Tag Archives: self-awareness

The Day of the Heartbreakers: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Sept. 28
The Day of the Heartbreakers | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

The New Moon on your birthday signals opportunities to initiate a significant new cycle in your quest to realize ambitions. This leg of your journey may require adjustments related to financial interests or partnership issues of some kind. Express yourself with as much conscious awareness as possible. You can further your interests or instigate unnecessary conflict, depending on your agenda. Creative expression can open important doors, yet to maximize that potential will require your focused discipline. Social engagements likewise should work in your favor, and certain relationships with those in your immediate network could move to a whole new level.
— by Victoria Emory

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

Today the Sun and Moon meet for the Libra New Moon, early in that sign (exact at 2:26 pm EDT / 18:26:14 UTC). The closest other object is the asteroid Isis — about as close as you can get. Named after a primary Egyptian goddess, one of the major Isis myths involves how she had to put the body of her husband Osiris back together. From this, we get astrological themes for Isis such as re-unifying, recombining, reconstructing, reconciling, synthesizing, and also feminine strength.

Cozied up in the same degree of Libra with the Sun, Moon and Isis are the objects Makemake and Logos. One possible delineation for Makemake is, “the mystery of how things came to be the way they are.” Logos not only relates to words, but to logic and reason.

So there appears to be something in this New Moon — the dark, inward-looking lunar phase — about finding the tipping point (or the sweet spot) between the mystery of how things came to be the way they are, and the logic of how they have become this way, and using that space between to reconcile or synthesize the two. In other words, today could signal an opportunity for you to seek balance in your life through a new approach.

Consider what has and has not been working; meditate on what is becoming clearer and more real as Jupiter and Neptune continue to separate from their square. If you’ve been focused more on someone else’s glow or glare, this could be a good time to sort through your own responses — to them, and to yourself. Today may not feel super high-energy, but you could have an urge to enact steps in a plan — particularly if it feels like a second chance to ‘get it right’. There may not be any such thing as ‘perfection’, but the Golden Rule and cosmic law do offer solid ethical guidelines.
— 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 Ambiguous Hero: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 27
The Day of the Ambiguous Hero | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

This is a year to clear the decks and wrap up old business related to your past, your family, or your base of operations. Future aspirations need an open floor-plan in which to unfold. There’s a lot going on just beneath your conscious threshold that may register as a subtle feeling of pressure, or vague anxiety. You should find that the more you clear out and bring closure to pending situations, the less oppressed you’ll feel. Old imprints around partnership history likely play a role in what calls for resolution. Your communication skills can serve you extremely well, and go a long way toward laying the groundwork for the new cycle that lies ahead.
— by Victoria Emory

Written in the Planets

With the Virgo Moon waning toward tomorrow’s New Moon, energy levels could be a little low. It’s a ‘tidy up loose ends’ kind of day, with a suggestion that attention to details and organizing could suit best. Same with helping someone else in such tasks if there’s nothing pressing that needs attention on your own agenda.

With the Moon briefly opposing Neptune in Pisces and squaring Jupiter in Sagittarius, notice if you feel any emotional, energetic or mental ripples reminiscent of the Full Moon two weeks ago. That was a highly charged event.

Full Moons and New Moons generally signify peaks and moments of closure on a unifying theme or cycle of activity anyway. Yet there may be a little something extra from two weeks ago that surfaces today — specifically so you can analyze it with a clearer head and emotional body, and then release it more fully. Venus in Libra making its own slightly itchy aspect to Neptune suggests that continual small adjustments still need to be made in a relationship situation. Think in terms of rebalancing a long-standing fantasy with a newly emerging (or freshly recognized) reality.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of Patient Practice: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 26
The Day of Patient Practice | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Opportunities to bring healing to old relationship patterns is a signature theme this year. The more willing you are to recognize your role, the more you’ll actualize this potential. Clues can be found in power dynamics, and any obsessive need you may feel to impress your point of view on others. It’s not always easy to observe your thoughts, but doing so is a key to unlocking facets of past imprinting that you’re ready to resolve. Your perception is particularly intense right now, and the more you turn that light inward, the freer you’ll feel.
— by Victoria Emory

Written in the Planets

Today’s opposition between the Sun in Libra and Chiron in Aries may offer you a mirror of some kind today. Notice who arrives in your immediate sphere to show you some of your unresolved issues, perceived weaknesses or insecurities. This stuff could relate to your sense of purpose, identity and ability to take action, and could further trace back to what your father did or did not teach you about such things.

Chiron’s conjunction to Salacia potentially brings in the element of sex — especially facets of sex you prefer to keep ‘secret’, but which still form part of your holistic identity. Even if nobody else knows all about your desires and activities, it’s still a part of who you are and how you perceive yourself.

Whether or not the sexual identity theme emerges, pay attention to how you’re responding to those you encounter, particularly if any of these issues crop up. Are you seeing yourself in another person’s behaviors or attitudes? Is someone triggering reactions in you that you’d rather blame on ‘their shit’, but which actually illuminate something you need to address within yourself?

This looks like an important moment to move strongly towards honest self-expression in healing something. Just be aware that a square today between Mercury in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn could describe getting rather obsessive about a single thought; and that obsession — though fleeting — could manifest as trying to coerce someone to your point of view. Think inwardly instead. New depths of self-awareness are possible now, if you’re willing to look beneath your own surface.
— by Amanda Painter

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Libra New Moon: Tipping Points, Reconciliation and Relationships

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By Amanda Painter

As I write this on Tuesday, the internet is blowing up over two things: 16-year-old Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech to the UN, in which she spared nobody in her condemnation of leaders’ inaction to stem the climate catastrophe; and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that the U.S. House will open a formal impeachment inquiry against Pres. Trump. With the Sun on the Aries point — via the first degrees of Libra — and the Libra New Moon on Saturday still in that zone where personal and collective meet, this is fitting.

From the Sept. 20 Climate Strike; photo by Amanda Painter.

Libra’s hallmarks include balance, justice, initiative and — worth noting — the possibility for something to go either way. That’s the tricky thing about tipping points.

One would think that the tip would necessarily occur in the direction opposite to what has been experienced up until that moment. That might even be true for these two particular issues. Yet ‘the collective’ and the political machine seem to carry far more inertia than, say, personal tipping points.

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The Day of the Symbiotic Satirist: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 25
The Day of the Symbiotic Satirist | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Some kind of re-appraisal of domestic situations, perhaps family history that weighs you down, may call for your attention this year. Whatever the specifics might be, keep sight of your own personal aspirations for the future. Old baggage may need to be unpacked and what you’ve outworn given away to Goodwill; free up the bandwidth necessary to actualize what matters most to you as an individual. Adjustments in relationships are often essential to personal growth. Strong friendships seem ready to step right up, so don’t hesitate to reach out. One door may close while another opens wide.
— by Victoria Emory

Written in the Planets

If you have felt some difficulty in relating to others this week, you may notice it peaking today. Close romantic or sexual partners are the most likely context for this, but any bonded, cooperative or creative dynamic with another person is worth attention. The aspect at hand is Venus in Libra square Saturn in Capricorn — though both those bodies are in contact with Juno in Virgo and a deep-space phenomenon in Sagittarius called the Great Attractor.

Re-evaluating what you’ve been putting into a relationship and what you’re getting out of it appears to be the main thrust of any tension here. There’s an additional layer that seems to describe the question of getting needs met, versus being of service in a relationship, versus feeling compelled or drawn along by someone. Notice whether you harbor conflicting thoughts and feelings about your situation, and whether certain fears are looming about the relationship.

Our loved ones are only human, as are we, and worries about whether or not expectations are being met rarely reflect the whole picture of a relationship. Yes, there are times when enough is enough (including when we’re not receiving enough in return for your energy input), and it’s time to move on. And if you’re newly emerging from some kind of Jupiter-Neptune themed optimism bubble, the gradual loss of that shimmer and glow could feel disappointing. Rather than score-keeping right now, however, it’s possible that a little introspection on how much you’ve learned about yourself through your partnerships is called for. Make an actual list, and recognize how you’re growing; those insights can only serve to enhance any relationship.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of the Wanderer: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 24
The Day of the Wanderer | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Bold thought, backed up with action, invokes aid from forces mightier than oneself, to borrow from Goethe. Think big; your vision and sense of what’s possible are lit with a fortunate ray. This is a year to explore new conceptual terrain, and capitalize on a new level of heightened mental acumen. Communications of all kinds are especially favored: writers take note. The more discipline you bring to bear, the more you’ll take advantage of opportunities that open up. Reread that line twice. Allies in your community can play an especially helpful role in this process. Make a list of your fans and engage.
— by Victoria Emory

Written in the Planets

Do you tend to express yourself differently in your family of origin compared to your other relationships? If you said yes, are you sure about that? Today’s square between the Libra Sun and minor planet Quaoar in Capricorn appears to be pushing the issue.

Notice if you feel some inner tension around the patterns you see playing out in your interactions today. Watch for anything resembling the ‘dance’ you experienced as a young child: how people responded to you, and how you responded to them. What ultimately feels more balancing: actively ‘making nice’ in a situation because that’s the familiar/safe narrative; or letting a sense of inner equilibrium guide your actions, even if it goes off-script or causes some initial friction?

On a different but related note, there appears to be some symbiosis between female relationships of the ‘lover’ variety and those of the ‘mentor’ variety. This does not mean you should go sleep with your teacher or with a student. It’s more that there may be an opportunity today for some kind of exchange — such as creatively tag-teaming on a project; or relaying wisdom and affection, and receiving the same in return. It need not play out with a woman, either — everyone has ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ facets of themselves. Where do you notice an opportunity to receive combining with the instinct to nourish?
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of the Breakthrough: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 23
The Day of the Breakthrough | Pre-order pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

Think in terms of what you want to birth into the world. In a little over a year, a major new cycle focused on your personal creativity clicks into gear. This impacts you directly and, if approached with intention, can propel you far — in terms of both vocation and self-identity. Prepare the ground by tending to old business relative to aspects of your past or your home. All creations need a space within which to grow. That process inevitably creates an internal pressure that may register as anxiety or fears on a subliminal level. Fortunately, you seem to have just the kind of nurturing guidance that you need, and closer than you may realize.
— by Victoria Emory

Written in the Planets

Today is the Libra equinox: the start of Northern Hemisphere fall (spring below the equator). At 3:50 am EDT (7:50:02 UTC), the Sun entered Libra to herald the new season. You can think of each seasonal shift as a kind of natural check-in point throughout the year: a moment to consider what has developed over the previous three months (or six), where you seem to be headed now, and how you’d like to recalibrate your trajectory. The equinoxes in particular — and perhaps Libra especially — focus the question of balance: through the visible, palpable equality of day and night at this time.

In early Libra, the Sun meets up with an interesting cast of minor-planet characters: Bacchus, Hidalgo, and a galaxy called M87 in Libra; Quaoar in Capricorn; and waiting just inside Aries, Chiron and Salacia. One theme coming through this cluster is the idea of being some kind of ‘maverick’, or of setting yourself free in some way.

After a year partially shaped by the expansive, slippery natures of Jupiter and Neptune, where are you beginning to recognize a bubble in your life that only you can pop? Does it relate to sex and relationships, family patterns, career or vocational calling, creativity, some deeper sense of self? All equinoxes and solstices represent a tipping point: either toward more daylight or less. Yet even though today’s ingress of the Sun into Libra represents the solar balance tipping toward more night than daylight (in the Northern Hemisphere), there’s no reason — and few excuses — to stay in the dark about yourself.
— by Amanda Painter

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The Day of Restless Drive: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Sept. 22
The Day of Restless Drive | Order 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio | You can also pre-order the 2019-20 Libra Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

There is a time for work, and a time for play. You can surely rely on your innate sense of responsibility to carry out what has to be done. The chances are you would benefit from erring on the side of pleasure, hobbies and social contact. Make a point of setting aside regular periods to relax and recharge. Spend lots of time with friends who get you laughing from your diaphragm upwards and, if you so desire, lovers who bring you delight in even more places than that.
— 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

With the Sun in the last degree of Virgo (it enters Libra for the equinox tomorrow), notice whether there’s any sense of ‘edginess’ to the day. That can sometimes be a feature of the Sun in the last degree of a sign, especially at the end of a season. If you’ve been plotting and planning and trying to get some vision off the ground, know that we’re moving toward a time of initiative and enactment. But you might not be quite at the starting line yet.

Keep tying up loose ends, and checking your plan against what steps you’ve actually checked off your list so far. Small moves will likely count for a lot today and for the next couple days, as the Sun is square Pholus in Sagittarius. The Moon entering Cancer around midday EDT is another description of initiative — though it might actually be helpful for once to make like a crab and think in terms of lateral movement toward your goal. Often being indirect is an impediment, but it does have its uses — such as when you need to slide by your own resistance to fulfill a desire or responsibility, or when a clear move forward is not apparent yet.

With Mercury in Libra square Saturn and the lunar nodes in Capricorn, there might be some help in working out the practical details of your plan. You may have a choice between putting mental effort toward the unknown, or letting pessimism (or difficult communication) keep you in a holding pattern. Familiarity of that sort is rarely the entire picture. So why settle for it or let it bog you down?
— by Amanda Painter