Tag Archives: astrology

The Day of Research: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Oct. 28
The Day of Research | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio available for pre-order | All Other Signs

Prepare to take the wheel and steer your life toward the true north of who you really are, more than you ever have before. Uranus opposing your Sun on your birthday signals that you’re ready to reclaim aspects of your core identity. Opportunities to expand in that direction might arise from challenges in your environment. Wake-up calls could come via relationships that demand a type of conformity no longer compatible with your evolutionary path. The question is: how much have you surrendered for the sake of security, or external expectations? Therapeutic guidance geared toward liberating repressed anger or fears can help you make the most of a pivotal year.
— by Victoria Emory

Do you ever feel like your Scorpio Sun, rising sign or Moon gets a bad rap from astrologers? Eric Francis understands the potential held in your depths — and can walk you through how the planet Uranus in your relationship zone might be stirring things up. Pre-order your 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio reading (offered now at its lowest price!) to move past the stereotypes, and meet your life at full strength.

Written in the Planets

Mercury stations retrograde this Thursday, Oct. 31 — which means we’re entering the ‘storm’ phase now. You’ll want to be as diligent as possible with all communication, and perhaps especially with anything related to security, finances, and any topics you consider particularly private.

Remember that nothing online ever really goes away completely — though you’d be hard pressed to find many people who live like they truly understand this. Be doubly certain you have the right email address or phone number before you send sensitive messages this week (and for the next month). As usual, back up your computer, and be ready to find workarounds for inconvenient glitches.

Although the Moon is making its way further into Scorpio after last night’s New Moon, the Sun is still opposite Uranus in Taurus. So a good deal of yesterday’s Written in the Planets will likely still apply, regarding surprises and secrets. Added to the mix is a square between Ceres in Sagittarius and Borasisi in Pisces. How are your beliefs about what counts as ‘spiritual’ stacking up against what’s genuinely been feeding your soul in recent months? If that question triggers some tension, what do you need to do to resolve it?
— by Amanda Painter

In 2020 we have not one but two conjunctions that mark the turn of a generation, and of an era in history. On Jan. 12, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn form their once per 33-year conjunction. Then on Dec. 21. 2020, Jupiter and Saturn, both now in Aquarius, form a conjunction in the first degree of that sign. Read more here…

The Day of Impulse: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Oct. 27
The Day of Impulse | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio available for pre-order | All Other Signs

A New Moon closely opposite Uranus is pretty much the astrological signature for a clean slate. If you’ve felt somewhat hemmed in or locked into a routine, this year will serve to remind you that you’re the one ultimately in control of your life. If you have major changes to make, the window of opportunity is imminent. Just be sure to tie up as many loose ends as you can. In particular, keep promises and atone generously for any errors. Then you’ll be ready when the moment comes.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Tonight’s New Moon in Scorpio has quite a chart. This conjunction of the Sun and Moon is exact at 11:38 pm EDT (3:38:20 UTC Monday), and exactly opposes Uranus in Taurus. Surprises, upsets and anything out of the ordinary could provoke secrets coming out. Yet it’s also possible that behaving in secrecy could itself be the provocative, challenging or upsetting thing. The signs involved are known for strong emotions, and for fixed points of view that sometimes resist the need to flex. And while New Moons are usually lower-energy events, Uranus packs a lot of electrical current. Also, Mercury stationing retrograde in less than a week could be amping up mental static and the potential for misunderstandings.

Questions this event seems to ask include: Where’s the line between simply seeking new experiences/stimulation and behaving recklessly? What’s the difference between ‘getting real’ or ‘going deep’ with someone, and over-sharing in ways that cause someone to feel blindsided? When do you leave the zone of being ‘private’ and protecting your vulnerability and stray into masking your truth to get power over someone?

Nobody shares all of their innermost thoughts, feelings, desires, fears, shadow material or processing all of the time. Yet you can also open up about secrets and ‘taboo’ topics in ways that don’t feel like an ambush. Oppositions are about negotiation; negotiation is about give and take, and finding a common meeting point. An invitation to join someone in the deep end of the pool might feel risky; but is it really just reminding you of some hidden restlessness, or of some part of yourself that you’ve been longing to express but have not dared to yet?

This New Moon chart also hints that intuitive wisdom and other ‘internal’ ways of knowing are key to navigating whatever comes your way today. Especially if you feel knocked off balance, see if you can stay in contact with whatever your immediate first instinct was. If your initial, intuitive response shocks you, that may be all the more reason to heed it. What does it tell you about what you truly want?
— by Amanda Painter

The Day of Organizational Cohesion: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Oct. 26
The Day of Organizational Cohesion | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio available for pre-order | All Other Signs

You may find yourself drawn to explore your inward consciousness; your dreams, your deeper feelings, your secrets. Keep a dream diary; notice if you experience unusual emotions during sleep, or particularly vivid imagery. At some point there will probably be a significant revelation, on the theme of your essential being, or a concept you hold dear. If you’re open to this potential and hold space for it without judging, you could transform your relationship to yourself.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Several planets making contact around the zodiac appear to be emphasizing relationships of various sorts. Some factors speak of getting quite particular about emotional needs. Those conversations will likely be very incisive, zeroing in on the most fundamental desires and triggers, and cutting through the fluff and bullshit. If you find yourself in a situation like that, you may need to bring in some lightness consciously — though not in the form of evasiveness. Think more in terms of reminders of the bigger picture, and of how amazing it is to keep learning about those closest to you and about yourself.

Other factors suggest a combination of intense passion, an ability to speak about deep or intimidating topics in a rational way, and maybe even holding space for an atypical sexual experience or unconventional relationship. Bear in mind that ‘holding space’ for somebody else’s process implies a lack of expectation of reciprocation; it’s a form of service, and service is a form of love — more in the ‘agape’ sense than in the romantic sense.

Yet with so much Scorpio (and Taurus) energy right now, the healing process that you’re bearing witness to could indeed be fairly saturated with emotion or erotic energy. That’s not a terrible thing, it just might be a lot to handle for some people, or could contribute to confusion about ‘intentions’. If feelings of possessiveness or jealousy are creeping in, that’s a signal that something other than ‘holding space’ is going on. You might need to check in (with yourself and/or with the other person) with direct, specific communication to get clear again.

With Mercury less than a week away from its station retrograde (on Oct. 31), you can’t be too careful when it comes to what and how you’re thinking, what you think you’re perceiving from others, and what everyone is and is not saying. Expect the unexpected all weekend, as we approach tomorrow’s Scorpio New Moon opposite Uranus. Note also that a square between Mars in Libra and Saturn in Capricorn describes feeling blocked and getting frustrated. Don’t let that — or fears that you’re not up to the task of overcoming an obstacle — get the better of you. Just proceed very deliberately, patiently and thoroughly — with everything.
— by Amanda Painter

The Day of Substantive Form: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Oct. 25
The Day of Substantive Form | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio available for pre-order | All Other Signs

New options and new concepts are available to you, and will make themselves known as the year progresses. The most important service you can offer yourself is to be open to receiving them. At first you may be in some doubt; using language like ‘should’ and ‘ought’ is a signal. If you catch yourself doing this, stop and reconsider. Make sure you’re not telling yourself a story about who you or loved ones think you ought to be; instead, start with what you really feel and want.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

The theme of the day appears to be ‘going deep’. Now, perhaps you were hoping to skate through your workday and make a beeline for happy hour and the weekend, but several factors — relating to activity in the sign Scorpio — suggest that getting beneath the surface of an issue or being willing to ‘go there’ in some other way will actually be more satisfying. That said, encounters might not take the shape you were expecting. How are your reactions to upsets, surprises and secrets based on the kind of environment and family patterns you grew up in?

Emotional connections with friends and lovers may deepen today, thanks to a Venus-Pluto aspect. Experiences in those realms are unlikely to be superficial. And anybody being evasive is likely to be met with persistent digging for the truth. Chances are taking an active role in this dynamic will yield the greatest results.

As mentioned yesterday in this space, a Ceres-Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius brings some good mojo for any situations where mentoring, adventurous learning, or ‘soul food’ in any form have been offered and received. Everybody teaches all of the time, as the wise saying goes. And Eris in a trine to Ceres and Jupiter looks like a reminder of just how valuable this kind of contact can be, especially in person, in this age when everything is so fast and fractured in digital media. Nourishing oneself and others can be as fun as it is essential to our flourishing.
— by Amanda Painter

The Day of Sensational Detail: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Oct. 24
The Day of Sensational Detail | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio available for pre-order | All Other Signs

You’re likely to be in especially close contact with your imaginative gifts this year. That could prove an excellent opportunity in particular for shifting certain beliefs or habits if they’ve become somewhat fixed. Most of us have something like this, onto which we might cling because it shields a part of our identity, or feels safe. Yet an open mind tends eventually to prove more liberating and helpful. A little experimentation should be enough to produce interesting results.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Have you learned anything in the last several months that relates to the ways you are able to nurture others — or be nourished in return — in an intellectual or spiritual role? What about the ways that expanding your horizons (whether through literal or metaphorical travel, or formal or informal education) can feed specific facets of your soul? These have seemed to be some of the themes of Ceres moving through Sagittarius since January of this year. The mentorship idea, in particular, may have had particular resonance in some way.

Ceres is now in a conjunction with Sagittarius-ruling Jupiter. This could signal a culmination of sorts regarding the Ceres-in-Sadge process, or some new level of expansion. As with all things Jupiter, it’s always worth being aware of taking things to an extravagant extreme — though it can be hard to judge such a thing when you’re in the midst of it. Possibly the more you’re moving in the direction of some kind of service and/or core priorities — or in support of more foundational growth — the more solid the results.

Just like eating junk food, there’s plenty in this world that counts more as entertainment and superficial distraction, no matter how it’s packaged as ‘spiritual’. Today’s Virgo Moon could assist you in making a more critical assessment of what you’re metaphorically consuming, as well as what you’re feeding to others’ spirits. In particular, the Moon’s face-off with Neptune might get slippery, but could also offer some valuable contrast between the fantasy version and the nuts-and-bolts details of a situation.
— by Amanda Painter

Secrets and Surprises

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By Amanda Painter

In one week, on Oct. 31, Mercury stations retrograde in Scorpio. On the way there, this Saturday, the Sun and Moon make a conjunction — the Scorpio New Moon — which is opposite Uranus. One translation of all this: the next seven-plus days may well be characterized by secrets and surprises. The question is: what determines whether such things feel like tricks or treats?

Illuminated offering at the 2016 Sacred and Profane Festival, Peaks Island, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

The short answer is, “you.”

More specifically, it’s things like your perspective, attitude, agility in responding to new information, and emotional attachments (whether to people, to certain ways of doing and thinking about things, to the familiar, to what you think you know about yourself and others) that will contribute to whether life feels like an enticing mystery that you’re unraveling, or a haunted hayride you didn’t want to go on in the first place.

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The Day of Conflicting Karma: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Oct. 23
The Day of Conflicting Karma | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio available for pre-order | All Other Signs

Whatever your aims in life, one thing that really helps is to surround yourself with people who not only support you, but also help you grow. You get to choose your friends, and likewise to choose where you give your time and energy. Just now, you need your social milieu to be a bullshit-free zone, as far as possible. Ideally, the company you keep will also challenge and stimulate you on a frequent basis. This will help you get your brain thinking, and give you an ongoing sense of being awake.

Written in the Planets

Scorpio season begins today, with the Sun’s ingress at 1:20 pm EDT (17:19:36 UTC). We’re entering that time of year when the realms of the living and of those who have passed on are said to be in closer contact — though I’ve heard a report from one especially sensitive, witchy friend that the effect may have started early this year. (Possibly in relation to Mercury slowing down in Scorpio prior to its Oct. 31 station retrograde?) Often there’s a deepening of mood that occurs during solar Scorpio; a willingness to consider topics that normally are unnerving, intimidating or outright taboo — sexuality and mortality topping the list.

The most immediate aspects the Sun makes from Scorpio are a reprisal of its sextile to Pholus (see yesterday’s post), though with a shift in tone and themes; and an opposition to Uranus in Taurus. Sun-Uranus won’t be exact for almost a week. But knowing Uranus and its high-voltage ways — combined with the fixity of Taurus and Scorpio — starting now you’ll want to be ready for anything. Which really means: be ready to practice how flexible and fluid you can be. Remember that Scorpio is also the sign of transformation, via flushing out what has stagnated and grown toxic.

Mercury’s opposition to Vesta in Taurus today suggests a conversation in which you physically and emotionally hold space for someone else’s process. You might also find yourself on the receiving end of this kind of service. The asteroid Pallas is involved, offering some insurance that the encounter can be detached in healthy ways. In other words, there appears to be less chance of jealousy, possessiveness or other codependent habits interfering with the potential for healing. Consciously invoking this as a priority should also help.
— by Amanda Painter

The Day of Allure: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Oct. 22
The Day of Allure | 2019-20 Scorpio Astrology Studio now available for pre-order | Order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Self-actualization is not merely doing something meaningful or useful. It’s about following your calling, which is likely in some way to be different from the expectations formed on you, both as you grew up and today. People do this a lot, and have a hard time letting go; but that’s not your problem. As an adult, you can decide your own path. This sometimes requires unlearning early programming, though if you look within yourself for long enough, you can feel the pull of your soul.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have your Sun, Moon or rising sign in Libra? If so, Eric has much to say about stabilizing your relationships in the chaos of the internet, getting some traction in your career, and most of all, how to frame your own reality. in the 2019-2020 Libra Astrology Studio, now available for instant access. Check out the video preview for the reading here.

Written in the Planets

For most of the day, both the Sun and the centaur planet Pholus will be in the last degree of their respective signs: Libra for the Sun (the Sun enters Scorpio tomorrow), and Sagittarius for Pholus. Not only does this describe a potential sense of edginess (like wanting to get on with something but the timing not quite being right), it means these two objects have a direct relationship. One way to look at it is that anything you do or express today that relates to your relationships, seeking balance in something, or taking creative initiative could ripple out further than anticipated.

This can be very useful, particularly with creative endeavors. Not all art (whether deeply personal or overtly political) needs to be grand in scale or loud to have profound impact. Sometimes it’s simply about making contact with the right audience at the right time, or connecting with collaborators with whom more emerges than the sum of your individual talents. The point is to take the step toward a goal, no matter how small, to tap into today’s potential.

Remember that when seeking a new equilibrium in a relationship (or with almost anything, really), swinging to an opposite extreme rarely gets the desired result; it simply catalyzes a counter-swing. A little give and take might actually open up the space you’re looking for: that place in the middle where minor adjustments are able to blossom down the road into a wholly new vision. At 5:49 pm EDT Pholus enters Capricorn (again), uncorking issues relating to things like business, government, structure, foundations, limits and leadership. If anything in those realms lights up or takes off for you tonight and in the coming days, take note.
— by Amanda Painter