Tag Archives: Mercury

The Day of Spirited Energies: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Sept. 16
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You have an opportunity to commit to a particular path of growth, healing and self-discovery. This is in part based on work you’ve already done, which has perhaps bolstered your sense of personal freedom to stand out and make ripples. Your next step will likely be to consolidate what you’ve gained; there may be moments when you have the chance to express yourself more openly, or to take a discerning viewpoint in contrast with the crowd. All of this contributes to honoring who you are.
— by Amy Elliott

If your Sun, Moon or rising sign is Virgo, you are heading into a most unusual solar year, set up to do the thing Virgo is designed for: integrate the elements of your being, find your direction and purpose, and act on it. Eric lays it all out in your 2019-2020 Virgo Astrology Studio, now available for instant access.

Written in the Planets

Few planetary influences seem to be much of a match for the fog-and-illusion-spinning Neptune, especially when it’s in watery, dreamy Pisces. But the focusing influence of Chiron might be one of them. Today’s opposition between Mercury in Libra and Chiron in Aries suggests you might encounter someone who’s able to help you home in on some facet of yourself or a relationship — or may provoke you into seeing it in a new way.

With the minor planet Salacia in a long-running conjunction to Chiron, there could be a theme of sexual energy or sexual identity underscoring this particular interaction. The more secretive, allegedly controversial or ‘salacious’ side of sex could be central. Is there something about yourself you’ve been trying to ignore, and which it might be time to claim more fully? The Virgo Sun today makes aspects that highlight themes of belief and survival. No matter what illusions and lies you’ve been fed about yourself, know this: you presence here at this time is proof of your resilience. You are a survivor, and you can draw strength from that no matter what you are facing.
— by Amanda Painter

My readings 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 Day of Mastery: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 15
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As you were growing up, it’s highly likely your caregivers or family had some expectations on who you were to become, and how you should live your life. As an adult, you have a free choice on how far you will stick to that narrative, though depending on the pressure this isn’t always easy. This year, you have an opportunity to strike out on your individual path more decisively, regardless of anyone else’s preconceived ideas or wishes. Follow your desires, and don’t worry about going off-script.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Mercury and Venus are now in the early degrees of Libra, beginning to renew emphasis on slow-moving planets early in the cardinal signs. (Though King Neptune’s fluidity is still diffusing everyone’s impressions.) Keep your antennae tuned for certain echoes of events and themes from a few months ago, and of familial material.

For example, today watch for the ways your emotional life and approach to relationships might be at odds with multi-generational family patterns. What roles have these issues played in your sense of identity? The Moon moving through early Aries in the wee hours of the morning may heighten less conscious feelings along these themes. Dreams, if you can remember them, could offer a layer of insight.

On a related note, Juno in Virgo, Ceres in Sagittarius and the centaur Nessus in Pisces are all in strong contact with each other. You may be noticing tension between specific relationship needs (including material around jealousy), your sense of nourishing others and what makes your own spirit feel fed, and old emotional patterns whose time is up (possibly around sexual or energetic boundaries). If you were to hold yourself to the highest standards of intellectual and psychic hygiene, what might that look like? Even if it seems like there are two or more ways you could go, chances are you can identify the option that leaves you feeling clear. If someone is pushing your buttons, that’s a good clue that your own reactions and expectations around the energy you’ve been giving them could use a closer look.

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The Day of the Perceptive Critic: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 14
The Day of the Perceptive Critic | Order 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Your birthday this year plays host to the Pisces Full Moon amid some eventful astrology. You may well find yourself both unusually busy, and in an especially good position to make things happen. It’s likely you’ll easily figure out how to turn an idea into a concrete reality or a practical application, or set a long-term project in motion. The only thing to be wary of is if you have a tendency to self-doubt. If so, keep an eye on your state of mind, and check in regularly with people you trust.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

With the Pisces Full Moon peaking early this morning (12:33 am EDT), hopefully you’ll start noticing some relief if this week has felt a little crispy around the edges yet soggy in the middle. Planets are still opposing Neptune, but the Moon is easing off from its role as emotional intensifier/polarizer. You’ll still want to beware of mind-altering substances this weekend, particularly if you need to drive, do anything physical, or handle hot or sharp items. Easy does it today. There is still a ‘things may not be as they appear’ undercurrent to many interactions and circumstances.

Mercury and Venus are traveling together in a conjunction for a few weeks. They begin the day in Virgo, square the centaur planet Pholus in Sagittarius. Then Mercury enters Libra at 3:14 am EDT, and Venus follows suit at 9:43 am EDT. One thing this could represent is a revelation — either something is revealed to you, or you reveal something (to yourself or to another).

Whatever it is could have effects well into the future, or could point you in a new direction. Mercury and Venus entering Libra may describe an increasing sense of balance or spaciousness in thought processes, and in the emotions that influence them. You can let that buoy you, though stay aware that with Jupiter and Neptune still moving toward their exact square, the reference points for what counts as ‘realistic’ remain nebulous and shifting.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of the Fearless Crusader: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 12
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Remember that your primary relationship is really with yourself, and fulfillment in every other kind of setting comes much more easily if you can give yourself love. This may sound a little counterintuitive, because society teaches us that we are lacking, and that self-acceptance is allegedly arrogance. Yet in truth, embracing who you are is an important aspect of your wellbeing. Love is not a zero-sum game; it’s more like music. The more you practice on your own, the more you have to offer to others.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

While you might not actually have the Golden Touch right now, you may in fact be able to create some ‘luck’ for yourself today. Yet that’s unlikely to come through impulsive risk-taking, and more through intelligent foresight and planning, with Mars in Virgo making a square to Jupiter in Sagittarius.

Running off with a “so crazy it just might work!” idea could be enticing, and the thought might be just the boost you need to take some initial steps. But Neptune’s proximity to Mars and Jupiter is likely having a slight dissipating effect on what is usually a high-energy aspect. That might actually be for the best. Patient persistence appears to be the more conducive option this week.

Are you experiencing any déjà vu regarding self-critical thoughts or speaking critically to someone else? Mercury and Venus are in a T-square with Ixion and the Galactic Core in Sagittarius, and the asteroid Chaos in Gemini. One of the silver linings to feeling like you keep repeating the same lessons is that each time is an opportunity to make a different choice — one that’s focused on things like ethical behavior, empathy, alignment with dharma, or the highest good of all concerned. That does not always feel fun in the moment. But there appears to be an opportunity to imagine that you’re in the space before all decisions — before any guilt or shame entered into your thinking. From that primordial (or less compromised) mindset, what could you do?

Final note: we’re getting close to the Pisces Full Moon, which is early on Saturday. The Moon enters Pisces today. Keep tabs on any interpersonal situations that are feeling edgy, extra sensitive, or just plain unclear. Gently inquiring about matters is likely better than trying to pin the other person down, though another couple days of patience could be all that’s needed.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of Success Seekers: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 7
The Day of Success Seekers | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

Following the scent of your curiosity could very well be fruitful in the months ahead. Get yourself into a position where you can more easily access inspiration; read more, study people and scenery, listen to good music — whatever oils your creative wheels. Once you start to work on a specific idea, there’s a chance it may take off unexpectedly, or draw you in unusual and interesting directions. If you go along for the ride, it’s likely to turn out quite the adventure.
— by Amy Elliott

If your Sun, Moon or rising sign is Virgo, You are heading into a most unusual solar year, set up to do the thing Virgo is designed for: integrate the elements of your being, find your direction and purpose, and act on it. Eric will lay it all out in your 2019-2020 Virgo Astrology Studio.

Written in the Planets

The Moon entering Capricorn today could help you to feel out some of the more practical steps or details to your grander dreams — as in, things you can start doing now. In one sense you have plenty of time; yet that’s mainly true if you figure out how best to use the time you have. That is, you are the one standing at the threshold of your dreams; you are the primary factor determining whether or not you manifest them.

Sure, there are other factors, some of which are out of your control; yes, the path that emerges might diverge from your original plan. But the point is to focus your conscious intention through some deliberate attention, since much has been swirling about this week in the mental, psychic/spiritual and emotional spheres. Focus and discipline have likely not been in abundance, as a result. Yet any plan you’re starting to form can still include a wide spectrum of possibilities.

That said, caution would still be wise around communication, as Mercury in Virgo exactly opposes Neptune in Pisces today. Interactions could be a little confusing or vague, so patience and asking lots of questions may be helpful. And if your intuition is sending up a red flag about someone — especially anyone you’re trying to negotiate an important deal with — heed it. Seek out more information; stall finalizing the details if you can, to see what else emerges that you need to know.
— by Amanda Painter

It is difficult to feel good these days; it’s challenging to focus on your growth and self-care, or even to relax. We are pulled out of ourselves constantly, and often distracted from our core purposes. IN THESE TIMES, the Planet Waves autumn reading, will help.
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The Day of Unpredictable Fate: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 6
The Day of Unpredictable Fate | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

As you explore new creative and imaginative territory, you may at times come across some mental or emotional barriers. These are often formed in our youth, possibly in the guise of safeguards or stabilizers. However, if they prevent you from understanding and exploring the full range of your potential, you no longer need them. Be gentle with yourself as you clear your path, though also be firm in your determination. You need to be free to run where you will.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” You’ve probably heard these words by French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin — or a paraphrase of them — at least once in your life. But have you ever thought much about the inherent tension in this concept? To acknowledge that one is first a spiritual being is also to recognize how limiting the human experience can be: the density level; the literalness; the pain and separation. Yet there are also moments when we get a sense of how vast and full and connected we are, and we can infuse daily life with moments of that truth.

Today Mercury in Virgo squares Jupiter in Sagittarius (tomorrow it opposes Neptune). Also, the Sun is making these same aspects — along with a trine to Saturn in Capricorn, and a square to the Great Attractor in Sagittarius. There is a combination here of the tension and contrast of the literal, earthy, rational, limited experience and the imaginative, visionary, compelling, grand potentials that characterize the “human” and the “spiritual.”

If you’re feeling at all frustrated in trying to express something huge, long-range and inspiring in very literal, detailed or earth-bound ways, this is the related astrology. Flesh out your vision for the future in broad, vivid strokes; see what practical parts of it you can organize. Maybe don’t jump in the deep end yet; but know that it is there, waiting for you — and that the water will likely only get clearer in the coming weeks.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of the Fanciful Sovereign: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 5
The Day of the Fanciful Sovereign | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

This is likely to be a busy year for you, potentially involving lots of action. Any project you have particularly in mind could very well take off; things appear set up so that effort put in will yield proportional results. Just be mindful of your physical and emotional limits, however broad. Watch for burnout, and set some time aside to relax and to make contact with your deeper thoughts and feelings. We all need to wind down occasionally, and it helps keep your ideas fund in credit.
— by Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Mercury is in the process of making a series of aspects from Virgo, one of the two signs it rules. So there’s extra emphasis currently on thought processes, communication, and what you do with an idea once you’ve thought of it. Under normal circumstances, Mercury’s current trine to Saturn in Capricorn would describe an ability to organize the details of your environment methodically. Mercury’s square to Jupiter would suggest the optimism and broad vision needed to plan a long-range goal.

Those statements are still true; they just come with a twist right now. That twist is being provided by Neptune in Pisces. Is Neptune enhancing the idealism you need to achieve an important dream? Perhaps. Is Neptune obscuring certain details and truths that could impact your pursuit of that dream? Maybe.

Yet today Mercury is also making squares to the Great Attractor (a deep-space phenomenon in Sagittarius) and an object called Altjira (in Gemini). There’s something here, I think, about the need to think beyond simple polarities (yes/no, good/bad, black/white, possible/impossible); and also about understanding who stands at the gate of your dreams (hint: it’s you). You could certainly get caught in minutiae and easily forget to look up. But it might be just as easy today to push against the details of reality and let your mind expand toward a vision of what’s possible. It doesn’t matter if you never reach it; the point is to let its potential suggest new pathways forward from where you are now.
— by Amanda Painter

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Navigating an Impressionistic Sea

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By Amanda Painter

Have you ever seen an image of an outrigger canoe? Attached to the main portion of the boat is a smaller hull (without seating) that sets out a ways from the primary hull. These boats were developed by early Austronesian-speaking peoples of the Southeast Asian islands for sea travel; the design — and its offshoots, such as catamarans — continue to be popular.

Fire engine abstract; photo by Amanda Painter

Something about this week’s astrology reminds me of an outrigger canoe.

Mainly, it’s that the Virgo planets opposing Neptune are receiving some stability from Saturn in Capricorn. The relationship from Virgo to Capricorn is a trine between earth signs: a relationship of harmony and support, but not great power.

In an outrigger canoe, all the power to move the boat comes from the people in the main hull, paddling. Nobody is paddling in the second hull; it has no seats for people. It’s strictly to help keep the boat balanced and afloat on ocean swells.

The outrigger part of the boat offers stability, but not a guarantee. As we know, the ocean is vast, deep and very, very powerful.

You could say the same about Neptune, particularly in Pisces. It might not be a ‘stormy’ placement. But it can describe a high probability of disorientation. Without landmarks or literal stars visible — such as on a dark, cloudy day — early ocean navigation (pre-compass and sextant) could be incredibly difficult.

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