period of slowing down.

In some ways this phase is similar to the void of course moon, the ending of a moon in a sign. You can imagine, then that a void of course moon during the balsamic moon phase is intensely introspective. This will happen tomorrow, and again next month.

Final void of course moons during balsamic moons (all times are Pacific):

• November 4, 2010 (Thursday) – 4:34p – 11:15p
• December 4, 2010 (Saturday) – 4:13a – 9:59a
• January 2, 2011 (Sunday) – 6:08p – 11:39p
• February 1, 2011 (Tuesday) – 11:31a – 3:21p

The next three fall outside of normal working hours, which will make this phase a little easier and more fruitful if you decide to spend it consciously. We respond to these periods whether we intend to or not, so life is smoother when we take them into consideration.

What to actually do?

The best use of your time during a balsamic moon is to wrap up projects, or at least finish sections of a larger effort. It’s a particularly good time for massage or other bodywork, and for restorative practices like art, meditation, and yoga. Going out into nature, even if it’s just a walk through the park or looking at the water, will relieve stress especially well right now.

The balsamic moon is the end of a cycle; it is related to the sign of Pisces, the end of a different cycle. We are all more sensitive right now, so activities that support this are good, and actions that don’t take everyone’s increased sensitivity into account will be more work. Turn inward, remember that others are naturally turning inward as well, and prepare yourself to start new efforts with the next new moon.

Transits for November 3 – 5, 2010

• Wednesday, November 3: The moon is in Libra all day. We get a dose of Hades Moon with a square to Pluto in the morning, a connection to Mars soon after, and then to Saturn in the afternoon. Today feels serious. Keep things in perspective, uncover the reality of the situation, and stick with your plans. Don’t get discouraged- stay focused on your priorities.

• Thursday, November 4: You can get a lot done today- it’s a good day for connecting, finding ingenious compromises, and communicating optimistically. This is a great day for intuitive practice too, as your mind can easily connect with your subconscious. The moon goes void at 4:34pm, so take it easy for the evening. It’s better to stay in than go out tonight- a quiet, introspective movie would be the exception (still better to watch it at home, though). The moon enters Scorpio at 11:15pm.

• Friday, November 5: The moon lights up Venus retrograde early today, and after a touch of Hades Moon slides into the new moon phase at 9:52pm. Today is about endings, not hiding from the truth, and facing what you really want and need in your life right now (and what you don’t). This is a powerful day for feeling things, but it’s a difficult day for talking about how you’re feeling. Save the serious discussions for later, and stick to writing things down if you really need to get it out.

Photo by fdecomite (cc)

A significator is a tarot card, chosen by tradition or by inquiry, that you select to represent yourself. It may represent how you see yourself and the qualities within you, it may resemble you physically, or it may symbolize qualities within yourself that you want to develop.

You can use your significator in all personal readings, only as a meditation or inquiry tool, or somewhere in between those two extremes. I choose not to incorporate my significator into my spreads very often, but you may find it helps you personalize your readings for yourself.

Common significators

The first several cards of the Major Arcana are the most common significators. The most popular of all are the Magician, the High Priestess, the Empress, the Emperor.

If you choose to use a significator in your practice, is important to select one that best represents where you are now, or represents an archetype you want to develop within yourself. You may also decide to choose one based on your astrological sign, your chart ruler, or another facet of your chart. The Major Arcana cards are most often used as significators, but a minor card that holds particular significance for you is appropriate as well.

An older tarot tradition is to use the court card that corresponds to one’s gender, age, and general appearance, but I feel this is a limiting practice. If you are attracted to a particular court card as your significator, that’s splendid, if you’re choosing it because of the card’s qualities and not according to some formula.

Do I need to choose a significator to read tarot?

Not at all.

If you’re new to tarot you may decide, if you like the concept, to choose a significator based on intuition, and then study the meanings of the card to learn more about why you chose it. You may also decide to study for a while first, and then choose the card you feel is most appropriate for you.

Some people don’t resonate with this concept much, and don’t find it important to their practice. This is totally fine; it’s not a required aspect of tarot, just another tool for self-inquiry.

Selecting a new card

Over time, as your life circumstances and goals change, you may find it appropriate to choose a new card that represents you more accurately.

If you’re at this point, think about why you feel that your current card doesn’t resonate with you in the same way any longer. Have you integrated the qualities of that card? Have you gone in another direction, where working on that archetype isn’t as important any more? Is there another card that represents you better, or another trait you need more urgently?

The answers to these questions will help you figure out whether it’s time for a change, and if so, what direction to look for a card that will suit you better.

Photo by Luz A. Villa (cc)

Here’s what’s going on in the sky this weekend (all times are Pacific, tweak as necessary):

Friday, October 29

The Cancer moon goes void around lunchtime (12:48p PDT), and then doesn’t move into Leo until 5:38p. So there’s a big potential case out there of senioritis/Friday syndrome out there. Good day for brainstorming or connecting though- all of today’s aspects are energetic trines. Just don’t push yourself to be overly productive in concrete ways. Write down all your genius ideas.

Saturday, October 30

Leo moon all day. If you’re working, this is a good work day. In the early morning it may be difficult to get into a groove, but the rest of the day will be better for working. It may be hard to do critical thinking late in the evening, so if you like to work late it may be better to get into some rote tasks.

If this is a day off for you, you may feel conflicted in the morning but it will lift after lunch. Late evening isn’t a good time for serious talks… those will lead to unnecessary frustration. Save for later.

Sunday, October 31

The moon goes void at 2:02pm, and moves into Virgo at 8:51. The only aspect today is a moon/Neptune opposition at the void… that’s it. The veils be thin today, my friends. This is a good day for meditating, dipping into stuff that’s a little woowoo, scaring yourself with weird occult stories and ideas, and a bit of exploring– plus, it happens to be Halloween. This could be an extra-spooky one for you, if you go looking for weirdness.

However, take whatever happens today with a bag of rock salt. Neptune is the one pushing you off the void cliff today, so there’s a good chance that everything you see on the way down is only in your head. Maybe.

Oh, and…

I’ve released a quick toolset called How to Read Your Birth Chart. If you’re new to the mechanics of astrology, or if charts still look complicated to you, it will help you get more comfortable with reading.

Have a good weekend!