Tag Archives: full moon

The Day of Curiosity: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is March 23
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Get ready to dive deep into the mystery of you, to find information that will point you toward your next phase of personal growth and possibly thorough healing. Note that you will make all the more progress if you can meet any fear or self-judgment with some detachment, which will help keep them from interfering with your ideas and understanding. Approach every new fact with an open mind, and a willingness to learn more, and you’ll probably free up a lot of power within you.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

As we head into the final week of Mercury’s current retrograde in Pisces, a couple of aspect patterns are calling for your awareness. The more pressurized one is a square between the Sun, Chiron and Salacia in Aries on one side, and Pholus and Quaoar in Capricorn on the other (exact today and Sunday). There’s a lot of energy here looking for a way out into the world, and that happens through action. Some of it may have been tapped and released by Wednesday’s Full Moon, but it appears there’s still more to go. It’s asking a question: who are you (including sexually) in relation to your family’s behavioral patterns?

Consider for a moment that the identity you came into the world with has been molded and re-directed by your family as you grew up. What might happen if you took steps to reassert who you feel yourself to be at your core? It’s easy to assume that we’ll encounter strict limits to our self-expression if we do. Yet, has it occurred to you that the expectations and seemingly set reactions of family might not be so iron-clad as you thought? Or, at least, that you’re capable of standing in your center regardless? Pholus here is both a reminder of how little it can take to ‘keep us in our place’ and an indication of how little we may need to do to shift family dynamics toward a place where we can stand out for who we are in a more integrated way.

Meanwhile, retrograde Mercury’s two-week conjunction to Neptune is exact tomorrow. Keep tracking your intuition and other subtle senses, but also be sure to check facts. Notice carefully all facets of your environment — the external surroundings, the moods of others (both expressed and unexpressed), and your inner emotional/mental landscape. A disturbance or distraction in one is likely to affect the others. Even though Mercury retrograde in Pisces might not feel as scattered or harsh as some others, the presence of Neptune is a red flag to keep your mind as clear as possible this weekend (and for the next week-plus), and to be extra-careful with things like purchases, commitments and what you may be projecting onto others.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Clarity: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 21
The Day of Clarity | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Remember that integrity is your best friend. You seem to have a good deal of energy focused on you, and may draw various people toward you in the near future. Make sure the relationships you form, of any sort, are healthy and constructive for you and for everyone else involved. That starts with surrounding yourself with honest, compassionate people, who are likely to bring forward your best and brightest qualities.
— By Amy Elliott

Written for the Planets

We’re officially in a new season, and last night’s Libra Full Moon is starting to dissipate. Yet with such a potent setup to start the Sun’s time in Aries, chances are you’re still feeling the reverberations. Continue to give yourself a little delay before replying to any recent communications that might have raised your dander and defenses the last couple days. We’re in “small cause, big effect” territory through the weekend, thanks to the fiery Aries Sun’s impending square to the centaur Pholus in Capricorn. On top of that, Mercury is still very much retrograde in Pisces, and very much conjunct Neptune — indicating potentially imprecise thinking, possible emotional reactivity in communication, and an inability to see clearly the truth of a situation (including the emotional truth).

On top of that, today’s square between Venus in Aquarius and Mars in Taurus could be kicking up some inner tension. That might simply play out as a spike in arousal, including toward someone new. But it could also indicate discord in relationships where there’s hidden or frustrated sexual energy. Venus in Aquarius describes the potential for this to rear up in a friendship where there’s unspoken attraction, rather than with an established lover or someone you’re actively pursuing. Does that Aquarian influence help to cool things off and make it more of an intellectual exercise, or does it just make it weirder? How does that align with what your body’s telling you? If you have the opportunity to express this energy sexually (whether solo or with a partner), it’s possible that taking your time with the sensuality of it while experimenting a little might yield the most satisfying results.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Dogged Persistence: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 19
The Day of Dogged Persistence | Order Your 2019-20 Pisces Reading | All Other Signs

Keep your focus. You may feel at times as if anything can happen; yet you have the ability to rise above the chaos and apply your strong sense of resolve. Others are likely to look to you for structure and calm; you can set an example just through being yourself, which is enough for you to stand out. Approaching unfamiliar situations with discernment and a little caution should help you remain on the path.
— By Amy Elliott

Written for the Planets

We’re one day away from the Sun’s entrance into Aries — also known as the equinox. This marks the end of the current astrological year and the beginning of a new one. And shortly after the Sun makes its move tomorrow, the Moon will oppose it for a Full Moon in Libra. So you may be noticing some energy build, or feel an urge to move on to the next stage of something, especially in one or more of your relationships. There’s no need to rush that; in fact, the ongoing Mercury retrograde is a strong reminder to go easy in all things. Due to other factors, relational tension could also come through either as arousal or frustration related to an ingrained habit. How flexible can you be with a partner this week in terms of meeting each other’s needs — sexually, sensually, intellectually and socially?

Note also that today the Pisces Sun makes a square to Ixion in Sagittarius. Can you pursue your current spiritual quest or creative self-expression without repeating ethically questionable choices? If you’re not sure what that might mean, consider things like emotional, energetic and sexual boundaries. You have the potential to make a choice that works for all parties concerned, or that at least works for you in a way that does minimal harm to others. If you have a second chance at something, how do you plan to use it?
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Return: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 18
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Dream big, and let the tide of fervor and inspiration carry you along for a while. Once you have the broad concept in place, you can begin to fill in the details. At first, though, it can be immensely useful to spend time with your big vision and experience enthusiasm filling you up like fuel. This doesn’t replace hard work, but it does give life and interest to your efforts, and the gift of perseverance when it’s needed.
— By Amy Elliott

Written for the Planets

The Moon moving through the last third of Leo today suggests a more social Monday than usual. Whether you’re looking for emotional contact from others (which might come via a friend or acquaintance rather than something more intimate), feeling inclined to offer support and generosity to others, or getting chatty in the digital realms, keep the energy moving but remember that it’s not all about you. Juno in Gemini opposite the Great Attractor in Sagittarius could describe a sense that relationship needs are either polarizing, pulling you along, or just out of reach. Is it something you can talk about with a friend or two, so you don’t feel like things are at quite such a stalemate? (Note also that we’re building to a Full Moon in Libra with the Aries equinox on Wednesday.) With almost two weeks left of Mercury retrograde in Pisces, keep reminding yourself to double-check the details and take things slowly. When and if something does go wrong, where’s the deeper lesson in it?
— By Amanda Painter

Making Your Moves: Leo Full Moon and Eclipse

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By Amanda Painter

We’re entering the home stretch of the current eclipse season: on Monday, Jan. 21 (Jan. 20 in some time zones), we’ll get the Leo Full Moon and a total lunar eclipse. This occurs one day after the Sun enters Aquarius — which happens at 3:59 am EST (8:59:25 UTC) on Jan. 20.

Lunar eclipse between the statues of Hera and Apollo in Athens, Greece, July 27, 2018. Photo by Aris Messins

Lunar eclipse between the statues of Hera and Apollo in Athens, Greece, on July 27, 2018. Monday’s event will be visible from North and South America, Europe and western Africa. Central and eastern Africa and Asia will see a partial eclipse of the Moon. Photo by Aris Messins

So there will be a shift in tone accompanying this event — fitting enough, given the way modern astrology views eclipses as times for releasing what has run its course and for moving into a new pattern or toward a new phase of development.

This is also the last eclipse on the Leo-Aquarius axis for the time being. In whatever way it relates to the eclipses of this past summer for you, there may be a sense of closing a chapter or springboarding into new territory.

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A Full-Moon Pholus on the Solstice

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By Amanda Painter

As you likely already know, late tomorrow the Sun enters Capricorn for the solstice. The next day, we get a potent-looking Cancer Full Moon. So we’re about to enter a moment of (possibly) heightened emotions, layered on top of cultural holiday busy-ness, layered on top of a seasonal point of contraction and interiority, all nestled into the personal-is-political Aries Point — with a twist.

Photo by Amanda Painter

These are days to keep a finger on the pulse of how you’re feeling.

What catches your attention as a possible synchronicity or as having meaning, and what (or who) starts to trigger your reactivity? Are you going along with the crowd because it’s expected or you’ve ‘always done this’, or is a small, inner voice whispering something about needing to spend a little time differently this year?

To help you get your bearings, here’s the timing of the main astro events: on Friday, Dec. 21, the Sun enters Capricorn at 5:23 pm EST (22:22:37 UTC), immediately making a conjunction to the centaur Pholus (technically exact the next day). That’s the “twist” I mentioned, and I’ll come back to it in a moment.

At 11:28 am EST (16:27:54 UTC) on Saturday, Dec. 22, the Moon ingresses Cancer. Then, just over an hour later at 12:48 pm EST (17:48:29 UTC), the Cancer Moon and Capricorn Sun oppose each other.

With a Full Moon in the very first degree of Cancer, we’re ringing the bell of the Aries Point pretty strongly (the Aries Point is the first degree of Aries, which resonates with the first degree of all the cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Cap). I know many people don’t pay as much attention to the news on the weekends, though with social media interaction it still may enter your awareness. Even so, you might want to pay attention to it over the next few days.

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Big Thanks: Sagittarius, Jupiter and the Gemini Full Moon

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By Amanda Painter

The Sun enters Sagittarius today at 4:01 am EST (9:01:23 UTC) to begin the last month of the current season. Less than 24 hours later, we get a Full Moon in Gemini (the Moon opposite the Sun, exact at 12:39 am EST / 5:39:06 UTC). On the one hand, the Full Moon could amplify any Thanksgiving tensions (or other social polarities, if that’s not your holiday); on the other hand, given the mutable signs involved, you may find that conflicts are easier to breeze over, chat your way through, or bend around.

The 2015 Gemini Full Moon; photo by Amanda Painter

Part of what will spell the difference is your own personal emotional history and the social circumstances (especially familial) that you find yourself in today and through the weekend. If you’re gathering with people who don’t tend to push your buttons, or if you’ve done a lot of therapy and healing work around those buttons, the sociability of the planets currently in Sagittarius (the Sun, Jupiter and retrograde Mercury) may be more dominant or easier to tap into.

If you know you’ll be in a situation between now and Sunday where it’s possible old wounds might be metaphorically uncovered or picked at, it could be helpful to make a self-care strategy before you get there. Identify early the spaces (indoors or outdoors) where you can escape briefly to collect yourself. It might be useful to get in touch beforehand with either someone who’ll be at the gathering who is an ‘ally’, or someone elsewhere who’ll be able to respond to texts, and let them know you might call on them for a little grounding or venting.

Of course, if you decide instead to do your own thing — or if you get to choose who’s invited to the gathering, with no sense of obligation to invite those who cause you difficulty — this shouldn’t be as much of an issue. (Though you might want to investigate sometime the relationship between your sense of obligation to your family and your sense of commitment to your own healing process and wellbeing.)

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Expressing What’s Real: Scorpio Sun Conjunct Venus

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By Amanda Painter

As I write this on Wednesday morning, I’m hearing reports of explosive devices discovered at the homes of Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, and also at the CNN offices in New York; this is following an explosive found at the home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros on Monday. By the time you read this, there will likely be more information available; but as I write, I’m most interested in the accompanying astrology. (Ed. note: as of Thursday morning, we’re up to ten suspicious/explosive packages sent to eight people.)

Photo by Amanda Painter, taken at the 2016 annual Sacred and Profane Festival on Peaks Island, Maine.

As if the party or parties responsible for these actions had consulted an astrologer, this all unfolded in the lead-up to Wednesday’s Taurus Full Moon conjunct Uranus (the explosive planet), opposite the Scorpio Sun (secrets, death, other people’s money). Close to the Sun in Scorpio is retrograde Venus — ruler of the Taurus Full Moon.

Sometimes it’s just astonishing how well the aspects mirror the themes of events. By now I shouldn’t be surprised, yet it can still catch me off-guard.

I’m curious whether it’s possible that the connection of Venus to laid-back Taurus is a factor in the explosives being discovered before they could detonate. Is it something about the retrograde quality? What is the significance of the lunar nodes square the Full Moon configuration; is it some kind of balancing point between what we know and what we don’t know, or a choice between paths of action?

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