Amelia’s Blog

“There is a door. It opens. Then it is closed. But a slip of light stays, like a scrap of unreadable paper left on the floor, or the one red leaf the snow releases in March.” Jane Hirshfield

January had some powerful planetary signatures which pointed directly to the considerable change going on these days in our inner and outer lives. February provides a good time for processing and integrating information. It’s wise this month to provide extra down time and screen free time to strengthen concentration and give the nervous system time to restore and replenish.

One of the very favorable aspects this month is the Jupiter/Neptune sextile. Sextiles need to be activated to be beneficial – in other words it is necessary to take action associated with their symbolism in order for things to manifest. This duo is associated with the expansion of dreams and wishes. It also speaks of increased spirituality, altruism and generosity. It is a very good aspect for intention expansion and intention setting.

Given the rock and roll of January when many people experienced significant change in their lives, it bodes well to take some time to create clarity for the direction forward. If, for instance you left a job or career it’s wise to make a simple list of what you’d like next – including what you appreciate about what went on at that job and what you plan to avoid next time. It’s a good threshold time to create a deeper awareness or culmination of knowledge about areas of your life that are undergoing change.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time  is,”In a hospital, the children’s ward is filled with toys.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

“The Pacific Ocean was overflowing the borders of the map. There was no place to put it. It was so large, wild and blue that it didn’t fit anywhere. That’s why it was left in front of my window.” Pablo Neruda.

Mercury the planet of thought and communication will enter the sign of Pisces on Monday. This mysterious, watery,  elusive sign is ruled by the Sea God and planet of dreams, Neptune. This indicates a good time for creativity and the imagination and speaks of symbolic thought. It bodes well now to engage in activities that inspire – listening to music, reading or writing poetry, meditating or pursuing spiritual growth and awareness.

Mercury will station retrograde two weeks later on Feb 16. At the time of the station Mercury will be in Pisces conjunct Neptune.  During the retrograde period it will bode well to make an extra effort to keep communications clear and with the retrograde, to anticipate possible snafus with technology and travel.

Retrograde periods in general bode well for reflection and review. Check the house Mercury will be transiting in your chart to see which area of your life would benefit from review during this time.

The retrograde period will last through March 9 when it will station direct at 28 degrees of Aquarius.

One of the Sabian symbols for Mercury’s move into Pisces is,”Moonlit fields, once Babylon are blooming white.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

“At first people refuse to believe that a strange thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can’t be done, then they see it can be done – then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done before.” Franes Hodgson Burnett

Uranus, the planet of innovation and  the future was a strong player in yesterday’s New Moon in Aquarius. It’s wise for this Moon cycle – the next four  weeks or so- to be open to awakenings to new possibilities. Mars is adding courage and energy to Mercury- indicating bold thinking about what you feel passionate about  can open doors.

Vesta is squaring Venus which is a caution against holding on too tightly to ideas that can block the way.  It’s a good time to evaluate which ideas – particularly associated with comfort or security have been outgrown.

It is a good time for creativity, journaling and meditation as Venus the planet of love and beauty, moves up to Neptune, the planet of mysticism. It’s wise to raise the level of inspiration coming into your life now.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”In a quiet moment a creative person experiences the flow of inspiration.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“What shape waits in the seed of you to grow and spread its branches against a future sky?” David Whyte

“Sometimes life is so surprising there is nothing to do but live.” Emily Dickenson

The Sun entered Aquarius this morning at 9:55 am EST. Throughout the week the Sun will be squaring Uranus in Taurus. This ushers in a time that bodes well for innovative and visionary thinking.

It’s a good time to stay open to change and evolution. Both Uranus and the sign of Aquarius are freedom loving. This pair can bring about surprises and a sudden shift in awareness.

The New Moon – with the Sun and Moon squaring Uranus – is on Friday. Change is in the air and it’s wise to go with it.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A council of ancestors has been called to guide a person.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

“You can wander into the wrong classroom
And hear great poems lovingly spoken
By the wrong professor. And you find your soul
And greatness has a defender and even in death
You’re safe.” Robert Bly

“My fiftieth year had come and gone,
I sat, a solitary man,
In a crowded London shop,
An open book and empty cup
On the marble table-top.

When on the shop and street I gazed
My body of a sudden blazed,
And twenty minutes more or less
It seemed so great, my happiness,
That I was blessed and could bless.” WB Yeats

The planet Venus is now in Pisces, the sign of the mystic, the dreamer and the poet. Venus will transit this sign through the first week of February, boding well for taking a step back from our busy world to engage a  larger perspective through artistic or spiritual endeavors. Venus in this sign speaks of the spiritual side of love. Venus will be forming a beneficent aspect to Uranus indicating there can be awakenings now.

Mercury will enter Aquarius today and form a challenging aspect to Uranus, the planet of the unexpected. News and information can have a sudden and surprising aspect to it. This duo is also known for innovative and inventive thinking that can open a new path going forward. With the breakdown of outdated structures and the thinking that created them, evolving new models is on the table. This applies both individually  and in the world at large.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A petrified forest,an eternal record of a life lived long ago.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

“Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed or in their place
Is an open field, a factory or a by pass
Old stone to new building, old timber to new fires,
Old fires to ashes and ashes to the earth.” TS Eliot

“When Matisse was asked whether he believed in God, his response was, ‘Yes when I am working.’ Marion Woodman

“If you love your work, everyone benefits.”Whiteside & Egli

Saturn and Pluto made their exact conjunction Sunday and will be a strong influence throughout the week as both heavyweights will conjunct the Sun. These planets together signal change and transformational forces at work both in the world and in our personal lives.

Wherever this duo is transiting in your chart indicates the areas of life undergoing gradual change. For instance in the third house it would involve thinking patterns developed in the early childhood, in the tenth house life path and career, in the eleventh house, goals and aspirations and the community that supports them. The process of change is slow – over a number of years as Pluto, who always operates in the dark, undermines the structures of what has been to -over time-  affect  growth and renewal.

This week with the planets tightly in orb there may be restrictions or delays. It’s a good week to focus on work and tasks that need tending in a disciplined and responsible way while allowing creativity to be at the center.

Later in the week Venus and Mercury will both change signs and form an aspect to Uranus in Taurus. This will be a time for inventive and innovative thinking and when things can move things forward in a more dynamic, free spirited way.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”An unexpected thunderstorm.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each
I do not think they will sing for me.
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.” TS Eliot

“We cannot wait for great visions from great people for they are in short supply. It’s up to us to light our own small fires in the darkness.” Charles Handy

The Sabian symbols, a system which designates a symbol for each degree of the zodiac,  can be used in an oracular way. This weekend I picked one  randomly   as a forecast for this week with the Lunar Eclipse, Uranus station and very tight conjunction of Saturn and Pluto. The symbol embodying the energy of the week was,”The ocean covered with whitecaps.”

The idea behind the symbol is that at sea, storms can arise suddenly and stir the surface of the water into white caps. Very often things are much calmer when you dive below the surface.

It bodes well to provide extra downtime this week where a deeper level of calm can be reached. It’s wise to remember conditions on the surface are always changing.

The eclipse is on Friday at 20 degrees of Cancer at 2:21 PM EST. Lunar eclipses are a time when the unconscious mind has a more powerful influence over the conscious mind than is normally the case. There is also the possibility of more turbulent emotions with the Moon opposite Saturn and Pluto.  It’s wise to move through these kind of feelings- if they arise – with awareness and avoid getting stuck.

Uranus, the planet of the unexpected will station direct shortly after the Full Moon /Lunar Eclipse.  The influence of both Uranus stations and eclipses can be felt before the actual event as well as after. Uranus in the mix tends to indicate there can be sudden and surprising twists and turns of events. Nurturing the nervous system now and through the week will be beneficial.

Planetary stations can also represent the culmination of information of some kind. It’s wise to be open to any information like this that surfaces now.

This is not a good week to start things. It’s better to tie up loose ends and work towards the resolution of unresolved issues. Most of all it is best to keep your focus on your vision for your life. It also bodes well to envision a healthy, sustainable future for our small planet.

“If we cannot see the wholeness in the world then we cannot take actions which are consistent with the wholeness that exists.” David Bohm

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

 

“Oh, spare your heart
Everything put together
Sooner or later falls apart.” Paul Simon

“When I am as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly.Whence and how they come I know not; nor can I force them.” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“Any powerful idea is absolutely fascinating and absolutely useless unless we choose to use it.” Richard Bach

It’s wise to note that Uranus is stationary in the sky now – preparing to station direct and there can be sudden and unexpected twists and turns of events.

The Sun aligns with the South Node early in the week. This placement can indicate an important time for moving away from a past identity which has outlived its time and is disempowering or holding you back.   The strong planetary lineup in Capricorn now which  includes  Saturn and Pluto, is indicative of the times of great change in which we are living. It is also an opportunity to take a good look at the outdated patterns and structures in your life, let them go and rise like the phoenix from the ashes. This kind of process is strongly supported this week – the willingness to let go can be followed by inventive ideas, guidance and intuition that opens doors to a new way of being.

Mercury  is activating the beneficent Jupiter/ Uranus trine  indicating it is wise to heed any innovative ideas or ways of approaching things.  Especially  things that herald a new start. Inspired information or breakthroughs in stuck or stagnant situations can emerge. It is also  a good week for information to emerge about how to bring more abundance into your life and how to expand your work and life path.

It is also wise to pay attention to people who are coming into your life now. There can be karmic connections. And there can be out-of-the-blue experiences that move things forward.

One of the Sabian Symbols for this time is,”An angel comes carrying a harp.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” Robert Frost

“It is said that what you reap you sow. This is because whatever you emanate you will encounter. You alter your patterns of outer manifestation by altering your inner experience of self.” Martia Nelson

We are now in eclipse season with the first of two eclipses on the Cancer Capricorn axis. The Solar eclipse is Thursday  December 26 at 12:13 AM EST at 4 degrees of Capricorn. This eclipse indicates that old karmic patterns are ending.  It bodes well to let go of outgrown ways of being and acting and clear the way for more positive new directions. This will be supported energetically with the Sun and Moon conjunct Jupiter, the planet of expansion, abundance and hope.

The eclipse in general is about achievement and mastery. There is energetic support for innovation and inventive thinking now in pursuing your aspirations. It bodes well to be open.

It’s wise to to clarify intentions and aspirations at this threshold time of a new era. A good time too, to make friends with the unknown.

The eclipse is trine Uranus. This can indicate seeing yourself in a new or evolved way and can reveal what holds you back from moving in a direction of mastery.

Mercury is conjunct Pallas Athene in Sagittarius which helps broaden horizons and helps with strategy.

This eclipse joins the stellium of planets in Capricorn indicating  it’s wise to have pragmatics in order about how you’d like to proceed.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”Ten logs lie under an archway leading to darker woods.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

“Maud Gonne at Howth station waiting a train,
Pallas Athene in that straight back and arrogant head:
All the Olympians; a thing never known again…
A crowd will gather
And not know it walks the very street
Whereon a thing once walked that seemed a fiery cloud. ” William Butler Yeats

“To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.” Wendell Berry

The goddess Pallas Athene advocated for justice and fairness and  brought the knowledge of diplomacy to the gods and goddesses. She was known for her expertise in strategy and would work very hard to avoid war and conflict. But when all options had been exhausted and war became inevitable, she was invincible in battle.

.She was always depicted with an owl on her shoulder – as a reminder of what she could not see. And  this time of the Winter Solstice – which is exact at 11:20 PM EST on December 21 – marks a good time for intention setting for the year ahead as well as a time to honor the darkness of what is not yet known.

It is also a good time for ritual – especially involving fire – as we celebrate the return of the Light with many others who light  bonfires to commemorate this time of the return of the Sun’s life giving light and warmth.

The Winter Solstice marks the time of the Sun’s ingress into Capricorn. 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