Category Archives: Astrology Diary

Finding the Solar Feminine in ‘My Body’

By Amanda Painter

With Venus conjoining the Sun in Leo today, ask yourself: where do you find the solar feminine within yourself? Is it in your sense of receptivity and goddess-ness? Is it in your ability to assert yourself, female-warrior style?

Is it simply in embracing your body, reveling in its many rich senses and the fact that it is your body? Do you find it in sex or love?

Watch spoken-word poet Kelsey Warren deliver her poem “My Body” in this YouTube video (embedded above), part of the Button Poetry project. I see the poem, in part, as a love song to her bright, unconquerable inner feminine. Though on its surface, it is a proclamation of her wheelchair-bound body as perfect — despite the odds — in ways that a random, nosy stranger will never understand. She begins:

“I get a lot of questions from strangers who think that because my wheelchair puts me at a lower height, the walls surrounding my personal life must be lower too.”

After a few of the more common intrusive questions, Warren gets to a turning point in the poem: the time someone actually asked her, “So do you, like, let your partner have a side relationship so they can have normal sex every once in awhile?”

You’ll have to watch the video for the answer, and to see Warren’s solar feminine shining forth, hot enough to burn the ignorant, and triumphant enough to make the rest of us cheer with gratitude.

The Forest and the Trees

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This week’s astrology is marked by three significant events: Jupiter leaving Leo and ingressing Virgo on Tuesday; Mercury opposing Neptune on Wednesday; and on Friday, the Leo New Moon. If you’ve already noticed a shift in the overall energy (especially your own) compared to last week, this combination of building events is likely why.

Deering Oaks Park, Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Let’s start with Jupiter. Before it gets to Virgo on Tuesday at 7:11 am EDT (11:11 UTC), it’s spending about four days in the last degree of Leo. The last degree of any sign is said to be ‘anaretic’.

Anaretic degrees are usually described by astrologers as ‘edgy’ or ‘intense’, or as coming with a buildup of pressure or energy. That sounds invigorating on its surface. But if you’ve been expending a lot of energy recently and you’re nearing your limit, I could see Jupiter in the last degree of Leo as feeling a little overwhelming or fatiguing.

Your mileage may vary depending on your personal chart and whatever life’s been handing you, so try on each description and see how it feels: ‘edgy and intense’, or just ‘more than you can be bothered with’.

The approaching New Moon also contributes to any sense of ‘winding down’ you might be feeling. It might be an inconvenient way to begin the workweek if you need to get a new project started; but it’s perfect for tying up any loose ends on anything nearing completion.

As of 8:08 am EDT (12:08 UTC) today, the Moon will be in Cancer, the sign it rules. You’ll be feeling your feelings; notice if any of them are especially cyclical in nature, or if you’re particularly inclined to stick close to home and to focus on cooking, cleaning and taking care of others.

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Forwards or Backwards, Take (and Give) Heart

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You’re being asked a question this week: do you expand and go forward, or do you cut back, possibly even moving backward? The astrology suggests there are areas of your life where it is desirable to expand in some way — to move forward into opportunities and to give of yourself. In fact, it is actually essential to your personal evolution.

A dragon kite takes to the skies. Photo by Amanda Painter.

At the same time, that approach will not work with everything. Sometimes restraint is called for, and the astrology points here, too.

Before I explore these themes more, the super-short version of the week’s major aspects is that Mercury, retrograde Venus and Jupiter are all conjunct in late Leo, and the three of them are square Saturn, now direct in Scorpio. If you get off on the details, here are the times for the individual aspects (feel free to skip this bit if it’s not your thing):

Monday at 6:36 am EDT (10:36 UTC), Jupiter in Leo squares Saturn in Scorpio. On Tuesday at 5:47 pm EDT (21:47 UTC), retrograde Venus conjoins Jupiter (the second of three in a series). Venus squares Saturn Wednesday at 11:08 am EDT (15:08 UTC).

Then Mercury gets into the act: Thursday it conjoins Venus (10:25 am EDT / 14:25 UTC) and squares Saturn (4:19 pm EDT / 10:19 UTC). Finally, on Friday, Mercury conjoins Jupiter at 3:08 am EDT (7:08 UTC); about 12 hours later, Mercury ingresses Virgo.

Back to our story: you’re probably aware of two kinds of limits in your life. There are internal limits that actually block you from doing what you’re capable of and what you truly desire most to do. Those are usually psychological and have roots in childhood, but aren’t doing you any favors. One form of this is ‘the inner critic’, which has gotten some attention on Planet Waves recently in relation to Venus retrograde in Virgo (Venus has since backed into Leo) and in Eric’s Astrology for Artists / Art of Living readings.

Then there are the actual, material limits related to managing your life responsibly so that you don’t, say, go deeper into financial debt than what you can handle. Or, less materially but no less tangibly, there are limits to how much emotional pain or emotional investment you’re willing to endure in an intimate sexual relationship — though many of us have learned those limits the hard way, by allowing ourselves to exceed them.

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We’re All In This Together

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With additional writing and editing by Eric Francis

Right now it seems unusually swift and energetic changes are in the air. Venus and Uranus, two planets that are very direct about getting what they want, have just effectively skidded to a halt, stationing retrograde within about a day of one another. This might tell in any areas where you suddenly find yourself looking at something — including yourself — differently.

There’s also the small matter of an Aquarius Full Moon, taking place on Friday morning at 6:42 EDT (10:42am UTC). Anything with prominent Aquarius points to humanity as a collective; the state and struggle of humankind; revolution, evolution and general advancement of our species.

A fire on your hearth will bless those you love most dearly. Image: Cyrus Bulsara/Flickr

Every Full Moon event involves some form of tension played out between the two opposing signs hosting the Sun and Moon.

In the case of Leo-Aquarius, as Eric describes it, we have the balance between “the One and the Many” — between the sympathy you feel for the people dearest to you, and the solidarity you share with all your fellow beings.

The Aquarian side of this pairing can seem cool and dispassionate. However, as Eric said in his excellent 2008 article Brother Moon, this Moon placement “can conceive of needs that most people cannot imagine. They are very good at identifying needs that go beyond themselves.”

Leo, meanwhile, localizes this generosity into its personal circle. Its compassion works from the heart outwards. This means focusing on those you care about most deeply, whose troubles you know most intimately — and whom you are thereby most empowered to help.

To many of us, our power seems small and compromised these days, in the face of so much information. Yet this week, remember that in the lives of those whom you truly love, and who love you, you have the ability to move mountains.

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Creating Love

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Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

This week the Sun is in the last few degrees of the sign Cancer, and will ingress Leo at 11:30 pm EDT on Wednesday (3:30 am Thursday UTC). Meanwhile, Venus, having just entered Virgo, is slowing to a halt and will station retrograde on Saturday morning (5:28 EDT / 9:28 UTC).

Lion on the Ishtar Gate. Image: Mbzt/Wikimedia

We are experiencing a sign change of the Sun and also an inner planet station-retrograde at the same time.

Either of those could, on their own, have a pronounced effect. Together, the effect is multiplied, and you may feel a condensation of experience.

Things — feelings, facts, different aspects of truth — may seem to ‘come out’ or to reveal themselves, with a lot of emphasis on a relatively short period of time.

Other factors suggest there’s a need for caution around perfectionism, particularly in matters of the heart, and of creative expression. If you are striving to be emotionally and creatively authentic, I would remind you that perfection is not a value.

A natural aesthetic sense can be manifested, through Virgo, into a form of artistic expression. Pay attention to your creative impulses over the next week or two. Be wary of any obstacles arising from over-precision or self-doubt; just let the inspiration flow.

Of course, Venus’ best-known domain is over love and relationships. As with any inner planet retrograde, you may get a feeling of retracing your steps, going over old ground, or simply looking within. Decisions made at this time might also be revisited as Venus returns through the last degrees of Leo.

Venus is retrograde for only about six weeks every 18 months — the shortest total time of all the planets. During these special periods she looms large — both literally and figuratively, since she is closest to the Earth at this point.

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An Interesting New Moon Indeed

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Planet Waves is running a membership drive.
Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

Today, and for the next few days, we’re in the last phase of the lunar cycle, known as the balsamic — when the Moon is 45 degrees behind the Sun, or less. I just spent some time looking for how the word ‘balsamic’ got associated with this phase of the Moon.

Himalayan balsam, photo from Plantlife.org.uk. If you know why the balsamic Moon has that name, please drop me a comment below. Thank you.

There were no references that I could find in astrology dictionaries. I checked Culpeper’s Herbal, to no avail. The best information I could find was from the old reliable Etymology Online Dictionary, which defines balsam as “aromatic resin used for healing wounds and soothing pains.”

I don’t know if the mysterious name of this somewhat mysterious Moon phase relates to that, though let’s consider the balsamic phase one of resolution, of healing, of closure and of preparing to come together.

It will be a few days before the Moon and Sun form their once-only this year conjunction in Cancer. That’s exact Wednesday, July 15, at 9:24 pm EDT (July 16 at 01:24 UTC). Even though it’s in the future, we can align with the energy of this aspect pattern as soon as we’re aware of it.

We will have more to say over the coming days about this lunation, but I will offer you a short preview now. This is a potent event for a few reasons, one of them being that the Moon-Sun conjunction will be exactly square Eris; that in effect brings Eris fully into the scenario, and that in turn is urging introspection.

Be mindful of the ways you experience being divided against yourself. Be mindful of any effort to deceive by compartmentalization or fragmentation. Be aware of subversive agendas, yours or those of anyone else.

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Clearing the Way

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Planet Waves is running a membership drive.
Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

Summer is here, and there is a scent on the breeze that is very much like hope. The mental distillation that began with Mercury’s square to Chiron last week now culminates in the Sun opposing Pluto today; clarity has arrived, it seems, with a brass band in tow.

A clear message: Greek No voters before the referendum. Credit: Georgios Giannopoulos/Wikimedia.

This is likely to stir up an issue or controversy that may have been previously buried in a haze of politeness. Emotions are resurfacing.

That line of saturation you drew in your mind is now in vivid focus — and you can see, or possibly feel, whether it’s been crossed.

If so, if something unacceptable has taken place, now is a good time to consider how you will address it. Doing so will require honesty — especially with yourself, which means clearly understanding your feelings and intentions.

Make sure you have this safeguard firmly in place, but do not allow self-doubt to dampen your courage. There are reasons why you feel enough is enough.

You may be unsure precisely how to tackle the subject at issue. This is fine, as long as you have a safe way to vent your feelings. The astrology suggests the solution could well unfold naturally — whether or not a head-on confrontation is needed, or (more likely) something more diplomatic.

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The Conjunction and the Opposition

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Planet Waves is running a membership drive.
Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

Planet Waves — the Art of Service. Digital Illustration by Lizanne Webb.

Planet Waves is running a membership drive.
Read more in Solstice Fire and the Art of Service, by Eric Francis.

SO MUCH HAPPENS in astrology that it may seem impossible to keep up with. That’s what astrologers are good for, if you find any you can trust. And that’s one reason I’ve established Planet Waves as a place you can get many points of view. This week is the first of three conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter, and it’s also the Capricorn Full Moon.

You will get a number of different perspectives on those events, by me and by other astrologers; in writing, in audio format, and in video format. That’s pretty cool, or rather, it’s warm — what you’re really getting is the caring and aware contact of people who share what they’ve learned in many long years of study and practice of astrology.

VPhoto: Jason Ahrns, Source: Flickr Title: Jupiter and Venus.

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As for the current astrology…

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