By Amanda Painter

You might be feeling a push to put your money where your mouth is, whether literally or figuratively — and I see an astrological correlation for that. I’ve been more aware than usual this week of people around me picking up the phone to make calls to state and local members of government and the White House, and to other bodies of authority. Friends seem to be committing to donating to causes with new urgency.

Photo by Amanda Painter

Both donating money and taking other action come down to values, and specific ways to demonstrate them: what is important to you, and how can you show that tangibly? While Mars is considered the ‘action planet’, Venus is the planet we look to regarding questions of values, as well as material objects of value (money being a stand-in for something more tangible like gold).

Venus is currently in Capricorn: one of the cardinal signs known for initiating seasons, and therefore symbolic of other forms of initiative. So that seems to be where the ‘taking action’ piece comes in, on one level. Capricorn also emphasizes the material or financial angle.

Yet the urge to express one’s values is being further pressed by Venus making a square to Eris in Aries, exact today at 3:08 am EST (8:08 UTC). (Uranus is still close to Eris; Venus was square Uranus on Tuesday; so really, Venus is effectively square Uranus and Eris.) What this brings into the equation is all the chaos, confusion and surprise of the election season — indeed, of the last year.

The question Venus square Eris seems to be asking is, “How will you demonstrate, with tangible action, your core foundation of values in the face of the current turmoil we’re living through?” Your answer will be unique to you, though it may overlap with how others choose to answer. You may even find yourself taking similar actions compared with others, yet in support of directly opposite values.

In any case, if you are feeling overwhelmed with wondering ‘what can I do?’ in the face of our current state of affairs, sitting and fretting is not the long-term answer. Taking some form of action is. Depending on your values that could include dedicating more time to prayer or meditation for the highest good, especially with the Sun and Mercury in Sagittarius.

Mars, the traditional ‘action planet’, is playing a supporting role over in Aquarius. From there, it is making an air-sign trine to Jupiter in Libra (ruled by Venus), exact Thursday at 10:46 pm EST (3:46 UTC Friday).

Mars-Jupiter trines tend to ease the way through optimism, sincerity, straightforwardness, and an emphasis on justice and responsibility. They support travel and physical movement, too. Should you be feeling pushed to ‘travel’ outside your comfort zone to act on your values, Mars-Jupiter may help — after all, both Aquarius and Libra emphasize interpersonal relating (one-on-one and with groups).

A final note about Mercury: Friday at 4:18 pm EST (21:18 UTC), it enters Capricorn. Mercury in Capricorn tends to indicate good concentration and memory, attention to detail, and a more down-to-earth mentality.

That kind of mental landscape or tone is mighty useful as we head into the thick of holiday social demands and shopping. Yet there’s a catch: overnight from Thursday into Friday, while in late Sagittarius, Mercury will enter its pre-retrograde ‘shadow’ or ‘echo’ phase, in preparation for stationing retrograde on Dec. 19.

On one level, this is a reminder to begin noticing particular ideas, issues and themes that emerge for you between now and Dec. 19, because you will likely revisit them during the retrograde proper. On another level, this serves as a reminder to start making lists and checking them twice for more than just gift buying. It might be wise to try and finish your holiday shopping by mid-December. Whether that’s possible or not, keep your receipts, just in case.

The final month of the year often feels accelerated, despite how these shorter Northern Hemisphere days urge us to slow down, quiet down and listen within. If you’re feeling frenzied or despondent and not sure what to do, those three simple steps may very well point you in the direction your values would have you go.

Get hold of the 2017 Planet Waves Annual, The Book of Your Life, by Dec. 1 for our special pre-order price. Read more here or go straight to the purchase page.

By the time this column is posted, the Sagittarius New Moon will be behind us. The Moon will remain in Sagittarius until Thursday. Over the next couple evenings, the Moon will also emerge from the shadows, reappearing as a thin crescent in the west just after sunset.

As this week comes to a close, the gradually waxing Moon will move on to Capricorn. At the same time, a more figurative shadow phase will begin — for Mercury, which is also currently in Sagittarius along with the Sun and Moon.

Just hours before Mercury makes ingress to Capricorn on Friday, it will enter what many call the ‘shadow phase’ preceding its next retrograde (which begins on Dec. 19). This period before retrograde is when Mercury is still in forward motion but gradually slowing down. It is moving in a section of the zodiac it will eventually retrace two more times — once in reverse, and one final time after resuming direct motion once again.

For many, the term ‘shadow’ carries negative connotations. That’s one reason Eric proposed a new description of Mercury’s prelude to retrograde years ago: its ‘echo phase’. As with so much of what we offer here at Planet Waves, the idea behind rephrasing Mercury’s period of preface is to empower you. For there is in fact nothing intrinsically foreboding about Mercury retrogrades, much less what leads up to or follows them.

By at least entertaining the term ‘echo phase’ you give yourself a chance to shed some unnecessary dread and take up with a useful tool for positive and creative engagement with the cosmos. Behind the idea is a cogent observation formalized by Albert Einstein (but assumed by astrologers long before): that time and space are equivalent, and not at all necessarily linear in nature.

With the advent of Mercury’s next echo phase, you will thus be presented with the opportunity to conduct a worthy experiment by simply making some observations of your own. All you have to do, to begin with, is pay closer attention to the world than usual and take note of what seem to be emerging themes. Then, during Mercury’s subsequent time of reversal, evaluate which of those topics (if any) manifest in practice.

You might think of your putative experiment as listening for an echo from the future, but in a very practical way it will entail something entirely different. It’s a chance to take a measure of your own mind, and its connection to your physical existence, relative to the world. Once you have that estimation, you will (much as the Moon is presently doing) have initiated a gradual and very real emergence from darkness into light. What you do or where you go from there will be entirely up to you.

Offered In Service

Get hold of the 2017 Planet Waves Annual, The Book of Your Life, by Dec. 1 for our special pre-order price. Read more here or go straight to the purchase page.

A being such as yourself can be defined in many ways. There are biological functions such as ingestion, respiration, excretion and reproduction. It could also be said that every living thing makes some sort of effort. If there were one word to express the motivation for every effort and the objective of every biological function, it might be “needs.”

Every life form has needs, and the means to get them met. The more self-aware a living being is, the better it can anticipate, prioritize and act towards that end. As a social being who lives in community, you have a specialized ability express your needs in abstract ways.

Astrology also has its specialized components, but not every astrologer refers to them. Admittedly, you can do a lot with just the luminaries — the Sun and Moon as they move through the signs and houses. The planets of ancient astrological traditions (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) can also be employed along with the Sun and Moon to plausibly interpret a great deal of your everyday experience.

In addition, relatively modern sign co-rulers revealed by use of the telescope (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are useful for placing your life in what you might call a broader context.

Sometimes, however, a broad context is not enough to deal with life’s complexity. Specificity is also important. Take language as an example. The larger the vocabulary, the more specific and clear a linguistic expression can be. If you see fit to call astrology a form of language, then the same principle must certainly apply. That’s where the so-called “minor” objects of astrology come in.

Among the hundreds of thousands of minor planets in our solar system, a very large number move in the main belt of asteroids located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Among the asteroids in that belt is the third one discovered there, named after the highest-ranking goddess of ancient Roman mythology: Juno.

Just as with all objects discovered by telescope, it’s probably best not to put too much stock in the mythology behind Juno’s name. Better for Juno to prove its own place in the language of astrology, and in your life. Interestingly, just such a “proving moment” (as Eric calls it) is coming up next week. Specifically, that moment will come with the New Moon, which will take place in the eighth degree of Sagittarius on Tuesday, just after 7:18 am EST (12:18:09 UTC).

A New Moon takes place roughly once a month when the Sun and Moon occupy the same degree of the same sign for what astrologers call a conjunction. All conjunctions represent at least three things.

First, a conjunction is an example of one cycle completing and a new one starting. Next, the two objects participating in a conjunction are thought to at least temporarily merge their identifying energies. Finally, with two objects in such close astrological quarters, it’s difficult to see all of the specific complexities that their new cycle will eventually reveal.

It’s relatively rare for a third object to occupy precisely the same degree of the conjoined luminaries at the time of a New Moon. Tuesday will be just such an occasion. Juno will be that third object, sharing the same degree of Sagittarius with the Sun and Moon, and providing you with a proving moment to call your own.

To derive your personal proof on Tuesday, there will be just a few things to keep in mind in addition to the three most probable meanings of a conjunction. It would be useful to think of the Sun as concisely as famed astrologer Robert Hand does, namely symbolizing “day, light and consciousness.” Then, consider the Moon as representing a complementary principle: that which is just below the level of waking conscious awareness — such as feelings, intuitions and the dreams that come with sleep.

You might also allow yourself to draw upon Eric’s cogent perception of Juno’s place in astrology as having to do with both the needs that distinguish all living things, and the relatively higher function of expressing them clearly. Last but not least, let the final and truest proof of Juno’s pudding be the objective observations, subjective thoughts, choices and actions that constitute your unique experience of the world.

Even though there is a New Moon roughly once a month, no two New Moons are the same. Each conjunction of the luminaries takes place in a different context, providing a unique perspective of your place in both the continuum of life on Earth and as part the cyclical system we call solar. Assuming you participate with conscious awareness, the Sagittarius New Moon on Tuesday should allow you to come away with a larger vocabulary for better understanding your own needs, and better making them known.

Offered In Service

Get hold of the 2017 Planet Waves Annual, The Book of Your Life, by Dec. 1 for our special pre-order price. Read more here or go straight to the purchase page.

By Amanda Painter

Have you been thinking deeply about all the things you’d like to express thanks for, or are you stressing out about getting all the cooking done (if you celebrate Thanksgiving this week)? Or perhaps you’re feeling a little anxious or hesitant about gathering with extended family so soon after a contentious election? Then again, you might be facing the prospect of isolation this week, which can carry its own version of emotional stress (though not for everyone).

Photo by Amanda Painter

If that last statement applies to you, and if you do not wish to be alone, I’d encourage you to reach out.

Whether that means you try to connect with estranged family, offer an invitation to a neighbor, or contact a local church or food bank (to volunteer or simply to attend their dinner), please know there are many ways to avoid isolation. Yes, it can feel awkward; perhaps downright embarrassing (and for this reason, if you know someone who might be alone, consider extending them an invitation). But the astrology of this week, as I read it, points overwhelmingly to an air of generosity, inclusion and an ability to shift what might feel stuck.

Top of that list is the Sun in Sagittarius as of Monday afternoon, possibly making a breath of optimism more palpable. You also might find yourself feeling a little more adventurous, or willing to visit someplace new (or just a new menu). Maybe you’re feeling even more conviction in your humanitarian beliefs, and a desire to further them.

Continue reading →

Today is the first full day under a mutable Sagittarius Sun. The waning Moon will continue to move through the latter half of mutable Virgo all day today, and will not transition to cardinal Libra until shortly before 2:42 pm EDT (19:41:55 UTC) tomorrow. With such a combination you could be excused if you feel like you are on shaky ground.

Add a decelerating (read: symbolically hesitant) Mercury approaching its conjunction with Saturn in mid-Sagittarius tomorrow, and you could not be blamed if you are scrutinizing the near future with what proverb calls a “jaundiced eye.”

There is no doubt that a little skepticism is always a healthy thing. In addition, it is well within the realm of possibility that being critical can serve a constructive purpose. Indeed, when consciously employed with caution, even cynicism can be used as a means to make a point. Even so, if there is anything to seeing our astrology this week holistically, you might not want to allow censorious means to become an end in themselves. That’s because there is something else going on

Operating on a level below the explicit uncertainty of our times is something implicitly deeper. You might call it a “long game.” As this week goes on, keep your eyes, ears, mind and heart open for signs that a transition from one state to another is subtly working its way towards becoming more plainly evident.

Astrologically, there are indications of a subtle liminality gradually unfolding beneath superficially evident trends. Appropriately, those emblematic intimations are taking place in cardinal signs, where the Sun moves to initiate new seasons.

As Eric has oft-mentioned, the deep background of our current times is represented by what’s going on in cardinal Aries. Uranus and Eris are not even close to completing their long continuum of an Aries conjunction, which on the surface may seem only disruptive. Fortunately, Ceres has recently become part of the Uranus-Eris merger as if to show a more fecund side of transmutation.

In perfect harmony with the Aries stellium, Venus is even now closing in on what might fairly be called a provocatively erotic merger with Pluto in cardinal Capricorn. Furthering to provide symbolic amplification is Jupiter in cardinal Libra, now only a few days away from a square aspect (a separation of 90 degrees) with both Venus and Pluto.

All told, the holiday weekend coming up should provide you an ample opportunity to witness something more sublime than food, football and dysfunctional relationships revisited. All you will have to do is be patient and perceive deeply into that which nearly everybody else will be taking for granted.

Watch the ice melt in your drinking glass. Take note of the steam rising from your hot beverage. Feel the hints of a new season coming on, and think about what you might do to put yourself in the flow of such deceptively prosaic processes. In each case, the inevitable result is an equilibrium that reliably and always gives rise to yet another turn. Who knows, you might even feel a bit of a transition yourself — from being shaken by events to being stirred into action.

Offered In Service

Eric has begun the early pre-order phase of the 2017 annual edition. You can read his full letter about it here. Or, go straight to the purchase page. (If you’re a Core Community or Backstage Pass member, please email us at cs@planetwaves.net for your discounted price.)

Shortly after 4:22 pm EDT (21:22:19 UTC) on Monday, the Sun will enter the mutable fire sign Sagittarius. At its most fundamental, every annual solar ingress to Sagittarius is a reminder that we have but 30 days left in the current season. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s getting colder. South of the equator, it’s getting warmer.

When the Sun moves into Sagittarius this year, it will be distinguished as it has not been for more than two and a half centuries. That’s because the Kuiper Belt object 20000 Varuna has recently changed signs for the first time since its discovery almost exactly 16 years ago.

Right now, Varuna is in the first one-third or so of the first degree of fixed and fiery Leo, and it is retrograde. That retrograde will temporarily return Varuna to the sign in which it was discovered (Cancer) next month, but not before the newly Sagittarius Sun forms a precise fire trine aspect that has been a long time coming back around.

As with all objects discovered by astronomers, Varuna is without the legacy by which we know planets visible to the unaided eye. The traditional objects of astrology (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are at least culturally, if not physiologically, part of who you are. Their names were not simply given, they evolved with language itself. We thus know these co-called classical planets well, and some astrologers think they are all we need to know. Experience with Uranus, Neptune and Pluto alone clearly says otherwise, however.

So it is that the astrology of Varuna is a work in progress, but an effort worth undertaking nonetheless. By reading these words you become a part of that endeavor. Therefore, you can start with the fact that you can’t lean on Varuna’s name (or the mythology behind it) to the extent that we can with the objects sky watchers have worked with since before history was recorded.

If you grant that some sort of serendipity is at work with the naming of objects discovered by telescope, you can cautiously begin with a nominal interpretation of Varuna’s astrological meanings. Among those meanings might plausibly be the incomprehensibly large and the unimaginably old. Given that Varuna has not been in Leo since the 18th century, such a correlation is consistent with observed reality.

Another thing to consider is that Varuna was discovered while the Sun was in Sagittarius (on Nov. 28, 2000). Just as with any person born with the Sun in Sagittarius you can now say that Varuna is soon to experience a birthday (or, as astrologers put it: a “solar return”).

Add to that the fact that Varuna has at long last returned to the single sign ruled by the Sun (Leo), astrology’s emblem of consciousness awareness. Finally, include the fire trine aspect Varuna is about to receive from the Sun upon its own return to Sagittarius, and you might get a clearer sense of inner (and possibly, outer) environment accessible to you come Monday.

At the very least, it would appear that the beginning of solar Sagittarius this year would seem to represent some universal, ancient and enduring realities flowing into your ‘here and now’. Foremost among those verities might well be the importance of integrity and the inevitability of cyclical change. At least as likely is the possibility you might soon be more able than usual to make some discoveries regarding your place in history and your personal connection with the very grand and the very old.

The most important factor come Monday will be you. As a rule, astrology does not happen to you — you make it happen, or not. If you begin with a conscious awareness that the Sun will be making a once-in-several-lifetimes aspect upon entering Sagittarius this year, you will have taken a valuable first step. If you combine that awareness with a will to do some personal and practical research into the immense and ancient, there is no telling how far you will be able to go.

Offered In Service

Eric has begun the early pre-order phase of the 2017 annual edition. You can read his full letter about it here. Or, go straight to the purchase page. (If you’re a Core Community or Backstage Pass member, please email us at cs@planetwaves.net for your discounted price.)

By Amanda Painter

How are you doing? It’s been quite a week, and I’ve been hearing from friends and colleagues who are in various forms and stages of grieving, activating, creating, planning, worrying, escaping and engaging in deep self-care.

Monday’s Taurus Full Moon rising over the islands of Casco Bay off Portland, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

The Sun is moving through its last few days of Scorpio; it will enter Sagittarius on Monday. Between now and then, the astrology appears to be indicating a few forms of action and awareness.

For example, today the dwarf planet Ceres retrogrades into a conjunction with Eris (with Uranus nearby). Eris has been in a long conjunction with Uranus this year, an aspect that illustrates the upsets, bizarre developments and general chaos we’ve seen around us — particularly in the political realm.

If you have not shut down your Facebook and Twitter accounts and tossed your TV to try and escape, see if you can spot any trends in the news around the theme of revisiting what we thought would feed us, but did not. And be on the lookout for anyone resembling a modern-day goddess or mother figure willing to enter the chaos to try and put it right. (This is not to say you should wait for a goddess to save things; you simply might see the astrology manifesting in such a figure. Looking for and cultivating your own inner Ceres is where the real work lies.)

On a more internal and psychological level, if you’re feeling at all like last week’s election dismisses, demeans or discounts any part of your identity (especially any facet of your feminine side), consider seeking out ways to nourish that part of yourself. Given that the conjunction is in Aries, some form of action or expression of desire and motivation could be very empowering.

Continue reading →

Early yesterday we had a Full Moon in Taurus, opposing the Scorpio Sun. Sometime later yesterday, or very early this morning (depending on your time zone) the Moon moved on to Gemini where it will spend about two days. There is no one interpretation for a Gemini Moon, but there is a generality that often applies.

According to the late, great astrologer Rachelle (“Rockie”) Gardiner, when the Moon is in Gemini it’s generally an appropriate time to “talk about it.” Gardiner’s interpretation makes sense when you consider the nature of both the Moon and Gemini.

For astrologers, the Moon is a rich and complex subject. Even so, it would be generally correct to say that the Moon has to do with subjective (rather than objective) matters. That would include your emotions, how you are feeling and unconscious forms of awareness.

Gemini is a mutable air sign ruled by Mercury, and identified by a binary motif — sometimes twins, other times a glyph that looks like the Roman numeral two. For astrologers the quality of mutability is amenable to change. Air, for its part, is generally considered by astrologers to be an abstract medium. Finally, while Mercury is every bit as rich and complex as the Moon, you would not be far off to generalize it as having to do with manifestations of mind.

Hence, having the Moon in Gemini is a good time to “air things out” by abstracting what’s subjective into words. Ideally, the communication in question would be a genuine conversation rather than a one-sided vent. It would also help if everybody involved is able to keep everything in context and be willing to change their mind.

Part of the lunar context now is that the Sun (which generally corresponds to conscious awareness) initiated its last seven days in Scorpio at about the same time the Moon entered Gemini. For those who keep track of the Sun’s annual circuit of the zodiac, the final days in any given sign often have a certain intensity.

The specific nature of that intensity also depends on a larger context of which you are a part. For some, it’s an invigorating period, for others it’s a time of fatigue. That’s something to remember as you (hopefully) participate in airing things out today and tomorrow.

Finally, it would be a good idea to take into account what Mercury is doing, since the Moon is now under its influence in Gemini. Mercury has been moving through Sagittarius since Saturday, and will not complete its tenure there until next month. Additionally, in a complex and rich contextual scenario involving a handful of corresponding aspects, Mercury is and will be reiterating the waning Gemini Moon’s message through the entire week.

So that’s your picture. It’s not a simple image, but there is a relatively straightforward way to understand your place in the astrological order. In general, your experiences this week will reliably be about outer manifestations of what’s going on inside. Remember that one thing, and you have all you need to understand and be understood.

Offered In Service

Eric has begun the early pre-order phase of the 2017 annual edition. You can read his full letter about it here. Or, go straight to the purchase page. (If you’re a Core Community or Backstage Pass member, please email us at cs@planetwaves.net for your discounted price.)