Hopefully you’re beginning to feel some resolution for whatever was building to a head with last night’s Cancer Full Moon, though it may take a while for any tension to dissolve appreciably. We’re still in the midst of the Venus-Mars square (exact at 12:12 pm EST today); plus, we’re heading into the last couple days of the Sun in Capricorn, which may add a slight edginess of its own.
First, Venus-Mars. Venus is retrograde in Capricorn and Mars is in direct motion (for now) in Libra. This is the goddess of love and beauty at odds with the god of war and libido, and it begs the question: is all truly fair in love and war?
Do you even know which side of that equation you’re working right now?
With Venus and Mars in mixed reception (Mars is in a sign rules by Venus; Venus is in a sign where Mars is exalted) the tone of each planet’s energy has taken on shades of the sign where it is placed.
All might not be as clear as usual in terms of identifying what you want, how to get it, and your role in a relationship. That includes how your inner feminine and inner masculine sides are relating to each other; as in, the balance between assertiveness and receptivity. You may have seen some of this play out in external relationships this week, but with the Full Moon past, whatever you’re struggling with might be more clearly identified as internal.
Meanwhile, the Sun is preparing to leave Capricorn. It will ingress Aquarius, the next-to-last sign of the zodiac, at 10:51 pm EST Sunday. Aquarius is often associated with forward-thinking technological breakthroughs, but they’re the kind that stick — so if you’re feeling as though you need to get clear on something in your life or take a particular step in just the right way, you may be sensing this impending shift in energy.
We’ll have a waning Virgo Moon this weekend as the Sun finishes up in Capricorn. If any of your New Year’s resolutions had to do with clearing space, getting organized or dealing with specifics, tune into the Moon and get hands-on about it. In preparing your physical space, you also prepare your mind, your mood and your energetic body to be open to something new coming in.
We’ll have more about the Sun in Aquarius to begin next week. For now, consider the ways in which the spark of innovation, when Aquarius is involved, can not only gain traction, but become crystallized and entrenched. Society has a way of co-opting the individual; Aquarius is all about maintaining individual identity within a group, and recognizing that individuation in others. Perhaps that’s partly where this sign gets its humanitarian soul.
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A correction to yesterday’s comment: Edw. Snowden’s progressed chart can be found at PlanetWaves.FM for June 18, 2013, not December 30th. That chart also holds a T-square between Venus on the IC at 6+ Virgo that squares Vesta at 6+ Gemini opposite Uranus at 5+ Sagittarius. The transiting Sun will reach the open leg of this T-square (also the MC of Snowden’s progressed chart), next month around 25th-26th, allowing for the progressions to advance a little. Likely this will shed more light on Snowden’s values (Venus) and work ethics (Virgo) as well as the price he is paying (Vesta) for exposing data (Gemini), and for his disregard (Uranus) for the law (Sagittarius).
In March the New Moon will reach this area of Snowden’s progressed chart, his MC (reputation, career and recognition), and so will transiting Neptune. Perhaps then some forgiveness or leniency or dissolution (Neptune and Pisces NM) of his transgressions will be forthcoming. After all, the U.S. Sibly Astraea (I will never leave you) is at 5+ Virgo!
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Today the Sun is in opposition to my own. So soon after that full moon which was conjoined my Sun, it feels a little like a double-whammy, but some things that had felt irretrievably stuck seem to be moving a bit. Len’s advice to “hold the tension until the right situation arises” has been a little gut-wrenching, but I can see how it created some space. I’m a little exhausted & looking forward to renewal; definitely in the “let’s get on with this already” frame of mind. I’ll make sure to clear space within & without to make way for what I’m creating.
“…the music plays the band, Lord they’re setting us on fire”: Chief, that’s a beautiful way to put it. On fire without getting burned is how it feels to let music flow through me.
On December 30, Eric provided a progressed chart of Edw. Snowden’s natal chart in which Pholus was at 20+ Aries. Today trans. Eris is at 21+ Aries and quincunx trans. Saturn at 21+ Scorpio. Trans. Saturn is also quincunx the U.S. Sibly Mars at 21+ Gemini, and the 3 of them (trans. Saturn, Eris [+ Snowden prog. Pholus] and U.S. Mars) form a yod which signifies a need to act.
Today the transiting Sun is conjunct the U.S. Sibly Pluto at 27+ Capricorn. Pres. Obama chose this day to announce changes in the way the data is collected by the NSA and how/where it is stored.
With Snowden’s prog. Pholus (small cause, big effect) triggering trans. Eris (discord) as she sextiles the U.S. Mars (action) in Gemini (data) and these two each quincunx (adapt to) trans. Saturn (government) in Scorpio (transform), it looks like the Snowden Effect is working.
The recent Venus-conjunct-Sun (21+ Capricorn) was sextile Saturn (21+ Scorpio) and squared both Eris (21+ Aries) and Vesta (21+ Libra) who symbolizes what is invested in, so it was Venus and Sun activating not only the yod (trans. Saturn, Eris, U.S. Mars) but creating a T-square (Sun-Venus, Eris, Vesta) with the open leg of the T-square in the sign of Cancer. Transiting Jupiter stationed retrograde at 20+ Cancer before he reached 21 degrees but in early June he will finally reach that degree a couple of weeks after trans. Jupiter and Saturn perfect their 3rd and final trine of the series that began last July. Trines symbolize cooperation and an ease of delivery of their combined energies.
The President’s plan for change will be in two stages and judging by this astrology, I would conclude that results will be seen this June. Thus, the Venus conjunct Sun aspect would bring the two patterns, the T-square and the yod into one solution. Pres. Obama said today that we had to “adapt” (quincunx) because of the 911 tragedy. He alluded to the waterboarding techniques used by the military as contradictory to our “values” and that had to change. Values are a Venus thing. With Venus conjunct the Sun (consciousness) the use of data collection to spy on citizens became fully conscious, and it is also contradictory to our values, so now the NSA (Pluto in the U.S. chart conjunct Sun today) must also change. It is a Venus-Sun-Capricorn thing.
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wandering_yeti: you pose the question- “was she my twin, died before we were big enough to see without a microscope?”
Science does know that far more conceptions begin with twins than result in twins being born. If we consider the numerous biological transitions that we are required to navigate in order to complete the journey of incarnation, it is clear that many who reach conception do not complete the process of birth, but instead chose to leave at a number of transition points along the way. You may indeed have had a physical twin for a while, and your honoring of her presence within, whatever the “truth” of the story, is honorable in and of itself. Thank you for sharing your depth of experience and insight.
I love your insight about music having her own life and intentionality, I play bait as well, and I can relate to the experience of being carried along in the process of music making. As some wise friends said:
“People joinin’ hand in hand
While the music plays the band.
Lord, they’re setting us on fire…”
Interior: yyyyyyes. I didn’t know Asbolus was on my Moon until I just read it, but I’ve been feeling an increase in Lunar vibrations even as my Sun sign has been active. One change is beginning to feel Music as a living being with her own agenda. It seems to work a lot better when I hold this idea as true since it holds the sweet spot between control and no control, not shining so bright that I can’t hear the other stars in the musical constellation.
And my spirit twin: another story that comes from my inner experience I can’t prove in a scientific sense. It’s like the androgynous being of myself had to choose which side would be flesh and which would be spirit, but this time around it seems that we did it in such a way (was she my twin, died before we were big enough to see without a microscope? No way to know scientifically…) to make the alchemical marriage possible. The more I keep a part of my awareness open to this presence the better able I am to move with integrity in any situation, cultivated in the crucible of musical performance.
The Earth is solid.
Blameless.
Sing.
The wind blows.
Laughing. Crying. Blameless.
Sitting. Standing. Take notes.
Make music.
This is hard.
I’m off for a four day workshop on ‘self discovery” now.
Feeling like I’ve been run over with a tractor trailer .
Looking forward to Mondays Aquarian influence … my sun sign.
Amanda: Thank you for how you pulled together the Sun and Moon, Venus and Mars so adroitly. The anaretic degrees have long held an interest for me. Some esoteric astrologers imply how it is a place where the zodiac sign cusps melt into each other a bit (and Saturn’s mutual orthodox rulership of Capricorn and Aquarius would support that). There is also the sense of looking for something, a restless discomfort that the Venus-Mars cardinal square, and which the Virgo Moon’s mutability endorses.
Salamander: Thank you for your observations. Please allow me to offer one in turn. Despite not your 12h house – it is the most probable source of the innovation you are feeling pushed to find.
hermionesotter: Thank you for an excellent anticipation of the grand cardinal cross (which, like the freeway, is already in progress). Good catch about Mars and April too. Eric has come up with some ways to get you through this coming April in good shape in “The Mars Effect” annual edition.
I wonder whether this complex little dance of Venus and Mars somewhat predicates the April Grand Cross, which also has the air of nothing being quite what it seems; and of course Mars will be instrumental in thst configuration too.
Thank you for this article. I am working on balancing my yin and my yang (with the full moon and Venus square Mars), and I see how in my life, I have both functions. With the start of the spring semester, and my internship, I am being pushed to be innovative, to become a problem-solver and to expand my intellect. For the first time ever, I am excited about Aquarius transits (despite being my 12th house), but I’ll finish establishing my hopes and wishes with the end of the Capricorn transit.