Tag Archives: Uranus

Friends, Benefits, and the Leo Full Moon

By Amanda Painter

We’re heading toward a Full Moon on Feb. 9, and Mercury stations retrograde one week later (on Feb. 16). That would be more than enough provocative energy on its own, but there are additional elements of the sky that will be sparking up the weekend.

Disco lion’s mane or crystallized moonlight? Photo by Amanda Painter.

One of those elements gets cooking tomorrow: Venus enters Aries at 3:02 pm EST (20:02:17 UTC) Feb. 7. Venus in Aries (the sign of Self ruled by Mars) tends to be lusty and assertive, idealistic yet impulsive, charming but sometimes inconsiderate without realizing it.

So remember your empathy, especially if any interpersonal situations get confrontational or intense as the Full Moon builds.

Yet it’s the conjunction of Venus to Chiron and the object Salacia that really focuses the qualities of Venus in Aries. Salacia appears to relate to sexual maturity (particularly the lack thereof) and to the kinds of sexual activity that get people all flustered.

In the U.S. media at least, that seems to be anything taboo or ‘scandalous’. In your personal life, it might mean the same things — or simply your perception that certain facets of your desire and sexual activity could be seen that way. But aren’t those always the hottest fantasies?

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Ceres in Aquarius, and a Vesta Quarter Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Tomorrow (Friday), Ceres becomes the next planet to leave the Capricorn stellium. It enters Aquarius at 2:59 am EST (7:58:45 UTC), and immediately bumps into the surprises offered by Uranus in Taurus.

Dewi Sri, the Balinese goddess of rice and fertility, watches over a home in Ubud. Photo by Amanda Painter.

What does Ceres in Aquarius describe? Ceres is the planet of literal food (specifically grain) and feeding, as well as metaphorical forms of nourishment. Aquarius is the sign of groups.

Automatically, we get an image of the social facet of eating: all forms of breaking bread with others, perhaps especially potluck dinners. Things like volunteering at soup kitchens and food banks bring in the humanitarian facet of Aquarius.

Less literally, we can see the theme of socialness itself being nourishing. Our friendships feed our hearts and souls, and at times offer the kind of nurturing that families of origin were not able to provide. Being accepted by a group can feel nourishing (though its shadow side includes peer pressure, social hierarchies and tribalism).

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Not Your Typical Aquarius New Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Tomorrow is the Aquarius New Moon, exact at 4:42 pm EST (21:41:52 UTC). Aquarius is a curious sign, at its best when blending the structuring abilities of Saturn with the liberating impulses of Uranus.

Photo by Amanda Painter.

In that sense, it seems a perfect sign to host the first lunation after the Jan. 10 eclipse: eclipse periods generally feature a process of liberating oneself from some facet of the past, in order to take greater authority in directing the next steps forward.

The slowly separating Saturn-Pluto conjunction underscores these themes, connecting them to long-term processes. Whatever ‘new start’ Friday’s New Moon represents for you should be familiar, perhaps even expected.

Chances are you’ve been involved with some form of drawing something to a close this week, or resolving one phase of a process. Today and the first part of tomorrow still carry that signature.

Yet life is not simply ‘business as usual’ right now, thanks to a couple of factors. The first is that the Aquarius Sun is square Uranus in Taurus, exact today.

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Harnessing Those Bright Ideas

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By Amanda Painter

How are things shaking out now that we’ve concluded the eclipse period, and Saturn and Pluto have made their famous meeting in Capricorn? True, Saturn-Pluto is still working out, and Pluto is not at all done with Cap yet. But has anything shifted? Do you feel like you’re in recovery? Are you facing a brave (or scary, or shiny, or intimidating) new world?

Fire Engine Abstract #4. Photo by Amanda Painter.

It may take a good while yet to see the effects of choices you’ve made in the last two to three weeks. Chances are good, though, that you understand something about your world, and your personal agency in it, in a new way.

Right on cue, Mercury — the planet of intellect — is leaving the Capricorn herd and entering Aquarius at 1:31 pm EST today (18:30:42 UTC). Mercury is strong here, blending the steady persistence of Saturn (traditional ruler of Aquarius) with the intuitive inventiveness of Uranus (modern ruler of Aquarius).

Mercury in Aquarius also tends to be a communicative, friendly placing, likely related to the association Aquarius has with groups. It can be iconoclastic with its ideas, but there’s also a reminder to beware of inflexible thinking once the brainstorm has offered its insights. Aquarius is, after all, a fixed sign, describing the repeated crystallization of new patterns after old ones have been interrupted.

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Onward into 2020

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By Amanda Painter

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found this to be an especially contemplative transition to a new year. I guess that’s true each time we end a decade, as we assess just how much has changed in those ten years. Yet, in moving from 2019 to 2020, I’m aware of just how much extra gravitas, pressure, awareness and restlessness I’m feeling, and its correlation to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn.

Photo by Amanda Painter

Ten or so years ago, roughly corresponding to Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn, marked some highly pivotal events in my life.

Tracing the growth I’ve experienced in this last decade — and contrasting it to the general trajectory of the previous ten years — is offering confirmation that the processes of Pluto, daunting as they are, do offer gifts.

Even so, the lessons of Pluto and Saturn tend to be hard-won.

While the lessons of Jupiter (and even Uranus) can seem to fling the doors of one’s life wide open — simply leaving it up to us to stride through (not always easy, depending on one’s circumstances and baggage) — Saturn and Pluto demand more. They ask us to work for what we want. They insist that we make the difficult choice to undo so much that has always appeared solid, or a given, so that we can build anew in ways that afford us more space for who we’re becoming.

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The Cosmic Breath that Quickens Capricorn

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By Amanda Painter

I was thinking recently about how, each year, the Sun moves from its alignment with the Galactic Core in late Sagittarius (today) to its ingress of Capricorn (Saturday) within the span of a couple of days. I’m fascinated by this juxtaposition of energies, and what it might mean.

Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, shines above Bear Lake, Alaska. Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force, via Wikimedia Commons.

Aurora Borealis (northern lights) above Bear Lake, Alaska. Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang, U.S. Air Force, via Wikimedia Commons.

Even though our Milky Way galaxy and its center are far from the most massive things in space, they’re still too huge and too far away for most of us to comprehend.

How do you relate something like that to your job or your breakfast, or your life’s goals, or even how long it takes you to fly on a plane from one continent to another? You can’t. And yet we’re part of the Milky Way.

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The Day of Ingenuity: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is Dec. 3
The Day of Ingenuity | 2019-20 Sagittarius Astrology Studio | All Other Signs

The passionate drive necessary to build greater financial security is yours to harness this year. To access it successfully, pay attention to what your inner-being tells you. Intuitive prompts will be fueled by desire that you need to acknowledge, so tune in. Trust your gut, but also use your head. A methodical, process-oriented approach to resource management is your winning ticket.
— by Victoria Emory

If you have a Sagittarius Sun, rising sign or Moon and could use some insights on real-life matters of life, work and relationships, your 2019-2020 Sagittarius Astrology Studio reading by Eric Francis will cover your ruling planet Jupiter’s conjunction to the Galactic Core, a preview of forthcoming Jupiter in Capricorn, and many other potentially life-changing facets of your astrology.

Written in the Planets

When the Moon enters Pisces today, it begins making harmonious aspects to all the planets early in the earth signs (Uranus in Taurus; Jupiter, Pholus, Ceres and Venus in Capricorn) and in the early water signs (Mars in Scorpio, Nessus and Neptune in Pisces). The Pisces Moon is an emotionally and energetically sensitive, creative, dreamy influence, and a conduit into the subtler realms of understanding. Those planets in earth signs can be a little dry and, shall we say, ‘sturdy’.

So this Pisces Moon offers a softening influence — like warming up your modeling clay, so you can use it more fluidly to create unlikely forms that will still stand. The Moon’s first aspect is to Jupiter — traditional ruler of Pisces. This describes some welcome lubrication for Jupiter in its new, more structured circumstances. Notice where your fantasies intersect with practical applications to form a unique opportunity — then take it.

Venus and Mars are themselves in a sextile aspect. Although in signs that tend to be fairly private in their passions, this pattern describes a useful resonance between feelings and actions. Giving and receiving might not be apparent out in public today, but one-on-one encounters behind closed doors or via secure channels should feel balanced, whether focused on erotic, social or business exchanges.
You can access your December monthly horoscopes by Eric here.
— by Amanda Painter

In 2020 we have not one but two conjunctions that mark the turn of a generation, and of an era in history. On Jan. 12, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn form their once per 33-year conjunction. Then on Dec. 21. 2020, Jupiter and Saturn, both now in Aquarius, form a conjunction in the first degree of that sign. Read more here…

The Day of Sustained Effort: Birthdays and Planet News