By Amanda Painter

Have you been thinking deeply about all the things you’d like to express thanks for, or are you stressing out about getting all the cooking done (if you celebrate Thanksgiving this week)? Or perhaps you’re feeling a little anxious or hesitant about gathering with extended family so soon after a contentious election? Then again, you might be facing the prospect of isolation this week, which can carry its own version of emotional stress (though not for everyone).

Photo by Amanda Painter

If that last statement applies to you, and if you do not wish to be alone, I’d encourage you to reach out.

Whether that means you try to connect with estranged family, offer an invitation to a neighbor, or contact a local church or food bank (to volunteer or simply to attend their dinner), please know there are many ways to avoid isolation. Yes, it can feel awkward; perhaps downright embarrassing (and for this reason, if you know someone who might be alone, consider extending them an invitation). But the astrology of this week, as I read it, points overwhelmingly to an air of generosity, inclusion and an ability to shift what might feel stuck.

Top of that list is the Sun in Sagittarius as of Monday afternoon, possibly making a breath of optimism more palpable. You also might find yourself feeling a little more adventurous, or willing to visit someplace new (or just a new menu). Maybe you’re feeling even more conviction in your humanitarian beliefs, and a desire to further them.

Continue reading →

By Amanda Painter

How are you doing? It’s been quite a week, and I’ve been hearing from friends and colleagues who are in various forms and stages of grieving, activating, creating, planning, worrying, escaping and engaging in deep self-care.

Monday’s Taurus Full Moon rising over the islands of Casco Bay off Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

The Sun is moving through its last few days of Scorpio; it will enter Sagittarius on Monday. Between now and then, the astrology appears to be indicating a few forms of action and awareness.

For example, today the dwarf planet Ceres retrogrades into a conjunction with Eris (with Uranus nearby). Eris has been in a long conjunction with Uranus this year, an aspect that illustrates the upsets, bizarre developments and general chaos we’ve seen around us — particularly in the political realm.

If you have not shut down your Facebook and Twitter accounts and tossed your TV to try and escape, see if you can spot any trends in the news around the theme of revisiting what we thought would feed us, but did not. And be on the lookout for anyone resembling a modern-day goddess or mother figure willing to enter the chaos to try and put it right. (This is not to say you should wait for a goddess to save things; you simply might see the astrology manifesting in such a figure. Looking for and cultivating your own inner Ceres is where the real work lies.)

On a more internal and psychological level, if you’re feeling at all like last week’s election dismisses, demeans or discounts any part of your identity (especially any facet of your feminine side), consider seeking out ways to nourish that part of yourself. Given that the conjunction is in Aries, some form of action or expression of desire and motivation could be very empowering.

Continue reading →

By Amanda Painter

What just happened in this country? In a phrase: Uranus conjunct Eris in Aries. The key phrase for Uranus is, “Expect the unexpected.” And Eris? Well, she is known for taking feelings of being ‘cast off’ and using them to incite competition and chaos.

Detail of Movement II by Peter Bremers at Chesterwood, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Photo by Amanda Painter.

We have more of that on our plates then we’d like right now. Personally, I am in shock. I knew that Donald Trump could win, but I never thought that he would actually win.

Expect the unexpected. Uranus conjunct Eris.

We’ve experienced two exact contacts between Uranus and Eris so far this year. Before those two planets are done with their tete-a-tete, they’ll conjoin once more in Aries, on March 17, 2017. So, the surprises are not done — though with any luck, the next batch will swing things in a more creative, productive, humane direction to counter what’s been happening in this election year. I’m not making any predictions; just holding space for the idea that even the worst upsets can inspire and engender a wave of energy and action to rebalance what has gone askew.

After all, with each new day we get new opportunities and new astrology to help us make sense of things and move forward. And this week, we get three of the so-called personal planets changing sign.

On one level, this indicates shifts in thinking, in how we receive and relate, and in how we take action toward what we want. Here’s what’s going on astrologically:

Continue reading →

By Amanda Painter

If you have any puzzles, mysteries or proposals on your plate today, you should be in the perfect frame of mind to dig deep, investigate and scrutinize it until you are satisfied. But what if that puzzle or mystery is something about yourself — specifically something regarding certain of your beliefs?

Illuminated box at the 2016 Sacred and Profane Festival, Peaks Island, Maine. Participants had to figure out what would prompt the silent, masked box-holders to open the lid wider and offer its contents, rather than close the lid and withdraw. Photo by Amanda Painter.

The astrology looks good for cracking that nut, too, though it may happen in unexpected ways, or could come with some emotional release.

And given how high emotions are running already this election season, and the way so many people are doubling-down on what they believe to be ‘true’ — regardless of facts, context or their own past stances on similar issues — don’t be surprised if your next political conversation is a catalyst for that release.

Not everyone is comfortable with intense or highly focused self-expression, however, including their own…or especially their own. If that sounds like you, I’d definitely encourage you to see the process as one of exploration and even relief or liberation, rather than as any kind of threat to whatever neat, tidy package you’ve constructed for your self-image. We’re all works of progress, remember. No shame in that.

In fact, when you allow yourself to be moved and ‘let it out’ (whatever ‘it’ may be for you), you begin to get clearer on your deeper values. Those moments are practically arrows that point you to your core bottom line, your ethics, your essential humanity. True, sometimes those arrows also point to shadow material, baggage or sore spots that still need some TLC, understanding, unpacking and illumination. Again, nothing wrong with that — it’s all part of healing and growing. Those triggers can be incredible teachers when we’re able to hold space for them.

Continue reading →

By Amanda Painter

Looking at the astrology as we head into the weekend (approaching a New Moon in Scorpio on Sunday), a few things come to mind: incisive, insightful communication (which may or may not always be offered tactfully); the ability and desire to get beneath the surface of things; the potential for surprising outbursts due to frustrated urges; discovering new solutions to new challenges.

Drummers at the Oct. 16, 2016, Sacred and Profane festival, Peaks Island, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

If that sounds like a lot of energy looking for constructive expression, you’re right. The beautiful thing is that the current astrology could help you to go deep, get creative, and renew some facet of your life.

The tricky thing? As with so much in our lives, awareness is the key. The more aware you are of things like others’ viewpoints and feelings, any sense of staleness or stuckness in yourself, or the ways in which your needs, desires and sense of self have recently changed, the easier any necessary communication and action will be.

And by “easier,” I mean being direct, empathetic and balanced rather than passive-aggressive, being honest and intuitive, and being willing to do the work to create positive new situations. “Easier” here does not mean passive, detached or even necessarily “nice” in the sense of putting on a falsely happy face. We’re in the land of being real.

Continue reading →

By Amanda Painter

Today, Thursday, Mercury in Libra opposes Uranus and Eris in Aries. This is the planet of mind and communication in the sign of relationships and preferred harmony facing across the zodiac to the planets of surprise, technology, chaos and subterfuge in the sign of self and identity.

Sun-glare and sumac; photo by Amanda Painter.

There’s a lot of energy in this setup, especially mental energy. It looks like it wants to express itself on the level of ego, and in interpersonal relationships.

In a very basic way, this could mean you’re feeling irritable, impatient or adventuresome. Erratic behavior and communication is something to watch for — and to flow with.

Think of it this way: anytime the unexpected happens, you have a choice: get angry and complain; or try to pretend it didn’t happen and keep doing what you were doing before; or get creative and work with it. Usually that third option takes the least amount of energy and leads to the best (if unanticipated) outcomes. Yet we human beings choose that route first less often than we could.

Continue reading →

By Amanda Painter

We’re building up to one heck of an Aries Full Moon that will peak in the wee hours Sunday morning. Astrologically speaking, not only is there a lot going on in the chart along with the Full Moon, but the Moon itself will be in a conjunction with two high-energy planets that have been reflected in the unprecedented political and media insanity surrounding us for at least the last year.

Projecting our personal issues onto others is not nearly as pretty as a Full Moon; but when we realize we’re doing it, we sure can learn a lot… Photo by Amanda Painter.

Those two high-energy planets are Uranus and Eris, which are in late Aries. The Libra Sun is already essentially opposite that pair, and will move into exact opposition this weekend.

Then the Moon, which enters Aries at 1:08 am EDT on Friday (15:08 UTC), will swing into position to oppose the Sun at 12:23 am EDT Oct. 16 (04:23 UTC). That’s the Aries Full Moon, with Uranus and Eris right there.

A Full Moon often translates into a peak of energy or interpersonal conflict; perhaps a stalemate finally giving way to resolution; maybe something ‘coming to light’ just as the Sun literally lights the surface of the Moon and the Moon reflects that light back to us on Earth. So you already know to watch situations in your life that meet those descriptions.

Culturally speaking, having a Full Moon conjunct an aspect like Uranus-Eris means it’s a good time to pay attention to world events that fit the themes at play. This is called a ‘proving moment’, because something palpable (a Full Moon) is activating less-obvious or slowly developing astrology in a way that brings it to the forefront of consciousness.

Given the planets involved, this Full Moon is a bit of a wild card; be ready for just about anything. The obvious place for it to play out in grand (and possibly awful) style is the US presidential race. But consider these three other events that caught my attention while writing this:

Continue reading →