Tag Archives: Mercury retrograde

The Day of Gracious Ease: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Oct. 11
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Regardless of how long it takes you to get there, what you are currently aiming for is within your power to achieve. You might think doing so will necessitate some deus ex machina, but you already contain all the resources you require, in terms of skill, knowledge, character and sheer guts. Even if this isn’t immediately clear to you now, certain tools tend to become visible as they become necessary. Take courage. You have everything you could possibly need to draw on, and then some.
— 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

Mercury enters its pre-retrograde ‘echo’ or ‘shadow’ phase in Scorpio this evening. The actual retrograde begins on Oct. 31, and could signal a few more Halloween/Samhain hijinks than usual. Between now and then, you may get a little taste of what this retrograde is about, beyond SNAFUs and confusion. With the planet of the mind in the deep-feeling sign of mystery and intensity, you might frame this as your chance to play Private Investigator in your own psyche. What truths are you ready to uncover, and then put to use in your process of becoming?

Note that with the Aries Full Moon approaching on Sunday and a Venus-Uranus opposition tomorrow, certain interpersonal situations could feel loaded — whether with challenging surprises and exciting new possibilities, or with an urge to make big changes, or both. You can roll with it, though a little flexibility, a sense of humor and curiosity will help. The more conscious you can be about how you direct your energy and creativity, the more empowered you’ll likely feel in the face of any pressures and worries that may be cropping up.
— by Amanda Painter

My autumn readings, called In These Times, offer a place of refuge, an opportunity to suspend self-judgment, and my careful reading of the charts. I offer you reasons to be motivated, and strategies for handling the strange complexity of society at this time. To this work, I bring all of what I have learned as a journalist, editor, astrologer, spiritual student and man of the world; and I offer it to you for an affordable price. Read more here.

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The Aries Full Moon and Friends

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By Amanda Painter

How’s your sleep this week? And your relationship to authority figures — the ‘real’ ones and the internalized ones? Where are your thoughts going, and how do you feel about it? What about your urges and responses in your more intimate relationships? How conscious are you about using your energy in a creative, focused way?

The 2015 Aries Full Moon; photo by Amanda Painter.

As we end this week, several planetary events are conspiring to drive questions like those. The headlining act is the Aries Full Moon on Sunday.

Before we get there, Mercury enters its pre-retrograde echo (or shadow) phase tomorrow. On Saturday, Venus opposes Uranus to add a little extra voltage. Let’s take them in chronological order.

Mercury entering its shadow/echo phase Friday evening is your heads up to prepare any and all things related to communication, its related technologies, spending, transit, and how you handle your frame of mind in general. As in: back up your computer, tie up any loose ends with contracts and major purchases, and begin to get back into habits that help to safeguard against sending emails that ought not to be sent.

Mercury won’t actually station retrograde until Oct. 31 (Trick or Treat!). But as you may know, things can sometimes get even funkier prior to the retrograde than during it. Mercury will station direct — still in Scorpio — on Nov. 20.

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Action and Resolution at the Quarter Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Full Moons and New Moons tend to carry more weight in astrology writing. Yet this weekend’s first quarter Moon happens to connect with one of the more important aspects we’re building up to, as does another event this week.

What’s in the dark under that rock? Mercury in Scorpio wants to find out. Photo by Amanda Painter.

On Saturday, the Capricorn Moon squares off against the Libra Sun. That’s the quarter Moon, traditionally describing an opportunity to lean into projects and processes you can build some early momentum with.

Yet the Moon will also be conjunct its own South Node and the planet Saturn. The South Node can represent what is familiar, ‘comfortable’ and habitual in a way that does not help us to grow. You can also think of it as karma: repeated patterns that we’re trying to learn from, so we can move on toward a greater sense of lived purpose. Saturn, of course, holds the line of authority, responsibility, limits and restrictions. Its presence also connects this quarter Moon to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in January.

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The Day of Resolute Composure: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Aug. 5
The Day of Resolute Composure | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for instant access | All Other Signs

New ideas seem to be flowing into your mind like fresh, cool breezes. You are likely to be more in contact than usual with your intuition, and better able to understand concepts from a multitude of vantage points. Take every opportunity to feed your inspiration actively, however. Make a point of going places you’ve never visited — especially if you’ve always wanted to. Soak in experiences that nourish your love of life and of beauty. There is always more to see and do.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have a Leo Sun, rising sign or Moon? Your last couple years may have left you reeling trying to figure out which path forward is best. Hear Eric’s thoughts on expediting your post-eclipse process in your 2019-2020 Leo Astrology Studio reading.

Written in the Planets

Jupiter has been retrograde in Sagittarius for quite a while — since April 10, to be exact. In a week, on Aug. 11, it will station direct. At the moment, it is stationary — that is, barely moving at all (well, barely moving according to our perspective here on Earth; the planet has been moving in its typical orbit the entire time, and is now). We’re approaching a turning point in all that Jupiter and Sagittarius represent: expansion, far-reaching vision, pursuit of focused intention (like the archer’s arrow), optimism and so-called luck, seeing wider patterns, belief systems and so on.

You may wish to consider areas in your life where any of those themes have felt fuzzy, under review or in some form of retreat, as well as lessons from the past that have been magnified or tested in recent months. I’ll have more about Jupiter stationing direct and some related Sagittarian activity throughout the week, but that should get you started.

Meanwhile, Mercury is about to leave the degree where it stationed direct in Cancer. Today it repeats its exact square to the asteroid Haumea in Libra. As you begin to move incrementally forward on projects you’ve had on hold the last three weeks, consider what you’ve learned about your emotional responses in that time. You may be ready to birth a new way of expressing them, even if the process arrives via unusual channels.
— by Amanda Painter

COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

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The Day of the Versatile Signature: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Aug. 2
The Day of the Versatile Signature | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for instant access | All Other Signs

You’ve gained a number of skills over time, and the year ahead will probably provide an opportunity to use them all. Changes are happening. Using your gifts wisely should help you steer matters in a useful direction, and navigate through any difficult areas or sudden plot twists. You have more versatility than you may think, and resources you can use even in the thickest of briar patches, if needed. You also possess a certain innate charm at this time, which might help open some interesting doors.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

The Moon entering Virgo this morning could describe taking a slightly more cerebral or analytical approach to emotional issues and responses that have cropped up recently. In fact, solving problems and putting things in order might actually offer some emotional satisfaction, especially if doing so helps someone else as well as you. Just keep the lines of communication open — which generally means asking lots of questions and then really listening to the answers, or saying what you plan to do before you do it. Mercury is still stormy after stationing direct Wednesday night (and rules Virgo), so it’s a little early to try and charge ahead full-throttle.

Both Venus and Mars are in Leo, and both are making aspects that could translate to some level of relationship disruption or intensity. So a Virgo-style approach may help to balance any possible flare-ups, as long as everyone feels heard and empathized with. Flexibility is key here: remember that minds need not be set in stone, and even emotions are far more subject to our ability to choose them consciously than people often realize. Yes, you feel how you feel; but not all reactions belong in the drivers’ seat. Sometimes they’re just signposts telling us where we are and why, and point the way toward a new understanding of ourselves. If we’re willing to read them thoroughly, that is.
— by Amanda Painter

COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

The Day of Original Style: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Aug. 1
The Day of Original Style | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for instant access | All Other Signs

Think of shaping who you are as an ongoing experimental process. As the map of the sky is constantly shifting, so you are continually becoming and renewing from moment to moment. You will only stagnate if you are determined to. That means ultimately you have the power to choose who you want to be, and to alter course as necessary to get there, which is an amazing gift. Therefore, don’t surround yourself with imaginary walls. Keep your evolution moving and your ideas along with it.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Mercury stationed direct last night, but it will take a few days to sort itself out (and another couple of weeks before it clears where it was retrograde). This also means it’ll stay in contact with Eris in Aries and Haumea in Libra for a bit longer, so the message to ‘get real’ stays valid for a while. (Well, really, that message is always valid, but it’s being emphasized in a particular way currently.) How’s your sense of humor doing this week? Continue keeping it handy, as things could still be a little glitchy for the next several days.

Also, what has newly come to your attention as of yesterday or today? Was it something someone said to you, something you intuited or discovered about a situation, or a realization you came to about yourself? How does it change the circumstances, or your view of things — or do you find yourself trying to ignore it or rationalize it away? There may be a particular opportunity to cross a threshold now in how you express yourself, though it will take a deliberate step in that direction.

You may feel like this requires courage; yet really, it’s just a matter of actively being who you are. Shouldn’t it take more courage to be who you are not? And yet that is the choice so many of us make every day, to some degree.

Venus in Leo square Uranus in Taurus (exact tomorrow) describes an urge to spice things up, especially in relationships or with those you’re ‘friendly’ with. Just remember there’s often a fine line between playful, flirtatious provocation and picking a fight. As with beauty, this distinction may lie in the eye of the beholder — i.e., not the person instigating things — and Mercury’s condition describes the potential for continued mixed signals. Here is your mantra: try something new, play a little, keep your sense of humor, be real and if something feels ‘off’ or upsetting, for Pete’s sake gently ask for clarification.
— by Amanda Painter

COMING SOON FROM PLANET WAVES…

Three Leo Aspects and Mercury Direct in Cancer

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By Amanda Painter

Mercury stationed direct last night in late Cancer, just after the Leo New Moon. It will take a few days for Mercury to sort itself out, though, and it’ll be another couple of weeks before it clears where it was retrograde. So your patience and sense of humor could still be handy companions for a while yet.

Three Frisbee players and a wee onlooker at Higgins Beach, Scarborough, Maine. Photo by Amanda Painter.

Partly this is because Mercury will stay in the same degree where it stationed for a few days — it takes a while to get back up to its typical apparent speed — which means it’s in extended contact with Eris in Aries and Haumea in Libra, forming a T-square.

Another factor in the overall astrological environment is a square between Venus in Leo and Uranus in Taurus, exact tomorrow, and a couple of other Leo aspects. I’ll get to those in a moment.

For now, has anything of particular interest emerged for you yesterday or today? As in, did you discover or realize something about yourself, or did someone tell you a key piece of new information, or did your intuition about a situation get confirmed or contradicted?

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The Day Of the Human Portrait: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is July 31
The Day of the Human Portrait | The 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for pre-order | All Other Signs

Today’s powerful New Moon on your birthday signifies you coming more fully into your own — meaning your energy, your resilience, and your ability to make decisions. The year ahead is very likely to show how strong you can be. You can accomplish just about anything you wish to. All that’s required of you is to understand all this, and to keep going even if you have times when you’re not so confident. If someone tries to push against you, remember that only you can direct your life.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

“Fasten your seatbelts,” warns Bette Davis’s character in All About Eve, “It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” That could describe today for you, though your mileage may vary. Quite possibly you’ll just keep flowing with the tides, doing what you do. But today’s astrology suggests that not only might you encounter some potholes or unexpected detours, but you might be the one creating them. Not as a matter of deviousness or malice — it’s more that acknowledging and speaking the truth about a problem, a need, a desire or an issue that has gone too long unsaid sometimes creates ripples, or meets with a lot of resistance and emotional reaction.

Here’s what’s up: the Moon enters Leo today at 9:18 am EDT (13:18:04 UTC), ahead of its rendezvous with the Sun for the New Moon tonight at 11:12 pm EDT (3:11:48 UTC Thursday). Then, just 46 minutes after the New Moon, Mercury stations direct in late Cancer (at 11:58 pm EDT tonight / 3:57:41 UTC Thursday).

So that mixes together the low-energy vibe of a New Moon with a high-energy, attention-loving sign (Leo), and adds the churning power and potential confusion of a Mercury station on top of it all. Can you tell whether you’re coming or going? Plus, Mercury is stationing direct square Eris in Aries, which amplifies the potential trickster effect. It also emphasizes the importance of doing what you can to express all of who you are — or to ‘get real’ — with a dose of humor if things get a little funky, or if unexpected info emerges. (You can read a little more about these themes here.)

Mercury stations have a way of revealing facts or insights that you didn’t know were missing, so listen closely today and tomorrow. This should go without saying, but definitely drive the speed limit — literally when on the road, and figuratively in your communication with others.
— by Amanda Painter