Weekend Astrology: gaining emotional clarity

Today is Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. The Moon entered Pisces early this morning around 3:18 am EDT. A Pisces Moon tends to be sensitive anyway, but this one has just passed through the Mars-Neptune opposition we’ve been tracking all week. The continued message is about gaining clarity, and in this case emotional clarity. You’re likely to make actual progress if you now consciously focus on healing after any potential disruptions.

Looking ahead to the other side of the weekend, the Moon ingresses Aries at 2:02 pm EST on Sunday. Incidentally, notice that change in abbreviation: in the U.S. and Canada, daylight savings time ends and standard time begins overnight Saturday to Sunday. If you’re in either of those countries, be aware that the typical fuzzy-headed disorientation that always occurs with the time shift will be packing a little jolt this year.

In an aspect full of interesting surprises, the Moon makes a conjunction to Uranus shortly after arriving in Aries, and squares Pluto that evening (overnight Sunday to Monday in the UK and Europe). This is a good day to avoid drama and keep your focus. Potential conflict might come in the form of the sensation of ‘not fitting into the group’, being ‘too much of an individual’ or the notion of being too much in general.

In between the Moon’s two sign changes, we have Mercury and Venus continuing their conversation in Sagittarius. Part of that chat this weekend involves a quincunx to retrograde Jupiter in Taurus. A quincunx is that angle that’s almost an opposition. It’s just one sign off. The effect has much of the polarity we might experience with an opposition, but the negotiations we enter into with the two sides never quite balance out. There’s a constant need to adjust. In this case, there’s a need for transformation or regeneration of character with regard to speaking our desires (or feeling our words) on one side, and how we experience and repair our personal integrity inwardly on the other. The two are related, but not exactly the same – so it may take some subtle shifting back and forth as we try to get them aligned.

In the midst of that, Mercury begins its shadow/echo phase Saturday, heralding a retrograde that runs from Nov. 24 through Dec. 13. Mercury will be retrograde entirely in Sagittarius this time around; we’ll investigate this more as it approaches.

Overlaying the weekend, the Mars-Neptune opposition is providing some fuel for the imagination, the desire for something a little dangerous and the craving to push some boundaries with the help of a consciousness-altering substance. The thing to be aware of when doing that is that one does indeed negotiate one’s boundaries differently when consciousness is altered, and it’s good to keep a pulse on just how that works for you. No matter what you’re doing, be mindful of limits and boundaries.

On that theme, perhaps the most interesting aspect with erotic overtones this weekend is Sun square Vesta. This aspect is developing all weekend and is exact Monday. Vesta can work like an organizing principle, such as within a physical space. There is the message here that if you set a safe container, you can do some bold experimentation within that container. So be clear what a safe container means for you. Is it fantasy phone play and emails? Making art? Dancing? Reconnecting with an old lover with his own dungeon who still remembers your favorite safe word after all these years? Then again, maybe a ‘safe container’ need only be made of discernment, listening to intuition, clear communication, integrity and being honest about your desires. In this world, that takes conscious choice to create.

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