By Amanda Painter

Increasingly in our highly polarized political landscape, we are called upon to reconcile vastly differing viewpoints. Often it seems impossible. Yet this week’s main astrology offers a useful reminder: reconciliation begins with your own inner contradictions, and then extends into your most immediate, intimate one-on-one relationships.

Live sand dollar; photo by Amanda Painter.

The two major aspects at play are both exact today: the Gemini New Moon (which is the Sun and Moon conjunct in Gemini), and a square between Venus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn.

I’m actually going to begin with the Venus-Pluto square, for a very specific reason: it speaks of relationship dynamics. And for many people, it’s easier to focus on a relationship than it is to look within.

The Venus-Pluto square is exact at 12:22 pm EDT today (16:22 UTC). With Venus in fiery, assertive Aries, it’s possible you’re experiencing this as some kind of intensely emotional or sexual experience that is completely altering your awareness in a relationship. It might feel very compelling, and could be genuinely positive.

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Yesterday’s unspeakable tragedy in Manchester, UK, puts astrology and most other human enterprises in their place. No matter how lofty their endeavor, nobody can yet restore a life once it has been taken. Murder is obscenely easy. Vengeance is always senseless. Meaningful justice is rarely a straightforward proposition, and frequently elusive as well.

We know our sympathies will not bring back loved ones lost. Yet we extend our condolences nonetheless, knowing the same grief could have come to any of us. Another thing all of us can offer is to keep living so as to create (rather than remove) reasons for both ourselves and others to live.

It is therefore not to mock us that objects on the zodiac keep moving. Even if you should feel helpless, cycles of the Earth and sky show life’s way: to go on. In what is about to happen with the Sun and Moon is therefore a symbolic implication. What will be occurring at the same time with Earth’s oceans will be both a sympathetic and tangible indication of much the same theme.

The Sun has been moving in Gemini for several days now, with more than three weeks to go. Timed with that particular traversal is an awareness that your current season (a quality always mediated by the Sun, regardless of where you live) is heading towards a change. That’s how Gemini is considered to be a mutable sign. In a little less than a month, the Sun will move on to a solstice after leaving Gemini to enter the sign Cancer — initiating the season to follow.

As any season enters its last weeks and days, it is not unusual to be at least wistful regarding all that is due to pass with it. Even so, the Sun moving through a mutable sign also gradually prepares you for what is to come. To cite just one example, compare your clothing today to what you were wearing in the final week of March when our current season was just getting started.

On Thursday, the Moon will leave Taurus (where it is now) to also enter Gemini. About seven hours after ingress, it will share the same degree of mutable air with the Sun. That will be the next New Moon. Also moving through Gemini at the same time (only a handful of degrees away from the New Moon conjunction of the two luminaries) will be a calculated and oscillating point in the Moon’s orbit: the perigee. The lunar perihelion (as it is also called) represents the part of the Moon’s orbit that is closest to the Earth.

A Full Moon at, or sufficiently near, its perigee looks bigger, and is nowadays frequently called “super” by those who favor the pop culture persuasion. As with all New Moons, a conjunction of the Sun and Moon near the lunar perihelion point does not present a visual tableau in the sky. Instead, the impending Gemini Moon will be most in evidence where life evidently began (and is still substantially sustained): the vast seas.

When the Moon moves between the Earth and Sun on Thursday, only the side facing away from us will be reflecting solar illumination. The very same alignment (combined with the Moon’s proximity to us) will not pass without effect, however. Instead, and through the force of their combined gravity, the apparent merger of the Sun and Moon for May will assert its undeniable and predictable influence largely through tides of even greater magnitude than with the Taurus New Moon of April. Indeed, some of the highest tides of 2017 are due this week.

There is precedent for making the daily rise and fall of ocean waters a metaphor for the range of human emotions. There is also scientific evidence that it is the tides, even more than the existence of water in liquid form, that have made the emergence and abundance of earthly life possible.

While a profound tide at its greatest extremes can indeed cause stress (and even destruction) for living things in the immediate vicinity, such examples are only part of a greater — and providential — continuum. With the rising part of the cycle comes fresher water and nutrients for some. With retreat, yet others find their sustenance. The idea is to somehow go on living through the most challenging part so as to see the other side.

As it is with the tides, so it is with the seasons. Some periods are easier on life, others harder. Yet, life itself cannot be simply turned on and off to function only when conditions are most favorable.

Every moment must be lived through so that the next moment may come. It’s not an ideal situation, but that’s what we have. That, and one particular form of power even greater than the tides.

Unlike the oceans, and even the planets, you have an occasional ability to choose. With the power of your will, you can very often choose to support life itself. With the power of choice itself, you can sometimes make subsequent moments better, rather than worse, for at least some of those you are fortunate enough to be living with. Even the Sun and Moon combined can’t do that.

Offered In Service

You may pre-order all 12 signs of INVOLUTION here. What we’re living through today is not written about in any book. We’re its pioneers in consciousness. For us, in our time, the revolution must be within. INVOLUTION will be your guide.

With the Moon now in Pisces until Sunday, the stage is set for the Sun to ingress Gemini shortly after 4:30 pm EDT (20:30:51 UTC) tomorrow. When you look at what’s going on concurrently with the zodiac as a whole, the beginning of solar Gemini this year can be said to signal the start of what could be referred to as a new version of what’s normal.

It is actually no big deal for what’s normal to change. For example, most of you have lived through more than one continuous decade during which you went to school nearly every weekday.

Then, one day, that was over and a new normal had to begin. For many, daily schooling is replaced by being compelled to show up for work. Now, and interestingly just as a season of scholastic graduation is getting underway, one can almost hear the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” playing from above.

Start with how Uranus and Eris are just now separating from a months-long continuum of three conjunctions in late Aries. Then, add how the recent Mercury retrograde ended precisely in the very narrow gap that had opened since the final meeting between Uranus and Eris. Next, fold in Mercury and Venus only now getting up to their usual speed of motion around the zodiac after many weeks of uncharacteristic sluggishness.

Finally, consider Mars, which is currently about two-thirds of the way through Gemini. In the longer scheme of things, it is quite unusual for Mars to be ‘ahead’ of the Sun, Mercury (now in early Taurus) and Venus (currently near the Aries midpoint) all at the same time. That’s because the average zodiac speeds of the Sun and Venus are nearly twice that of Mars. For its part, Mercury is capable of clipping through the signs at almost four times faster.

Yet, and indicatively, Mars pulled out in front of three faster objects just as Uranus and Eris were oscillating in merger to very possibly conceive a new era. Now, the Sun, Mercury and Venus are catching up. Mercury will be first to meet Mars, smack in the middle of the sign Cancer on June 28.

As July 26 segues into July 27, the Sun and Mars will finally (and after a long courting) share the same early degree of Leo. Last (but not least), Venus will conjoin with Mars about two-thirds of the way through Virgo on Oct. 5. By then, it should be possible to evaluate whether transition to a new normal is either in process or being brought along.

Transitioning from school to a similar schedule of attendance in the workplace heralds a new era in the life of many young people. For each person, it’s a different process. For some it is easy and short. For others it is challenging and long. Nobody, however, goes back.

Even those who resume or subsequently add to their education never return to precisely the same lifestyle left behind after graduation caps and robes have served their purpose. The same thing tends to happen for groups, and the world as a whole.

If the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus, Eris and more are saying anything coherent right now, it’s probably that a new normal is in your (and our) not-so-distant future. During the transition (which looks to include at least most of what remains of 2017) will come choices.

You can choose to deny or resist the only constant in this world: change. Usually, any attempt to hold off what’s inevitable does not work out so well. You can also elect to go with the flow and let things happen. Sometimes that works out very well, and sometimes it doesn’t. In every case, however, the choice of a passive (or even receptive) approach affords little in the way of an opportunity for a do-over should the results be unsatisfactory.

Indeed, there are precious few do-overs. The old normal always passes. A new normal follows. If you can see the transition coming, however, you have yet another option

Absolute control over the future eludes even the most powerful and self-assured individuals among us. It is possible, however, to participate. Provided that your anticipation and timing are accurate enough, you can contribute to co-create any new normal before it takes shape and sets into place.

Assuming that this particular reading of our current astrology is anywhere near realistic, it’s definitely not too late to initiate or join something both proactive and cooperative yourself. By doing so, you will go a long way towards assuring that any possible new normal includes at least some of what you want, and need, it to be.

Offered In Service

You may pre-order all 12 signs of INVOLUTION here. What we’re living through today is not written about in any book. We’re its pioneers in consciousness. For us, in our time, the revolution must be within. INVOLUTION will be your guide.

By Amanda Painter

Do you feel ready for something new? Investing personal energy in world news — especially news events that strain credulity — can be exhausting. Beating one’s head against the same interpersonal dynamics at work or in your intimate relationships can be tiring. Yet the urge for something new can also emerge from a palpable sense of growing creative energy that needs an outlet.

Apple blossom about to bloom. Photo by Amanda Painter.

In astrology, the tail end of a season — or even just the last few days of the Sun in a particular sign — can invoke that sense of being ready for a shift. We’ll get one on Saturday, when the Sun leaves Taurus and enters Gemini at 4:31 pm EDT (20:31 UTC).

Where Taurus is focused on the body, Gemini is all about the mind; Taurus takes its time, Gemini moves on to the next thing quickly. Taurus is represented by earth, Gemini by air. I’ll admit that I have a strong personal bias toward Taurus, since it’s my Sun sign, but all signs of the zodiac have their value and their purpose. Where Taurus helped us to get grounded, Gemini offers us greater (and quicker) flexibility.

Yet this is not the only astrological energy drawing us toward something new. Tomorrow (Friday) Venus in Aries opposes Jupiter in Libra, exact at 10:11 am EDT (14:11 UTC).

On one level, Venus opposite Jupiter can be a warning about spending too much money, eating and drinking too much, and getting caught up in vanity (Venus being in Aries could emphasize this last bit). If you’re trying to save money, this might not be the best weekend for a shopping spree.

That said, indulging in what you love most — in moderation — could bring tremendous joy, pleasure and satisfaction. The key is to remember that a little will be just as satisfying — and probably more so in the long run — as a lot of it would seem to be, in the moment.

On a second level, however, the energy of Venus opposite Jupiter speaks of a meeting. Particularly, meeting some opportunity in a relational situation of some kind. That could mean an intimate/sexual relationship, a work relationship, a creative relationship, a healing/therapeutic relationship, a parent/child relationship, a student/teacher relationship, or some other situation, and will depend on the specifics of your life and how this astrology interacts with your own chart.

Wherever you feel it, the idea is to pay attention to where in your life the opportunities are appearing. Notice the areas of your day-to-day experience where you feel especially ready for something new; or ready to expand into something that already exists, but with a new level of energy.

Jupiter is often associated with luck. Yet any astrologer will tell you that you have to work at it. In other words: be prepared for what you want by doing what you can to invite it into your life. Usually this means things like practicing, or creating the space for it: physically, in your environment; mentally, in your attitudes and perspective; temporally, by making time for it; and so on. Or something really mundane, like updating your resume so it’s ready to go the moment you see the job posting you’ve been searching for.

Working at luck could also mean giving yourself permission to want what you want, and to say yes to it — and to receive it fully (‘receptivity’ relating to Venus). All the preparation in the world can fall flat if you back away from an opportunity when it arrives on your doorstep. If you feel like this describes your usual pattern, it’s worth finding a good therapist or spiritual counselor or similar to help you work through that pattern of self-sabotage. It speaks to deep and often barely conscious material — the kind most of us need a little help uncovering, processing and releasing.

With Venus in the sign of Self and Jupiter in the sign of Relationships, the meeting or peak described by their opposition could also relate to how your relationships function as a mirror. In this interpretation, you might again ask yourself if you’re ready for something new; not necessarily a new partner but perhaps a new way of interacting and responding, or a new way of feeling about yourself within your relationships. What would you need to acknowledge, and what would need to shift in response, for that to happen?

While the Sun is still in Taurus during the next three days, your body and physical senses could help you focus on the answers. After the Sun moves into Gemini on Saturday, see if you’re better able to verbally articulate what you’ve discovered. Along the way, good luck in working your luck. To paraphrase Howard Thurman, the world needs more people who have come alive.

You may pre-order all 12 signs of INVOLUTION here. What we’re living through today is not written about in any book. We’re its pioneers in consciousness. For us, in our time, the revolution must be within. INVOLUTION will be your guide.

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun’s arc of travel is currently getting higher and higher in the sky. This phenomenon translates as longer and longer days above the equator. Below the equator, it’s the other way around. Regardless of where you are, however, the Sun’s tour of Taurus is winding up.

Depending on who you are, the Sun in the final five degrees of Taurus can mean different things. No doubt, some of you could stand to see a lot more of what comes with the symbolic Sun of astrology expressing its corollary to waking consciousness through the field of fixed earth.

It is also understandable if you are feeling a bit fatigued with patterns of awareness that have characterized the last 25 days or so. After all, it is not wrong to desire a change of external scenery for its own sake. Therefore, as you move through the remainder of this week, keep in mind that your own point of view on the world at large will very possibly be at greater variance than usual with that of others.

Interestingly, the final days of solar Taurus will also be characterized by astrological indications implying a change of internal scenery. First, of course, is the waning Moon. By leaving Capricorn behind to enter Aquarius today, the Moon is inviting you to appreciate how much a collective perspective can vary from any given personal circumstance.

Then there are the only two planets that move between the Earth and Sun: Mercury and Venus. Earlier today (or overnight, depending on your time zone) Mercury returned to Taurus a second time.

The first ingress of Mercury into Taurus this year took place way back on the last day of March. Then a subsequent retrograde ultimately returned Mercury to Aries on April 20 (interestingly, just as solar Taurus was beginning). Mercury resumed direct motion on May 3, but has taken this long to ingress Taurus yet a second time.

Even with a change of sign, however, it would be fair to say that Mercury (and its predominantly intellectual correspondence) is not quite out of the proverbial woods. The same is true of Venus. As of today, both Mercury and Venus are still confined within the narrow zodiac corridors where their respective retrogrades recently took place. To the extent that both planets correlate with your inner life, you might say that they are both in a state of having “been there, done that.”

When you hear somebody recite the phrase “been there, done that,” they may be expressing either empathy or indifference. In both cases, however, there is an implicit sense of both recognition and resignation that closes the door on a true and individuated sense of compassion.

Fortunately, the confinements of both Mercury and Venus are about to end. On Thursday, Venus will pass the point where its 2017 retrograde started, and will enter new zodiac territory for the first time since the end of January. Then, just hours after the Sun enters Gemini this weekend, Mercury will accomplish its own figurative jailbreak and begin moving over new ground for the first time since the end of March. The timing could not be better.

By next week, every object inside of Earth’s orbit will have been emblematically refreshed. With such an occasion comes the possibility that your own doors of perception will be cleaned. With that potential will emerge the prospect of your own refreshment in turn — both inside and out.

Of course, and as usual, it will take some participation from you to manifest the sky’s potential. It will not be difficult to put yourself in harmony with what looks to be a clean slate developing up above. In fact, the protocol will be quite simple.

First, make an effort to be fully aware of your thoughts before expressing them. Then, every time you are tempted to either write or say “been there, done that,” take just a moment before you do. Look within to find other words befitting a new day, unbound from all that is best left behind. If you can bring yourself to do just that much, meaningful refreshment will almost surely follow.

Offered In Service

You may pre-order all 12 signs of INVOLUTION here. What we’re living through today is not written about in any book. We’re its pioneers in consciousness. For us, in our time, the revolution must be within. INVOLUTION will be your guide.

The waning Moon in Sagittarius today and most of tomorrow sends one message: “lighten up.” As Saturday transitions to Sunday, however, a lunar move into Capricorn implies a complementary (but not quite contrasting) vibration more consistent with the rest of the zodiac: “look up.” In other words, don’t hang your head, lest you miss something you would have wanted to see.

For as long as human beings have been walking around, the sky has provided a tableau that complements events on Earth. Above, air and fire are the most evident themes, and the corresponding subject matter leans toward the ethereal. Below, earth and water co-mingle to evoke grounded, immediate and practical motifs.

It’s easy to become preoccupied with and attached to that which is below. Look into things a little deeper, however, and it becomes evident that there is what you might call a synchronized exchange between Earth and sky which provides what is often vital information. From above, for example, comes the sunlight and rain that nourish botanical life on the ground.

If you observe and correlate long enough, it becomes evident that there are cycles and patterns in the synchronization between the Earth and sky. The seasons are but one case in point. Day and night are another. During the day, the Sun is preeminent, making events on the ground easier to see. With nightfall, the solar dominance yields, drawing attention to both the Moon and lesser lights: the stars and planets.

After a while, those who remained awake (for whatever reason) during the night noticed yet other cycles and patterns. In the Moon and lesser lights are a deeper and more subtle background, which exhibits further symmetries of exchange — both empirically expressed and more subtly implied. In the implications, imagination meets observation much as Earth and sky do along a horizon. From that exchange, in turn, comes the human activity of astrology where the complementary synchronization and patterns correlating inner and outer life are revealed to be systematically consistent with everything else.

Hence, the physical activity of looking up to the sky (for subtle indications that provide anticipatory information) complements the metaphorical practice of looking up from the more tangibly mundane. The mundane constitutes much of that which is evident — necessarily occupying much of your waking attention.

Yet, there is an inherent hazard in looking only at what’s evident. Doing so reveals things only as they are. Looking up, on the other hand, engages with the imagination to see things as they could be.

Unless you are a fortunate exception, much of the way things currently are is usually survivable, but often less than satisfactory for thriving. Hence your reason (as implied from above) to look up both literally and metaphorically this weekend.

Those who either ignore or disparage the boundary where the observed and imaginary conduct their own exchange often see things only as they are — whether satisfactory or not, and often with no alternative but to ask “Why?” The evidently smaller number who live on the horizon between the inner and outer (an extension of above and below) have other options.

As implied by the fact that you are reading these words, you are at least potentially among those who have the option of imagining things as they could be, and asking “Why not?” By doing so, you fulfill one of the greatest of your human potentials — contributing to both fuel and sustain a synchronization, symmetry and even an exchange between you and the universe. If that’s not a reason to look up this weekend, what is?

Offered In Service

You may pre-order all 12 signs of INVOLUTION here. What we’re living through today is not written about in any book. We’re its pioneers in consciousness. For us, in our time, the revolution must be within. INVOLUTION will be your guide.