Amelia’s Blog

Mercury, Pluto and the North Node

“Once you have seen the larger pattern, you cannot go back to seeing the part as the whole.” Ursula K. Le Guin

Through early next week Mercury – the planet governing thinking and communication – will make a favorable alignment with Pluto – the Lord  of the Underworld. This is an excellent time to deepen your thinking, to be open to information you may have overlooked and to identify and shed outdated concepts of yourself, what you value and how you think of your life’s direction.

Make space for increased clarity and an evolved sense of wholeness. Information is available about how to proceed along your life path if you raise awareness and are attuned to it as Mercury also aligns favorably with the North Node of destiny. Be open to something new.

One of the blessings of retrograde periods – Mars is retrograde now through the end of June- is that in our fast moving, forward looking times, they provide a natural time frame for reconsideration and reassessment. With Mars retrograde through the end of June there is a good opportunity to review what you feel deeply passionate about and how you implement and direct your power.

It bodes well to go through your belongings and get rid of  objects that hold old energy or represent associations you have outgrown.

Like the snake it is time to shed an old skin and transform.

Jupiter Squares Saturn

“Eternity is in love with the productions of time.” William Blake 

This week the Jupiter/Saturn square is exact and in close aspect with the planet ruling dreams, visions and illusions.  It is a good time to keep hope and optimism in the picture along with discernment and respect for the mandates of  Saturn – the ruler of discipline and mundane time. As with the myth of Icarus it’s not a good time to be flying too close to the sun in terms of actions related to inflated dreams and expectations. Rather factor in a solid foundation and steady path forward. Be willing to be patient.

Juno is in a complicated aspect to Venus now. This can bring up conflict in committed relationships (of any kind) around the need for individual independence/ autonomy and  the needs of the relationship/partnership.  There is not a pressing need to act on any perceptions in this area now- it is best to clarify issues and figure out strategies for striking a better balance.

The need to discernment in regards to your individual life and strivings as well as the collective life on our planet will be an important theme throughout the year. Best to keep it in the picture.

The Sun in Gemini and the Full Moon

“Remember that in the early days of the feminist movement, they refused to have a leader; different women would just stand up and speak. The early feminists were very careful to not put what was spontaneously arising back in the old bottle.” James Hillman

There is an abundance of planetary activity over the next few days. The Sun enters Gemini Friday 5/20, the Moon waxes full Saturday at 1 degree of Sagittarius and Mercury stations direct on Sunday 5/22.

With the Sun’s entrance into Gemini and the Full Moon in Sagittarius in addition to the many planets in mutable signs,  it is wise to place the emphasis on flexibility  – particularly flexibility in the way you think and consider things. Do be more open in this area.

One of the interesting things about the Gemini/Sagittarius axis is that the sign of Gemini is associated with the gathering of ideas and details. The sign of its opposite, Sagittarius, is associated with an over-lighting philosophy or belief system that unites what otherwise might be fragmented or unrelated information. As life continues to move forward at breakneck speed here on our small planet, this is a good idea to consider in your own life.

Mars is highlighed at the time of this Full Moon and with its  retrograde motion indicates that caution and patience are  well advised in situations where anger and aggression might suddenly arise.

Mars is also associated with the hero’s journey (in our time particularly) and with the Mars/Sun/Moon configuration there is an opportunity to experience more passion and clarity about what you feel  deeply called to do in your life.  Do be attentive to the culmination of information which may arise now through early next week – around the Mercury station.

“Each life is formed by its unique image, an image that is the essence of that life and calls it to a destiny. This image acts as a personal daimon, an accompanying guide who remembers your calling. The daimon motivates. It protects. It invents and persists with stubborn fidelity. It resists compromising reasonableness. It offers comfort and can pull you into its shell, but it cannot abide innocence. It is out of step with time.” James Hillman
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Mercury and Mars Retrograde

“Despair is hidden arrogance : ‘I have seen the future and it doesn’t work.’ Hope is rooted in trust of the unknown. Work, wait and hope. That is enough. Sam Keen

With Mercury and Mars now retrograde (Mercury through 5/23 and Mars through the end of June) there can be more confusion than usual with processing feelings and information. This can be in part because of the retrograde period – which provides a better time for review and revisioning – particularly about your plans and options for proceeding – than trying to push forward. It is a good time to practice patience. Don’t let delays or snags with technology catch you by surprise.

With Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius it is a good time also to consider the interplay between faith and fear in your life. Saturn’s square to Neptune, an ongoing influence this year, has to do with in part with experiencing disillusionment – in a sense seeing through the veil – and what we learn and how we grow from these types of experiences.

“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith: it is an element of faith.” Paul Tillich

Mercury’s Transit Across the Sun

“Alchemy was not only the mother of chemistry, but also the forerunner of our modern psychology of the unconscious.” Carl Jung

On Monday Mercury will transit the Sun – an event which occurs roughly every ten years. Mercury rules the mind and communications and during this retrograde period it bodes well to look inward and to see what is changing in your inner life on a deep level.

This is an alchemical aspect with the trine to Pluto. There is a deep, penetrating quality to the mind at this time which can access information that is not ordinarily available and lends the ability to transform long held thoughts, beliefs and assumptions in a profound way.

The conjunction of Mercury and the Sun occurs at 19 degrees of Taurus and one of the Sabian symbols for it is, “A moving finger points to significant passages in a book.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill.

Friday’s New Moon in Taurus

“To the dull mind nature is leaden.To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday’s New Moon occurs at 16 degrees of Taurus at 3:29 PM EDT. This provides a good time  for appreciating the gifts of nature by , for example , having a well crafted meal or taking a hike to a place you love and feel connected to, or looking up and appreciating the beauty of the night sky.

It is a good time to set or reaffirm goals which move your life in a more expansive direction. Do be aware of opportunities you might not normally consider. With all the powerful earthy energy  significant changes can be made over time – just start to build a solid path forward. The sign of Taurus is associated with the cycles of nature – from the seed point to the harvest – and is aware of the value of slow and steady growth.

One of the Sabian symbols associated with this New Moon is, “A new continent rising out of the ocean.”

Sabian Symbol quote from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom.

On the Saturn/Neptune Square

This Saturn/Neptune square is an influence throughout this year – here is what astrologer and writer Lynn Bell wrote about it

“As certain cherished parts of our lives slip through our fingers, it can seem that Neptune and Saturn take us away from where we want to be. And yet it is our outworn dreams and wishes we are leaving behind.

Saturn Neptune aspects test our vision, take us to the graveyard of dreams, and yet it also call up new ones. Human beings generate dreams to keep them moving forward.

The houses transited by the current Saturn-Neptune square show us where new visions are incubated and old ones lose power and slowly drift away. We may be asked to let go of something so that the world can light up again. Saturn-Neptune cycles call up a vivid inner life, long before it appears in our awareness. Paradoxically it is often at the moment of a loss that there is an opening for our dreams to swim to the surface.”

An Expansive Week Ahead

“Imagination is real because every perception of the world around us is absolutely colored by the narrative or image-filled lens through which we perceive. We are all poets and artists as we live our daily lives, whether we recognize this role or whether or not we believe it. ” Thomas Moore

There is an old expression that intuition is a memory of the future. There is much help, support and guidance for expansion – a good week for discovery, for learning and for teaching. If you feel that your vision of the future has been limited in some ways this is the week to expand it through imagination, creativity and intuition. The many planets which are retrograde now indicate a time of inner journeying.

The planets forming a grand trine in earth signs provide and excellent influence to envision how to ground your higher dreams and aspirations in a concrete way to your everyday life.

There is also an planetary influence which indicates a time when illusions can be revealed or  shattered – helping with evolution forward.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,” A woman sprinkling long rows of flowers.”

 

Sabian symbols quoted from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom

 

 

Mercury Stations Retrograde

“Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself… All thoughts begin in wonder.” Plato

Mercury stations retrograde Thursday April 28 at 23 degrees of Taurus and the retrograde period will last through May 23. All retrograde periods are a good time to rethink, reflect, re- envision.

Do take extra care with communications and the tools of communication – emails, texts etc. as it is easier for things to go awry in this area of life – creating snafus and misunderstandings as a result. It’s best to clarify in person or on the phone if confusion arises. Avoid assumptions.

This roughly three week period provides good timing to reflect on the Taurean areas of your life: what you think about your resources, what you value in general on a deep level, how you create pleasure in your life and what brings a sense of abundance. We are living in times of great change both personally and globally and a reflective period on these matters helps create a clear and more appropriate path forward.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is, “A white dove flying straight and fearlessly over troubled waters.”

Sabian symbol quote from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom.

 

Full Moon in Scorpio April 2016

“Transformation comes from looking deeply within, to a state that exists before fear and isolation arise, the state in which we are inviolably whole just as we are.” Sharon Salzberg

The Moon waxes full Friday 4/22 EDT in the wee hours at 2 degrees of Scorpio. This Full Moon is on the Scorpio/Taurus axis meaning that it provides a good time to get in touch with your soul’s deeper yearnings and to use your imagination to envision ways to move your life in that direction. Given the underworld nature of Scorpio and Pluto this requires an inner journey into facing fears and limitations that often lie dormant and unexamined and hold a powerful sway as a result. It bodes well to illuminate the darkness and dissolve fears to create a new path forward. There is much help from unseen worlds at this time for this process.

They say people fight their destiny harder than anything else and this Full Moon is at the midpoint of Saturn and the North Node – both karmic indicators. There is a calling to move beyond your comfort zone and grow in a more authentic direction.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A youth holding a lighted candle in a devotional ritual gains a sense of the great other world.”