Detail of infrared image of our native galaxy, the Milky Way, captured by IPAC/Caltech/2MASS. You can view the full-size image in all its 9,600-pixel glory at this link.
Just before noon Eastern time on Tuesday, Dec. 19, Saturn arrives in Capricorn. Saturn’s pass over the Galactic Core and through the last degrees of Sagittarius describes the high-pressure madness we’ve been seeing, as well as the feeling of some people waking up.
“Birth Trinity,” 1983, needlework on mesh canvas, by Judy Chicago as part of her Birth Project.
Dear Friend and Reader:
If you feel like you’re not entirely sure what just happened, hang in there. Today (Sunday) featured some pivotal astrology. But as the energy from these events settles or changes direction, you might find that your perspective shifts, or that insights come through in a new form.
We’re in an unusual moment; and I say “moment” referring to the last year and a half or longer, as well as to today itself. Speaking in the short term, the Gemini Full Moon just peaked and Mercury just stationed retrograde.
Whether or not you live in the U.S., I hope that you discovered many reasons to feel thankful this past weekend despite the ongoing pain and chaos in the news. While we all experience moments of grief and fear, there is also an incredible amount of beauty and kindness and love in this world; sometimes it takes special effort to redirect one’s attention to it, however.
by Amanda Painter, with Eric Francis
If you’re in the U.S., you’re likely gearing up for the Thanksgiving holiday later this week. For some, this means gathering with family (which may be enjoyable or tense, depending on the family); for others, it’s an opportunity to create new traditions with ‘family of choice’. But even if you do not celebrate this holiday, the astrology this week carries the same basic message.
Setting the stage — or the dinner table, to use another metaphor — the Sun leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius on Tuesday at 10:05 pm EST (3:05 UTC Wednesday).
We’re heading into another unusual week; no shortage of those lately, though the next few days have some special distinctions. These are the last days before the Scorpio New Moon, exact at 6:42 am EST on Saturday, Nov. 18. But that’s not what has our attention: an alignment on Monday morning does.
This is one of those weeks when the astrological tone shifts slightly; think of it like putting on glasses with colored lenses, except these glasses go on your mind and emotions. What’s going on around you has not changed, but the tint of how you perceive it might.
Photo by Amanda Painter.
In a world like the one we’re living in — constant political and natural crises; the internet dictating what we see, react to and believe; media whiplash with every cultural backlash — every ounce of deliberateness counts. Life is overwhelming, and many people feel the need to tune out, go numb and seek ‘entertainment’.
Others want so desperately to fix the pain around them, they forget to take care of themselves. And with the idea of ‘outrage du jour’ becoming almost literally a new outrage every single day, it can be hard to track how your own process of evaluating issues and responding to them — as well as how you relate to loved ones — might be shifting.
Which brings us to the astrological highlights of this week: both Mercury and Venus change signs this week. Mercury just left Scorpio and entered Sagittarius earlier today. Venus leaves Libra and enters Scorpio on Tuesday at 6:38 am EST (11:38 UTC).
Whereas Mercury in Scorpio might have had your mind acting something like a sleuth’s magnifying glass or a surgeon’s scalpel — focused on getting beneath the surface with strong intention — Mercury in Sagittarius could feel a little looser. OK, your thoughts and communication might feel a lot looser: shooting from the hip, an easier sense of humor and, perhaps, needing more effort to stay focused.
We’re approaching another peak in the lunar cycle — the Taurus Full Moon (exact at 1:23 am on Saturday, Nov. 4). For many reasons this is a deeper event than it may seem on its face; it’s not just another lunation. Still, we’re talking about the Full Moon here, which typically comes with the sense of the emotional tide rising, the pressure to make decisions and a touch more than usual of the microwave-induced insomnia of our times.
For months now, every time the sky aligns in an particularly focused way, we see some kind of horrid event manifest in the world. While we cannot (and will not) predict additional crisis based on the Full Moon chart, there is a level of collective fear that when things get intense, something new will go seriously wrong.
If you’re wondering where Scorpio gets its passionate reputation, chances are it begins with the mixture of fire and water. Scorpio is a water sign; yet it’s ruled by Mars, and somehow wound up with a desert animal for a symbol. Further, Scorpio holds the key to the most essential mysteries and desires of human life. Any other sign would implode under the pressure.
Scorpio has been relatively quiet since the Mars retrograde in spring 2016; a time when, among other things, Donald Trump really emerged from the woodwork and began his rise to power.