Author Archives: Amanda Painter

The Slow Reveal: Jupiter Square Neptune

You would think that with so many objects still moving through Virgo, that sign and its qualities might be the only thing to focus on. But here’s the thing: all of those Virgo planets are gradually making contact with a slightly slower aspect that is characterizing the entire month of September: Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces.

Figure emerging from the fog; photo by Amanda Painter.

Technically, Jupiter square Neptune won’t be precisely exact until Sept. 21. But they are currently within three degrees of each other; even without Neptune’s wide and permeable orb of influence, that would be close enough to count.

Eric has noted that, “With Neptune you have to see what you’re not usually noticing. The invisible is at work. Perception cannot be fully trusted; it takes time to verify your experience. You can’t just guess how fast you’re driving — you have to look at the speedometer. You can’t guess how drunk you are; buzzed is drunk enough.

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Welcome to the Movie Theater of Your Mind

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By Amanda Painter

I was meditating this morning on the chart for Friday’s Virgo New Moon (which is exact at 6:37 am EDT / 10:37:01 UTC) to see if a new angle on it might emerge. And an image did come to me: people collected together in a movie theater, watching a film being projected onto a screen.

Cropped still from Alfonso Cuaron’s 2018 film Roma.

It surprised me how tangibly the scene came through, and how appropriate it was, with an unusual collection of Virgo points clustered together opposite Neptune in Pisces.

For example, all of the ‘personal planets’ — the ones that describe our most basic traits and urges — are in early Virgo: Mercury (the mind, communication), the Sun (ego, conscious self-expression), the Moon (emotions, the unconscious), Mars (drive, ‘masculine’), Venus (receptivity, ‘feminine’). Along with them are the asteroid Juno (relationship needs), a hypothetical point called Transpluto (narrow focus, learning wholeness and integration) and a few other minor objects named for ancient deities with all-too-human characteristics.

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Virgo New Moon: Integration or Dependency?

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Significant objects and points have been filing into Virgo this past week — all in preparation for the Virgo New Moon on Friday. This Virgo lineup would already carry a strong message of integration, on its own.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

But at the time of the New Moon, these objects will all be opposite Neptune (and Nessus) in Pisces, which brings in a related theme: dependency (such as on substances) and co-dependency (in relationships).

We have a significant — though largely unspoken — issue with alcohol in Western culture, and particularly in the U.S. Consider how much socializing centers on so-called happy hours at bars.

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Solar Virgo: What Will You Harvest?

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By Amanda Painter

Tomorrow the Sun enters Virgo, at 6:02 am EDT (10:01:52 UTC), and begins the last sign of the current season. Speaking as one living in the Northern Hemisphere, I am wondering where the hell summer has gone. I’m not quite ready for the cooler nights we’ve had lately where I live, or for the Sun to be setting closer to 7:30 than 8:30 in the evening. But ready or not, here we are — along with the benefits of this part of the season, namely the harvest.

Bumblebee on a bachelor’s button; photo by Amanda Painter.

Along with the literal harvest of vegetables, grains and fruits, the sheaves of wheat in the arms of the Virgo virgin also symbolize what Frances Sakoian and Louis Acker describe as “the wisdom that is harvested in the fields of experience.”

They add that one lesson of this sign is that “although the body must serve the mind, ultimately the mind must serve the spirit.”

I wonder if this idea about Virgo relates to its association with healing professions and processes — not simply in the sense of one part of Self being ‘in service’ to another part. But rather, in the sense that when we get those various parts of ourselves working together in such a relationship, healing occurs. With our own inner healing and harmony, we’re able to hold space for others to do the same and can model how it feels and what it looks like.

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Let’s Meet (Ourselves) in Virgo

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This week’s astrology is marked by successive objects moving from Leo to Virgo — culminating in the Venus-Mars conjunction in early Virgo on Saturday. The overarching message appears to be one of integration: of your inner feminine and masculine, your receptive and active sides, your yin and yang tendencies. It’s not always clear how to do this, and seems to be getting more confusing for some people in today’s world, yet is clearly crucial.

Pollinator on a wild chicory blossom; photo by Amanda Painter.

But first, let’s get oriented.

Mars left Leo and entered Virgo earlier today. Venus will follow suit on Wednesday.

On Friday, the Sun makes the same move, at 6:02 am EDT (10:01:52 UTC). This marks the beginning of the last phase of the current season (summer in the Northern Hemisphere, winter in the Southern Hemisphere), as we head toward the equinox in one month.

About four-and-a-half hours after the Sun enters Virgo on Friday, the Moon enters Gemini. And a little more than 20 minutes after that, the Gemini Moon squares the Virgo Sun for the last quarter Moon.

Late Friday night, the asteroid Juno also enters Virgo. Then on Saturday, Venus and Mars meet for their conjunction — which is exact at 1:04 pm EDT (17:04:25 UTC). Virgo is often described as a sign related to activities like service and teaching; astrologers frequently mention the healing and helping profession of nursing as stereotypical for people with strong Virgo signatures.

Coming at the end of Northern Hemisphere summer, this sign also relates to the harvest and to other forms of ‘gathering in’ that tend to occur this time of year.

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Aquarius Full Moon (and Friends)

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By Amanda Painter

Mercury leaves its post-retrograde shadow phase this morning, freeing up thought patterns and communication just in time for today’s Full Moon in Aquarius. The Aquarius Moon opposes the Leo Sun and Venus at 8:29 am EDT (12:29:08 UTC), which means the aspect will be separating and the energy beginning to dissipate during the day.

A sunflower demonstrates the Golden Ratio; photo by Amanda Painter

That could translate into any seemingly stuck situations starting to resolve — though this appears to be a Full Moon with less of a conflict/tension signature compared to many other Full Moons.

This one looks more social, with the energy peak having come Wednesday night. Yet even as the Moon moves along from this opposition, the Sun and Venus will still be closely aligned — offering warm, heartfelt social vibes for a few days. Mercury finally treading new ground in Leo describes lively and possibly even dramatic communication of ideas — the bigger the audience, the better.

That said, if you’re in a funk or not feeling as social as everyone around you seems to be, there are elements in the Full Moon chart suggesting that a ‘fake it till you make it’ approach could be worth trying. That would be the asteroids Achilles (false confidence or false lack of confidence) and Icarus (a desire to escape restrictions, exuberance of youth; also potentially reckless actions) conjunct the Moon in Aquarius.

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Jupiter Stations Direct in Sagittarius

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By Amanda Painter

On Sunday, Jupiter will station direct in Sagittarius, the first of two signs it traditionally rules (the other being Pisces). I know a few people who’ve been feeling like some part of their lives has been less able to develop over the last several months, or like it’s been hard to home in on a goal or vision. Jupiter traveling in apparent retrograde motion since April 10 is as good an image as any for that sensation, if it’s one you’ve been experiencing.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

In these final days before Jupiter makes its switch (which happens at 9:37 am EDT / 13:37:11 UTC on Aug. 11) it might be helpful to ask yourself some questions. The answers may be slow to emerge after the station direct; I have never tried to track whether Jupiter stations tend to arrive with the same kind of ‘sudden truth’ moment that Mercury stations can signal. I suspect that the expansive nature of Jupiter may correlate to a wider window of revelation and reorientation.

Yet this may be a good time to start practicing and opening up the space via these questions. Such as: how in touch do you feel with your sense of purpose or your vision for your life? What are you noticing right now about the lessons you’ve learned and the patterns you’ve perceived that contribute to your worldview and sense of yourself in it?

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Three Leo Aspects and Mercury Direct in Cancer

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By Amanda Painter

Mercury stationed direct last night in late Cancer, just after the Leo New Moon. It will take a few days for Mercury to sort itself out, though, and it’ll be another couple of weeks before it clears where it was retrograde. So your patience and sense of humor could still be handy companions for a while yet.

Three Frisbee players and a wee onlooker at Higgins Beach, Scarborough, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Partly this is because Mercury will stay in the same degree where it stationed for a few days — it takes a while to get back up to its typical apparent speed — which means it’s in extended contact with Eris in Aries and Haumea in Libra, forming a T-square.

Another factor in the overall astrological environment is a square between Venus in Leo and Uranus in Taurus, exact tomorrow, and a couple of other Leo aspects. I’ll get to those in a moment.

For now, has anything of particular interest emerged for you yesterday or today? As in, did you discover or realize something about yourself, or did someone tell you a key piece of new information, or did your intuition about a situation get confirmed or contradicted?

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