Tag Archives: Scorpio

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 there? Mercury in Scorpio wants to find out. Photo by Amanda Painter.

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 Glaring Truth: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 30
The Day of Glaring Truth | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

You are something of a natural in terms of mental exploration, and presently you may be experiencing more curiosity than usual. Yet there is only so much you can grasp from theoretical knowledge. If you want to understand how something operates, interact with it on a practical level, as far as is safe. Along the way, there may be an opening for you to bring your inventive abilities into play: that is, to fix a problem you see, or improve on a working model. This is likely to be useful all round.
— by Amy Elliott

Do you have your Sun, Moon or rising sign in Libra? If so, your sign is directly aligned with the single most significant astrological event beginning 2020. Eric will walk you through the most effective ways to approach your year in the 2019-2020 Libra Astrology Studio, now available for pre-order.

Written in the Planets

If you’ve been wanting to ‘go deep’ in some way, especially with another person, this could be a good day for it. For one thing, the Moon enters Scorpio this morning at 5:42 am EDT (9:41:37 UTC). That automatically signals a potentially immersive or compelling emotional tone, and describes an affinity for getting under the surface. With the Scorpio Moon briefly opposing Uranus in Taurus, this could translate into emotional responses to the unexpected that are a little more intense than usual.

Venus in Libra is exactly square the centaur planet Chariklo in Capricorn, and squares Pluto exactly tomorrow. On one level, this describes a need to seek emotionally or sexually heightened interactions. On another level, this may suggest that it’s time to acknowledge changes in a relationship. Can you hold space for your own mix of emotions and needs, and for those of the other person? Both are real, and both are valid. You may be able to avoid sliding into co-dependent behavior by using tools like active listening (paraphrasing what is said to be sure you’ve understood clearly) and “I” statements. Discerning true needs from strong desires and idealized expectations is also key.

Assistance with that process is described by a trine between Mars in Virgo and Vesta in Taurus. This looks like support for a less personal, truly service-oriented way of approaching some matter of desire, sex, healing or teaching. If you’re finding it easy to connect the details of a situation with some hands-on mental or physical effort and a sense of emotionally grounded purpose, this aspect may be what you’re tapping into.
— 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 Dramatic Choice: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 11
The Day of Dramatic Choice | Order 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Like other people, you are ever changing and evolving, and you can’t be expected to remain exactly the same for any length of time. The same goes for the structure of your daily life — your work, your habits, your schedules — which you build around yourself, and have the power to reshape. If you want to change something, if you decide to set your feet on a particular path and are determined to put in the requisite level of effort, there is ultimately very little that could stop you.
— 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

The unusual thought, emotion or impression could be what helps you to get un-stuck in some way today. It may relate to a plan you’ve become emotionally attached to, or to some ‘conventional wisdom’ that does not go deep enough to be useful; or could be an intuitive hint about what’s going on beneath the surface of a situation. The aspect I’m looking at here is an opposition between the asteroid Pallas in Scorpio and Uranus in Taurus, while the Moon travels through Aquarius today.

Bear in mind this is happening against the backdrop of the Virgo-Pisces oppositions that are calling the major tune lately, all square Jupiter in Sagittarius. So if an eccentric, innovative or non-habitual insight comes your way, it’s likely advisable to apply it gradually. Understand it might require some tweaking down the line, as new information becomes known.

Venus is also making interesting aspects of its own. Notice if some kind of second chance is making an appearance. Possible realms where it might emerge could include (but are not limited to): love, friendship, work and work relationships, service, finances, material possessions, and your values around any of these things. Remember that it’s never too late to make a more ethical choice, or one that serves more than your own interests (maybe even the common good). Also, sometimes being in the mystery of not knowing, or of multiple options, is a more productive and less stressful place than committing to something you know does not feel right. Ultimately, honesty is the most liberating action of all.
— 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 the Supportive Partner: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Aug. 26
The Day of the Supportive Partner | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

What do you think of when you imagine your ideal social group? It’s true that you have certain goals in mind, and would most likely benefit from support among your peers. Without forming a comic-style superhero troupe, is there anything you feel you specifically need from your friendships? If so, this could be found by venturing into some unfamiliar places, where you’re likely to find new people. Alternatively, perhaps the qualities you seek are actually within yourself.
— 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

Your ability to see through issues and beneath surfaces appears to get a boost today, as the asteroid Pallas enters Scorpio. If there’s something you need to get to the root of — especially about yourself, given other current aspects — you could get some real traction with it if you make the effort. When it comes to workplace dynamics, think in terms of strategy and understanding the psychology of any puzzling situations.

Venus and Uranus in contact with each other describe seeking stimulation through love and friendships — or even just looking for after-work entertainment that’s different from what you usually go for. If the unexpected or unconventional arrives in your immediate environment (or is suggested to you by a partner), it might be worth exploring.

On a related note, Mercury in Leo and Vesta in Taurus are in a square to each other today. Are you just talking about sex, or are you truly making — and honoring — the time and space deserved for such a core part of being human? It might be time to put your body where your mouth is, so to speak (or where someone else’s mouth is, though you can adapt that idea for solo action just as well). In fact, since we’re really talking about the inner creative spark, the sense of tension in this square could relate to artistic desires, too. Ideas are great, but sometimes action not only speaks louder than words, it also gets more done.
— 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 High Voltage: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Aug. 16
The Day of High Voltage | 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for instant access | All Other Signs

You’ve recently come a long way in terms of finding your feet in the world, and you may well go even further this year. Your charts suggest you’ll be able to tackle certain old challenges, which will help you release any situation in which you weren’t benefiting in a meaningful way, or were compromising too much. If some kind of collaboration is involved, you’ll either want to change the parameters or break away altogether. Make a rule that your autonomy and principles are not for sale.
— 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

If you’re sensing a need for excitement, new ideas or fresh stimulation, today’s square between Mercury in Leo and Uranus in Taurus describes that. It can also indicate feeling nervous or overwhelmed by surprises and disruptions, particularly if you have your mind set on your plans for the day going a certain way. Can you hang a little looser, and use the unexpected as sparks to your imagination instead? Either way, consider taking notes on your ideas the next couple days, since they may move quickly and might benefit from a careful review once your train of thought slows down some.

Mercury and Uranus are actually in a T-square formation with the minor planets Eros and Typhon in Scorpio. This looks like a reminder not to let your erotic urges — and any ‘darker’ emotions associated with them — scare you. Sexual energy is just life force energy, and is nothing to be ashamed of. You can use it playfully and creatively rather than simply feeling helplessly drawn into its intensity; today and the next couple days could offer unusual insights or ‘ah-ha’ moments about how to do this.
— by Amanda Painter

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Aquarius Full Moon (and Friends)

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By Amanda Painter

Mercury leaves its post-retrograde shadow phase this morning, freeing up thought patterns and communication just in time for today’s Full Moon in Aquarius. The Aquarius Moon opposes the Leo Sun and Venus at 8:29 am EDT (12:29:08 UTC), which means the aspect will be separating and the energy beginning to dissipate during the day.

Photo by Amanda Painter

A sunflower demonstrates the Golden Ratio; photo by Amanda Painter

That could translate into any seemingly stuck situations starting to resolve — though this appears to be a Full Moon with less of a conflict/tension signature compared to many other Full Moons.

This one looks more social, with the energy peak having come Wednesday night. Yet even as the Moon moves along from this opposition, the Sun and Venus will still be closely aligned — offering warm, heartfelt social vibes for a few days. Mercury finally treading new ground in Leo describes lively and possibly even dramatic communication of ideas — the bigger the audience, the better.

That said, if you’re in a funk or not feeling as social as everyone around you seems to be, there are elements in the Full Moon chart suggesting that a ‘fake it till you make it’ approach could be worth trying. That would be the asteroids Achilles (false confidence or false lack of confidence) and Icarus (a desire to escape restrictions, exuberance of youth; also potentially reckless actions) conjunct the Moon in Aquarius.

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The Day of Unique Happenings: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Aug. 6
The Day of Unique Happenings 2019-20 Leo Astrology Studio is available for instant access | All Other Signs

You’re preparing for a gear shift, prior to making some substantive changes. This process could be triggered by certain external events, though at root this has to do with you wanting to leave some aspect of former times behind you. If you’re unsure how to begin, consider where the past may be leaking into your current life. Do you consciously think or say one thing, and then end up doing something different under pressure? That could be a sign of an underlying idea you may need to let go.
— 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

The centaur planet Pholus has been hanging on out on the Aries Point, via the first degree of Capricorn, for more than a month now. That’s one facet of the astrology that describes the dual sense of a chain reaction (or the genie let out of the bottle) and ‘didn’t we already deal with this ages ago?’ that marks so much of what’s in the news currently. If what’s been happening politically or culturally has felt especially personal recently — in a way that seems to have a life of its own — Pholus offers a clue to that.

Later today, Pholus retrogrades back into late Sagittarius. You might take this as a signal to revisit certain goals or broad visions you had earlier this year. Notice the steps you’ve taken toward them, and what those steps have led to. Do you still feel like you’re on track in moving toward your ideals? Did those ideals, or your sense of possibility regarding them, shift or get blocked or become more solidified? What have you been learning about how to structure them, or about what limits them, or about the initiative it requires to pursue them?

As you track the answers to these questions and begin plotting your next steps, bear in mind that small adjustments and actions could count for more than you’d expect. This goes doubly this week, with Jupiter slow and about to station direct in mid Sagittarius. The Moon moving into Scorpio for the later part of the day could intensify your feelings about all of this, or lend some sharpness to your reactions. This could be useful for getting to the feelings beneath the surface.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of Passive-Active Duality: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is July 10
The Day of Passive-Active Duality | Order Your 2019-20 Cancer Reading | All Other Signs

In anything you do, you may notice there is a difficult way, and an easier way. By difficult, I mean running into obstacles that make no sense. How do you handle them? Do you go back toward the obstacle, or do you go in another direction? Think of this as the difference between the past and the future. In any choice you make, which way are you headed? Here is the thing: there are certain elements in your life that you are really, truly done with. Know what they are, and be bold about choosing something else — something alive and fresh.
— by Eric Francis

Hear Eric describe the impressive eclipses involving your Sun sign or rising sign in your 2019-20 Cancer Astrology Studio Reading — now available for instant access.

Written in the Planets

A few hours after the Moon enters Scorpio today at about 5:28 am EDT (9:28:29 UTC), it makes its way into a T-square formation with Mars in Leo and Uranus in Taurus. You may notice an extra edge (perhaps sexual) or depth of emotion this afternoon, possibly related to any restlessness you’re feeling this week. Mars aspects tend to be palpable on the approach (the square to Uranus is exact tomorrow), so you may already be experiencing it.

If you’re yearning for freedom in some form, see if you can channel that impulse away from outright rebellion and into a more deliberate process of ongoing creative change. Also keep tabs on perceived threats to your ego, since the potential for explosive reactions is higher with this aspect. With Mercury newly retrograde in Leo — and still in contact with Mars and Uranus — you’re on double alert to be careful and thoughtful with all forms of communication. It may be harder with real-time, in person conversations to press your internal pause button if needed. You’d be amazed, though, at the centering power of a couple deep breaths in such moments.
— by Amanda Painter

Partial Lunar Eclipse: Dec. 31, 2009. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

Partial Lunar Eclipse: Dec. 31, 2009. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis.

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Eric’s new 90-minute discussion of all things related to eclipses, in any sign — with a focus on Cancer and Capricorn eclipses, from the current pair through 2020 — is available now for instant access. Part audio reading, part astrology class, it offers you a lot of help processing the solar eclipse on July 2 and the lunar eclipse on July 16, and features original music. Hear it as part of the 2019-2020 Astrology Studio for Cancer, or purchase the Eclipses Reading separately for only $33.