It would not be surprising if slower-moving planets outside the orbit of Mars were an originating inspiration for the proverb (variously stated over the centuries) that the wheels of justice grind slowly but thoroughly. Assuming that connection, we might expect events during the coming months to verify whether (or how) the adage remains valid.

The Full Moon earlier today was more than just an indication of where we are in the current lunar cycle. Less than an hour after the Sagittarius Moon precisely opposed the Gemini Sun, Jupiter resumed direct motion after more than four months of retrograde motion and nearly three weeks occupying the same degree of Libra.

Three weeks in one degree of one sign is almost imperceptibly slow. In addition, even though Jupiter is now direct, it will not vacate that same degree until July is well underway. Even so, you can mark today down as the turning point when a planet emblematic of power’s magnanimous side (among other traits) resumed progress in the sign symbolized by the balance-beam scales of justice.

It is not without pertinence that Libra is ruled by Venus. As the eminent astrologer Robert Hand has averred: “In its highest manifestation, Venus is love.” Nor should it escape notice that Libra is a cardinal sign, representing (among other things) an initiating quality.

Hence, intrinsic to Jupiter’s turnaround today are a promising (and inspiring) combination of earthly qualities implicitly beginning to express.

Yet, and ultimately, what the skies indicate is only potential — not fate. It is in your (and our) hands to determine whether celestial prospects actually manifest on Earth. Making that determination and taking the necessary action are, in effect, your (and our) cosmic job description.

It is thus appropriate to leave you with a short video (linked here) of one human being who, without a doubt, did his job admirably well. In the wake of Martin Luther King’s powerful words on the relationship between love, power and justice, nothing more need be said — but much remains to be done.

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By Amanda Painter

Have you thought much about the fact that you are just as free to care as you are free not to care? One reading of Friday’s Sagittarius Full Moon suggests this theme, which might emerge through your interaction with someone particular in your life.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

The question of being free to care or not care applies to everything: from personal relationships and interactions, to political or social justice issues, to the latest consumer and celebrity trends.

Whether you think of “caring” as giving your mental attention to something or as actively taking care of something (or someone), you always have that choice to care or not.

Look around — at the state of the world, at the media’s focus, at your social circles (both online and in your bricks-and-mortar community), at your own choices and habits — and it’s clear that not everything we care about is necessarily healthy. It’s also clear that we often don’t actively take care of the people, places and things (including ourselves) that might best support and nurture us in return.

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“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I‘m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
— John Lennon

Among the bellwether events for astrologers are ingresses and prominent phases of the Moon. This week started off with Mars leaving Gemini behind to ingress the sign Cancer on Sunday. Today, Venus (from Aries to Taurus) and Mercury (from Taurus to Gemini) also change signs.

Tomorrow, the Moon will depart Scorpio (where it is today) to ingress Sagittarius, where Friday’s Full Moon will take place. Significantly, it’s possible to see all of those separate events as one.

It’s unusual to have so many major astrological harbingers in one week. Logically, you might wonder what such a proliferation of indicators over such a short period of time means for you. In fact, there is no simple answer. A lot depends on your personal astrology.

Nonetheless, it would be reasonable to surmise that an eventful week above will find correspondence for most of us here below. No doubt, many of you have had a busy few days already. In all probability, there is more to come before the weekend.

Assuming there will be a significant number of meaningful occurrences in your life over the handful of days just ahead implies a certain protocol. First, pay attention and be present for your experiences. In other words, endeavor be receptive as opposed to being merely passive.

Next, make an effort to pick your spots with care when it comes to being active. In an eventful environment, thoughtful responses are likely to be more productive than knee-jerk reactions.

In addition, this would be a good week to be selective about seeking final resolution. Consider allowing at least some of your less-than-urgent experiences to simply wash over you. If you can, leave full processing and conclusions for another time.

Finally, take a cue from the Moon. When the Moon is full, it is on the opposite side of both the sky and zodiac relative to the Sun. When people and things are as far apart as they can be, it can be difficult to see anything but differences.

With a Full Moon in Sagittarius especially, distinctions can seem a lot more prominent than what is shared and mutual. Yet, any Full Moon is also the beginning of the Sun and Moon eventually coming back together.

When you get right down to it, the Sun, Moon and planets are but part of something bigger. The same is true for you. In the big picture, there is no separation. Much like the indicators of astrology, however, oneness does not reliably accrue of its own accord. It must be made to happen.

To imagine the world “as one” during eventful and divisive times is exceptional, but incomplete. If all you do this week is act to be “one with” as often as you can, you will have implicitly made the most of all that life at this special time is likely to offer.

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Some basic principles of astrology carry over to life in general. The importance of timing is but one case in point. If you need daylight to complete a particular task, it’s probably a good idea to start in the morning. Specific to astrology, there is the ancient practice (still observed by some) of planting seeds during a New Moon.

The reasoning behind planting at a New Moon is simple. Once every month or so, the Sun and Moon move through the sky together for a day while also sharing the same degree of the same sign. On that day, the old cycle of lunar phases ends, and a new one begins — unseen like a seed in the ground.

Right now, we are about three weeks from the next New Moon. In addition (and as noted in this space previously), it will be a while before there are similar meetings among planets which can be observed without magnification. Even so, astrology observes events other than conjunctions that can be interpreted as auspicious when it comes to scheduling. An example pertinent for the very near future is when a planet leaves one sign behind to ingress another.

There are many ways to express the relationship between a given planet and a particular sign. Shamanic astrologer Sheila Belanger compares a planet to an actor and the sign to a costume. You might also think of how some young athletes move with the seasons from one sport to another. You could even get extremely abstract, such as Bertrand Russell did when describing Einstein’s relativity as an interaction between “event” and “field.”

Regardless of how you describe it, an ingress is significant. Hence, you may want to consider going beyond merely paying attention to what happens when first Mars, then Venus and finally Mercury leave old zodiacal territories behind to engage afresh over the next handful of days. You may want to experiment.

This coming Sunday, Mars will end a traversal of Gemini that started back on April 21, and move on to the next sign: Cancer. Two days later (on Tuesday, June 6) Venus will at long last enter Taurus (one of its two astrological dominions, along with Libra). Just hours after Venus transitions, Mercury will make a similar Tuesday entrance to one of the two signs it rules (in addition to Virgo): Gemini.

The astrology of three sign changes within three days is inherently complex. This particular preview however, will be short and sweet. In short, you could plausibly devote the time between now and the middle of next week to safely try something (or things) that you have curious about. Then, beginning Wednesday (or soon thereafter), endeavor to repeat as closely as you can the same experiment(s) after Mercury, Venus and Mars have all re-ensconced for the longer term.

The nature of your ventures need not be especially adventurous. The first step is to satisfy a personal, but as of yet unsatisfied, intrigue. Then (after Mercury, Venus and Mars have re-positioned themselves), the next step is to contemplate how much you brought to the new experience versus how much the experience brought to you.

Simply trying a new type of coffee later today or tomorrow, then following up with another cup a week later could be all you need to do. The idea is to subject your desire (Mars), tastes (Venus) and thinking (Mercury) to unaccustomed exposure (which correlates to a new sign).

The protocol described here is to be your own astrologer in a very real way through the use of timing. It’s a chance to transform what previously had been only a story into life — your life. If there is anything to astrology, the time is right.

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By Amanda Painter

In times of great stress or uncertainty, such as in our current cultural environment, people often cling even tighter to what feels familiar, sure or secure. Even if doing so causes more stress, tension and feelings of insecurity or doubt than before. It can be incredibly difficult to trust the universe — even when you say that’s what you want to do.

Interactive art at Burning Man 2012; photo by Amanda Painter.

Perhaps that’s because when we say, “trust the universe,” what we often mean is, “trust myself.” But there are countless ways people grow up being told that they can’t or shouldn’t trust themselves.

You might have gotten the message as a child from an early caregiver that you can’t trust your preferences and desires (because they were ‘different’). Maybe when you started making friends or dating, painful experiences told you that you shouldn’t trust your judgment of others’ character. Possibly you’ve lived so well within the confines of ‘what everybody else does and thinks’ that you simply have never tested that boundary to learn how to trust your creativity.

Yet every once in a while there comes a time when, no matter how contrary it is to your usual desires, habits, sense of security or priorities, you feel yourself drawn to making a different choice. When this happens amid other pressures or a lack of clarity, or when the world around you seems to be going to shit, trusting that new inclination might not make much sense on the surface.

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One common assumption worth questioning is that age confers wisdom. In fact, there is no such correlation. True, there are many who have made good on learning from long experience. Just as evident and abundant are the examples of those who stubbornly persist their whole lives with perceptions that no open mind would consider sustaining.

Of course, persistence is not always a bad thing. As the I Ching repeatedly states, “perseverance furthers.” Yet, a closer reading of the ancient Chinese oracular tome also advises discretion when it comes to when and how your capacity for tenacity should be applied so as to result in actual progress.

Sometimes it is appropriate to act with steadfastness when it comes to things greater than you. Other times, it is best to be diligent and determined only with smaller, more personal matters. When you consider the astrological context of how the Moon will be moving this week, anyone with an open mind should be able to grasp the sort of discernment from which authentic wisdom springs.

As the Moon continues to wax through fixed and fiery Leo for all of today and about half of tomorrow, you should have a chance to see how diligence can sometimes be an end in itself for either good or ill. After the Moon moves on to mutable and grounded Virgo tomorrow (and into the first quarter phase on Friday), it should become more apparent how things go when pertinacity serves as a means to an end instead.

Provided you are observant enough, lunar motion over the next several days should yield information regarding the difference between doggedness and intransigence. Assuming you are able to occasionally release some attachment to a predetermined outcome as this week goes on, the data your observations glean could make you significantly wiser.

With the Sun in Gemini for basically three more weeks, an air trine aspect (120 degrees of separation) from the Libra Moon this weekend holds a potential to show clarity gained. Even so, it is also important to remember your place in the solar system. Yes, you are occasionally called upon to be receptive in order to further the sky’s implications, but rarely is it appropriate to be passive.

If the full potential implied by the Sun, Moon and planets are to be manifested, it is nearly always advisable for you to play an active role as a fully-fledged player in the cosmos. The promise specific to this week is consistent with that principle, but a bit more specific. The question indicated from above as May ends and June begins is not whether you should persevere, but how, when, where and to what purpose.

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By Amanda Painter

This may not be a week known for celebratory fireworks displays, but you’ll want to watch for the metaphorical kind. Mars in Gemini opposite Saturn in Sagittarius, which was exact yesterday (2:55 am EDT / 6:55 UTC), speaks of confrontation and even conflict. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Rotating fireworks in a wheel formation in the Netherlands, New Year, 2014. Photo by Peter van der Sluijs/Wikimedia Commons.

A little friction is often necessary in life. Sure, it’s uncomfortable. It can feel like heat, and “hot under the collar” is a term for losing one’s temper for a good reason. Enough friction can start a fire.

Yet the tension we often feel with interpersonal friction can actually push us toward a more honest resolution in a situation. After all, if you hold back your true feelings and thoughts because you’re afraid of upsetting others, how can true negotiation happen? Either you don’t get anywhere near what you want or need, or else you use manipulative tactics to get there.

Perhaps more importantly, how can anyone get to know, respect and appreciate the ‘real you’ if you keep hiding yourself away? Yet that question points to the heart of the matter: so many people fear that ‘who they really are’ is someone nobody could love — because they themselves are unable to see their own inherent worth, and aren’t even sure who they are. A little conflict can give you the opportunity to stand up for what you believe in; if you’re not sure who you are, that pressure can help you figure it out.

At the same time, notice when you’re arguing with someone who’s incapable of changing their opinion. Saturn in Sagittarius can be dogmatic that way; sometimes you have to learn to pick your battles.

However you handle what you meet this week, the sky is also cautioning that you be truthful. The Gemini Sun is approaching its square to Neptune in Pisces (exact Sunday, June 4 — but Neptune casts a wide orb of influence). Along the way, the Sun will also square Nessus — the ‘buck stops here’ centaur.

What exactly needs to stop? Eric’s suggestion is that it’s the pervasive habit of casual lying. It’s popular to take the whole ‘two sides of the story’ theme that Gemini represents and spin that into the idea that there’s no such thing as truth. Yes, everyone has their own personal perspective. But at a certain level there are basic facts that must be agreed upon: either Flynn and Trump (and whoever else) accepted money from Russian sources or not; either you dinged that other person’s car in the parking lot or not; either you followed through on the task you said you’d do or not.

It’s one thing not to be sure who you are; everyone is discovering that as they go. It’s another thing to deny clear facts or your real motivations.

Same with pretending that persistent emotions and desires don’t exist or mean nothing. That just causes another source of tension and restlessness — but one that’s contained wholly within you.

Speaking of which: this week Venus moves through the Uranus-Eris conjunction, first contacting Eris (exact today — Tuesday) and then Uranus (exact Saturday, June 3). This is the astrological picture of restlessness, particularly where love and relationships are concerned — so be real about it.

That doesn’t mean you need to throw out the baby with the proverbial bathwater or instigate a war to get the love you need. But it does suggest listening to any urge to shake things up, try something new, loosen what has gotten rigid or routine, or express that emotion or desire that feels too ‘out there’.

In the name of honesty and figuring out who you are, you could do a lot worse. You might even be relieved by the results.

When you consider only planets visible without magnification, there are no conjunctions right now. Mercury is in Taurus. Venus is direct in Aries. Mars is well on its way through Gemini. Jupiter is retrograde in Libra, and Saturn is likewise in backpedal mode, but in Sagittarius.

Of course, there are exceptions. Conjunctions of other objects are undeniably a salient part of astrology right now.

First, of course, is the monthly meeting of the Sun and Moon — such as the two luminaries sharing the same degree of Gemini for a New Moon yesterday. It is never advisable to take a New Moon (and what initiates with it) for granted. Specific to our current era, the Aries conjunction of Uranus and Eris is also indisputably a dominant long-term astrological theme.

After the Sun and Moon, it is legitimate to consider the visible (also frequently called: “classical” and “traditional”) planets to be next in order of astrological importance among solar system objects. We have been observing them for a long time. We know them pretty well. You might say humanity grew up with them. That’s how you can say a disparity of conjunctions among the members of such a small club is significant in itself.

Any aspect between successive conjunctions represents a stage of the cycle. It is not uncommon for astrologers to consider the opposition (halfway through a cycle; for example: Full Moon) as a time to evaluate both the previous and next conjunction. That’s how the impending opposition from Mars in Gemini to retrograde Saturn in Sagittarius may be considered significant as well.

With aspects involving Mars, it’s best to look at (and work with) them in advance. That’s the reason to consider Mars opposing Saturn now, even though they will not occupy the same degree of opposite signs (Gemini for Mars, Sagittarius for Saturn) until shortly before 3 am EDT (06:54:45 UTC) on Monday.

In an evolutionary sense, we are still growing up with the planets. Astrology’s perception of both Mars and Saturn is one case in point. As premier astrologer Robert Hand wrote in the 20th century: “Mars has traditionally been considered a malefic planet in astrology, that is, more likely to produce evil than good. But this is not so.”

Now, with all planets, there are no black or white hats. Rather, there are gradients between complementary upsides and downsides.

Broadly speaking, Mars is what Robert Hand called “an energy planet.” More to the point, Mars has to do with the types of energy better mastered than mastered by. The energy that goes with desire is but one example.

Saturn has a similarly broad tableau, generally having to do with form, order and structure. Think of Saturn’s upside as that which defines, and the downside as what confines, to get the idea. In combination with energetic Mars, then, the possibilities represented by Saturn can range from liberating to laborious — depending on which part of their respective gradients you are aligned with.

If you are running your energy more than it is running you, you are in good with Mars. If you are choosing to define (rather than confine) yourself more often than not, you can apply the Martian energy so as to create a container for your life that is easier to live with.

Slow-moving Saturn had already been in Sagittarius for nearly one continuous year when they last met up in the 10th degree back on Aug. 24, 2016. That conjunction was the beginning of their current mutual cycle. Now, with their opposition, their sequence of successive aspects (leading around to their next conjunction) is nearly halfway complete. Hence, it’s now a good time to review not only where you have been putting your energy, but also how things are both tangibly and metaphorically shaping up.

Just as it is advisable to get a jump on Mars aspects, it is also often helpful to be patient with Saturn. Here, at the opposition of Mars and Saturn, you have had enough time to see consequences. There is also much time remaining for you to act on evident results. You have the opportunity to change their direction or patterns as you please before Saturn and Mars meet up again to conclude the current cycle; they’ll begin a new one in early Capricorn as March segues into April next year.

For astrologers, oppositions represent the complementary far more than the conflicting. We have also evolved to understand that both Mars and Saturn are not destined to wear only black hats. You have a word in the matter.

If you can see all of that operating this weekend, in context with what has happened in your life since late last year, you will know something of where you are. You will also have information to help you decide where you want to be (and how to get there) by the time Mars and Saturn initiate a new mutual epoch — one that can be marked by constructive activity when 2018 is still young.

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