Author Archives: Amanda Painter

feb3-2019

Aquarius New Moon: All Together in the Belly

Tomorrow’s New Moon — a conjunction of the Sun and Moon — takes place right at the midpoint of Aquarius. This marks the middle of the current season; a time the ancient Pagans celebrated as Imbolc.

feb3-2019

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Although the origin of the word Imbolc is not entirely clear, one common explanation is that it comes from the Old Irish word meaning “in the belly,” referring to the pregnancy of ewes.

In other words, the seeds — literal and metaphorical — that have long lain dormant and are still in darkness, are gestating and beginning to stir. (You can read past Planet Waves writing on Imbolc here and here.) To have a New Moon today underscores these themes of what is inside and is developing, a new cycle about to begin from the darkness. Yet it comes in the midst of some astrological activity that has likely been quite activating.

I’m going to cover some of that before looking at the New Moon itself, and you can review recent aspects here. Most of them are beginning to separate; the one that may still be intensifying (if you’re reading this Sunday evening) is the conjunction between Mars and Eris in Aries, exact overnight into tomorrow morning.

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Venus, Mars and the Ongoing Quest

Editor’s note: this is the full PW members’ edition, featuring your weekly horoscope by Amy Elliott, Create; and Eric’s Planet Waves FM program.

Dear Friend and Reader:

We’re approaching the Aquarius New Moon on Monday, which happens at the midpoint of Aquarius — and therefore at the midpoint of the current season (the ancient Pagan cross-quarter celebration known as Imbolc). Yet despite the tone of ‘winding down’ that a waning Moon often brings, we’re in the midst of some other astrology that’s urging action and self-expression.

The path may be snowed over, but it’s still there. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Namely, the ‘personal planets’ Venus and Mars are both in squares to slow-moving outer planets (Eric discussed some of the broader themes of these squares in Monday’s essay).

Mars, currently in its home sign Aries, is making a square to Pluto in Capricorn (exact tomorrow), and is moving toward a conjunction to Eris. I know at least a couple of Aries folks who have been feeling this square pretty strongly, namely as a deep need to get moving and ‘do’ that is being frustrated in various ways.

There’s a lot of energy in a Mars-Pluto square, and you, too, may be feeling a need to get things done (and perhaps you’re accomplishing them). But Pluto, being the Lord of Change, tends to disrupt plans or make it clear where you’ve skipped steps and left loose ends. Having to adjust your course of action is not necessarily a bad thing, even if it’s inconvenient; there may be important lessons involved. With Eris in the neighborhood, however, the mandate to avoid any tactics that are ruthless or underhanded is underlined in the face of frustration.

Venus, for its part, is making contact with several planets and points over the next few days. Just before it leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricorn on Sunday (at 5:29 pm EST / 22:29:07 UTC), it makes a square to Chiron in Pisces. This would seem to bring some impetus and awareness to whatever your healing path currently is — perhaps especially in regard to your relationships, or to how you offer and receive love.

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The path may be snowed over, but it's still there. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Venus, Mars and the Ongoing Quest

By Amanda Painter

We’re approaching the Aquarius New Moon on Monday, which happens at the midpoint of Aquarius — and therefore at the midpoint of the current season (the ancient Pagan cross-quarter celebration known as Imbolc). Yet despite the tone of ‘winding down’ that a waning Moon often brings, we’re in the midst of some other astrology that’s urging action and self-expression.

The path may be snowed over, but it's still there. Photo by Amanda Painter.

The path may be snowed over, but it’s still there. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Namely, the ‘personal planets’ Venus and Mars are both in squares to slow-moving outer planets (Eric discussed some of the broader themes of these squares in Monday’s essay).

Mars, currently in its home sign Aries, is making a square to Pluto in Capricorn (exact tomorrow), and is moving toward a conjunction to Eris. I know at least a couple of Aries folks who have been feeling this square pretty strongly, namely as a deep need to get moving and ‘do’ that is being frustrated in various ways.

There’s a lot of energy in a Mars-Pluto square, and you, too, may be feeling a need to get things done (and perhaps you’re accomplishing them). But Pluto, being the Lord of Change, tends to disrupt plans or make it clear where you’ve skipped steps and left loose ends. Having to adjust your course of action is not necessarily a bad thing, even if it’s inconvenient; there may be important lessons involved. With Eris in the neighborhood, however, the mandate to avoid any tactics that are ruthless or underhanded is underlined in the face of frustration.

Venus, for its part, is making contact with several planets and points over the next few days. Just before it leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricorn on Sunday (at 5:29 pm EST / 22:29:07 UTC), it makes a square to Chiron in Pisces. This would seem to bring some impetus and awareness to whatever your healing path currently is — perhaps especially in regard to your relationships, or to how you offer and receive love.

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Collection of heart-shaped rocks outside the window, electronics collection inside the window; Stromness, Orkney, Scotland. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Thinking Forward, Crossing a Threshold

By Amanda Painter

How are you feeling now that we’ve exited The Eclipse Zone? Or, perhaps I should ask: how are you thinking, and what are you thinking (and communicating) about? I ask, because this morning Mercury leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius — which means that it steps into the position the Sun just held during the lunar eclipse that began the week.

Collection of heart-shaped rocks outside the window, electronics collection inside the window; Stromness, Orkney, Scotland. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Collection of heart-shaped rocks outside the window, electronics collection inside the window; Orkney, Scotland. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Not only does this ring the bell of the eclipse degree, it also activates all the same slow-moving minor planets and points that were part of the eclipse aspect pattern (you can review them here).

Are you noticing a more intellectual angle to a subject that was speaking to you on a more emotional or unconscious level a few days ago, or which you found yourself expressing outwardly in some other way? I don’t know for sure that this is how Mercury’s activation of the eclipse territory will manifest, but it’s an idea worth playing with today.

That said, note that Mercury is moving fairly quickly right now; it’s going to breeze through the eclipse degree over the course of today. Taking notes on what enters your awareness might be useful.

We also have a few elements in the astrological landscape that appear to offer useful energy for moving forward with whatever the eclipses brought into view. For one, Mars in Aries is making a trine to Jupiter in Sagittarius (exact tomorrow).

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Making Your Moves: Leo Full Moon and Eclipse

By Amanda Painter

We’re entering the home stretch of the current eclipse season: on Monday, Jan. 21 (Jan. 20 in some time zones), we’ll get the Leo Full Moon and a total lunar eclipse. This occurs one day after the Sun enters Aquarius — which happens at 3:59 am EST (8:59:25 UTC) on Jan. 20.

Lunar eclipse between the statues of Hera and Apollo in Athens, Greece, July 27, 2018. Photo by Aris Messins

Lunar eclipse between the statues of Hera and Apollo in Athens, Greece, on July 27, 2018. Monday’s event will be visible from North and South America, Europe and western Africa. Central and eastern Africa and Asia will see a partial eclipse of the Moon. Photo by Aris Messins

So there will be a shift in tone accompanying this event — fitting enough, given the way modern astrology views eclipses as times for releasing what has run its course and for moving into a new pattern or toward a new phase of development.

This is also the last eclipse on the Leo-Aquarius axis for the time being. In whatever way it relates to the eclipses of this past summer for you, there may be a sense of closing a chapter or springboarding into new territory.

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M100, known as a 'grand design' galaxy, is 56 million light-years away, and is similar to our Milky Way. Studies of variable stars in M100 have played an important role in determining the size and age of the Universe. Photo by NASA/ESA/Hubble.

They Can’t Shut Down the Cosmos

By Amanda Painter

We’re not quite at the midpoint between eclipses — that occurs Jan. 14 with the first quarter Moon. How are you doing with ‘looking where you want to be’? Are you feeling drawn to continue clearing out some space, or to initiate a project, or to dive into something? Are you feeling optimistic or frustrated (or something else entirely)?

M100, known as a 'grand design' galaxy, is 56 million light-years away, and is similar to our Milky Way. Studies of variable stars in M100 have played an important role in determining the size and age of the Universe. Photo by NASA/ESA/Hubble.

M100, known as a ‘grand design’ galaxy, is 56 million light-years away, and is similar to our Milky Way. Studies of variable stars in M100 have played an important role in determining the size and age of the Universe. Photo by NASA / ESA / Hubble.

I ask simply as a prompt for some reflection and self-assessment; a way of taking a barometric reading on your inner and outer environment. With all the major sign-ruling planets in direct motion — and therefore not ‘forcing’ introspection — it occurred to me these questions might be useful.

Did you watch Pres. Trump’s Oval Office address Tuesday night? I confess I did not, trusting that I could read all about it afterwards if needed, without subjecting myself to his toxic projections in real time. It’s challenging enough being surrounded by its effects as they ripple through the collective. But in researching some of the current astrological aspects, it occurred to me just how reflective his speech and government-by-tantrum are of the astrology.

The first aspect to really speak to me of this is tomorrow’s Sun-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn. Now, on the level of your own personal life, you may experience this as another wave of deep cleaning and space clearing related to the recent eclipse — particularly regarding how you express or present yourself to the world. Or it could come through as the drive to get beneath the surface of something. Or perhaps as the need to repair a thing or situation that’s broken and needs radical changes to be able to continue.

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jan6-1-2019

How to Surf Like a Goat

As you likely know, yesterday (Saturday night) we experienced the Capricorn New Moon, which was also a partial solar eclipse. So that puts us into ‘the eclipse zone’: the two weeks between eclipses that can be especially useful for releasing that which is no longer needed, and for initiating new patterns that support your growth, goals and desires. Sometimes the eclipse zone can feel a little like a parallel universe, where life takes unusual turns.

jan6-2019

Surfer at Blockhouse Beach, Florida; photo by Rusty Clark / CC BY 2.0

At the end of the two weeks, we get the second eclipse in this pair (they usually come in twos; sometimes we’ll get a trio). That will be the Leo Full Moon (with the Sun in Aquarius) and total lunar eclipse on Jan. 20-21, depending on time zone.

Eclipses are currently in the process of moving from the Leo-Aquarius axis (where they were last summer) to the Cancer-Capricorn axis. You may notice a corresponding shift in the areas of your life where change beckons, where opportunities emerge, or where your most pressing questions crop up.

The standard Planet Waves approach to eclipses has long been to ‘look where you want to be’ — a slogan Eric and I once spotted on a surfer’s T-shirt. It’s not just a key principle in surfing; it also sums up perfectly a great way to handle eclipses — whether you feel like a giant wave is crashing around you, or like you’re paddling along a calm lakeshore.

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Approaching the Capricorn New Moon and Eclipse

Dear Friend and Reader:

Happy New Year! Even though most people try to set their New Year’s resolutions and intentions by Jan. 1, the astrology this year is clearly indicating a wider window for this process — and for beginning to take active steps in accordance. The major event with this theme is Saturday’s New Moon in Capricorn, which also happens to be a partial solar eclipse.

The March 20, 2015, partial solar eclipse visible over a statue on the rooftop of the Austrian Art History Museum in Vienna. Photo by Joe Klamar.

This being the second holiday week in a row, however (at least here in the U.S.), you might be feeling a little disoriented. So this New Moon and eclipse could also be useful for reorienting yourself, both inwardly and outwardly, amidst some of these recent events:

— NASA’s New Horizons mission has sent back its first images of 2014 MU69, nicknamed “Ultima Thule,” which it flew by on Jan. 1. This Kuiper Belt object, located some 6.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, is the most distant world ever explored by a spacecraft from Earth. Ultima Thule has turned out to be a “contact binary,” which is two connected sphere-like shapes held in contact by mutual gravity. It kind of looks like a snowman.

— China’s space agency has released a photo from the lunar surface, after its Chang’e 4 space probe became the first ever to land on the far side of the Moon. The mission could reveal important clues about the formation of both the Earth and its satellite.

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