Things move. In the sky, and on Earth, there is constant motion. Even a rock that appears to be standing still for centuries will be revealed (with a simple shift of perspective) to be moving on top of a continental plate. In addition, most (if not all) forms of motion resemble one of the most beautiful and creative human activities: dance.

Dance is both simple and complex at the same time. On the one hand, all you really need is your body. On the other hand, there appears to be no limit to the number of dance moves that can be made — particularly in combination. Movements in the sky are like that.

Every day, the combination of even a limited number of astronomical bodies represents a tableau never before duplicated. Just as no two days are precisely the same in your life. It is, of course, possible to see broad patterns and cycles (such as the seasons), but the details within a perceptible continuum will vary. The same principle is true of any accomplished dancer, and other creative artists as well. There is no reason the same cannot be true for you.

One of the basic ideas behind astrology is to see the long-term trends and the daily uniqueness at the same time. Take the dance of Mercury and Venus as just one example.

By this time on Monday, both Mercury and Venus will have changed signs. Later today, Mercury will move from Aries to Taurus in direct motion. As the weekend draws to a close, Venus will retreat from Aries and return to Pisces in retrograde motion.

Think of the impending movements of Venus and Mercury as a combination of dance moves. Mercury has moved from Aries to Taurus many times before, and it has done so with relative regularity. Venus retrograding from Aries to Pisces has also undoubtedly happened before, but not as often, and with a far more complex periodicity.

But it is almost certain the precise timing and other details that both Venus and Mercury will combine to demonstrate this weekend has never occurred before. And that’s just two planets. It’s also just the first step of a longer-term dance that will eventually see Venus return to Aries in direct motion while Mercury goes there (to Aries in retrograde) and back again (a second time into Taurus after the retrograde is over) — all during the course of just one season (as determined by the Sun).

Then there is everything else. The Moon, for example, moves from Taurus to Gemini today — and on to its dominion in Cancer on Sunday.

Then there is you, wondering (with reason) what it all means, and where you fit in. As with dance, it’s probably best to begin by keeping things simple. The essence is simply to move. The specific movements (separately and in combination) and their timing relative to each other are the details that can be broken down and analyzed separately before being reconstructed and interpreted.

But the essence is to move. If, during this weekend you can simply move in a way you have never done before, you will have successfully emulated Mercury and Venus by taking a first step in a longer-term dance.

So, break your routine a bit. Put your shoes on in a different order. Go into that little shop you have never entered. Use your other hand to eat with. The possibilities are practically endless. Only you, with your free will, can choose to do the same thing at the same time, and in the same way, over and over.

And those are just the possibilities of physical motion, but also your proof that nothing is impossible in a universe that must certainly be endless in all its combinations as well. Only you can choose to make it otherwise. If nothing else, it would be a lot more fun to dance instead.

Offered In Service

By Amanda Painter

When someone asks, “Who are you? Tell me about yourself,” people often reply with their most public labels — things like job titles and occupation descriptions (including “parent”). You might flesh that out with the hobbies and non-career pursuits you’re most passionate about, or descriptors such as political affiliation, ethnicity and religion, or where you grew up. But, apropos of current astrology, how often do you answer with a straight-up description of your values?

Photo by Amanda Painter; from the 2016 Sacred and Profane festival on Peaks Island, Portland, Maine.

Granted, some of the categories listed above carry some level of implied shared values, because the labels describe a self-selecting community. But there are always exceptions, and it can be dicey to make assumptions.

Often the declaration of things like closely held moral, ethical and philosophical values come with a certain level of familiarity — which can include really connecting with someone you’ve just met. Or we demonstrate our values simply through the daily choices we make, though those actions are typically witnessed by very few others (what kind of food we buy; how we treat partners and family members; the level of attention we give our work on the job, and so on).

Occasionally — and perhaps more frequently — we make certain values known very publicly: by attending a rally; or giving an interview or writing an opinion piece for the local paper; or displaying a bumper sticker on our car.

Even so, it’s rare that someone will ask, “Who are you? Tell me about yourself,” and you’ll hear in response: “Oh, well, I’m someone who values my time more than that of others. But I’m also a person who highly values thoroughness, so anything I do I do completely and well, and I reward that in others. Oh, and since I value how people feel, I never ask ‘How are you’ unless I have time to truly hear their honest answer.”

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During every New Moon, Luna is hidden from sight. It’s when the Moon is traveling through the daytime sky in parallel with the Sun, which is illuminating the side which does not face Earth. With astrology, though, it is possible to unveil some of what is implied for the rest of the monthly lunar cycle (or ‘lunation’), even if the Moon appears lost in the dark.

The luminaries (Sun and Moon) briefly shared the same degree of Aries shortly before 11 pm EDT (02:57:09 UTC) last night. Sure enough, there was no Moon to be seen at the time. Even so, at least one astrological message was revealed. Interestingly, it is a memo you are likely to read only within yourself.

Briefly speaking, the entire zodiac ring in which the Aries New Moon was set suggested adjustment. Specifically, any conscious effort on your part to make appropriate inner adjustments will go a long way towards making things easier over the next four weeks or so. That discovery, in turn, could be a turning point in your entire year.

Usually it takes a prolonged and taxing effort to find what you did not know you had in you. That’s how perseverance in unpromising situations is often proven to be good practice. Even so, a very small change in how you approach the beginning of an endeavor can sometimes result in saving you a lot of work. Based on last night’s merger of the Sun and Moon, sometimes is now.

A New Moon in the very first sign of the zodiac implies both luminaries are off to a new start together. This year, however, the Aries New Moon takes place while both Venus (also in Aries) and Jupiter (in Libra) are in retrograde. As result, external realities surrounding initiatives might appear discouraging — but only at first. What the world brings to you is only one part of the equation. Given how astrological indications often apply to both the inner and outer in simultaneous parallel, adjusting what you bring to the world could make all the difference.

Before you subject yourself to the proverbial good fight this week, consider whether or not it’s necessary to fight at all. The key (especially with combative Mars a bit out of its element in Taurus) is to take a moment for self-examination before you reflexively take anything or anybody head-on. Note your inner reaction to any task or challenge first. Then, ask yourself if there is something in your reflexive responses that needs adjusting to make things less difficult.

If you need an example of how to conduct your inner examination, think of the difference between driving and parking an automobile. It’s good to engage the parking brake if you want your vehicle to remain stationary. It’s not so good if you neglect to release the brake before getting underway again. The same principle looks as though it will apply to your life over the next month or so. Just a small adjustment before moving ahead with your plans will probably be quite helpful.

With Mercury, Saturn and Pluto all joining Venus and Jupiter in retrograde next month, any effort to make progress during the lunation just initiating is implicitly going to need some help. Assuming you want to make headway of your own, at least some of that assistance will have to come from you.

Offered In Service

Today the Moon is moving in Aquarius. Shortly after 6:06 am EDT (10:06:17 UTC) tomorrow, the Moon goes on to traverse Pisces until Monday. As is so often the case, something of the Moon’s position is being reflected (albeit symbolically and subtly) by a significant feature in the bigger picture.

That feature is both the event and context of Venus’ current retrograde.

Aquarius and Pisces (along with Scorpio) are in a special category among the twelve signs. Only Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces are commonly (if not universally) recognized to be ruled by two planets at once. The phenomenon of dual dominions remains controversial to this day, while simultaneously expressing something salient about modern life.

Our modern age might be construed to have started with the discovery of Uranus in March of 1781. Up until that time, nobody even questioned the assumption that Saturn’s orbit was the edge of our solar system. Then, the proverbial apple cart of astrology was upset. Significantly, the long unquestioned human order was upset at about the same time.

The discovery of Uranus took place between the American and French revolutions. After those events, the collective condition of humanity would never be the same again. A nearly universal pattern of governance reflective of Saturn’s stern and stable nature had been broken in a manner akin to the fate of nursery rhyme character Humpty Dumpty. It is therefore not surprising, if still controversial, that Saturn was eventually interpreted to share the sign of the collective (Aquarius) with Uranus.

The long-delayed verification of Neptune as a planet in the 19th Century likewise carried over to its own eventual interpretations — including an association with Pisces as co-ruler with Jupiter. Much the same can be said of how circumstances surrounding the 20th Century sighting of Pluto contained a compelling correspondence to the nature of Scorpio (traditionally ruled by Mars).

Just over half a decade after the beginning of our current calendrical millennium, the dominant scientific paradigm represented by astronomers (but not astrologers) emblematically rolled us back to the 19th Century with their controversial “demotion” of Pluto. That decision by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 had the practical consequence of making Neptune the outermost planet of our solar system once again.

In a compelling temporal parallel to the IAU redefining what a planet is, institutionalized slavery (with the privatization of the American penal system as but one example) returned from the dark depths of the 19th Century as a real and present modern-day issue at about the same time. Astronomers and entrenched power structures are not alone in recently advocating for what amounts to regression, however.

Emergent with the 21st Century is a significant faction among astrologers advocating for a return to the putative good old days before our conscious awareness of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. At the same time, and all over the world, there are substantial political and religious movements of the same ilk. The parallels are clear, and sobering. On one side is the blissful appeal of order and simplicity in exchange for either denying or ignoring advances in awareness. On the other side is the compelling (if challenging) imperative to exercise critical thinking, discretion and responsibility in the face of raised consciousness.

With Venus in the unique context of its current retrograde (and temporary visibility on both horizons, as attested to by this article), all of us are implicitly at a point of decision. Ultimately, of course, Venus will resume moving forward. Even so, the eventual progression of Venus will not advance it to the zodiac degree where its retrograde started until after Venus has oscillated back and forth three times over the crucial cusp separating Aries and Pisces.

The line where Pisces ends and Aries begins is the one and only vernal point. It is where literally everything is suggested to come together in both simultaneous endings and beginnings. It is a defining place.

The vernal point is thus nothing less than a symbol of our time, and its calling to define who you are by participating (or not) in decisions that will long determine the course of earthly life.

When you consider the correlation Venus has with values, the decisions you are now present to participate in are implicitly value judgments. On one horizon now are the certain consequences of one choice. On the other horizon are the uncertain challenges of choosing otherwise. Unless you elect to give away your power and leave the ultimate resolution of our time to others, which way you (and the rest of us) go will depend on what you value most.

Considering the inherently reflective nature of the Moon, its position now (and for the next few days) strongly indicates you should spend at least part of this weekend in reflection yourself. Specifically, it would be astrologically appropriate to contemplate (and get clear about) what your values are. For if there is anything to the sky’s big picture at this time, it is that two horizons are visible, but only one will be our ultimate destination. Where we arrive will, at least in part, depend on you.

Offered In Service

By Amanda Painter

In the midst of a political landscape that keeps getting weirder (and, for many, ever more unnerving), have you noticed any strange glitches, bloopers or unexplained tech issues this past week? No, Mercury is not retrograde. But it’s possible you might be experiencing a bit of a copycat effect.

Photo by Amanda Painter

The culprit? Dear, sweet, named-after-the-goddess-of-love Venus, believe it or not.

Don’t panic if you have not noticed anything amiss — and don’t panic even if you have. Even though a period of Venus retrograde (which we’re experiencing until April 15) can sometimes mimic Mercury retrograde, the effect is not necessarily going to show up for everyone. If you have, however, noticed things going a little wonky, rest assured that you are not losing it. You simply might need to make a greater effort to stay focused on what you’re doing, and be patient while you work things out.

Better yet, Venus retrograde — including any SNAFUS you experience — can offer valuable reminders of the things that matter most to you, and what you need to do about them. As with any retrograde, this experience is likely to come in the form of taking an internal inventory or review.

That internal review reaches its midpoint this Saturday, as retrograde Venus conjoins the Sun in Aries (exact at 6:17 am EDT/ 10:17 UTC). A Sun-Venus conjunction can indicate “self-seeking” behavior, which can mean selfish. Yet I’d say it’s possible to interpret “self-seeking” in a more productive, helpful way:

What does it really mean to seek one’s Self?

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The Moon continues to wane through Capricorn today. Late tomorrow (or early Thursday, depending on where you live) the Moon will enter Aquarius. In the meantime, Saturn (the traditional ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius) has entered its second week of practically standing still in a precise Sagittarius conjunction with the core of our galaxy.

There is a reason Saturn is even more sluggish than usual. On April 6 Saturn will begin its annual retrograde while still in the same degree of Sagittarius it has occupied since March 6. Even then, it will not be until after the first week of May when Saturn finally retreats from that degree.

If you can grant that Saturn has something to do with an established public order, the ringed planet’s current lethargy on the zodiac explains a lot about what’s going on in the world. In the the earthy realm of U.S. politics especially (but not exclusively) things are stuck.

It would not be too far-fetched to compare the state of more than one nation to the ancient team sport known as a tug of war. A theme of tension and stalemate prevails in many of the hallowed halls where political power is concentrated. Given where Saturn is stuck, the stakes of earthly struggles taking place in parallel are anything but trivial or small. Yet, by the same Saturn token, bigger things are now coming to the fore — even (and especially) for you.

The Galactic Core is no small thing. It dwarfs our Sun. In spite of the fact that it is more than 25 thousand light years away, events going on in the center of our galaxy are of consequence to your life. To cite just one tangible example of how the Galactic Core matters, consider two of the 20th Century’s most influential technologies.

About 90 years ago, Uranus and Eris merged in Aries much as they are again doing now. In spite of the fact that nobody knew Eris existed until 2005, its immediately previous conjunction with Uranus correlated rather precisely with both the emergence of commercial broadcast radio and the invention of television. Among challenges facing broadcast media in its early days was an unexpected source of what you could call disruptive noise.

It turns out that a broad spectrum of powerful electromagnetic radiation emanates from the center of our galaxy. Because visible light is not part of the Galactic Core’s massive energetic outflow, we were not clearly aware of its issuance (or the true nature of its source) until it showed up as pesky radio static.

While engineers were figuring out how to work around the Galactic Core’s cosmic interference with commercial progress, astronomers were figuring out what it was, and how it came to be. The result was both a workable solution for broadcast media, and a greater understanding of our place in the cosmos.

We now know that ours is just one of many galaxies in an unimaginably bigger universe. That perspective, in turn, allows us to see the center of our galaxy as not so different from our Sun despite any disparity in their size.

Both the Sun and the Galactic Core are way bigger than Saturn. Both are a source of energy. That energy can either interfere with or contribute to progress and evolution, depending on what is done with (and about) it.

Perhaps most essential to the astrological interpretation of both the Sun and Galactic Core are their fields of gravity, which bend space and organize objects moving around them. Both our Sun and the Galactic Core serve as an axis of sorts, bringing order into what would otherwise be dark and chaotic. Both are currently working to provide you with some astrological perspective as well.

With Saturn so long in conjunction with the Galactic Core, we have an emblematic perspective on our times. The massive institutions created by humanity cannot simply be disregarded because (if for no other reason) you are dwarfed in comparison to them. Politics, therefore, matters. Yet there are even bigger things which (as a sentient and social being), you have direct access to.

The Sun, and its correlation to your consciousness awareness, makes Saturn (and events corresponding to it) look small in proportion. One way to leverage your awareness is to study the vast expanse of history so as to put our own times into perspective. The fact that we have only recently in our history become fully aware of the Galactic Core goes on to imply something even further.

If you think of your own consciousness (and its capacity to put our times into perspective) as our Sun, then the billions of other suns orbiting the center of our galaxy can fairly be said to represent every other center of comparable consciousness on our planet. All of those central organizing principles are thus implicitly part of something even greater.

Each of us is effectively orbiting an axis that symbolizes something similar to, but bigger than, any one of us. It is something that defines us — not by what we have made, or separately are, but what we together are. It is something whose time has come.

It is time for the proportions implied by the cosmos to be be reflected on Earth. It is long past time for all that Saturn represents in the world to become subject to the dominion the Sun corresponds to. Indeed, governance by consent and control of the governed is not only overdue, but no longer enough. Even if Saturn is stuck — even if it is going backward — the Sun must (and already has) moved on to a new season.

Just days ago a new season started at the same time for everybody on Earth when the Sun entered Aries. The Aries equinox explicitly united all of us in a common and simultaneous experience that could be plainly seen through what the Sun was doing.

Beyond what you can see, implicitly there is an even greater unity that corresponds to what our galaxy is doing. Even though the galaxy’s organizing principle is invisible to your eyes, it has a parallel in the Sun. To start manifesting the greater union all of us are now being called to, you therefore need only to begin seeing a Sun in every other.

Offered In Service

Shortly before 6:30 am EDT (10:28:34 UTC) Monday, the Sun will enter Aries. At the same time the Sun will be directly overhead at the equator. On the same day, everyone on Earth will receive the same amount of daylight. Likewise, the Sun will rise precisely east and set exactly west everywhere. It will be the vernal equinox (first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere), perhaps the most important solar ingress of the year.

This year, however, the Aries equinox is clearly not just the Sun’s show alone. In the chart for the Sun’s 2017 ingress to Aries, the Moon will be exhibiting amazing timing while also making an implicit case for equal time.

In effect, the Sun will be obliged to share the spotlight to an extraordinary extent during what astrologers consider their own version of New Year’s Day 2017. Any parallels to that phenomenon in your life will depend largely on what the Moon means to you. To help you achieve a better personal connection with this year’s Aries equinox, let’s start with an impersonal look at the facts.

At the exact moment the Sun enters Aries on Monday, the Moon will be sharing the same degree of Sagittarius with both Saturn and the Galactic Core. When you consider that the Moon moves around the zodiac at about a degree every two hours, the timing of that one triple conjunction alone is enough to at least make you pause. But wait, that’s not all.

While the Sun is poised overhead at the equator, three astrologically important points in the Moon’s orbit will be in an unusually precise alignment. Two of those points (the lunar nodes) are perpetually in opposition at any given moment all year long. It is not every day that the third calculated point (the mean lunar apogee) is exactly 90 degrees away from both of the nodes. Yet, that will be the precisely the case on Monday.

When any point or object on the zodiac circle is located halfway between the lunar nodes, it is said by astrologers to be “at the bending.” It is implicitly a prominent position to be in, essentially receiving a co-writer’s credit for the story being told by the whole chart in question. When you consider the name astrologers use to identify the point of the lunar orbit farthest from Earth (what astronomers call the apogee), you get a hint of that story’s theme.

The mean lunar apogee is referred to as “Black Moon Lilith” by astrologers. How you interpret that calculated (and, not incidentally, fluctuating) point reveals a lot about how you feel about the feminine. That’s because your perception of mythological Lilith’s character likewise depends on your point of view regarding a woman’s place.

To put it briefly, the Lilith of legend was not a good fit in the ancient male-dominated workplace some call the Garden of Eden. What happened as result depends on whose story you are convinced by: the employer or the employee. Up until recently, some of the most dominant paradigms of western civilization have contended that Lilith was essentially fired, going on to a second career as a baby-eating demon. Lately, another (more realistic) version of Lilith has gained some traction.

Concurrent with the comparatively recent erosion of a male supremacy doctrine at the workaday level of society, a more plausible portrayal of Lilith has emerged. It is the picture of a responsible and mature adult, not a threatening abomination.

The premise of Lilith as a positive example for all begins with the perception that she left paradise of her own volition rather than accept a subordinate role based on gender. In this version, the only harm Lilith does is to the inherently fraudulent image of those she left behind. Too bad for them. Good for her.

The featured role of Black Moon Lilith in the chart for Monday’s equinox can fairly be interpreted to be even wider. It is not generally good astrological policy to interpret any point or object on the zodiac as exclusively feminine or masculine. Much as with all human beings, there are undeniably some of both qualities in every planet. Even so, it flies in the face of reality to deny a nearly pan-cultural connection between the Moon and women.

Therefore, on the first day of 2017 when daylight is equally distributed worldwide, you can reasonably expect issues of gender equality to be part of the corresponding experience for you and everybody on Earth. The same theme will implicitly apply for the year to follow.

You can also anticipate how such equality can be furthered in practice. Much as with the recent emergence of a more realistic interpretation of Lilith’s legend, being responsible and mature may sometimes lead to your being demonized, but not rightly — and not forever.

With a context provided by the cyclical nature of the cosmos, the truth will ultimately come out. And, as always, it is the truth that will set you free. Good for you. Too bad for those who place themselves at odds with veracity.

Offered In Service