Tag Archives: Pholus

The Day of Excess: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is April 9
The Day of Excess | Order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Employ your powers of reason and strategy to the utmost. You already have the passion, drive and willingness to work toward your goal. Now you just need to figure out how to get there efficiently and without having to take too many backward steps. A solid plan will be well worth the time and energy spent on careful crafting and double-checking details. Let your enthusiasm serve as fuel, without letting it run away with the process.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Small moves appear to count for a lot right now, particularly in the realms of sex, healing, teaching, being seen for who you are, and holding space for unorthodox relationships, desires and identities. So if you’re feeling tension around any of those topics, how might you express and release that energy just a little? It’s not that you can’t go bigger; it’s that you can probably accomplish more with less effort than you’d expect. The aspect pattern in question is the centaur Pholus (small cause, big effect) in Capricorn making a square to a triple conjunction of Vesta (holding space), Chiron (raising awareness) and Salacia (sex, especially if ‘scandalous’) in Aries.

If you’ve been actively trying to repress and ignore any tension related to one of these topics, how is that working out for you? Is it starting to come out sideways, or to feel even more overwhelming and messier already? Note that with Aries involved (a sign ruled by Mars), it would be wise to consider your anger, too. Do you have a safe place in which to express your anger and frustration (including sexual frustration)? Can you create one — such as shouting out in the woods alone, or asking a very grounded friend (or counselor) with good emotional boundaries to hold non-judgmental space, and to witness you as you rage? (Just remember not to direct your fury at your witness; that’s asking them to process your feelings for you, which is solely your job.)

We don’t have a lot of practice with this in Western culture, especially for men; and ranting on Twitter or Facebook does not count. If anger is not part of the equation for you, creating art, writing, ritual or masturbation could just as easily be part of your process. The idea is to find or create a space in which you can get to the root of whatever’s itching to be let out of the proverbial bottle. It might not turn out to be what you think it is; and that discovery could itself open the way to actual healing.
— By Amanda Painter

You’re Not Actually About to Float Away

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By Amanda Painter

Are you feeling like a total space cadet this week? Or maybe like you’re beaming in somebody else’s daydreams? How many times have you absentmindedly suffered a minor injury / locked yourself out / thought it was a different day? Are your efforts at sensitive, empathetic communication just not landing anywhere near your intended target (especially online conversations)?

A giant Pinocchio balloon above the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in Manhattan, probably during the 1930s. Photo by Walter Kelleher / NY Daily News Archive.

A giant Pinocchio balloon floats above the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and its many handlers in Manhattan, probably during the 1930s. Photo by Walter Kelleher / New York Daily News Archive.

Is the world an ever-morphing mix of crazy-beautiful and scary-surreal?

Okay, I’ll grant you, that last sentence has been applicable for a good three years now — or perhaps for all time. But from my perspective, all those other questions appear to have been peaking in this last week — described by Mercury traveling in apparent retrograde motion in a tight conjunction to Neptune in Pisces.

Mercury makes its direct station today at 9:59 am EDT (13:58:41 UTC). It does so (cozied up to Neptune) while making a T-square to the asteroid Juno in Gemini and Ceres in Sagittarius.

This image just came to me as I was writing that sentence: that Juno and Ceres are kind of like a couple of handlers from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, each holding a line to one of those giant cartoon-character balloons high in the air. (I know, I know: wrong season. Just bear with me.)

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The Day of Integrity: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 26
The Day of Integrity | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Aim at strengthening your connection with your spirituality this year, in whatever form that exists. In this busy age, make a point of setting aside some time for quieter moments, in which you can ground and center yourself. This may mean actively overcoming social pressure to maintain constant motion. Recognize that you, along with everyone else, deserve to have space to wind down, and to cultivate peace of mind within you.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Have you ever spent the day walking around in business attire at work in the winter, and then you get home and slip into a warm bath? That might be one way to think of Venus entering Pisces later today. Venus is still Venus, just a little more relaxed and open, and better able to be sensitive to others’ needs and emotions. Yet Venus is also moving into aspects with Uranus in Taurus (exact tomorrow) and Pholus in Capricorn (exact Friday). Be on the lookout for romantic flights of fancy that offer an exciting break from routine, and for stimulating friends and new acquaintances. Caring gestures — given or returned — have the potential now to offer lasting positive benefits to the recipient (which is always a solid cosmic law to follow). So why not extend a little love (in the sense of agape) for love’s sake?

Just be aware that Mercury stations direct in Pisces, conjunct Neptune, in two days. This means we’re currently in the pre-station ‘storm’ phase of this process. If you’re experiencing an element of choppy psychic waters, general absent-mindedness, or difficulty keeping track of whose emotions are whose (yours or the other person’s), Mercury’s situation definitely describes all of those. If you’ve been doing your inner-awareness-honing homework and healing for quite a while, it’s possible you’re accessing higher planes of intuition this week. Even in that case, however, it’s best to confirm your hunches a couple of ways, rather than launching straight into action. The mental realm is slippery right now; these are key days to watch your step (and the road), think before you speak, and mind your mind.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Beguiling Simplicity: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 24
The Day of Beguiling Simplicity | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Recognize that in living through many of your past experiences, especially the most seminal, you’ve come away with a gift: be that additional strength, wisdom, friendship or something else. These moments have helped shape the person you are today, and as you continue along your path, you can use them as beacons to light the way and help you acclimatize to the new territory. You have more of a grasp in this area than you know.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Can you spend today daydreaming, playing with art supplies (creative writing or anything visual/performance-based/musical/poetic also counts), or immersing yourself in your spiritual side? Any of those activities, practiced within clear boundaries, could be a fun and safe way to express the combined energies of Mercury and Neptune today. With Mercury retrograde, you might add to the list of ideal activities a review of creative or spiritual lessons that could apply to your current situation.

That said, Mercury-Neptune in Pisces, combined with some Aries-Cap square energy, describes the need to use discernment and a light touch today in all actions and communications. Check back with yesterday’s Written in the Planets for more detail on that score. There’s pent-up energy looking for a way out, mixed with a generally soft grip on things like mental focus; and the only person you can truly direct through this is yourself. A sextile between Venus in Aquarius and the Galactic Center and Ixion in Sagittarius may offer a second chance to serve the highest good through an act of friendship. To do so, however, you’ll need to stick closely to your ethics. That could be tricky right now; regular reality checks will be crucial.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Curiosity: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is March 23
The Day of Curiosity | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

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

Echoes of Uranus: Venus Meets Pluto and Eris

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By Amanda Painter

Now that Chiron is in Aries, we have one more era-defining planetary sign change left this year: Uranus entering Taurus on March 6, just under two weeks from today. There seems to be a general sense of vacillating or vibrating pressure in the air. Maybe it’s just me, but I get the feeling a lot of the social and political surprises that make the nightly news — the way so many things seem to be teetering on an edge or hanging by a thread — have small-scale, personal-level echoes or complementary events.

Rosemary in winter; photo by Amanda Painter.

Obviously that’s for you to decide for yourself. Yet this week, we do have a ‘personal planet’ — Venus — moving into an outer-planet aspect pattern.

It’s those outer-planet configurations that tend to reflect the larger social currents and upheavals we’ve been experiencing. Then planets like Venus, Mars and the Sun sweep through to involve us more directly or internally. Venus will not be coming into contact with Uranus, but it is entering the square between Pluto in Capricorn and Eris in Aries.

Pluto, Eris and Uranus are the three planets that perhaps most signify the last ten years: first through the Uranus-Pluto square, then through the Uranus-Eris conjunction. So those bells of upheaval, revolution, the need to change and media-induced identity chaos are all getting rung by Venus — by the planet that represents the feminine, our relationships, and the ability to receive others’ gifts (whether those be love, empathy, compassion or something more material).

Although Venus conjoins Pluto tomorrow in Capricorn and then squares Eris in Aries on Saturday, it’s really all one event. And it seems to be asking some rather interesting questions.

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Approaching the Capricorn New Moon and Eclipse

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By Amanda Painter

Happy New Year! Even though most people try to set their New Year’s resolutions and intentions by Jan. 1, the astrology this year is clearly indicating a wider window for this process — and for beginning to take active steps in accordance. The major event with this theme is Saturday’s New Moon in Capricorn, which also happens to be a partial solar eclipse.

As we go deeper into this most unusual and challenging phase of history, intelligence is the thing we need the most. That is the theme of the 2019-2020 annual edition of Planet Waves — audio now available for instant access. See more information here. If you’re looking for individual signs, order here.

This New Moon — a conjunction of the Sun and Moon — is exact at 8:28 pm EST on Jan. 5 (1:28:05 UTC Jan. 6). The peak of the partial solar eclipse is about 13 minutes later.

One notable feature of this event is that it occurs right at the midpoint of Capricorn; and, incidentally, very close to the midpoint of the current positions of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn (those planets are about three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half degrees on either side). This looks like some real “engine of change” astrology based on that proximity alone; I’m also wondering if it carries some foreshadowing or early echoes of the 2020 Saturn-Pluto conjunction.

From what I’ve read about Saturn-Pluto conjunctions, I suspect one message of this New Moon and eclipse is to begin really focusing your energies: on your highest priorities, or perhaps on anything that seems to be restricted. As in, if something in your life feels narrowed or limited, what is your attention being trained on? What does it mean to be very thorough within certain parameters, as opposed to trying to ‘do it all’ in a more dispersed fashion?

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