Tag Archives: self-awareness

The Day of Structured Action: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 29
The Day of Structured Action | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

It would appear you’re approaching a turning point in your personal journey, which involves you learning to understand yourself possibly more thoroughly than ever before. Part of this might relate to accepting facets of yourself you’ve potentially avoided acknowledging in the past. The experience may feel like an initiation, or a moment of sudden enlightenment; regardless, it’s thanks to groundwork you’ve laid assiduously paying off. Don’t forget to honor yourself duly for your efforts.
— 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

Early in the day, Mercury joins the throng of points in Virgo — one of the two signs it rules (the other being Gemini). Mercury in this sign is said to describe stability of mind, and thinking that’s practical and logical. Yet that tends to work best when you have something tangibly productive, creative or analytical to focus on; this type of mental energy needs a job to do beyond idle daydreaming. So what projects have you had on the back burner, and what would be the first steps to reviving them?

With Mercury in Virgo also indicating strong communication and critical faculties, it’s also not a bad idea to watch out that ‘constructive criticism’ actually includes the constructive part. Or, you know, lean more toward asking questions about how and why something is the way it is, rather than offering unsolicited opinions.

On a somewhat related note, Venus is making aspects from Virgo that suggest the usefulness of learning to recognize the guilt trips others may try to lay on you. When it comes to prior agreements, there’s a difference between honoring your word and subjecting yourself to co-dependent or other unhealthy treatment. Abuse does not require your loyalty; your most sacred promise is to your own healing and wellbeing, from which place you can support that of others. Later this evening, the Moon enters Virgo on its way to tomorrow’s New Moon conjunction with the Sun. What smaller parts of your life’s whole could stand some reorganizing, realigning or integration?
— 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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

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Welcome to the Movie Theater of Your Mind

By Amanda Painter

I was meditating this morning on the chart for Friday’s Virgo New Moon (which is exact at 6:37 am EDT / 10:37:01 UTC) to see if a new angle on it might emerge. And an image did come to me: people collected together in a movie theater, watching a film being projected onto a screen.

Cropped still from Alfonso Cuaron's 2018 film Roma.

Cropped still from Alfonso Cuaron’s 2018 film Roma.

It surprised me how tangibly the scene came through, and how appropriate it was, with an unusual collection of Virgo points clustered together opposite Neptune in Pisces.

For example, all of the ‘personal planets’ — the ones that describe our most basic traits and urges — are in early Virgo: Mercury (the mind, communication), the Sun (ego, conscious self-expression), the Moon (emotions, the unconscious), Mars (drive, ‘masculine’), Venus (receptivity, ‘feminine’). Along with them are the asteroid Juno (relationship needs), a hypothetical point called Transpluto (narrow focus, learning wholeness and integration) and a few other minor objects named for ancient deities with all-too-human characteristics.

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The Day of Language: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 28
The Day of Language | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

You could well cover a lot of ground in the months ahead with regard to your emotional healing. The main thing to bear in mind, perhaps, is that safeguarding your wellbeing and promoting your own happiness are not only reasonable but important practices. Stay in touch with your intuition, and pay attention to your dreams. Don’t fight down aspirations, or even flights of fancy; instead, follow them along the winding tracks of your mind and take note of the places where you land.
— 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

You may want to figure something out all on your own, rather than accept instruction from another; or maybe the adventurous advice someone offers is at odds with a current plan or analysis you’ve been working on. These are just a couple ways today’s Virgo Sun square Ceres in Sagittarius could manifest. It’s also possible that the details you’re focused on aren’t quite squaring with the broader vision you’ve been using to feed your spirit.

Whatever the situation and however you choose to navigate it, bear in mind that there are times when we reject the nurturing we need simply because it does not match how we see ourselves. Maybe file it away, but consider revisiting later what’s offered to you today? Perspective can shift over time, and sometimes does so quickly under certain circumstances. This week’s Virgo-intensive sky might describe just such a situation, given its emphasis on focusing inwardly to incorporate various facets of yourself. With the Sun conjunct Mars and trine Uranus, there’s mental and physical energy you can draw upon for this process, even though the Moon is waning.
— 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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

In These Times graphic

The Day of Social Ideals: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 27
The Day of Social Ideals | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

Everyone has something unique to bring to the world, and that certainly includes you. Just now you have an opportunity to offer these personal gifts more openly. This might not seem easy, especially at first; it may involve confronting some early conditioning. Yet in truth the freedom to be oneself is a necessity, rather than an option. When confined, it is human nature to try and break away. Therefore, cherish that spirit of liberty within you, and take courage.
— 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

Remember that interstitial phrase from the old Monty Python TV show? “And now for something completely different.” If that phrase has not popped into your head in the last couple days, it may during the next few. Venus and Mars are still making a trine from Virgo to Uranus in Taurus, suggesting a certain attraction to people, activities and ideas that stray from your norm. Mars in particular increases the potential to be willing to risk certain consequences to achieve desired new experiences.

Yet with Venus and Mars still in a conjunction, and with various other planets in Virgo as we approach Friday’s New Moon in that sign, there’s also an emphasis on inner integration. That is, see if you can recognize the ways you contain exactly what you seek. By all means, pursue the new encounters you crave. In the process, however, you might take a little time to notice what you’re discovering about yourself. There may be quite a bit worth cultivating and harvesting.
— 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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

In These Times graphic

The Day of the Supportive Partner: Birthdays and Planet News

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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

In These Times graphic

The Day of the Unabashed Extrovert: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 25
The Day of the Unabashed Extrovert | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

If you discover that you’re struggling a little with demands on your spare time, it may help you to take a firmer hand in organizing it. Make sure you have enough room to relax and to feed your soul, as well as enjoying your friendships and social engagements. Most people need some kind of balance between introverted and extraverted activities; look for the one that’s suitable for you, and also offers you an ongoing enrichment of heart and mind.
— 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

What makes you feel nurtured? How do you feel when you are the one who must nurture yourself, rather than receiving that care from a partner or parental figure? If someone close to you desires you to feed, teach or care for them, how do you tend to respond? These and related questions could emerge today, described by Venus and Mars in Virgo square Ceres in Sagittarius.

Square aspects are about needing to take action, and it looks like that action could just as easily be the decision to allow yourself to receive as it could be the decision to ‘do’ for yourself. Maybe a little of both? You might also notice if you have a ‘philosophy’ of sorts about this issue that is currently at odds with your actual needs. Consider whether the models for nurturing and nourishing that you grew up with are working for you; it might be time to seek a new mentor or model for this facet of life. Being willing to analyze what’s really going on for you and then trying something new may relieve some tension, and also offer a new way forward — in your self-care, and in your relationships with others as well.
— 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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

In These Times graphic

The Day of Astute Examination: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 24
The Day of Astute Examination | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

Potentially you could find you’re a busy buzzer in the months to come. You’ve acquired a certain sense of completeness within yourself that may radiate a delightful charm and confidence. Others will almost certainly consider you good company, and probably very desirable, though don’t let flattery prevent you from employing discernment in your social choices. It would be advisable to surround yourself with true and proven friends, who will help bring out your best qualities.
— 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

One of the trickiest obstacles for many people in connecting with others (and in trying to grow) can be self-criticism. Thoughts like, “I’m always too [X]” or, “I can never [Y] enough” get in the way of seeing that we possess the same basic qualities (and struggles) that others do. That makes it easier to locate certain emotions, attitudes and behaviors only in other people (a form of projection).

With Venus and Mars making their exact conjunction today in Virgo, it’s possible that some self-criticism could crop up in a new way — particularly regarding matters of love and sex, relationships in general, or ways of being active/assertive and passive/receptive. Another primary way this conjunction may emerge is in a new ability to see and analyze the ways your inner feminine and masculine (or yin and yang energies) could be better integrated.

If you tend not to be assertive or to take up space, can you identify small ways that you actually have been or could try to be? If you usually leave the emotional processing and following to a partner, are you at all curious about allowing yourself to be a little more open and vulnerable, or to let them lead a little? Venus and Mars making a trine aspect to Uranus in Taurus describes some additional support in trying something new in this way, or in discovering something unexpected about yourself — and with less inhibition than usual. Potentially you may then be able to integrate it in a very tangible way. We’re all whole already; the tough part sometimes is feeling that way. One step at a time.
— 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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

In These Times graphic

The Day of Lively Precision: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is Aug. 23
The Day of Lively Precision | The 2019-20 Virgo Astrology Studio can now be pre-ordered | All Other Signs

Finding a role that truly reflects you is almost always worth any effort, and may be of particular importance for you this year. There is a tremendous difference, in terms of wellbeing, between a job you consider merely a means of bringing home the dough, and something that is much more a labor of love. If it wouldn’t be so easy to do the latter in a paid capacity, make sure you have sufficient time to pursue your real interests. This will help you feel more fully alive and in touch with your essential self.
— 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

Today the Sun enters Virgo, at 6:02 am EDT (10:01:52 UTC), and begins the last sign of the current season. In one month, we arrive at the equinox. We’re entering a phase of harvest and the gathering in of the wisdom we’ve gained from recent experience. In so doing, we can begin the process of integrating it and — eventually — bringing the results out into the world. With a Venus-Mars conjunction brewing, that process of integration is likely to involve some of the most potent inner dualities we human beings encompass. Or, to put it more simply: what do you need to acknowledge and tend to in your relationship to yourself?

Late tonight into Saturday (depending on time zone), the asteroid Juno also leaves Leo and enters Virgo — describing a focus on the health of the people we’re most intimate with, and how it impacts the relationship as a whole. In between, we have the last quarter Moon today, after the Moon enters Gemini. This is the waning Moon phase leading to the next New Moon — suggesting that you put some energy toward moving a project toward the next stage, or toward completion. Whether that project is something external or some kind of inner process, sometimes even seemingly minor insights and small steps turn out to be the key to unfolding all the rest.


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.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Read more here.

In These Times graphic