Author: Amelia Shea

“When wolves perceive pleasure or danger, they become utterly still- statues- utterly focused so they can see, so they can hear, so they can sense what is there in its most elemental form.” Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

“The creative mind plays with the object it loves.” Carl Jung

I have a friend who does an astrology report every week on a radio station in Boston. It is a small public station, student run  and associated with a university. This morning when I tuned in before my friend’s show, they were playing a piece of music which I had loved in the past and not heard in a long time. It was from the Paul Winter’s album, Canyon Lullaby.

I made a note of it with the intention of listening to his music again. It reminded  me that Venus is slowing down now to station retrograde Sunday December 19 at 26 degrees of Capricorn. This retrograde period which lasts through late January 2022 provides good timing to bring things back into your life that you have loved or valued in the past.

Venus also rules finances and the retrograde period provides a good time to review the use of your resources and whether you might like to put them to work in other ways.

It is also a good time to reassess – given the many changes in the world  around us – how your values may have changed.  The sign of Capricorn is associated with tradition and the conditioning  from family, society , religion, culture etc  to be or live a certain way. The time we are living in though, is associated with evolution and authenticity. So this retrograde offers an opportunity to explore ideas of a life freer from those influences or the pressures exerted by those influences if so desired.

I ran into a friend who told me his partner was moving in with him that day  and that she had gathered up all her belongings in her VW and was bringing them to his house. “She’s not a material girl,” he said smiling. She was in fact working for an international peace organization and living simply  and working at her job was what she cared about most in her life. There is a movement afoot now to live more simply and focus on what is meaningful in life rather than pursuing a more traditional career.

The upcoming week as we approach the Full Moon in Gemini is a good time for expanding thoughts about the future and the possibilities it might hold. This is a more powerful time with the Sun in Sagittarius and conjunct the Galactic Center at the time of Saturday’s Full Moon. The Galactic Center is the point about which our galaxy rotates and  is a powerful point of attraction.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is, “A young gypsy emerging from the woods gazes at far cities.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.” Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

This week Mercury aligns with Neptune bringing together the planet of thought and communication with the planet that rules all things ethereal. It is wise to double check thoughts for accuracy and to make an effort to communicate more clearly as misunderstandings can more easily occur and memory is likely not as sharp as at other times.

Jupiter is squaring Mars- indicating a lot of energy is available for moving projects forward. One of the expressions associated with this duo, though, is “overshooting the mark.” It’s wise to keep balance and moderation in mind. Opinions can get more heated under this influence and more dogmatic.

Venus in Capricorn is center stage this week as she engages the Pluto/Eris square and moves up to a conjunction with Pluto. This provides good timing for getting in touch with what you feel passionate about in your life. It is an alignment of deep feelings and can sometimes bring up feelings of loss and grief. It provides a good time for the revisioning  and healing of old wounds related to love – self love included. And to think about love in the deeper sense – as a force in the world.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”An ancient pottery bowl filled with fresh violets.”

“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
Where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.”
-Rumi

The wind is at our backs with the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius on Dec 4. Sagittarius is the sign of the higher mind and  big picture thinking. This Eclipse opens a window on an optimistic time and bodes well for exploring opportunities for future growth and expansion. With appropriate planning there is the likelihood of accomplishing something now that at other times may have not seemed doable.

The Eclipse aligns positively with both Mercury and Saturn bringing clarity of thought and a stabilizing influence. In aligning with Uranus it  gives the ability to cut ties with things that have been  holding us back.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A vast panorama of sand and time is unfolding; the pyramids and sphinx rise before the eye.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“I grew up in the patterned silence
In the cool nursery of the young century
And people’s voices were not dear to me
But I could understand the voice of the wind.” Anna Akhmatova

“I believe deeply that we must find, all of us together, a new spirituality.” Dalai Lama

Neptune stations direct today – Wednesday December 1. The veils between the worlds are very thin for the next couple of days as this ethereal planet starts to move forward. The Neptune station bodes well for spiritual and artistic endeavors but it’s best if possible to put off  serious decisions until after the Eclipse. It’s a good time to clear a path for the new dreams and visions of your life.

Neptune is in the mystical sign of Pisces and at other times in history when this was the case there was an increased interest in spirituality and  growth of spiritual awareness on the planet.

Neptune rules illusion and addiction but it also governs redemption. If  necessary it’s a good time to  consider where it would be best to to take off the rose colored glasses or work to end the repetition of unproductive habits that have an addictive nature to them.

Mercury and Uranus are aligning indicating that for the next few days important information can emerge or there can be “out of the blue” revelations or  breakthroughs in thinking.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A prophet bringing down the new law from the mountain.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“A wise old owl sat in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke.
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be like
That wise old bird ?” Proverb

“You are not the oil, you are not the air-merely the point of combustion, the flash-point where the light is born.” Dag Hammarskjold

The Sun is conjunct the South Node this week and Mercury will soon be joining the party. This is a culmination of sorts of the time that the Lunar Nodes have been travelling in Sagittarius and Gemini The Lunar Nodes will move into the signs of Taurus and Scorpio in late January.

The Nodes have been transiting Sagittarius and Gemini since May of 2020 with the South Node in Sagittarius and the North Node in Gemini. AS the Sun and Mercury move up to conjunct the South Node this week it’s a good time to look at where views over time may have become too rigid and would benefit from updating. The North Node in Gemini points in the direction we want to go- with more  openness, communication and learning.

Thursday the Sun conjuncts the asteroid Vesta. This asteroid was named after the Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome who were the priestesses of the goddess of the hearth. The Vestal Virgins kept the sacred fires alight and presided over all state and government ceremonies.It was believed that Rome would fall were the sacred fires to go out.

The Vestal Virgins were freed from the normal social obligation to marry and have children. Their duties included tending to the perpetual fire in the temple of Vesta, getting  water from a sacred spring, caring for sacred objects within the temple and officiating at public events.

This is a nice asteroid to preside over the holiday many celebrate as a day of gratitude, Thanksgiving.  Very timely too, as we head into the darker days before the return of the light on the Winter Solstice.

One of the significant transits of 2021 -the sextile between Saturn and Chiron , makes it’s final aspect this week. A herald of the Age of Aquarius, Saturn in this sign is about awakening to the importance of community both locally and globally and the need to work together to create a brighter future. Chiron’s journey of wounding and healing in the sign of Aries is associated with misuse of masculine energy (in both men and women.)  It offers an opportunity to move in a direction of a more balanced use of power.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”An old owl perched high up in a tree.”

“Still what I want for my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled-
to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even
to float a little
above this difficult world
I want to believe I am looking
into the white fire of a great mystery.” Mary Oliver

“The world will change less in accordance with men’s machinations as with women’s divinations.” Claude Bragdon

We are in the realm of mystery -particularly now- as we are in between two eclipses. The first Full Moon Lunar Eclipse was on Friday November 19 ET and the upcoming Solar Eclipse is December 4 at 12 degrees of Sagittarius.

Eclipses are associated with destiny and  personal evolution and the time around eclipses bodes well for raising awareness about your soul’s evolutionary journey.

Friday’s Lunar Eclipse had the potential to stir things up. It could make visible limiting  habitual, cultural or ancestral influences which we might not normally take into account. Lunar Eclipses are about the past and can provide guidance about what we need to acknowledge and let go of in order to clear our vision for the path forward.

It’s a time of rapid change and evolution now – now only for our small planet  but in each of our personal lives.

The Solar Eclipse on Dec 4 opens a new chapter. It’s a good time now to plan and get clear on  intentions.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A widow’s past is brought to light.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Varnished weeds in window jars
Tarnished beads on tapestries
Kept in satin boxes are
Reflections of love’s memories

Letters from across the seas
Roses dipped in sealing wax
Valentines and maple leaves
Tucked into a paperback

“Love is STILL the answer.” a bumper sticker in VT.

“Everything wants to be loved…You ever notice that trees do everything to get attention we do, except walk?”Alice Walker

Venus, the goddess of love and beauty enters the earthy sign of Capricorn today. Venus will have a long foray in this sign as she moves up to 26 degrees of Capricorn on December 18 when she will station retrograde. Venus will then backtrack to 11 degrees of Capricorn and station direct on January 28, 2022.

Venus in Capricorn reminds me of the Tarot Card the Nine of Pentacles. In A.E. Waite’s deck this card portrays a woman standing in her garden which is flourishing. There are grapes growing behind her signifying abundance. This is a card of well- being and being connected to the pleasures of earthly life in a balanced way. A hawk is resting on her arm indicating she has tamed forces within herself which could disrupt her tranquility. It is a card of peace and  contentment.

Venus in Capricorn is a lover of tradition and of the past.  Because Venus rules affairs of the heart and love in general, the retrograde period can provide a good time to assess these matters in your own life – how would you like to grow  in this realm, for example, or do you have appropriate boundaries in place to make relationships thrive? This applies to the work space as well as the personal.

It’s also a good time to review financial matters and a time when finances can grow.

If you have been waiting for things to manifest, January looks promising for that.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”The human soul, in its eagerness for new experiences, seeks embodiment.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“In that open field
If you do not come too close, if you do not come too close,
On a summer midnight, you can hear the music
Of the weak pipe and the little drum
And see them dancing around the bonfire
The association of man and woman…
Round and round the fire
Leaping through the flames, or joined in circles,
Rustically solemn or in rustic laughter
Lifting heavy feet in clumsy shoes,
Earth feet, loam feet, lifted in country mirth
Mirth of those long since under earth.” TS Eliot

“God is alive and magic is afoot.” Leonard Cohen

Samhain, the ancient Celtic holiday,  which falls at the midpoint between the Autumn Equinox  and the Winter Solstice is on November 7. Significant things can happen on these cross quarter days – it’s wise to heighten awareness for information that surfaces at this time.

The veils are thin between now and November 7. It is a good time to honor and celebrate the ancestors.

It’s also a good time for intention setting  with the New Moon in Scorpio kicking off a mystical time-frame.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”The silvery moon shining across a beautiful gem of a lake.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill