By Rob Moore

I recognize the essence of all sorts of creatures within my day-to-day dealings. Canines are all over the place. They love to literally sniff other beasts but are also adept at sniffing out what’s hidden from view. Lots of felines are around, too. They tend to act nonchalant and disinterested, all the while plotting their surprise moves.

“In the Thick” by Rob Moore.

Also very prevalent are the meerkats. They love nothing more than to rise up and look and look and look some more, at most conversing amongst themselves about what they’ve just spotted.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the rhinos. Watch the rhinos. They stand there, seeming to only take up space. Until they whip around one day and show you how much force they’re capable of wielding.

I suppose I should explain what all these animal analogies are about. My interactions lately have felt a lot like life in the wild. Among other things, it has seemed like a primal fight for dominance is constantly up ahead just waiting to be provoked. This has had me sticking very close to meditation and doing what I can to get clear before heading into the thick of it. As a result, I have perceived that actually being more beast-like myself may be in order. Quite possibly for you, too.

As Eric discussed in detail on Planet Waves TV, this weekend’s New Moon and mutable grand cross speak to every one of us on some level. He also alludes to the possibility of ‘wtf?’ types of events that could leave us confused but which are best met with taking command of things rather than bending to dictated outcomes. Eric talks of using not only our “emotional intelligence” but also all our faculties. I think this is where our more primal natures can figure in, which I see as also falling under the current Mars in Scorpio umbrella.

I must tell you that I have not been enjoying the recent astrological climate. Any glimmer of gratification I have experienced is akin to the deep relief and rise in self-confidence that ‘The Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Milan must feel every time he goes head to head with a red-zone dog, successfully transforming the circumstances. Definitely not something I want to go through every week, and I doubt Cesar does, either.

For the record, Cesar Milan has been one of my greatest inspirations. Although I don’t get to see his show much anymore because The National Geographic Channel isn’t available in the middle of Hollywood for some reason (I mean, seriously??), I recognized in him many years ago someone here to uplift consciousness.

What I so love about Cesar is that he has found — or has been gifted with — the perfect means to teach humankind a new way of relating. Although communicating with dogs has always been his banner activity, in the process he has taught even those of us without dogs the energetic essence of our everyday communication beyond words. Be that with animals or fellow humans.

To that point, the standout behaviors I’ve encountered lately have at their center rather primal energetic messages. These behaviors are, 1) disgruntlement seeking an outlet and, 2) physical cues signifying sexual desire despite words or counteractions that spell out something else entirely.

Considering the latter, this is the very reason sex clubs have always offered the more fulfilling experiences for me than other avenues. With no manipulative pick-up lines involved — or lines meant to be read between — what we’re all experiencing there is about as straightforward as it gets. And indeed our more animalistic instincts come forth more freely.

If I have a life mantra it is, “Balance in all things.” In this light, what the more ‘down-and-dirty’ scenes such as sex clubs and sex gatherings generally lack is deeply gratifying emotional interaction. It exists there. I have experienced it more than I ever thought I would in these environments. It tends to be fleeting and quite random, though. Building an emotionally supportive situation requires a different set of factors.

So creating a space for increased emotional connection is where my focus has been of late. And I think — particularly with Mars back in Scorpio — I have perhaps taken this more ‘civil’ bond building as far as it needs to go for a while. For this reason, my higher guidance can most likely see I need to ‘balance the beast’, so to speak.

If this likewise rings true for you in any way, that would totally make sense to me. As mentioned, I’ve encountered a lot of primal energy out there lately, much of it lost for a way to express itself. Finding a completely safe and sane way to release such instincts might do a lot of us a lot of good.

Despite the presence of three sign-ruling planets in earth signs, the current astrology is overwhelmingly emphasizing the water, fire and air signs. I believe this may be a dynamic that looks to us to provide the missing link to address any imbalances. In my estimation, this means getting down and being one with some real earthiness.

Literal earth activities like gardening, digging, hiking or climbing may well serve as gratifying outlets. And, of course, sex. While we’re at it, might I suggest trying something ever so slightly more beastly than usual?

Regardless of what the astrology is doing, something I’ve noticed that affects interactions of all types is the imposing of perfumes and colognes into an environment. Co-workers subjected to a strong fragrance wafting through the room — or right beside them — can create underlying friction. In addition to being unable to do anything about the smell, what creates the most tension is the fact that talking to someone about what they smell like is one of the last big taboos. Whether it’s cologne or lack of bathing, it’s a conversation most people are not willing to have. Therefore, they just sit on the pent-up feelings until the day they go completely off about something seemingly unrelated.

Bring this perfume/cologne dynamic into an intimate situation and the friction is heightened. What may seem like ‘just not having chemistry’ may well be someone trying to get the fuck away from smelling — and tasting — after-bath splash all up in everything. I know I’ve been there… trying to hurry it up and get the hell out.

So maybe ‘slightly more beastly’ could mean sex with no outside fragrances. I’m all for starting off shower-fresh, mind you. But the pheromones we each naturally emanate are something naturally attractive to those with whom we share genuine chemistry. Personally, I don’t want anything messing up such a primal and exciting process. If it’s a new idea for you, this could be a great time to give it a whirl.

If my recent interactions are indicative of any kind of collective vibe — even if sex and intimacy are the last things on anyone’s mind — animal-like reflexes seem to be afoot. I’ve been caught off-guard more than once this week by reactions way bigger than the issue at hand.

A ‘wtf?’ conundrum that tangled me up the other day had me stopping cold, unsure how to proceed, yet feeling very strongly that it was important to stand my ground. Let’s just say it was about one person’s religious insistence in stark contrast with the other’s contradictory firsthand life experiences. It became rapidly clear within all this metaphorical horn-locking and eye-gouging that only a non-verbal approach beyond the level of brain calculations could ever hope to restore any kind of peace.

After much consideration about the underlying animal nature of the person involved, I’ve concluded she has the life essence of some exotic bird. One minute she’s playful and intriguing and the next she’s squawking and pecking at your face.

Truly, the facts of the situation that arose between us are virtually irrelevant. It was all about perception and fixation, which resulted in fear and confusion. As if trying to communicate with a flighty bird, here’s how it went down:

– The bird’s tail knocked over a glass of water.

– I instinctively dove down to get it.

– This startled the bird, which instinctively dove at me and started flapping its wings wildly.

– My instinctive ducking to avoid a pecking and the shadow of the bird’s wings startled the bird to an even greater degree.

– The bird drew back and gave me one good hammer on the skull before flying off to its hiding place in the attic.

The irrational nature of the display left me stunned for hours. Slowly, it became clear that to address all this effectively would require taking this to a higher level than the altercation itself.

And so I did not go chasing after the bird. Nor did I sit around waiting for it to fly down from its perch. Once I gathered my wits, I literally stood on my own two feet and offered this convoluted ball of entanglement to a higher level of consciousness. Not just ‘my guidance’, either — the highest possible guidance. There was just way too much going on that surpassed anything I could ever call ‘understanding’. In turn, I could feel the power shifting from what was utterly ridiculous to what was supremely sublime.

Knowing that the argument was unwinnable — by either of us — I abandoned that idea entirely. I did not know how this would resolve, I just trusted in whatever greater wisdom encompasses us both. As it turned out, upon next meeting, the issue had clearly been dropped. Only an unspoken agreement to let each other honor our own calling hummed between us.

So in the event of any beastly displays, I’m all for taking a page from the Cesar Milan playbook. He wouldn’t try to argue with an animal or explain his point of view. No, no. He would merely ground himself in his personal power energetically, rather than getting pulled into a power struggle. Doing so free from force or ill will, he’s able to stay present and meet the animal on a level it can relate to.

In a big way grounding ourselves in our energy is our most primal way of relating. So whether we’re dealing with surreal exchanges or magnetic attractions, I recommend meeting any beasts on the same level. Peacefully, of course. Energetically, of course. In all our dealings, there’s a whole lot going on beyond words.

Curious about what the epic Uranus-Eris conjunction means for you? Intrigued by the dance of Neptune and Chiron in Pisces? In our exciting new class with Eric Francis, The Astrology of Now, your questions will receive thoughtful and insightful answers — and you’ll have lots of fun in the process. You may sign up here.

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

Hillary Clinton thinks she’s found the pin to pop Trump’s bubble of approval. Up to this point, no amount of reason has swayed his dedicated supporters, who are more enamored of his politically incorrect candor and authoritarian posturing than worried about the consequence of his leadership. Clinton, considering herself the presumptive, will go after his questionable business ethics.

We’ve seen how eagerly the disenchanted line up to buy what he’s selling, which is essentially the Trump brand. But everyone’s been burned a time or two.

Been promised one thing and received another, had their hopes dashed or their piggy bank emptied at the hands of a con artist.  Isn’t that one of the things the Trumpeteers are angry about? Failure to deliver as advertised?

This kind of Twitter may not find a perch in the camp of Trump’s faithful, but any undecided voters may think again. The discovery that money supposedly raised for veterans was never delivered has soured the military to Donald’s cause, and the fraud perpetrated on those who eagerly signed up for Trump University is still being litigated in the courts, although Donald’s swears by its legitimacy. Given the controversy, it won’t be a shock to learn that campaign contributions may have influenced the attorneys general of Texas and Florida to drop their litigation of the faux university.

Donald is a master at selling his name to the highest bidder, stepping away from the specifics of the deal, and if required, litigating his portion of responsibility. The man running for this nation’s highest office has upwards of 3,500 lawsuits under his belt, 169 of them federal.  The implications of this record, which he considers a bragging point, are that his cut-throat business tactics are less than ethical.

The Republican presumptive has a similarly simplistic approach to leadership. He proposes to keep us safe as he turns the desert under ISIS to glass. Things will fall in line due to the sheer force of his personality. He will come out on top of so many trade deals our vanished jobs will return to make America great again — and white again, let’s not forget white. That’s built in to ‘the strict father’ pecking order, a behavior model essential to conservative philosophy.

In essence, Donald J. Trump is the perfect autocratic candidate, stepping in to save those who think America has already failed its most important demographic — themselves — but his talent stops there. He’s made a career of assuming power while dodging responsibility. He’s riding high at the moment, with crowds cheering him, an audience for his tantrums and musings, but should he actually win the presidency the fun stops immediately.

Should Trump lose this election, his ego would require him to find a way to diminish his loss, shrug and move on, unaware that he was revealed, world-wide, to be a cretinous blowhard. Yet should he win this contest, he’ll be hampered on all sides by a political machine that’s frustrated bigger men than Donald.

Trump would find federal employees harder to manage than his own “yes men.” His lack of respect for the separation of powers would put him at odds on all sides of the political spectrum, and while an elected official is not required to give up business holdings, his vast financial empire would face a level of scrutiny not just unwelcome but unimaginable to someone whose profit-margin demands he work on the shady side.

He’d find his ability to bully and batter those who oppose him hampered by expectations of civility that won’t easily fade. He’d no longer have the ability to buy his way out of everything or promote his sleazy version of glitz and glamor, stripping the office of the dignity Barack Obama has returned to it. He’d lose the freedom to feed his voracious desires without world disapproval, and discover that he’s unable to litigate himself out of the messes he makes.

Oh yes, he’d make them, it’s in his nature. He has no understanding of the political process, he can’t take criticism, and he would be subjected to howls of indignation over his uninformed  — read that unintelligible — world view, not to mention his repugnant character. In short, the man who fancies he has the Midas touch and admiration of the public would find himself hamstrung in a trap of his own making. But if he wins, he won’t be the biggest loser — that would be everyone else on the planet.

At the moment of this mutable Grand Cross, I find it more than a little intriguing that Saturn shows up as the steadying energy — perhaps representative of the mythical father — staring across the breech at imaginative and/or deceptive Neptune. Both are square Jupiter as the expansive factor, optimistic and confident, sparked off by a darkened Gemini New Moon, hand in hand with Venus, our mythical mother.

As we face our fears of the future, the universe provided us a boon, a possible breakthrough. We can recapture our clouded values and find clarity, depending on how much heart we can bring to this contentious mix of energies, which is ready — if we are —  to reveal us to our selves. One way or another, with our future on the line, the seeds we plant now demand our careful consideration and highest aspiration.

One of the things that makes 2016 special are two Full Moons in Sagittarius. The first such opposition of the luminaries (Sun and Moon) took place on May 21. The Sun was less than 31 hours into Gemini at the time, and the Moon less than three hours into Sagittarius on the other side of the sky and the zodiac.

The second Sagittarius Full Moon of 2016 will take place on June 20. The luminaries will oppose from the very last degree of the same two signs they occupied back on May 21. The Sun will still be in Gemini. The Moon will have returned to Sagittarius after moving all the way around the zodiac and then some.

Less than 12 hours after the Sagittarius Full Moon of June 20, the Sun will move from Gemini to Cancer, marking a solstice and initiating a new season. As you have no doubt already seen, the period between the two Sagittarius Full Moons of 2016 is shaping up to be a rather distinctive time.

So far, that distinction goes beyond this period simply being the last four weeks of our current season. The time that has elapsed since the Full Moon of May 21 has been chock-full of events you just don’t see every day.

That particular distinction applies to the astrology, for sure. Since the New Moon at the midpoint of Gemini this weekend also represents the midpoint between Sagittarius Full Moons, it would implicitly be a good time to count the ways.

You don’t see Mercury station direct every day. That happened on May 22 for the second of three times this year. You don’t see Venus enter Gemini every day, either. That will happen only about once a year, and took place on May 24. An exterior (or ‘superior’) conjunction from the Sun to Venus is also a more-or-less annual event; that will also take place this weekend, as Venus moves to be exactly on the other side of the Sun in relation to Earth.

On May 24 (or May 25, depending on where you live), Venus opposed Mars for the first time in about two years. On May 27, Mars changed signs in retrograde motion for the first time since the last day of 2007; at that time, it retreated from Cancer and back into Gemini. Additionally, you would have to go back to May of 1937 for the prior occasion when retrograde Mars returned to Scorpio from Sagittarius, such as was the case one week ago today.

What’s more, the last time Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune were in anything near the mutable T-square they are now exhibiting was 1936. That’s when Neptune was in Virgo (instead of Pisces, where it is now), Saturn was in Pisces (instead of Sagittarius, as it is now) and Jupiter was in Sagittarius (instead of Virgo, where it is now). 

Last, but certainly not least, the immediately previous occurrence of Uranus and Eris occupying the same degree of the same sign (to form a conjunction) was in 1928.

Yet, all of the seldom-seen astrological events just noted (and more) have already taken place, or will soon take place, in between the two Sagittarius Full Moons of 2016.

It is a similar situation with the world at large. Since the first Full Moon in Sagittarius last month, it has been one day of world news after another distinguished by what one does not often, if ever, see. If you think on it, there have probably also been some exceptional events in your life since May 21. You are implicitly being given a means to orient yourself as regards to both the sky above and the world below.

All you need to do is think back to May 21 or so and isolate at least one person, place or situation that represents something out of the ordinary for your life thus far. Think ‘horse of a different color’ but don’t confine yourself to horses or colors. Then again, it could be you who represents such an exceptional personage for somebody else. Or you might have been thrust into an unfamiliar role, or seen the same thing happen to somebody you know.

Whatever has taken (or will take) you from routine to revelation, don’t dismiss it. Rather, seize on your own seldom-seen experiences, the more personal the better. Examine them. In what you do not see every day will be something of a connection for you. It will be where your life is interfacing with the astrology and the world at this time.

Once you do figure out what it is in your own personal, everyday experience that has impressed you as not everyday at all, reflect on how you did (or will do) with it. Remember how you account (or will account) for it. Note how you have explained (or will explain) it.

It is not only in what has recently happened (or will soon happen) to you that you will find important information. Indeed, the most vital thing for you to observe and work with right now would be what you do with what you don’t see every day. Above all, don’t be discouraged if your first response to the rarely seen does not represent you at your best. For it is implicitly those who learn the most (not those who do the best) during this period between Sagittarius Full Moons who will enter the next season with the most valuable and useful keys to the future.

Offered In Service

Curious about what the epic Uranus-Eris conjunction means for you? Intrigued by the dance of Neptune and Chiron in Pisces? In our exciting new class with Eric Francis, The Astrology of Now, your questions will receive thoughtful and insightful answers — and you’ll have lots of fun in the process. You may sign up here.

By Amanda Painter

Saturday we have a New Moon — a conjunction of the Sun and Moon, this time in Gemini, just before 11:00 pm EDT (02:59 UTC Sunday). It occurs against the backdrop of a larger, slower-moving aspect pattern that might have you feeling like you’re at some kind of crossroads lately.

View from the Manhattan Bridge; photo by Amanda Painter.

For some people, crossroads can be exciting. All those options and possibilities! You might be someone who relishes the chance to take charge and make decisions, and to move what was just potential into some new, tangible reality.

On the other hand, you might be someone for whom crossroads are pure torture. For whatever reason, something in your early upbringing or inherent personality makes it very hard to make a decision, to commit and trust that you’ve made the ‘right’ choice.

Wherever you locate yourself on that spectrum, this New Moon represents an opportunity to see (and feel) a new side to an issue or situation, and then approach it differently from how you have been.

The major aspect pattern that the New Moon is part of is a grand cross in the mutable signs. Three of the players in this pattern — Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces — have been moving into position for a while now (making a T-square). When the Sun and Moon join Venus in mid-Gemini for the New Moon, they fill in the fourth side to make the grand cross (also called a grand square).

In this week’s Planet Waves FM, Eric describes Jupiter square Saturn as being like the hands of god on a potters wheel: one hand is pushing out from the inside, while the other hand is reinforcing the clay (the limit or structure) from the outside.

Eric also describes Neptune added to the equation, especially Saturn square Neptune, as being a process of synthesis — as in, “Make your own [whatever].” (The example he gives is of making your own salad dressing: creating something new out of disparate elements in your own unique way.)

All of that square energy can feel like a lot of internal pressure to make a decision and do something already; to re-create your life in some way, even if you’re not sure how. Not everyone is going to enjoy that sensation, though some people will certainly get off on it.

If you have a disciplined mind, you’ll likely appreciate seeing your various options and occupying the space between them. However, if you’ve been noticing a sensation of crisis related to a need to make a decision or accomplish something, and you tend to get caught up in thought-loops, you might find this astrology a little uncomfortable.

Like all planetary aspects, this too shall pass. Does that thought bring a sense of relief or of added pressure?

It’s easy for people to say to someone who’s feeling indecisive, “Well, what do you really want?” If you’re someone whose sense of trust in their desires was compromised as a child, however, that question only compounds the angst. Sometimes answering that question is simply a matter of sequencing and scheduling — just figuring out an order in which to tackle things.

If you still feel stuck, it might be time to let the mind retreat to the background and check out how you feel to get to what you want. Feelings are the realm of the water signs. We have significant planets in Pisces, but Pisces is part of that mutable grand cross.

So what if we look to retrograde Mars in Scorpio for some help? Mars has been pointing us inward since mid-April. We already know that the desire/want facet of Mars can be tricky, so let’s lean on the ‘feeling’ quality of Scorpio. It might look something like this:

How do I feel? I feel angry because I am too cold with the window open.

What can I do about it? I can close the window or put on a sweater. I can complain about it and hope that somebody else does something about it for me.

What do I want to do about it? I want to close the window.

True, the passive choice is still a choice. But does it make you feel better faster? And does it make you feel better about yourself in the long run?

There’s something to be said for choices that empower you and give you authority over your life, although they often do not look attractive or ‘easy’ at first. That goes for any kind of feeling, desire or decision you meet with this New Moon. If it helps, start with how you feel. Notice your options, evaluate them, and see where that points you.

Curious about what the epic Uranus-Eris conjunction means for you? Intrigued by the dance of Neptune and Chiron in Pisces? In our exciting new class with Eric Francis, The Astrology of Now, your questions will receive thoughtful and insightful answers — and you’ll have lots of fun in the process. You may sign up here.

By Amanda Moreno

I’m fresh off of four days at the Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC), feeling grateful, inspired, mindblown, soul fed and somewhat delirious thanks to late nights full of chatter and dancing and quite a hearty dose of overstimulation.

Photo by graywacke/A Landing a Day

It’s hard not to give in to the overstimulation part. NORWAC is quite the tribal affair, and the sense of community is pretty incredible, even for people like myself who can be quite shy and often awkward.

I’m fully aware that I tend to do better with one-on-one situations, but the temptation to vibe along with everyone into the late hours after long days of lectures and workshops can be compelling. In particular, I am fond of astrologer dance parties. There is something so enchanting to me about dance parties with people who are typically quite comfortable in their difference — they’re not afraid to move however they want to. It’s the perfect synthesis for my Aquarian and Leo parts.

Both the NORWAC community and the astrological community as a whole — be that astrologers or those who are just into astrology — are striking examples of what Richard Tarnas referred to as a heroic community in his keynote lecture (at least my experience of it is). I wholeheartedly agree that what the world needs now are heroic communities: groups of individuals who are connected to a higher vision of the true and the good that fundamentally challenges the framework of mainstream society.

In a world in which the linear-consciousness-oriented self (‘solar’ self) has developed in a way that has annihilated any sense of connection in the universe, we’ve paid a price in the form of disenchantment and extremes of objectification; in turn, that has led to the epic botching up of our biosphere and unprecedented damage to the Earth’s ecological system. As Mr. Tarnas said, we have never before pursued an experiment in which an entire culture can go for centuries as if nothing is sacred — everything can be exploited.

I suppose the current mutable grand cross, and the longer-term Saturn-Neptune square, could facilitate the transformation of consciousness that is necessary to correct our hyper-association with the linear mind. Lynn Bell treated the conference to two mutable-cross-centered lectures, both of which emphasized the necessity of wandering and the strengths and challenges of the mutable cross.

One of the many revelatory ah-ha moments I had during the conference came when Ms. Bell pointed out that throughout Saturn/Neptune transits, the little “never could happens” and “that just sounds impossibles” tend to come into form, for better or worse.

For me, this insight hit heavier on the negative side. I’ve noticed the feeling of surreality amping up, particularly as I recognize that Donald Trump has somehow become a candidate for the presidency. I keep thinking it’s impossible for him to win, and yet…it’s as if there are no longer any impossibilities. What a fertile field that recognition creates; further motivation to be very aware of the collective capacity to manifest fear-based dreams into reality.

The level of academic rigor that comes through at this conference is pretty astounding, as is a more recent opening to diversity — of people, cultures, astrological schools, sexuality and ways of knowing. As I attempt to process and synthesize everything that happened, I’m reminded of one of the major points of Alan Oken’s opening keynote lecture: that the evolution of the soul and energetic alignment take place through the process of synthesis.

This idea runs counter to my own belief, at least at the surface, which is that evolution occurs through the emotional body. But I love coming across ideas that make me question and contemplate and shift. Which is, perhaps, one of the thrusts of the mutable grand cross.

I think he was speaking more of the problem of polarization and the ‘sin’ of the illusion of separateness — and that part of what we have to attempt right now is to move from polarized individuality to synthesized individuation. It’s an idea that I write about here so often: that the most powerful thing we can do is to get in touch with our own soul’s calling and choose to actualize that, to evolve our patterns and our karma. And I suppose evolution might just be another one of those complicated processes. Go figure!

Other snippets I learned that might somehow speak to your heart or synthesizing mind include:

● Darkness is a quality of light; when we’re aligned with our soul we can move through that darkness without fear (and astrology is a great tool for those navigations)

● Astrology communicates energetic alignment into a structured system, therefore making it uniquely valuable to a culture trying to find its way back into meaning

● There are people looking at where privilege lives in the astrological community and in astrological processes, and the ways it communicates that privilege — and that I want to be part of that movement

● The myth of Hercules and the Nemean Lyon is an incredible allegory for Leo, and we all have narcissistic structures within us that deserve to be met with compassion, and which can be understood through the Cancer/Leo/Virgo progression and development of personality

● One of the things our civilization is coming to realize/remember is that the Sun has to set — when solar consciousness encompasses everything, blocking out the luminosity of the night, there is bound to be a fall

● The astrological community needs to enact both solar and lunar roles — serving as a nourishing community to itself while remaining aware of the shadow potentials of being cult-like, uncritical, uniform, dogmatic — and that it needs to be a matrix of individuation that builds bridges to outside communities; because we do, after all, have an understanding of a uniquely powerful tool that provides a cosmological container for personal and collective change

● Part of the magic of the Pisces/Virgo axis is that it reminds us that part of the purpose of the divine is to veil the truth so it can be discovered

● Dane Rudhyar viewed the nodal axes as parabolas of planetary motion that were more important than planetary placement, because it symbolizes planetary motion — where the planet came from and where it is going

● I’d love to learn about Esoteric Astrology but most people advise me not to

● Experiential understanding of my own chart is far more impactful than having someone tell me what something means — and there are a plethora of people in this community (myself included) who are engaging with experiential practices in astrology for ourselves and our clients

● Taking a tour through the zodiac with different, non Greco-Roman, non-male-centric myths is an obvious step for me, but absolutely groundbreaking for others

There was so much to learn. So much to be shared. But really, in light of the idea of nurturing heroic communities, which Planet Waves most certainly qualifies as in and of itself, what I want to leave you with is a slew of questions that came out of Lynn Bell’s lecture entitled “The Saturn Neptune Cycle: Honey and Ashes.”

These questions might be of use to you for this weekend’s Gemini New Moon. If you’re so inclined, or need some help simplifying, maybe you can make the questions more specific by focusing on the area of your chart the New Moon falls within. And all of these questions could be asked at the personal and collective levels:

What are you dreaming now?
What are you being asked to let go of now?
What is the dream you’re being asked to let go of?
What in your own life is no longer moving you forward that you always thought would see you through?
What dreams are you mourning?
What is being invited to emerge from within you?
What is the fuel for that emergence?

Feel free to post your responses or additional questions in the comments.

Curious about what the epic Uranus-Eris conjunction means for you? Intrigued by the dance of Neptune and Chiron in Pisces? In our exciting new class with Eric Francis, The Astrology of Now, your questions will receive thoughtful and insightful answers — and you’ll have lots of fun in the process. You may sign up here.

Many thanks for wishing me well over the U.S. holiday weekend. Ailments normally associated with winter should stay there. Having the Moon in Aries again today should be consistent with getting things underway again after a period of adjustment.

Besides a weekend flu bout for yours truly, a few significant astrological events are now history. On Friday, retrograde Mars left Sagittarius and returned to Scorpio. Along with Aries, Scorpio is ruled by Mars. Hence, you could say Mars has come home — albeit by the back door.

If you have clear weather on any night in the near future, it’s a good time to be viewing Mars. Look toward the South-Southeast well after dark for the steady and bright stoplight-red visage that only a relatively close Mars could be.

Even though Mars is at home in Scorpio, its return through the back door might have entailed your having to make some adjustments of your own over the last several days. You also may very well have had to adjust to some possibly tense situations during the Last Quarter Moon on Sunday.

Today, however, should give you a chance to both reflect on and shift your focus away from what occupied you over the weekend. Indications are that you should reflect because making further adjustments in your life could very well function to make the near future more comfortable. Even if accompanied by similar themes, however, the days to follow will almost certainly distinguish themselves from days immediately past. Knowing the probability of such distinctions in store should be more than enough incentive to keep your eyes on the road ahead.

As an example of similar but different, consider how the luminaries (Sun and Moon) will not be alone in their zodiac degree when they come together at 14+ Gemini this coming weekend (the Gemini New Moon).

Just as the Sagittarius Full Moon of May 21 was nestled next to retrograde Mars, the Gemini New Moon late on June 4 (or very early on June 5, depending on where you live) will take place in close collaboration with Venus.

While Venus will indeed be on the other side of the Sun at the time of the Gemini New Moon, its alignment with the Earth, Moon and Sun will constitute a nearly straight line (like a string threading pearls) through outer space. Applying the earthly perspective used by astrologers, then, Venus will thus be conjoined with the Sun and Moon as Saturday segues into Sunday.

This upcoming Gemini New Moon would therefore serve to complement, but not repeat, your experience of the immediately preceding Full Moon. That’s a piece of good news. It implies that means, motives and opportunities to bring harmony, balance and wholeness to life are likely to present themselves. The only way to assure that happens, however, is to make it happen yourself.

The many possible earthly manifestations of Venus and Mars (yin and yang, active and receptive, even male and female) tend to complete each other in the process of creating the continuum of a greater whole. Knowing that ahead of time, you can participate in harmony with the astrology by making some adjustments this week.

Those adjustments may ultimately complement who you were, where you were and what you were doing shortly after the Sun entered Gemini to oppose the Full Moon in the very first degree of Sagittarius ten days ago.

This does not mean you have to contradict yourself, or be anything that you are not. Venus and Mars as they express in your life are not opposites so much as reflections on and of each other. The same is true of the Sun and Moon.

That’s how this coming week, at least in part, represents a time when you might want to present another side of the whole that is you. Specifically, you might want to favor, if not feature, another side of yourself to complement (but not contradict) how you were presenting yourself to the world when the Full Moon accompanied Mars on May 21.

If you can do that, you will show that you can retain an awareness of the past without being stuck there. That’s always a fine skill to practice, but especially so this week. For in many ways, the astrology of weeks to come looks to represent a scenario of one practical step following another towards your becoming an ever more perfect union of your best tendencies, traits and talents. Even as good as it may be to be you, the cosmos is now implicitly supporting your making a few adjustments to become even better.

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