Pluto Rising Astrology

Pluto Rising Privacy Paradox

2012-02-03T19:37:00.001-05:00

As you may have surmised by now, I have Pluto Rising. I do not shy away from the so-called dark side of existence, engage in a fair amount of profanity and perversity, and try to bring order out of chaos.

Pluto on the Ascendant is supposed to be the signature of a Highly Private Person. If the Ascendant is one's front door, mine presumably should lack a "Welcome" mat; more fitting would be a sign that reads "I'd Turn Back if I Were You" or simply "Go the Fuck Away."

However, I tend to get highly personal in many of my posts. While part of this self-exposure may have been due to Neptune's fourteen-year transit of Aquarius (see my first post of today), it's still perplexing to me. After all, I have a journal. I could write my deepest, darkest, dorkiest thoughts in it instead of here.

Here is what I have realized: I am not "above it all," and do not pretend to be. I definitely have a mystical streak; I have embraced the art of astrology for over twenty years. But I do not live in a cave apart from humanity (though sometimes I would like to do just that). I am an introvert, yet still crave meaningful connections with people, whether face-to-face or via this blog or a published poem or a performance. Planetary transits affect me just as profoundly as they do you. So my sharing may go against the Pluto Rising grain (and let's not even get into my Moon in Scorpio desire for secrecy and mystery), but if even one person reading one of my sad, mad, bad posts feels less alone or freaky as a result, I am doing part of my job as an astrological healer.

For astrology is indeed healing. As screwed up as I can feel, I know that I'd be much worse off if I didn't know my natal chart and the current transits. One of the most important tenets of astrology (which separates astrologers from astronomers) is "As above, so below." Astrology is not a crutch; it's an ever-changing map or blueprint. Knowing that I have Pluto Rising does not give me a license to be a lawless, ruthless asshole; it does, however, give me an excellent opportunity to study all traits associated with Pluto and become the best Plutonian possible. If it takes me the rest of this incarnation, that is what I intend to do. The examined life truly is the only one worth living.

Pardon my multiple postings of today, but Plutonians can get a bit obsessive at times....

Peace.

My Apartment Now Looks a Lot Emptier

2012-02-03T16:04:00.003-05:00

So it's done. Ex-boyfriend officially moved out on the Moon-Venus square, with Moon at my Midheaven squaring my Pluto and Asc. and Venus approaching an opposition to my Pluto. Translation: It is indeed possible to know rationally that a domestic situation ending is for the best, and still feel like utter shit. My stomach hurts.

I am already jonesing for Zephyr, the little zebra handmade in Kenya I gave to my ex for Christmas 2010. I realize how neurotic this sounds, but it's the truth. I am not sure what astrologically corresponds to a love of stuffed animals (not indiscriminate love, mind you). They're not exactly toys (which I would consider a Gemini-Mercury / Leo-Sun thing) although you can play with them; they can be a comfort and a springboard to one's imaginative capabilities.

Anyway, in the spirit of defensiveness I shall include some photos of Zephyr so you can see for yourself that he is the most adorable zebra in the world and worthy of missing with all of one's heart. The scarf he is wearing is a going-away present; I cut it down from an old cashmere scarf I no longer wear. You can also see him flipping (one of his two favorite activities, the other being camouflaging, which he is also doing with my striped sheets) next to his rolling best friend, William, who is being far more stoic about Zephyr's departure than I am.

Thank god the ex and I never got the brilliant idea to get a dog.

Last Call for Neptune in Aquarius

2012-02-03T13:59:00.007-05:00

It is time to bid farewell to Neptune's transit of Aquarius. Are you ready for a moment or two of silence and reflection as I raise a metaphoric chalice and try to be articulate and eloquent?

Ladies and gentlemen, players and pervs: I for one am more than ready to say sayonara to Neptune in Aquarius. In 2000, transiting Neptune formed an easy-peasy trine to my Uranus in Libra (which manifested in the publication of my first novel, thanks to POD publisher Xlibris), but after that early high point, transiting Neptune formed only two other good aspects to my natal chart--the trine to my Gemini Midheaven in 2009 (which manifested in the publication of my first eBook on the now-defunct Paper Bag Press), followed a year later by the trine to my critical-degree Jupiter in Libra (another eBook and the start of my ascent on the NY poetry-performance circuit).

On second thought, given these undeniably positive manifestations of Neptune in Aquarius, perhaps I am being too hasty to want to write off the bulk of this fourteen-year transit, in which Neptune formed mainly squares and inconjuncts to my Scorpio, Cancer, and Virgo placements. Still, as a "mud" individual (except for Uranus and Jupiter, all my natal planets plus Asc. are in the Water and Earth elements), it has not been the easiest Neptune transit for me to understand and groove with. (Not that Neptune at 0 degrees of Pisces, which we experienced last year between early April and early August, was smooth sailing--Neptune came within half a degree of opposing my Venus before turning retrograde).

Neptune is the planet of the collective unconscious, the collective imagination, the collective soul, and All Things Pisces (including the arts, sacrifice, sleep, the seven seas, dreams, drugs, passivity, prison, hospital, retreat, and the Achilles' heel of the Fishes: self-undoing). It takes fourteen years for Neptune to pass through a sign, and whatever sign Neptune passes through has a huge influence on ideals and culture (understanding that not all cultures are identical--far from it). Neptune glamorizes all things associated with whatever sign it is transiting, but by the end of the transit, much of the glamour has dissolved (another Neptune effect) into disenchantment (ditto).

Aquarius, the Water Bearer, is not a Water sign as many people naturally assume; it is an Air sign, ruled by revolutionary, reform-minded, rebellious Uranus. Aquarius also rules large groups and friendship. Although Air signs have the reputation as being friendly and easygoing, there is nothing whatsoever "chill" about Aquarius. This sign manages to be both stubborn (due to its Fixed qualitity) and erratic (due to the influence of ruling planet Uranus). Actually, there is one chilly aspect to the sign: its ability to detach emotionally from everyone and everything, which can make more sensitive, sentimental signs shiver (interestingly, the Aquarius time of year, where we are now, is midwinter).

Perhaps the most important cultural phenomenon associated with Neptune in Aquarius is Facebook and other social network sites such as Twitter. I myself delayed opening a Facebook account till relatively late in the game (i.e., mid-2009), but for a couple of years before that it seemed to figure in nearly every conversation I overheard (as a writer, it is my job to eavesdrop) or took part in (i.e., having to explain that no, I still hadn't joined the Facebook party). "Friend" became a verb during this time (as well as "defriend"), and indeed, the entire definition of friendship became more fluid (Neptune). It used to be that a friend was someone who essentially knew you and had your back and vice versa; a close friend was someone you could also call at 3 a.m. or break down in front of when your world was falling apart. Now a friend could be someone who sat behind you in tenth-grade Social Studies, or someone you didn't even know but wanted to friend you because you had mutual friends (many of whom you also had zero to slight actual contact with). As of this writing, I have "only" 151 friends on Facebook; most of them are just acquaintances, and only a handful are from my checkered past (I was so unpopular in high school and college that I've rarely had to deal with old chums wanting to reconnect on Facebook--although it was just my luck that the creep who bullied me from fifth grade through middle school found me on an online dating site and then sent me a friend request). More gregarious individuals have anywhere from 300 to 2,000 friends on Facebook. (I wonder if there is a formula for figuring out how many of one's Facebook friends are actual friends.)

The mass e-mail and the Evite, both of which were born with Neptune in technologically driven Aquarius, foreshadowed the status update and the event invitation on Facebook. Neptune rules masks; paradoxically, as Facebook has enabled millions of individuals to make their most secret moments, thoughts, and feelings public, there is also a sense of distance and charade. Similar to online dating site profiles (which had lost its "only for losers" reputation and become a socially acceptable fact of life by the time Neptune was midway through Aquarius), many people craft their Facebook persona, especially as the need to privacy has become more important at the end of Neptune in Aquarius (thanks to the Internet and Google, plus ill-considered Facebook posts and photos, many of us can never run for public office). Status updates that receive the most comments tend to be witty, sarcastic, politically oriented "preaching to the converted" opinions, or involve cute or hip YouTube clips. "Popular" people on Facebook will get tea-and-sympathy comments for woe-is-me status updates, probably because the odds are in their favor that at least twenty of their so-called friends will be online (especially with the rise of smartphones--another Neptune in Aquarius happening) and care enough to comment at that moment.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Facebook and other social network sites as Neptune transits Pisces for the next fourteen years. Personally, I predict the fever has broken, and that one's privacy will become far more important now. Also, TV and film may improve enough in quality to succeed in pulling people away from social networking in favor of watching something really good either alone or with honest-to-god friends. There will probably be an increased need to unplug from the sights and sounds not just of the cyberworld, but the so-called real world (whatever that may be). Retreats, spas, hydrotherapy, and spiritual quests will all capture the popular imagination; and despite the presence of Pluto in authoritarian, conservative Capricorn, I predict that decriminalization of "soft" drugs such as marijuana will continue, especially for medical purposes (the Virgo-Pisces axis). And recently a study was released detailing how psilocybin (aka "funny mushrooms") can be used to treat depression. Roughly midway through Neptune's transit of Pisces, Uranus will move into Taurus, which may spark a "pleasure" movement leading to outright legalization (but I wouldn't hold my breath--i.e., don't inhale just yet).

Since 1998, global culture has been profoundly affected by terrorism--in particular, terrorist "cells," fanaticism, and use of technology, all Aquarian specialties. To be sure, Pluto is intimately linked to crime, but in the case of terrorism Pluto is more associated with the "power behind the throne," secret strategies, and the result of terrorism (mass death). Also, during most of the time Neptune was in Aquarius, Pluto was in free-range Sagittarius (the sign associated with, among many other things, long-distance travel, dogmatism, religion, philosophy, and the "culture wars"). Neptune, ruling both dreams and glamour, has assisted in giving untold numbers of individuals worldwide nightmares and delusions of grandeur regarding terrorism. I do not think terrorism will die with Neptune out of Aquarius, but it will definitely go underground, and biochemical warfare (particularly involving the water supply) will be of concern.

Well, I see that Neptune has officially entered Pisces, so I should wrap this up. My ex-boyfriend will be showing up any minute with the movers. Yes, he is moving out this afternoon. Coincidence? I think not.

As always, stay tuned...

Sun Square Saturn: "Father?" "Yes, Son?" "I want to kill you."

2012-01-18T22:41:00.002-05:00

If you are chafing under the collar and champing at the bit of the PTB (powers that be) and Authority with a capital "A," relax: you are simply responding to the Sun squaring Saturn (exact tomorrow, 1/19, at 4:20 p.m. EST). Or don't relax. Saturn won't let you anyway, and besides, it's not so simple. The Sun in the final degree of Capricorn squares Saturn in the final degree of Libra, so if you have one or more natal planets at 29 degrees of a Cardinal sign (i.e., Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), the feeling of repression/oppression is especially intensified.

Lest you think from the title of this post that I am advocating patricide, far from it: Please, kids, do not try this at home. I am just quoting directly from the Doors' lighthearted little ditty "The End." Interestingly, Jim "Lizard King" Morrison did kill his father in a way--by telling the press that he (plus his mother) had died in a car crash, even though his family was alive and well and probably wondering what they had done to deserve such a slap in the face of their son's newfound fame.

Still, if you are on the outs with your father, or boss, or any authority figure, now is the time to confront it (unless it has already confronted you) and find a way to deal with it, even if you cannot resolve this thorny issue as if you were a character in a half-hour TV sitcom.

Also consider the possibility that you may be your own harsh father figure, putting yourself down and punishing yourself for any and all mistakes you make instead of accepting your own humanity.

The Sun square Saturn indicates structural challenges of all sorts, from one's own skeleton (aching bones, anyone?) to the houses and buildings we live and work in to government. One timely example: the SOPA/PIPA wars, a proposed "anti-piracy" bill that has led to a Wikipedia blackout (Saturn) in protest. Opponents of this very Saturnian bill maintain that if the bill passes, it will be tantamount to Internet censorship and a violation of First Amendment rights.

If you feel that you have been making slow, steady progress under the recent harmonious Saturn trine Neptune, you may now feel as if you are taking two steps back at best or getting knocked off the mountain by a landslide at worst.

But to quote another rock 'n' roll giant, "All things must pass," and this too shall pass. The Sun square Jupiter (from 1 degree of Aquarius to 1 degree of Taurus) this weekend will be an entirely different ball of wax. Stay tuned...

Neptune: Giving with One Fin, Taking It Back with the Other

2012-01-16T18:17:00.002-05:00

Two thousand twelve started with such a bang (New Year's Day I took part in a poetry marathon; the following day I had a poem published in a well-respected literary magazine; then spent an Edenic weekend with my newish boyfriend), I might have known that just 10 days later I'd fall off a cliff..."coincidentally" with transiting Neptune conjunct my 6th-house cusp in the final degree of Aquarius.

In late March 2011, the first time Neptune entered 29 degrees of Aquarius and my 6th house, I came down with the flu. The second time, six months later, I was heartbroken in a dying relationship. And both of these situations seem like a gourmet picnic compared with what is now afoot (pun intended): a suddenly worsening upper-ankle (Aquarius) sprain (Uranus, ruler of Aquarius) caused by a near fall (Uranus again!) several weeks ago, which means I will need to see an orthopedist at the precise moment it will bring tears to my eyes to deal with a co-pay: the unexpected (yet more Aquarius/Uranus) loss of my part-time job (6th house), the nook of stability in which I resided for the past 13 months while continuing to freelance and write. Oh, and I have until the end of March, when my lease is up, to get my income back on relatively solid ground. No pressure there! Neptune is many things, but solid is not one of them.

Actually, I have gone through far worse situations, and without the benefit of an emotional support network (i.e., a few real friends). However, with the Moon transiting my natal Moon sign of Scorpio, I feel pretty damned lonely right now. I am writing this post on company time (it's not as if they can let me go; they already did that last week). If I were literally alone right now, perhaps I would not feel so isolated. But with Neptune once again poised on my 6th-house cusp, I feel like a fish (Neptune) out of water (all but the cusp of my 6th house falls in Pisces).

The idea of performing later this week, with the Moon in Sagittarius, seems a cruel joke. But if I wish to be a true performance poet and not a self-pitying overgrown baby, I must turn this sludgy, drudgy feeling into something vibrant and inspirational, and make my support network proud.

Back to the drawing board...and back to work.

Winter Solstice and Self-Transformation: Sun Conjunct Pluto

2011-12-27T23:49:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone reading this post-Christmas and last-night-of-Hanukkah post is faring well less than a week into winter. Small wonder that it is during the darkest days of the year (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) we feel the need for party lights and reconnecting with those people whom we hold dear, and on a New Moon (exact 12/24 at 1:06 p.m. EST) shortly after the solstice, a new cycle has begun that concentrates on building a solid foundation for one's public persona as well as strengthening contacts with older or more successful people.

Jupiter stationed direct at 0 degrees of Taurus on Christmas Day, indicating a high potential for material and/or sensual bounty, particularly for the Earth signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.

The Sun and Pluto are approaching a conjunction in Capricorn, which means that between now and 12/29 at 2:41 a.m. EST this is an optimal time to dig deep into your self-identity and root out compulsive or controlling behavior. Much like the Sun in Scorpio, a Sun-Pluto conjunction is all about self-transformation, confronting parts of yourself you would rather keep secret, and breaking through all manner of taboos. By working on yourself as honestly as possible, you may begin to sense real change in your place in the world. Just make a point not to engage in self-loathing or self-destructive behavior (two downsides of Pluto and Scorpio), and be gentle and patient with yourself as you shed your old, ill-fitting skin.

Ready for the Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse?

2011-12-09T16:37:00.000-05:00

Although the upcoming Lunar Eclipse (exact Saturday 12/10 at 9:36 a.m. EST) lacks aspects from other planets, it is significant that just a few hours before this eclipse is exact, Uranus turns direct at 0 degrees (a "critical," i.e., powerful degree) of Aries. Any Full Moon that involves Gemini and Sagittarius is bound to be restless; because this is also a Lunar Eclipse, there will be much travel of mind and body. Flights of fancy are likely. If you are able to concentrate, much can be learned under this Full Moon; even if you have some variant of ADD, you will still emerge with more knowledge than before.

However, with Mercury still Retrograde in Sagittarius until Tuesday 12/13, reflection is still encouraged, even necessary. As we near the peak of the holiday season, try not to get caught up in consumeritis while Mercury is still Retrograde; returns of purchases are likely for myriad reasons, ranging from wrong size / icky color / already falling apart / never worked to start with.

On a personal note, I survived Neptune square my Neptune with just a few more gray hairs and a clean bill of health. It is indeed a good thing I had my midlife crisis at age 27, or else I'd be embarrassing myself even more than I had 13 years ago, when I was desperately trying to recapture my Lost Youth by dating 25-year-old rock musicians. Seriously, the Neptune square Neptune was not pretty. Yet despite the pain and loss I have gone through in 7th-house matters (my 7th-house cusp is Pisces, the sign ruled by Neptune), as the Neptunian fog starts to clear and lift, I have reason to believe in hope. I have reason to believe that I am entering a new chapter of My So-Called Life even as I linger in a domestic transitional limbo, courtesy of the harsh realities of NY real estate.

Mercury Turns Retrograde Just in Time for Turkey Madness

2011-11-23T16:23:00.002-05:00

Since mid-October, when Mercury entered Scorpio, Mercury and Venus have been traveling partners, almost but not quite reaching an exact conjunction in Sagittarius on November 12. Since that day, Mercury has been slowing down in its orbit from Earth's perspective, and is about to definitively part ways with Venus, which is nearing the end of Sagittarius.

It has been a lovely, intense combination indeed, with Mercury, the planet of communication, taking its cues from Venus, the planet of love and beauty. Many sweet nothings (or even sweet somethings) have been in the air, or whispered into ears.

However, this sweet-nothings-or-something weather is about to turn. Until December 13, Mercury Retrograde will at the very least encourage reflection over what went down during the past few weeks. More likely, particularly with Venus's exit from expansive, freewheeling, gambling Sagittarius and entrance into calculating, pragmatic Capricorn this Saturday, there may well be second thoughts concerning promises and faith in love. If you have been too optimistic lately, some cold hard facts may bring on a major buzz kill...but without Capricorn (and Saturn) to pull us back to earth, Sagittarius (and Jupiter) would keep expanding and fighting gravity and contradicting our essential earthbound parameters, making the inevitable burst bubble all the more painful. Better to take any necessary medicine willingly, and soon; a small dose of bitterness may save you from having to take a much larger dose later.

With the Moon in secretive, seductive Scorpio, the ideal Thanksgiving would be spent either in private or with your favorite non-platonic person, but if family obligations take over and you cannot make a late date, try for a rain check. (Please note that if you live on the West Coast, the Moon enters Sagittarius by 6 p.m., so you may actually be in a better position to slip off into the night than East Coasters.)

Mayor Bloomberg Obviously Doesn't Have an Astrologer on His Payroll

2011-11-17T18:22:00.000-05:00

...for he decided to have the NYPD come down on the OWSers with the Moon in Cancer. In plain English, he gave the order to boot them out of their makeshift home with the Moon (ruling the home and the public) transiting Cancer (the sign that is ruled by the Moon). And under darkest cover of night, with a media blackout, confiscating of personal belongings including the OWS library, and police brutality.

No, no, and no.

Mayor Bloomberg, and any other politicians or 1%ers who may have accidentally stumbled on my humble li'l ole blog, I am offering my astrological services to you (for only 100X as much as my customary fee) so that when the Uranus-Pluto square hits the fan next year, you will not be carted off to the 21st-century version of the guillotine. For the 99%er revolution, which cuts across generational, religious, cultural, and gender lines, has just begun.

Funny, I observed 10 or 15 years back that the next major war in the US was going to be a civil war. At that time, I envisioned the East and West coasts vs. the heartland; now I see it will be less geographical or generational in nature, and more about such Capricorn-ruled institutions as government and banking brought to its knees (the part of the body ruled by Capricorn/Saturn) as Uranus in headstrong, fresh-blood Aries makes the square to Pluto in Capricorn.

The US was born out of revolution (US natal Pluto is 27 degrees of Capricorn; Moon is placed in rebellious Aquarius). It could very well be that the key to its survival is more of the same. In the words of Pluto: Regenerate or die!

Ode to Full Moon in Taurus (one day late)

2011-11-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

Do you dare admit to your heart's desire?
The things that set all of you on fire?

Can you face up to what you truly want?
Or do you stop yourself by claiming you don't?

What do you see when you gaze into a mirror?
Does your reflection laugh or cry you a river?

Can you be rich without any money?
Can you be sweet without any honey?

Can you be hot without having a lover?
Can you have power without running someone over?

Do you feel most alive when on the edge,
Perched on a metaphorical ledge?

Will you turn into a werewolf on this Full Moon?
Or sip someone's blood with a silver spoon?

Do you feel pulled apart and wanting it all?
Do you wish you could be an iconic idol?

Are you developing X-ray vision?
Or the intensity of nuclear fission?

Can you answer any of these questions in all honesty?
If so, feel free to report back to me.

New Moon in Scorpio: Perceive, Penetrate, Power

2011-10-27T00:11:00.003-04:00

The Sun entered Scorpio just three days ago, and today was the New Moon (exact 3:56 p.m. ET). There should be no doubt in anyone's mind, heart, or nether reaches that we have entered the Scorpio Zone. Mercury and Venus are also transiting this sign. With four out of ten planets in Scorpio, the atmosphere is intense, to say the very least, with a 90 percent chance of intrigue combined with dead-on perception and transformation. You may feel as if you are living in a 007 film, or perhaps an NC-17 one.

If you self-identify as lighthearted, superficial, or asexual, I would strongly advise laying low till November 2 (when Mercury and Venus enter Sagittarius). If you are a Water sign or have this element predominant in your chart, on the other hand, you should feel right at home -- though Scorpios or individuals with Scorpio planets may feel slightly overwhelmed by this particular type of energy (not that they would ever admit it), due to its co-ruler Mars transiting incompatible Leo.

We just went through the Venus-Mars square (exact today at 6:23 p.m.), not the greatest aspect for love and sex. Particularly with Venus in Scorpio and Mars in Leo, possessiveness or jealousy was likely, as well as plenty of drama. Mars in Leo is apt to issue ultimatums, while Venus in Scorpio is less than likely to toe the line. Whatever issues were raised by this square, they are not finished -- the Mercury-Mars square on Friday (exact 11:08 a.m. ET) will continue the conversation, if indeed it is a conversation; the temptation to yell, accuse, and throw things will be quite strong. Lock all sharp objects away and keep a pillow handy if you need to punch something.

The good news is that even though there is another challenging aspect on Friday (Sun opposing Jupiter, 9:42 p.m. ET), we get a helpful, opportunity-making sextile between the Sun and Pluto, as well as a wonderful trine between Jupiter and Pluto. Ideally, both the sextile and trine will modify the extravagance and false promises likely to occur under a Sun-Jupiter opposition. The trine occurs in Earth signs (Taurus and Capricorn, respectively), which indicates physical comfort, pleasure, and material abundance. However, because the Moon will enter the Jupiter-ruled sign of Sagittarius on Friday, and Pluto rules the sign of Scorpio (where the Sun, Venus, and Mercury currently are), there will also be a strong, even unshakable sense of faith and regeneration.

On a mass level we have a dire need for such a potentially healing aspect, and so does the planet that houses us; on an individual level I urge each and every one of you to try to tune in to it however you can. Meditate, make art, re-create, celebrate -- preferably at a costume party or seance, since it will be the weekend before Halloween.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts or the spirit world, this is an ideal time to look past the surface, beyond other people's masks...and to stop deluding yourself, no matter how rude the awakening.

Full Moon Blues

2011-10-11T23:26:00.001-04:00

This is another one of those times when I find that I cannot speak from "on high" as an astrologer unscathed by messy humanity. I do not feel comfortable using this blog as a diary; among my many pet peeves are bloggers who assume their readership is keenly fascinated by the ups and downs of said bloggers' existence. Yet it is also true that I cannot take solace in distancing myself from the influence of the planets as if they do not affect me.

My Moon progressed into Gemini about 10 days ago. Since then, I came down with a bad head cold, my live-in boyfriend and I decided to call it quits after a few months of escalating misery, and I came down with laryngitis and chest congestion. My newly ex came down with a cold too, so we were both home sick today.

And homesick...at least, I was. Homesick for the home we had built together when he moved into my apartment full of love for me less than nine months ago. Longing to recapture the feeling of warmth, safety, playfulness, and happiness that fled my heart practically overnight, although on my newly ex's end he claims it was more a gradual fading out, and not "about" any one thing or things. The main difference is that he fell out of love with me, and I did not fall out of love with him, even when I woke up one day in late July and realized how unhappy with the relationship I had become. I was hoping we could somehow fix it -- and failing that, be the recipients of a miracle.

However, I had seen the writing on the wall back in June. I knew that the summer would see my progressed Sun leaving Leo and entering Virgo, followed by my progressed Moon opposing my Neptune, and then my progressed Moon would enter Gemini this fall, and that all these things would not bode well for my love life: Neptune rules my 7th house, my newly ex's Saturn is 0 degrees of Virgo, and my Venus is 1 degree of Virgo, which my progressed Moon will soon square. And my newly ex's progressed Moon is about to leave Virgo. We also both experienced Mars Returns: mine was exactly one month ago; his was last week.

But back in June I did not want to be fatalistic about the next few months. I am an astrologer who believes fervently in free will.

And the shit hit the fan anyway.

And the Moon was full tonight in Aries...so I suppose I should be relatively relieved that the limbo state in which my newly ex and I had been dwelling was resolved over the weekend (with the Moon in Pisces, the sign on my 7th-house cusp). I guess it was mutual. We'd both had enough, although he is the one claiming to be sorry, which is the stance that the leaver takes with the leavee.

And now we must navigate the open-ended phase in which we are still living together, but not as a couple. Given the circumstances, I have every right to toss his ass out; my Sun-Mars conjunction in Cancer can turn into real aggression when I feel threatened on the home front. Maybe the trine to Neptune softens this conjunction somewhat...except that my Neptune happens to be in Scorpio. But the natal placement that most seems to encourage stasis for now in terms of my living situation is Saturn in Taurus, which opposes my Moon and Neptune. Translation: I am always short of money, I do not want to break my lease, and splitting the rent for a few months will greatly assist in my saving money for my next apartment. (It is an issue for my ex as well, although not quite as extreme.)

Still, all I feel right now is sadness, which does not translate into the kind of behavior that anger can trigger. So I suppose I should also feel relieved for the stupor that is the hallmark of sorrow, though I cannot feel anything remotely positive about the fact that am battling insomnia and have graduated from Advil Cold & Sinus to Robittusin Peak Cold.

Have an Exquisite Equinox!

2011-09-23T00:15:00.001-04:00

Apologies for the sparseness of my posts this month, but I was busy preparing for a featured poetry performance that finally happened last night. With the Moon transiting my Sun Sign of Cancer in my 10th house, and the Sun at 28 Virgo just past a sextile to my Mercury and Neptune, I daresay it was one of my better performances, and I will post a link to the show once it's been archived.

Another equinox is upon us. Although this one ushers in autumn, not spring, other aspects tomorrow indicate it will feel more like spring and summer: the Moon in fiery Leo conjuncts Mars and trines Uranus in Aries just a few hours before the Sun moves into Libra at 5:05 a.m. EDT. And just a few hours after that, Mars forms an exact trine with Uranus.

This translates into a feeling of high "yang" energy and a desire to take a few risks. Romance, creativity, and innovation: snap, crackle, and pop! The first major solar aspect occurs over the weekend, with the Sun-Uranus opposition throwing a spanner in many a relationship. Ego clashes are likely, and desire for freedom feels more important at this moment than harmony and "making nice"; the irony is that these things are exactly what the sign of Libra strives for (as well as balance), but the fiery Martial-Uranian energy from 9/23 through 9/26 will trump "typical" Libra.

Even the New Moon on 9/27 will not be a gentle, restful conjunction, for Mercury in Libra opposes Uranus that day, and the Sun squares Pluto -- and the following day, Moon squares Pluto, Mercury squares Pluto, and the Sun conjuncts Mercury. Any resentment and/or feelings of manipulation need to be dealt with as directly as possible before they fester. Blackmail, either overt or subtle, and misunderstood communications are unfortunate side effects of these combinations, as is a sense of danger and distrust. Without any water in current transits, it will be a challenge (particularly for those individuals who lack water in their natal charts) to know exactly what you are feeling, let alone follow your intuition. Try not to overthink things -- but just as crucial, do not underthink things.

Not until the 29th, when Venus in its ruling sign of Libra conjuncts Saturn (exalted in Libra) will any sense of balance and justice feel within reach. So pace yourself, and brace yourself...the first week of autumn is going to be one wild, rough ride.

Ten Years Later...

2011-09-10T20:08:00.002-04:00

As much as I do not wish to contribute to the cult of 9/11 hoopla as far as exploitation and fear-mongering are concerned, I do feel compelled to convey some of my feelings about where we were ten years back and where we are now.

I very much wanted to share with you two astrology posts I wrote ten years ago for PlutoRising.com, which I founded and managed via Webseed, a long-defunct dot-com publisher that did not survive the dot-com bust of the early aughts. Unfortunately, I cannot open those two Word files, because they are from an earlier version of Word and I was unable to make head or tail of how to allow my 2007 version to open them. Fortunately, I can remember the gist of the weekly post I wrote for the week of 9/5 to 9/12: that with the Moon in Gemini strengthening the recent Saturn-Pluto opposition, criminals would prevail.

On September 11 itself, I may have gotten the last available cab going down Second Avenue in Tudor City, where I worked then. I remember gently pushing a few sobbing fellow legal secretaries from the office into the the same cab, which dropped them off at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge after letting me off at the corner of Tenth Street. I rushed up to the roof of my building, where a few of my neighbors were congregated. The view was unobstructed. It looked as if someone were erasing the South Tower from top to bottom. Everyone on the roof was uttering the same thing: "Oh my God."

The only person who was able to get through to me on the phone during the next few hours of horror and disbelief was my friend who lived thousands of miles away in Berlin. I had the TV on; after numerous viewings of the same surreal images of planes crashing into the Twin Towers and people jumping out windows, I started packing a bag, even though I knew full well that I could not escape, as the city was in lockdown mode. I decided the only thing to do to keep sane was to post a live update on my astrology blog. Even though I could not get through to anyone on the phone, my dial-up connection worked like a charm; I was able to post without delay.

The Saturn-Pluto opposition, denoting cruelty and extreme abuse of power, obviously bore monstrous fruit that we have been digesting ever since. For a brief time, it seemed the US had the sympathy of much of the world; yet we squandered that goodwill so quickly. The War on Terror, which included hunting down Weapons of Mass Destruction where there were none, invading Iraq, and so on only hurt our global reputation -- and deservedly so, in my opinion.

The city did feel different for a short while after 9/11 -- quiet, if not completely beaten down -- and somehow unified. When the wind changed direction on the 12th or 13th and I could smell death out my kitchen window, I remember feeling "one" with strangers on the street, on the subway. Some people moved out of the city as a result of the mass tragedy downtown, but most stayed. Parties for a certain subsection of singles in the city got wilder, while families cocooned.

Despite the fact that Osama bin Laden is now fish food, the havoc wrought from 9/11 remains. In a sense, the terrorists won: witness the decline of US civilians' personal freedom in a nation built on that very premise. The mantra of the past decade has been "Security above all." We are all now presumed guilty until proven innocent -- in airports, in wiretapping. And many individuals now act like "sheeple" and are willing to be passively herded en masse to whatever new indignity the TSA or the feds have concocted. Security above all.

As a person who also happens to be an astrologer, I do not believe we are any "safer," just more afraid and oppressed. Pluto moving from freewheeling Sagittarius into conservative Capricorn has made so many sheeple afraid of rocking the boat...of becoming unemployed...of being thrown in jail without just cause...or just put on some sort of watch list.

But ready or not, the Uranus-Pluto square (aka "2012") is coming, and with it the ultimate karmic shit may finally hit the cosmic fan. It may only be after the square, once the ashes settle from another explosion, that we will actually be able to break the 9/11 chain. But if not, then we may be even deeper in the collective toilet bowl than I dared imagine.

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on US civilians on their home soil, we are approaching the Full Moon in Pisces (exact on Mon. 9/12 at 5:27 a.m. EDT). This is also the Harvest Moon: a time to reap what we have sown. With this Full Moon, there will be plenty of self-criticism and attention to detail and ritual (Virgo) combined with high emotion, fantasy, sadness... and possible forgiveness. Beware of those with martyr complexes, or those who call upon you to sacrifice for their own benefit.

Getting Personal

2011-08-30T17:23:00.003-04:00

As a Pluto Rising person with Moon in Scorpio, it would pretty much be a no-duh no-brainer to state that I am a private person.

That is, except when I am not.

My 10th-house Sun and Mars-Mercury conjunction across my 11th-house cusp does give me the undeniable urge to be heard, if not seen, by as many people as possible -- and even when seen, I can rely on a veritable costume closet of personae to protect my innermost Sun-in-Cancer core.

All this by way of saying that instead of writing from on high discussing various aspects in an impersonal way, right now I feel like focusing this on how I've been faring under certain aspects and progressions.

The weekend before last, with the Sun in late Leo squaring my natal Neptune in Scorpio and also squaring my progressed Moon in Taurus, I received word from my editor that she was planning to shut down Paper Bag Press, an erotica e-press she launched on Valentine's Day 2009 (fitting, since my editor is an Aquarius). She did not give an official reason for her decision in her email, but with virtually nonexistent sales over the past several months, it hardly came as a surprise. Still, it came as disappointing news. In 24 hours or so, all rights to Sandwich Filling and The Poetry Prostitute shall revert back to me, and I will be free to try to place them elsewhere.

My progressed Moon has just entered the final degree of Taurus; as it is squaring the cusps of my 6th house and 12th house, with transiting Neptune once again conjunct the 6th house at 29 Aquarius (where it was when I came down with the flu earlier this year), my health has suffered in minor yet irritating ways. Not even a week after I finally recovered from a month-long back injury that had prevented me from doing yoga, I came down with a bad head cold that has kept me home from work for two days (and since I am technically a part-timer, I do not get paid sick days).

The New Moon in Virgo fell in my 12th house, and I have not been outside my apartment building since Friday evening; this is due to my bad cold, yet even if I were well enough to go outside and soak in the warm late-summer sunshine, I would want to do so as far removed from crowds of people as possible. Unfortunately, this annual desire for retreat cannot be honored in full...at least not this year.

I have been reading up on 29 degrees of Taurus and it seems that along with the final degree of Pisces, something is coming to an end that cannot be continued. This confirms my innermost feeling at the same time I do not know what will happen when this chapter of my life is over.

I have some ideas, of course, but hypothesizing at this point seems vaguely silly. Right now it makes more sense to look back over the past two years (my progressed Moon entered Taurus in July 2009). There is much in my progressed Moon-in-Taurus life to be grateful for -- love, validation for my creativity, some trustworthy friends who have my back, steady work, a nice home -- yet at the same time, I must face up to the dark side of Taurus: stubbornness, materialism, heaviness (both literally and figuratively), defensiveness, and tendency to get stuck in a rut.

Change is the only constant, but it is easy to forget that piece of wisdom during a progressed Moon in Taurus.

Mercury Finally Turns Direct!

2011-08-26T12:55:00.006-04:00

Mercury stations direct at 6:01 p.m. EDT. Whew!

With Mercury stationary -- i.e., just having turned retrograde or direct, and therefore remaining in the same degree for a few days until it gains momentum one way or the other -- this is an ideal time to focus your mind. Meditate. Get a mantra. Reflect. Write a long letter or have an in-depth conversation. Be prepared to go over recent ground. Ponder your local environment. Do your homework, and put your house in order. Think, but try not to overthink; take precautions, but try not to let your care turn to anxiety or worry.

The Moon-Uranus trine at 6:31 p.m. EDT, right after Mercury turns direct, should encourage flashes of insight and harmonious interaction with female friends.

Regarding Hurricane Irene, if you happen to live along the Eastern Seaboard and must evacuate, Mercury direct will make it a little easier than if this had happened just a few days ago. (Just trying to put a positive spin on grim forecasts.) I recommend that during the Dark of the Moon period, which lasts all weekend but is especially pronounced on Sunday, you should lay in provisions for yourself even if you live nowhere near the hurricane's anticipated path. This is because the Dark of the Moon in Virgo is not the best of times to go out and socialize regardless of the weather; you may be low on energy and self-esteem, and more apt to want to engage in highly detailed work instead of play.

Update: The extreme worry and precautions being urged in my neck of the woods is a perfect read of Mercury stationing direct with Sun and Venus in Virgo. When the Moon enters Virgo on Sunday morning, I expect more of the same -- plus work to undo any actual natural damage that has occurred.

To Deceive or Be Deceived...To Daydream or to Wake Up

2011-08-22T10:11:00.004-04:00

The Sun is about to leave Leo, but not quietly; before it enters the Mercury-ruled sign Virgo tomorrow at 7:21 a.m. EDT, it opposes Neptune in the last degree of Aquarius.

There is much debate among astrologers as to the meaning of cusp degrees; I personally feel that if a planet falls in the last degree of a sign, it certainly exhibits all the traits of that sign, period. What can and does vary is capacity of the individual who has that cuspal degree, either in the natal chart or by progression, to recognize that a cosmic page is about to be turned and "the times they are a-changin'." Some highly attuned individuals may feel unstable or insecure despite their power or accomplishments, while others feel optimistic and excited about the big change about to happen. Some are more apt to reflect upon the total sum experience of whatever zodiacal sign of the planet that falls on the cusp, while others home in on the need to clear the decks for the next sign. The fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) are the most likely to hang on by their fingernails, while the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) are the most likely to let go.

The Sun opposing Neptune is far from an easy aspect, nor is it easily pinned down, because Neptune itself is a slippery fish. In some ways we will feel a similar vibe to yesterday's Venus-Neptune opposition; however, while the Venus-Neptune opposition (again, in the last degrees of Leo and Aquarius, respectively) may have played out as disappointment, sadness, or deception (either to yourself or your romantic partner), the Sun-Neptune opposition will have more to do with how you perceive yourself. It will be distorted, as if you are gazing into a fun-house mirror, without the fun. You may find yourself in the throes of an identity crisis. Your faults may look like virtues, and vice versa.

Neptune is the consummate dreamer and idealist of the solar system, and the Sun forming an opposition to it encourages us to engage in fantasy and escapism. This may not be so bad in the short term for down-to-earth types, but for those of us who already have our heads in the clouds, or imbibe in alcohol or hard drugs, it can be very dangerous. You are far more likely to trust the wrong people under this aspect, and yet it is equally hard to trust yourself.

This can feel like a no-win situation, but you may reap the unexpected benefit of waking up from wishful thinking, or living, that left you drifting aimlessly toward a waterfall.

Start Counting (and Telling, and Writing) How Many Ways You Love _______

2011-08-16T11:48:00.005-04:00

Throw off the Mercury Retrograde shackles today and express yourself romantically, in as creative a way as you can. Suggestions: write a poem, a song, a love letter; present a "just because" and utterly impractical token of affection; or go out (or stay in) for a candlelit dinner featuring at least one aphrodisical dish (which need not be caviar; some gourmands swoon more over mac 'n' cheese).

If you happen not to be someone's better, worse, shorter, or taller half, this is a great day to go on a date, or at least set one up. Your confidence and appeal are probably on a justified rise, so cultivate it; this is not the time to be bashful.

Also, the timing couldn't be better for mending fences, whether of romantic, platonic, plutonic, or familial construction. Mercury is still Retrograde, so the mending will necessarily take time, not be resolved overnight -- but far better to start the healing process now than let any negativity or resentment slide any further.

For those of you seeking an astrological explanation of the above, today features a rather impressive triple conjunction of the Sun, Venus, and Mercury in Leo. We began with the Sun-Venus conjunction at 8:08 a.m. EDT; the Mercury-Venus conjunction is exact at 7:21 p.m. EDT; the Sun-Mercury conjunction, at 9:04 p.m.

Please take note that the Moon will be in Pisces until 8:01 p.m. EDT; you may feel some combination of tender, sleepy, weepy, sentimental, wistful, and/or inspired until then. When the Moon transits into fiery Aries, you may get a second wind and feel more energetic and purposeful.

Jupiter Opposing Saturn: Culture Clashes and Crashes

2011-08-07T14:21:00.004-04:00

(From the Better Late Than Never Dept.: my article published in the Summer 2011 issue of The Ingress, New York's NCGR newsletter)

The Jupiter/Saturn opposition was exact on March 28, 2011. Just a few days later I came down with the flu — it was the sickest I’ve been in ten years (during the Jupiter/Pluto opposition, I caught pneumonia). After recovering, I tried to write about this difficult aspect between Jupiter and Saturn, but kept bouncing back and forth between the personal (the effect of transiting Jupiter in “I yam what I am an’ tha’s all I yam” Aries) and the “Other” (Saturn transiting “I am yours, please be mine” Libra). How frustrating I found it to be unable to land firmly in either camp…until finally I decided to embrace, rather than keep trying to escape, this seesaw dilemma. I realized the very problem I had been wrestling with was emblematic of the opposition aspect in general — and the growing sense of indignation and cynicism I felt whenever I tuned in to current world events was a perfect read of Jupiter opposing Saturn in particular.

When two planets oppose each other, balance is challenged; another manifestation of the opposition is crisis in a relationship. In sharp contrast to the conjunction, which expresses itself most vividly through an individual’s psychology and direct actions, the opposition aspect brings relationship dynamics, with all their attendant pains and gains, to the fore. Boiling the opposition aspect down to one word, we are left with Libra. If we count six signs forward from Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, we reach Libra, which marks the Autumnal Equinox, half the zodiacal circle of 360 degrees (i.e., 180 degrees) — so it makes absolute sense for the aspect that corresponds most closely with the sign of Libra to be the opposition. They are indeed interchangeable, for Libra, just like the opposition aspect, derives its energy from relationships — not just the ones that occur between people, but ones that involve abstract ideas and attractively arranged objects. Libra, the charming diplomat of the zodiac, searches eternally for balance; its frequent flip-flops and indecisiveness can (and often does) frustrate the socks off more stable, grounded signs.

Although the waxing trine aspect, which occurs before the opposition, encourages romance as well as creativity, two planets forming this type of trine (e.g., Sun in Cancer trine the faster-moving Moon in Scorpio) are more likely to encourage self-expression than other-directed motives or actions. It is only when we reach the stage of opposition that we become truly conscious of another entity’s existing apart from ourselves — the rub, however, is that we have the unfortunate knack of projecting our own desires, fears, and needs on to others, whatever the relationship is. Even with a relatively neutral attitude, we still view others through our own personal lens. Therefore, pure objectivity is a pipedream. We believe that we are looking at someone while we are essentially gazing into a mirror. What is mine, and what is yours? When an opposition aspect is involved, answering that question is not so simple.

Situated between the quickly orbiting “personal” inner planets and the slow-moving “transpersonal” outer planets, Jupiter and Saturn mediate between the individual and the collective, and in so doing are our solar system’s “societal” and “cultural” planets. Their complementary energies are necessary for building social networks of all sorts, for all species, from penguin colonies to Facebook. And such social networking is a key component toward building entire nations. Jupiter and Saturn must coexist, for these two planets are flip sides of the same coin — or, even more evocatively, the two parts necessary to maintain breathing: inhalation and exhalation. Both Jupiter and Saturn deal with institutions and values, and assist in forming people’s identities as part of “something bigger” than themselves as individuals — a process that influences every single one of us, no matter how connected or disconnected each of us is from our respective cultures and societies.

Jupiter, which rules the Fire sign Sagittarius, encompasses higher education, long-distance travel and the “exotic,” the law, in-laws, religion, gambling, philosophy, ideology, excess, and life’s want-to-dos. Saturn, ruler of the Earth sign Capricorn (the sign that, not coincidentally, immediately follows Sagittarius), manifests as “the establishment” or Old Guard, career, public achievement, authority, structure, foundation, empires, corporations, deprivation, and the have-to-dos of life. Jupiter is expansion; Saturn, contraction. Without frostbitten Father Saturn, societal relations — indeed, the entire world — would be akin to Wonderland: utterly lacking in logic, proportion, gravity, time. To continue with literary analogies, without avuncular Uncle Jupiter, life would resemble 1984: heavily constricted and restricted, with zero privacy and wholesale censorship; each person’s individuality would be recognized only via custom-tailored methods of torture and brainwashing to keep rebel transgressors in line. (It is interesting to consider that the sign that follows Capricorn is Aquarius — a sign well known for its rebelliousness and unconventionality.)

Of course, some societies and nations are more Jupiterian or Saturnian than others. It is also true that a dominating society can usher the nation it calls home through a Jupiter-oriented phase (e.g., the United States in the 1960s and ’70s), then pull a 180 and take the same nation through a Saturn-oriented cycle (e.g., most of the world in the 1930s). But no matter what the era, whenever one culture or institution claims superiority over another and communicates in no uncertain terms (via speeches, editorials, laws, and/or warfare) to the other side how it should behave, whether the conflict stems from social, political, economic, or religious differences, trouble pretty much always ensues, and during a Jupiter-Saturn opposition, that trouble is doubled.

Jupiter-Saturn aspects are far from uncommon, but conjunctions and oppositions between the two planets occur only every nineteen to twenty years (approximately one cycle of the Nodes of the Moon — interestingly, the North Node or “dragon’s head” is associated with Jupiter, while the South Node or “dragon's tail relates to Saturn.) Because trine and sextile aspects indicate smooth sailing, while squares indicate inner conflict, we can therefore expect that on a societal level, the most powerful and strongly felt Jupiter-Saturn aspects are the conjunction and the opposition. The conjunction seems to give birth to a movement or event/s that builds during the Jupiter-Saturn waxing square and either explodes or implodes during the opposition, approximately one decade after the conjunction. Consider relatively recent Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions: 1940 (World War Two), 1960 (which ushered in the famous/infamous “sixties” throughout much of the world), 1980 (resurgent conservatism acting as the final nail in the coffin of said “sixties”), and 2000.

On a personal note, my Saturn Return occurred in May 2000, just a few weeks before the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. At that time I was living in Manhattan and telecommuting (Uranus) as an independent contractor (Uranus again) for a company putting together an online (Uranus again), business-oriented (Saturn) dictionary (Jupiter). It was only a part-time job, but my parents (Saturn) were my landlords; I paid them what I could on the monthly maintenance, even though none of us was thrilled that it was peanuts (indeed, two Mays later this arrangement came to an abrupt end). My first novel (Jupiter) was in the galleys stage at a print-on-demand publishing house, and Dell Horoscope had bought two of my astrology articles (Uranus), so I felt some sense of achievement (Saturn). I celebrated my Saturn Return by signing up for yoga classes; this turned out to be a wise decision, for I still practice yoga, and have more flexibility and balance, both inner and outer, than I did in my twenties.

In May 2000, much of the world was still blissfully pre-9/11 in its consciousness. Yet that bliss, particularly in the United States, was only possible via willful ignorance (one of the negative traits of Taurus). At the forefront of current events was the dot-com bust, an all-too-apropos manifestation of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus (money) squaring Uranus in its ruling sign of technologically driven Aquarius (a placement that had triggered the dot-com bubble back in the mid-1990s). I myself was let go without warning from my dot-commish job in late 2000, when the R&D people decided the company had no more money to put into the online dictionary. Unfortunately, U.S. society at large, instead of learning from this bust — much less recalling the get-rich-quick speculations of the Roaring Twenties, which led to a calamitous stock market crash and the Great Depression—invested in yet another bubble, housing, that peaked during the Jupiter-Saturn square (with Jupiter in Scorpio, i.e., other people’s money, squaring Saturn in prideful, ostentatious Leo) and burst in 2008.

Another embodiment of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in the money sign Taurus was the birth of the Euro, a currency intended to unify the Continent — but this has not turned out to be the case. A recent headline in Economics NewsPaper.com proclaimed “Controversy over Europe: The Euro Divides the FDP.” As for the value of higher education (Jupiter), many college graduates of the past decade can look forward to paying off their student loans for the rest of their lives while working jobs that lack benefits and do not require college degrees — that is, if they are fortunate enough to be hired.

Along with willful ignorance, rampant consumerism and greed are negative hallmarks of Taurus, and during the decade that followed the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus, the gap between the haves and the have-nots in the United States grew alarmingly wide, reaching in 2007 the same proportions as 1928 (talk about history repeating itself). Although one hedge-fund hotshot was just convicted for insider trading, Wall Street “banksters” have gone unpunished while Main Streeters are informed that the recession is over — a “jobless recovery,” thanks to automation, offshore outsourcing, and hire freezes — but if anyone happens to still be unemployed at this point, it is their own lazy fault. Corporations (Saturn) have officially been recognized by the Supreme Court (Jupiter) as having individual rights at the same time that they are recognized as “too big to fail” and given bailouts and tax breaks, while individuals (except for the super-rich ones) have to ante up. Meanwhile, America’s surplus of 2000 has turned into a deficit so extreme that we have officially reached the debt ceiling. There is now a heated debate on whether or not to raise it.

The populace is starting to notice the power corporate interests have over (and in) politics and the media, and exactly how much of the federal budget goes to the military and prisons; however, unlike Egypt, there has been no revolution in America — just isolated protests while the rest of us sit glued to American Idol or Who Wants to Marry an Immoral but Incredibly Hot Bazillionaire?, posts another Facebook status update, or shrugs and says and as long as we have ours, we shouldn’t rock the boat.

In 2000 Osama Bin Laden’s militant Islamic global network al-Qaeda was growing stronger, yet its founder and leader remained free to plan and carry out the atrocities of 9/11 despite the opportunity to arrest him, despite intelligence warnings of imminent terrorist attack in the summer of 2001. This was yet another example of the slipshod laziness that Taurus can succumb to — but it was also highly calculated greed involving global assets. The killing of Osama bin Laden occurred on the heels of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition, but global terrorism itself is far from dead. Unsurprisingly, almost immediately following Bin Laden’s death and quick burial at sea, threats of retribution were issued. Bin Laden’s own son issued a statement that the United States violated international law in failing to capture his father alive to stand trial.

Writer and philosopher George Santayana (who was, fittingly, a Sagittarius), famously observed, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If we are ever to learn from Jupiter-Saturn cycles and make real societal progress, we must heed those words and stop treating culture, institutions, and the economy like the weather — they are human constructs. Although come to think of it, humans managed to create global warming, so we should start taking responsibility for the weather as well.

Reflections on Two Progressions That Feel More Like Regressions

2011-08-04T15:04:00.005-04:00

As you may have noticed, July passed with just one Pluto Rising Astrology blog post. I never followed up on more information about the United States' Solar Return (aka the Fourth of July), and my own Solar Return came and went with nary an astrological word. To celebrate, I spent not quite a week revisiting the same shore with my sweetie as last summer. Then it was back to real life. And then, suddenly, it was time to flip the calendar to August.

Mercury stationing Retrograde has had one positive effect on my psyche already: time is starting to slow down, and I feel ready to start going back over everything that went down during the past month. I do not wish to spill all my innermost feelings on this virtual platform; enough to state that despite being very much aware of all my blessings (truly, I feel so lucky in so many ways), with my progressed Moon at 28 degrees of Taurus about to oppose my natal Neptune, I feel tired, sad, sluggish, disenchanted, and a little lost. Add to this challenging aspect my progressed Sun newly entered Virgo, and I am hardly a load of laughs. One solace of astrology is knowing that even the most awful of progressions (and transits) will pass, yet it's hardly a comfort today, my day off from my day job, that I lack the energy to do my share of the housework or get any creative work done. All I really want to do is sleep...

How's This for Lousy (or Karmic) Timing?

2011-08-03T10:44:00.004-04:00

Mercury turned Retrograde five minutes (as in 1/12 of one degree, not the kind of minutes you find on a clock) short of my Venus. Blah! I'm hoping that the Sun-Mercury-Venus conjunction on the 16th that I wrote about yesterday will somewhat make up for that near miss.

After spending the past 30 years in Leo, my Sun progressed into Virgo in mid-June, so I do have Virgo issues (e.g., work, health) even more on my mind (and body) than usual. I just wish that Mercury had kissed my Venus instead of teasing it before pulling a 180...

Thoughts on Mercury Turning Retrograde

2011-08-02T16:25:00.004-04:00

Much has been written elsewhere, in scores of astrology books, articles, and blogs, about the negative effects of Mercury Retrograde. Even people who are not into astrology can get a laugh from exclaiming that "Mercury must be in retrograde" in response to something going seriously awry.

Well, I am not here to be the astrological version of Pollyanna; Mercury's Retrograde periods can, and often do, suck. Communication delayed or misunderstood? Check. Computer or mode of transportation broke down? Check. It took you five hours to get somewhere that normally takes half that time? Check. Having second, third, and fourth thoughts? I think you get the picture.

Mercury turns Retrograde tonight at 11:50 p.m. EDT, and will stay Retrograde till the 26th. Next week Mercury will oppose Neptune (which itself is Retrograde at 0 Pisces, but will be back in Aquarius in time for the opposition). Confusion, delusion, or disillusion may reign. You may remember to remove your rose-colored glasses, but not remember to open your eyes, 'cause dang, that Sun in Leo is too strong to stare at directly. You may be tempted to binge on food, alcohol, or other substances without considering your long-term health, or even how you will feel the next day. Even if you are a good boy or girl and take care of your physical body, ailments such as insomnia, poor digestion, foot, circulation, heart, or back problems may pop up anyway, and take much longer than normal to go away.

One inarguably positive effect of Mercury's Retrograde period is reflection. If you are introspective as a rule, Mercury Retrograde will not pull you out of your comfort zone, but encourage you to mull things over. However, if you tend to leap before you look, or just run off at the mouth without an inner editor, you will definitely feel more restricted...and as you champ at the bit, keep in mind that this may be to your (and others') benefit. Sometimes it really is best to do nothing.

Around the 16th, with Mercury conjunct Venus and the Sun in Leo, you may find the opportunity to mend fences with a loved one in a romantic, dramatic manner. Creativity will also be very high, and you may also be able to successfully revive, or revise, a creative project that had stalled.

That said, break a leg...but not really.

Happy Birthday, USA: Reflections on Its Sagittarius Ascendant

2011-07-04T12:07:00.008-04:00

"America: love it or leave it." This blunt, black-and-white sentence is an eerily apt summation of the USA's natal chart. Given that there has been much debate in astrological circles regarding the most correct and accurate chart to use, I put forth the proposition that only a nation with Sagittarius Rising would leave the above sentence as its calling card...plus, of course, its currency, which states "In God We Trust." Although this motto was only added to US currency during the Civil War, once again, only a nation with Sagittarius Rising would so overtly endorse this viewpoint.

You may well be asking why specifically Sagittarius on the Ascendant, as opposed to the luminaries (i.e., Sun and Moon) or other planets in this sign, would result in the USA's having a blunt, religious persona. This is because the Rising Sign is the face, the front door, the window dressing, the first impression a native imparts, whether the native is an individual, a business, an event, or a nation. The Ascendant does not necessarily show what lies at the native's heart: first impressions often can be misleading (e.g., we all know people who come across as cold and standoffish, yet have vulnerable, tender souls).

Certainly, the USA has shown the world both the positive and negative traits of its Sagittarian face ever since its birth on July 4, 1776. The freewheeling, pioneering adventurer; the tendency toward excess (in eating, drinking, drugging, gambling, spending, or sexing, depending on the era) combined with an equally extreme self-righteous, moralistic attitude, regardless of political, religious, or philosophical affilation (i.e., "My way or the highway.")

The mutability of the sign of Sagittarius makes possible to give the paradoxical message that you are welcome to come from anyplace in the world to join America's gigantic melting pot, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and succeed on your own highly individualized terms...but only if you come during a time of economic expansion and laid-back goodwill that America periodically cycles through. (Not now, in other words.)

With Sagittarius Rising, the ruler of USA's chart is Jupiter, which is placed in Cancer and conjunct Venus in the 7th House of partnerships. Thus the importance of home, mother, apple pie, and marriage, along with emotional patriotism (Cancer as a sign is extremely loyal and can only be reached via emotional appeals, not logic).

If there is still any doubt that the USA has 13 degrees of Sagittarius Rising, think back to August 2001, when the the Saturn-Pluto opposition fell exactly across the Ascendant and Descendant...setting the stage for 9/11.

Tune in very soon for an extended forecast for Amerca's Solar Return and important progressions for the upcoming year!

Oy! Get Ready for the Second Solar Eclipse in a Row!

2011-06-30T21:59:00.005-04:00

Yes, dear readers, we are about to experience another Solar Eclipse...however, the one that happens tomorrow, July 1 (exact 4:54 a.m. EDT, but only visible if you are a seaworthy penguin in Antarctica), will be quite different in tone and flavor from the Solar Eclipse of June 1.

The Solar Eclipse in Gemini stressed communication, curiosity, and learning; it formed a trine Saturn in Libra, which gave some much-needed stability and desire to work on relationships to flighty Gemini. The Solar Eclipse in Cancer, on the other hand, will encourage people to concentrate on such un-Gemini things as family, home, nurturing, intuition, and emotionality. The square to Saturn, exact on Saturday, may indicate a conflict between relatives and marriage, or may manifest as indecisiveness or moodiness about family or a relationship.

That this eclipse occurs on Canada Day should indicate a new cycle beginning for this North American nation, one that concentrates on the above-mentioned Cancerian things. Southern neighbor the United States, on the other hand, will experience its birthday on the Fourth of July with the Moon in Leo and Virgo. At least on the East Coast, I predict this will take the form of of sunning, swimming, relaxing, and romancing during the daytime (when the Moon is still in Leo and the love planet Venus trines dreamy Neptune), followed by people adopting a more down-to-earth, practical, "clean-up time" attitude as the Moon enters Virgo at 9:15 p.m. EDT. (Certainly, many individuals will be preparing themselves to go back to work the following day.)

May the Solar Eclipse in Cancer encourage you, regardless of where you live, to reflect upon your home, family, feelings, and act upon the desire to take care of others, especially those individuals who are the family you have made for yourself.

Notes on Thumbing My Nose at the Sun-Pluto Oppostion

2011-06-29T16:32:00.006-04:00

The Sun-Uranus square this past Sunday morning brought me a a head cold (which was gone by Monday morning) and a huge case of stage fright, the result of my having raised the performance bar via memorization of four poems. Odd that since I perform regularly and have strongly aspected Mercury, Saturn, and Moon in my natal chart, I had never before recited my poetry in front of an audience "by heart." Anyhow, I was ready, although I was three-quarters convinced that I was going to choke.

At around 5 p.m. on Monday, still at work but beginning to wind down and plan to apply some sultry eye makeup in the office restroom, I got a rather distressing phone call from the videograper whom I'd booked to capture my virgin "by heart" featured performance: "I'm here early, T.C., but you should know that the place is locked, no sign of life inside, no one is responding to my knocks."

The venue (whose name I will not mention here because bad press is better than no press), a cafe in the EV/Noho that was like a time capsule of late '60s memorabilia, had been undergoing renovations this month, but I had been assured by the reading series' curators that we would still have use of the space -- worst-case scenario being the basement instead of the main room. Then I heard the renovations were supposed to be complete by the 24th.

Renovation is ruled both by Uranus and Pluto, and this renovation in particular sounded more Plutonian: excavation instead of knocking down walls and suchlike. Neither of the curators who had my phone number had called that day to inform me the show had been canceled, and there were no show's-off emails, either. I assured the videographer that most likely, someone would show up by 6 p.m., as the show was to start at 6:30.

My stage fright morphed into anger when I saw for myself that as of 6 p.m., the venue was still locked. The reading series' curators were sitting outside along with some other early birds for the evening. Phone calls were made. Messages were left. Knocks on the door brought forth no answer. In addition to excavation, Pluto rules locks, lockouts, and subterfuge, and with the opposition from the Sun, there was obviously gross miscommunication.

However, despite the Sun-Pluto opposition (with the Sun in my sign), the Moon in Taurus, approaching a trine to my natal Pluto and Ascendant in Virgo and a conjunction to my progressed Moon, salvaged the evening. The videographer had every right to take off, but he waited long enough for the tide to turn, which happened around 6:45. A woman living upstairs eventually let us in, after receiving a phone call from someone associated with the venue, and after one of the curators assumed liability in case anyone got electrocuted or died of cat-piss inhalation.

I learned that night that this show was number 13 in the series, which had begun on a monthly basis just over a year ago. Not surprisingly, 13 is a Pluto number (anyone who doubts that can check out the 13th card in the tarot's major arcana: Death). Fortunately, 13 is my lucky number (as I was born on the 13th).

Everyone performed amazingly well given the weird circumstances, plus the fact that turnout was relatively low (especially compared to last month's show). My darling read a new poem that was both sweet and sexy. And not only did I not choke during my performance, it may have been my best one so far. Because there were fewer people in attendance, and fewer open-mikers, I went on pretty much on schedule. Two of my awesome girl friends, who rarely if ever miss a show I am featured in, showed up and we all went out afterward for a delicious dinner.

So take that, Sun-Pluto opposition! Nyah, nyah, nyah!!!

This Summer Solstice, Dare to Dream...

2011-06-22T18:43:00.002-04:00

...okay, so I'm a day late with this advice, but the Sun-Neptune trine is still in effect, so keep on daring to dream. This is a particularly significant aspect, as it marks the first time the Sun trines Neptune in a water sign since late 1970. Neptune is the ruler of Pisces, emphasizing the imagination and compassion in addition to fantasy, as well as selfless sacrifice (especially if it pertains to the home and family -- Sun in Cancer concerns).

You may well have been challenged by the Mars-Neptune trine (exact today at 2:46 a.m. EDT), which may have taken the form of an argument with a sibling or neighbor. Mars in airy Gemini can be quite argumentative, wanting to take the wind out of Neptune in Pisces' sail. Other possible manifestations of this square: health trouble (with the arms, hands, feet, or lungs), nightmares, and simply feeling out of sorts in your local environment. However, the worst of the square should have been ameliorated by the Sun-Neptune trine.

Tonight (at least on the East Coast), with the Moon in late Pisces, would be a great night to watch a movie, attend a concert, work on a creative project, take a swim or a long bath...or get to sleep early in order to face the The Last Quarter Moon in Aries (exact 7:48 a.m. EDT) fresh.

Lunar Eclipse: Get Ready for the Most Restless Full Moon of 2011!

2011-06-14T22:40:00.008-04:00

As we wend our way through the final week of spring, hold on to your hats -- this is going to be the most restless Full Moon of the year, as it falls in the zodiac's most restless signs (Sun in Gemini, Moon in Sagittarius) and also occurs on a Lunar Eclipse. The Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse is exact tomorrow (Wed. 6/15) at 4:14 p.m. EDT, but the energy has been building ever since late last night. I experienced typical Full Moon insomnia when I should've been in the Land of Nod, and have also been unusually productive in terms of writing (an activity I unfortunately cannot devote too much time to on weekdays).

This is a make-or-break point in the lunar cycle: look back to two weeks ago, when we had the Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Gemini. Have you been busy building or repairing lines of communication with those people who are important in your everyday world? If you can honestly say yes, then you will begin reaping the benefits during this Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse. If you have been "too busy" or out to lunch, then tomorrow may force the issue in a most unsubtle way.

This lunation encourages reading, writing, learning, teaching, lecturing, traveling, multitasking, and athletics requiring agility and strength. It does not lend itself to relaxation, meditation, empathy (indeed, you may have a hard time understanding and coping with your own feelings, let alone the emotional states of others), or agreeing to form any commitments that last longer than a day or two.

If you are familiar with your own natal chart, check which of your houses are involved in this Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse and you can see which areas of your life will be particularly affected, with the Gemini-Sagittarius overlay as explained above.

To give one example, this lunation falls across an angle in my chart -- exactly conjunct my Midheaven and IC (i.e., 10th-house cusp and 4th-house cusp). Therefore, I can expect to deal both with home issues (with the Moon placed at the 4th) and my public persona and career (with the Sun at the 10th). I am already feeling the effects of the Sun approaching my Midheaven, as I have been more visible at work this week via extra hours, and have also been preparing to give a featured reading performance (my first since last November). I do hope that once the Moon enters my
4th house, I will literally be able to spend more time at home!

Welcome Jupiter in Taurus

2011-06-08T12:05:00.003-04:00

Jupiter is the planet of philosophy and values; Taurus is our zodiac's first earth sign and is ruled by the beauty-and-pleasure-seeking planet Venus. As Jupiter eases its big toe into Taurus, I thought it apropos to pose a set of related questions to my readers (and to myself!). Feel free to mull these questions over; there are no right or wrong answers, and Taurus is about ruminating, not rushing (that would be Aries's department). Plus, by the time Jupiter leaves the sign of the bull in June 2012, you may find yourself revising some of your responses.

*

What is your definition of beauty?

What is your attitude toward money?

Are you possessive about your possessions? Do you ever treat your friends and loved ones as possessions?

Which do you tend to value more: "things" or experiences?

Are you comfortable living in the material world?

Are you at ease living in your physical body?

How do you feel about art, and how does art feel about you?

How important to you are the senses of taste, smell, and touch?

What is your attitude toward food?

What is the difference between sensuality and sex?

Do you believe you can love someone if you do not love yourself?

Can you honestly say with a straight face that you love yourself?

What is the difference between stubbornness and persistence?

What are the parameters of your comfort zone, and do you feel comfortable pushing your envelope and departing from that zone?

Do you feel that slow and steady wins the race?

What race in particular are you running in (or not)?

Solar Eclipse in Gemini: Communication Rebirth

2011-06-01T17:17:00.004-04:00

The Solar Eclipse in Gemini just occurred (5:03 p.m. EDT), marking a new lunar cycle and infusing it with additional power via the eclipse. We are now in late spring (at least in the Northern Hemisphere); as the days continue to grow warmer and longer, the desire to get out and socialize is generally strong.

Gemini manifests as mingling, communicating, siblings, neighbors, and the local environment. Tomorrow Mercury, Gemini's ruling planet, enters Gemini, strengthening the effect of the desire to explore and talk, talk, and talk some more.

Try taking a different route to work or play; Gemini abhors routine, and is always on the lookout to find and learn about something new (even if it is old hat to someone else).

Gemini rules the hands, so anything hands-on is especially favored. Treat yourself to a massage or manicure, and do not be surprised if you suddenly feel the urge to load your fingers with rings.

Are You Ready for the Rapture?

2011-05-20T20:05:00.003-04:00

Those who believe that the world will end tomorrow, on May 21, 2011, will be sorely disappointed.

Not only does this wisdom come from some Christian-come-lately dude with a funny name as opposed to the Bible (for nowhere in the scriptures can one learn exactly what day Jesus will drop by Earth and beam the faithful up to heaven while the rest of humanity and life forms all perish in various ghastly plagues). And not only have scores of other end-of-the-world predictions failed to come to pass. Whatever your religious beliefs happen to be, the world will certainly keep on keeping on with such lovely planetary aspects as a Venus-Pluto trine (indicative of the transforming power of love and sex -- rapture of a life-affirming kind). Here in New York City, and I'd imagine in other cities, there are many underground "Rapture" parties planned for tomorrow night, which also goes well with the Sun-Moon trine from communicative, social-butterfly Gemini to group-oriented Aquarius.

We will have a Sun-Neptune square in the wee hours of the 22nd (3:32 a.m. EDT) so please take responsibility for your waking dreams and fantasies, as well as any mind-altering substances you may be partaking of on Saturday night.

The Sun-Neptune square could also indicate delusions and illusions forced into consciousness, but since doomsday types never seem too thrown by their constant miscalculations and instead blithely mark another end-of-the-world date on their calendars, I imagine it will only trigger awareness in those individuals who are ready to experience a rude awakening from various pipedreams.

Tune in for a similar eye-opener regarding the true meaning of the year 2012.

Moon in Sagittarius Update

2011-05-18T17:01:00.005-04:00

Yours truly will have her second article published in the next issue of Ingress, NCGR's quarterly newsletter, which will be mailed out to NCGR subscribers in NYC on June 21.

But faithful readers of my site will be able to read this piece, which gets to the bottom of the recent Jupiter-Saturn opposition, well before the Summer Solstice! Stay tuned...

Full Moon in Scorpio: Buddha Moon

2011-05-16T16:12:00.004-04:00

If you're not starting to feel Full Moon fever, I suggest you check your pulse.

The Full Moon in Scorpio, exact tomorrow, May 17 at 7:09 a.m. EDT, is perhaps the most powerful Full Moon of the zodiac. Not coincidentally, it is also Buddha's Sun/Moon combination. (Once, when I was playing around on OKCupid, I took a test called "Which Religious Founder Are You?" Apparently I had the most in common with Buddha. My reaction? "Cool beans!") Indeed, Buddha is a perfect example of a TET (totally evolved Taurus). He was born into wealth and creature comforts (Taurus), yet once he woke up and realized how sheltered and insular his life was, he left his father's house and confronted such harsh realities as poverty and such demons as greed, power-tripping, and lust. Buddha's Moon in Scorpio gave him the necessary "ins" of intuition, intensity, and instinct to not only survive, but transform and thrive, and thus become immortal (a Scorpio Moon person's most innermost desire).

Today and tomorrow are great days to do a little spring cleaning. Ace the broken tennis racquet, your rubber ducky from childhood that is blue with mold, and your Great Aunt Matilda's moth-eaten sweater set. You can still keep memories if you get rid of mementos.

This is also an auspicious time to reconnect with your sexuality and sensuality, to give yourself pleasure, and ideally share your ability to give pleasure with someone who is truly deserving of it. "Soul sex" is to "casual sex" as champagne is to flat ginger ale, as a dark chocolate truffle is to a stale Hershey's candy bar. Forgo your diet for a few days and go Tom Jones, with the understanding that you will work off the extra calories in the most achingly satisfying of ways.

Whew.

TMRM: Typical Mercury Retrograde Manifestations

2011-04-08T14:38:00.003-04:00

1. The massive earthquake aftershock in Japan: total TMRM.

2. The imminent government shutdown via congressional gridlock over the annual budget, which is already halfway through: also TMRM.

In the first case, this Mercury Retrograde action falls under the category of "natural disaster." In the second case, it is a matter of choice -- although many Left-leaning individuals would consider the RepubliCons and Tea Partiers also to fall under the category of natural disaster. Yet it must also be said that the Democrats do not deserve a medal for refusing (at least as of this posting) to give in to the Far Right's two-pronged agenda of wanting to take away -- on a worldwide level-- women's right to control their own bodies, as well as aiming to evade environmental responsibility. The Dems need to grow a pair (of lungs) and seize this opportunity to point out to the populace now, not in 2012, that the budget standstill has nothing to do with jobs (the number-one concern of most people) and everything to do with social ideology (and extortion).

My feeling is that our planet is growing increasingly upset -- Neptune in Pisces may literally unleash a vail of tears in the form of floods.

And more and more people in the US are growing upset that our so-called democracy, with a government supposedly by and for the people, is transforming into a plutocracy. But will there be enough impetus to vote, protest, march, revolt, strike, whatever it takes to bring about real change, or at least a real option that is not cloaked in spin, hype, and lies? The Uranus/Pluto square, aka 2012, may well see such extreme action and reaction. Right now, with Mercury Retrograde, people are more likely to internalize growing resentment.

And I am sorry to say it, but if the current motto of the US does not change -- which is, "I've got mine [however much or little that may be], so screw you," -- when 2012 rolls around, no one save the "lunatic fringe" will budge from their place in front of their home-entertainment system. In other words, it is our job to educate ourselves and foment change if we are dissatisfied, not just bitch about the do-nothings and know-nothings in DC.

To quote John Lennon, "Strange days, indeed."

Welcome Neptune in Pisces

2011-04-04T10:53:00.005-04:00

For the first time since the mid-nineteenth century, Neptune is back in its ruling sign of Pisces. How apropos that Neptune was officially discovered as it transited Pisces back in 1846! And we can thank Uranus, the planet of genius and technology, for that discovery -- or rather, we can thank the two astronomers who mathematically proved that it was the presence of another, as-yet-unseen planet that caused Uranus's orbital irregularities.

Neptune, of course, existed long before its first sighting -- but once this mysterious outer planet entered the public consciousness, many Neptunian/Piscean things blossomed or gained in popularity, including photography, opiates and alcohol, impressionist art...and, in the United States, an increasingly divisive view toward slavery (Dred Scott was 1857) that would lead to the Union's dissolving (Neptune) and the bloodiest, darkest chapter of U.S. history: the Civil War.

We will only get our feet wet, so to speak, with Neptune once again in Pisces before it retrogrades back into Aquarius in early August, but the next four months may bring unexpected creative inspiration and an increase in compassion -- specifically, the desire for universal freedom, not just one's own. This does not mean we will all become artists and freedom-fighters (or flood-fighters!), but if either urge is already inside you, Neptune will act as its midwife. And the birth may very well be a long, bloody labor of love. For Neptune is also about universal love, and the pain an individual will endure, even welcome, for the sake of that giving life and expression to that love.

Peace.

PS: Literally as soon as Mercury turned Retrograde last Wednesday, I came down with the flu. I am beginning to improve enough to sit at my desk and post this blog, but going into the office to proofread ad copy is out of the question, even though I am losing money as a no-benefits part-timer. I haven't been this sick since I was a child -- my fever hit 103 before finally starting to moderate, but I am still experiencing localized overnight flooding (i.e., the right-hand side of the bed). I really should've gotten a flu shot last fall, since I knew that Neptune would enter my 6th House (at 29'09" Aquarius) in March, while it was still flu season. Very. Big. Mistake on my part. Please take this PS as a precautionary tale, and ponder this verse I just created: If ye know your own chart well / Ignore astrology at your own peril.

Notes on Mercury Turning Retrograde

2011-03-30T14:56:00.005-04:00

Mercury turns retrograde four times a year, for a grand total of about twelve weeks spent in retrograde. Much is made of these times even by those who otherwise have no knowledge of or interest in astrology. The fuss is not for nothing; it is indeed advisable not to purchase a car (or any mode of transportation requiring an engine), a computer (or anything involving electronics), or clothing when Mercury is retrograde. It is par for the course that communications of all sorts will go awry, and that delays are common -- hence the advisory against travel.

However, there are benefits to Mercury retrograde. From 4:48 p.m. EDT today until April 23, we will all receive a much-needed opportunity to reflect upon, ponder, process, and potentially resolve what has been going down (i.e., a lot) in the world since Mercury entered Aries on March 9. The Jupiter/Saturn opposition, exact two days ago, is an aspect of societal distress, rebellion vs. rigidity, and overall lack of planetary balance. This very difficult opposition will be brought into greater focus as Mercury retrogrades back over Jupiter, and with any luck (Jupiter), a greater understanding (Mercury) of its various manifestations may be felt by such mercurial types as writers and orators. Even for others, a burned-out lightbulb may flicker on (Mercury in Aries) around April 12.

Particularly on days like this one, when Mercury is stationary retrograde, take a moment to pause on whatever path you are on, take a deep breath, and question what you truly think...about everything. And particularly since Mercury retrogrades in Aries, rise to the challenge of truly thinking for yourself.

For inspiration, go online and check out the close-up photos of Mercury, "coincidentally" made available today.

Pluto Profile #1: Liz Taylor, Lunar Scorpion

2011-03-25T08:36:00.023-04:00

For quite a while I have been thinking of creating a regular feature within this blog, to be called "Pluto Profiles," which would explore the charts of various Biggies (and Not-So-Biggies) who would qualify in any astrologer's book as Plutonian -- someone born with a strongly aspected Pluto and/or Scorpio placements. The passing of Elizabeth Taylor two days ago has finally motivated me to get said feature off the ground and into cyberspace.

Elizabeth Taylor was, in many ways, a classic Piscean; she was born with a stellim (i.e., three or more planets conjunct) that included the Sun in the first decanate of Pisces (which adds an additional Pisces vibe), and the stellium opposed its despositor, Neptune. Pisces/Neptune rules film, and Taylor began appearing movies at an early age.

Her breakthrough role as Velvet Brown in National Velvet was made possible by the fact that she started horseback riding at age three, which is less than shocking when you consider that she was born with Sagittarius (which rules horses) on the Ascendant (which rules persona, the physical body, and the individual's temperament). Taylor's ruling planet was therefore Jupiter, placed in the sign Leo and trine that Asc. I believe it was this trine, in these particular signs, that stamped her in a highly visible manner: her exotic violet eyes. (Purple is a color associated with the sign Sagittarius and its ruling planet, Jupiter.) The eyes are ruled by the sign Aries, and Taylor was born with an exact Venus/Uranus conjunction in Aries -- this conjunction completed a grand trine in the Fire element.

Taylor certainly embodied many Jupiter in Leo characteristics: glamour, wealth, fame, a love of opulence (e.g., her jewelry collection), and a regal vibe. Even onscreen, she was cast as royalty in Cleopatra. "I've been lucky all my life," Taylor said in an interview. "But I've paid for that luck with disasters...I'm like a living example of what people can go through and survive...I'm not like anyone. I'm me." Jupiter is known as the "lucky" planet, and had it only trined Taylor's Asc. and Venus/Uranus conjunction, she may very well have sailed through life unscathed (although with these aspects, she probably still would have married a nearly unbelievable number of times). However, Jupiter's square to her Scorpio Moon ensured that not only would this movie star receive an abundance of good luck, but also go through near-death experiences that might've put out the flame of a non-Plutonian, including an emergency tracheotomy and brain surgery. Her Moon/Jupiter square in fixed signs also contributed toward her addictive nature as much as her Pisces placements did. She also had to deal with the early loss of a spouse (Jupiter is placed in the Pluto-ruled 8th House of death and partner's resources.)

Taylor's Scorpio Moon was strengthened by its trine to Pluto (which, like Jupiter, fell in her 8th House), and helped her pull through serious illness and other setbacks. Although Taylor's Fire placements may have led her to crave the spotlight, her Scorpio Moon must have had to psych itself out big-time in order to pass through the media's ring of fire. Because her Moon fell in the 11th House of friends, groups, and ideals, she surely could not keep her most private self (as symbolized by the Moon) private, as she might have been able to do had it fallen in her 12th or 4th House. And she became a scandal (a Scorpio/Pluto specialty) many times over.

How apropos that when Pluto transited Scorpio (1984-95), Taylor became an outspoken advocate (11th House) for AIDS awareness (this illness is a frighteningly perfect manifestation of Pluto in Scorpio). She also developed a perfume with the perfectly Plutonian name of Poison and became friends with a highly controversial person: Michael Jackson.

Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure (Moon in Scorpio square Jupiter in Leo) with the transiting Moon in Scorpio. Although 79 is no longer considered an advanced age to die, especially for women, Taylor's seven decades spent in the public eye, coupled with seven men, may well have made her feel at least a century old. She may very well be remembered as a "celebrity," as opposed to a movie star, by younger generations who did not watch her grow up, and grow older, on the silver screen. Yet as an intriguing blend of Water and Fire, it is safe to state that very few people actually knew this woman. If you happen to be a Lunar Scorpion, or have one in your orbit, you will know exactly what I mean.

The Perfectionism and Self-Loathing of the Lunar Scorpion

2011-03-22T22:59:00.008-04:00

Astrology famously has it that Virgo is the ultimate perfectionist of the zodiac, but Scorpio can't be too far behind -- this sign is "all or nothing" in its approach to everything in life, and has serious control issues (i.e., has to have it at all costs).

The Moon placed in Scorpio indicates all of the above, plus extreme emotional sensitivity and volatility added to the brew. Combine a Scorpio Moon with important placements in Virgo, and any venture that falls short of what the Lunar Scorpion perceives to be perfect will unleash a torrent of blame and self-loathing.

Specifically, I gave a mediocre poetry performance last night, with the Moon in early Scorpio. At first, I blamed everything that was out of my control: a microphone that barely worked, an introduction that did not use my preferred "T.C." moniker because my sweetie, having arrived at the venue first, signed me up and he forgot about the nom de plume thing, and the malevolent guy behind the cafe counter (possibly the owner of the venue) put me on guard straightaway; he'd hissed unpleasantries at me for not immediately forking over the $2 donation while I was scribbling some last-minute changes to my brand-new poem before the show began. (This is the same charmer, by the way, who snarled at me for accidentally bumping into him en route to the restroom back in January, so I felt within my rights to prioritize poetry revising over donation giving.)

But the truth was that part of the mediocrity was because of things that were within my control. I barely practiced one of the two poems I performed, and the other one was fresh out of the oven of my brainpan; the Sun/Uranus conjunction yesterday morning had inspired me to breathe new life into a poem I'd abandoned years ago. It is very unlike me to come to a reading so ill-prepared, but just as the Sun/Uranus conjunction brings creative inspiration, it also brings carelessness and cockiness. In the past year, most of my performances, both featured and open-mic, were strong; I counted on the same magic happening without putting in the necessary work.

Playing the blame game (both outer and inner) ensured that I would be tossing and turning all night, and wide awake at 4:30 a.m., possibly the worst of the wee hours.

Now I feel sorry that I wasted all that energy bitching and moaning and lashing out instead of doing something either more constructive or more fun on a Scorpio Moon. Oh well, there's always tonight...at the very least, I think I will be able to sleep.

Post-Full Moon Reflections

2011-03-19T15:41:00.017-04:00

As a Plutonian with Pluto exactly squaring my Midheaven and a 10th House Sun, I have a love/hate relationship with authority and officialdom.

I want to Be Somebody in capital letters -- actually, make that Somebodies, as I wear more than one hat careerwise (as one might expect from a Gemini Midheaven). Yet all the self-promoting I must do in order to ascend a rung or two higher on that never-ending (for a 10th House Sun, anyway) ladder of Something in capital letters, as I lack an agent or pilot fish of any kind to do it for me, gives me a serious stomachache -- even as my heavily aspected Mercury (widely conjunct Sun and tightly conjunct Mars in Cancer, square Jupiter in Libra, and exactly trine Neptune in Scorpio), plus an ultrasociable 1st House Uranus in Libra, readily engage in this song-and-dance.

Basically, I'm an introvert masking as an extrovert (except in the workplace; I do not blast Pandora toward the end of the day or hang out in the kitchen area unless I'm boiling water for my late-afternoon cup of tea). It does not trouble me in the slightest to enter a room full of strangers, whether it's a party or a meeting or some combination of the two (as it was at last night's NCGR panel discussion), because I survived middle school and sleepover camp in the time before adults began to at least pretend to care about the harm that bullying can do to young'uns. Nor does it bother me to be the Stranger in the Midst because I am fully aware that at social functions, most people put on their public persona -- their joker mask, their king-of-the-hill zoot suit, their small-talk tutu -- and that meeting people under such circumstances is not the same as really knowing them (though it's a perfectly valid point from which to begin plumbing their depths).

That said, I was aware yesterday that on the approaching Full Moon across my Ascendant/Descendant, it was likely that I was going to be highly visible, even with the Moon still transiting my 12th House -- hardly a Fly on the Wall at NCGR. I was also on high fashion alert with Venus in Aquarius squaring my Saturn in Taurus, which translated into a bohemian long Indian-print skirt (Aquarius), but my entire outfit was black (Saturn), and I decided to forgo my specs, as contact lenses would allow for better eye contact. I believe it was also this square that triggered my becoming an NCGR member last night, though the Full Moon had a lot to do with this decision it as well.

It was a freakishly warm day in New York City (76 degrees according to an online weather source), and the room in which the panel discussion was held was in a building just a few blocks from my office. Unfortunately the room itself was quite overheated, but in a way this was a good thing, since it killed my appetite (I did not wind up having a light supper till after I got home at 10:something). I'd estimate there were around 30 to 40 people there. Some other people besides myself were becoming members that night, too. It seemed like a real community, with plenty of friendly greetings going on before the panel discussion began.

The panel discussion itself was very interesting; four astrologers from four different generations held forth on various astrological topics, three of which were based on studying the notes from focus groups conducted back in the 1980s by a highly esteemed, recently deceased astrologer and NCGR member Patricia Morimundo. Each astrologer spoke for 15 minutes, and then the floor was opened for a Q&A.

In particular, I was moved by Shirley Soffer's discussion about the focus group concerning the affect of the Saturn in Scorpio transit (the focus group happened in 1985, with Saturn in the last degree of Scorpio) on people with natal Sun/Saturn or Moon/Saturn hard aspects. I myself have a wide but approaching Moon/Saturn opposition, and I remember who I was c. 1984-85, during the time that Saturn went over my Moon and opposed my Saturn -- a solitary, snubbed, scared, skinny teenager who was convinced, as I put it so Plutoniously in my diary, that I would die an unknown virgin. As the designated "problem" in the family (when truth be told, we all should've been in family therapy), I was sent to a psychologist -- against my wishes, of course -- and of course, by the end of the school year, just as I'd begun really opening up to this gentle, compassionate woman (who was around my parents' age), my parents pulled the plug. In their opinion, I had not been fixed or even shown any signs of improvement. I am sure they were threatened that I could tell my troubles (which included them) to a therapist, when I had such difficulty confiding in them, which was because they either overreacted by blaming me, or underreacted by refusing to take whatever it was seriously.

And yet. While all this fresh Saturnian hell was going on, there was a constant loop of reading and writing, of museum-going and drawing, and achievement. In 1984 I won the Litarary Magazine prize at the middle school graduation ceremonies, and the following spring, two months before I was yanked out of therapy, I was profiled in the local pennysaver for having been the editor in chief of the same literary magazine, which had just been judged by the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) as "Excellent," surpassing thousands of lit mags at the high school level. I was even hired by the pennysaver as their weekly high school correspondent, which meant I was paid $10 a week to cover such hot topics as the high school's booming business department, the annual student-teacher debate, and Spring Fling. When my editor relocated to Zimbabwe that summer, he let his replacement know of my existence. But my heart was not in journalism, and I did not need that ten-dollar carrot enough to continue cranking out articles about the student government and SADD. This decision may not sound Saturnian, since Saturn is about obligation and duty, yet this planet also has a way of paring everything down to the essential. I did not need ten extra bucks a week, so I said the hell with it and went back to my other need: writing short stories and poems, which I could only work on outside the classroom (my "day job" at that time).

It is also worth mentioning that after Saturn went over my Moon and opposed my Saturn, it trined my Sun, Mars, and Mercury -- and passed over my Neptune. I remember that by the end of this transit, although I was very upset that I'd lost my therapist whom I'd come to trust ( Saturn conjunct Neptune), I also had a clearer sense of my goals (Saturn) and because my parents thought that studying was more important than having a part-time job, I was able to stay true to my visions (Neptune) and integrity (Saturn). Oh, and I also got braces (Saturn) "upstairs" due to impacted incisors (the ones next door the front teeth) that came in late (Saturn) and looking like fangs (I dunno...Pluto?) after the dentist extracted the immovable baby ones (on the Saturn/Pluto conjunction).

The other astrologer on the panel I found exceptionally interesting was Tracy Allen, who shared her findings from a focus group Patricia Morimndo ran back in 1989, which dealt with people sharing the the effects of transiting Neptune in Capricorn in hard aspect to their Sun, Moon, or Ascendant. Ms. Allen also gave her own insights into the Neptune in Scorpio generation. In the first case, I remembered that it was back when Neptune was in Capricorn and opposing my Sun that I delved into such Neptunian realms as astrology, lucid dreaming, and various mind-altering substances. I also met scores of Pisceans, mostly male -- though with that sign on my 7th House, it's hardly surprising.

During the Q&A, I spoke up after the first two people had asked their questions and made various comments and no one else seemed interested in contributing. I decided to concentrate only on the topics raised by Shirley and Tracy, as I did not want to speak endlessly and having to speak into a microphone near the front of the room (the mic, which was not a cordless model, did not reach all the way back to where I was seated) made me pretty self-conscious.

Fortunately, once the talk was over and everyone moved toward the back of the room for refreshments, I was able to speak with one of the other astrologers, who actually recognized me from an astrology Meetup I'd gone to years ago (he still runs it, and seems a nice guy, but the Meetup itself just didn't do it for me). I also met Stephen Fleming, the editor of Ingress, who was very friendly and encouraging; he introduced me to a few other people, and I introduced myself to a few other people, and I gave out some of my business cards. By the time 9 p.m. rolled around and the room needed to be cleared, I was ready for some fresh air (though my appetite was still suppressed from the heat). And the beautiful, bright Full Moon accompanied me on my short walk to the subway.

Happy International Astrology Day!

2011-03-18T15:27:00.006-04:00

Should be an interesting one, as we are approaching the Full Moon...if you have a heavy dose of Virgo and/or Pisces in your chart, be sure not to hide your light under a bushel tonight; relationships (especially related to work and spirituality) come to the fore. Geminis and Sagittarians may attract attention and conflict in equal measure. Cancerians, Scorpions, and Capricorns may get the best of all possible worlds.

I for one intend to celebrate by attending an NCGR panel discussion after work, about "Astrology and Generations," which longtime readers of my blog know is one of my interests. And who knows...I just may wind up joining this club that would have someone like me for a member.

My article "The 'We' Regeneration: The Pluto-in-Libra Group Faces the Pluto-in-Capricorn Challenge" has just appeared in the Spring 2011 NCGR newsletter Ingress, and will also appear on its website (details forthcoming, but you may find this article in its entirety right now by going into this blog's March 2010 archives.

Cheers...now stop procrastinating and go loony-lunar.

Uranus at 29 Degrees of Pisces: Part II

2011-03-14T11:20:00.038-04:00

Photo credit: T. C. Gardstein, 2007

With the situation in Japan worsening (as per the predictions of my last post), I thought I'd muse upon my own inner earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown with Uranus in the final degree of Pisces. It is also more than worth mentioning that Neptune happens to be transiting the final degree of Aquarius, and that up until last weekend, in fact, there was a seven-year-long mutual reception between these two outer planets (i.e., Uranus was transiting the sign of Neptune's rulership, with Neptune transiting the sign of Uranus's rulership). Obviously the semi-sextile, a so-called minor aspect, between Uranus and Neptune pulled a powerful punch. And it did so on many levels.

A planet or planets in the last degree of a sign, either by transit or progression, is all about summing up the meaning of that sign, while preparing to bid it adieu. This may very well be why individuals who are born on the cusp (29 degrees) of a sign, or have a cusp Ascendant or other planets, are prone to identity crises and restlessness. It's more about waving good-bye than saying hello, and not yet meeting face-to-face what is right around the corner.

Three-quarters of my six-day R&R to the West Indies was magical, spent swimming, eating, reading, sketching, sleeping, and not sleeping on my favorite beach on my favorite island, in the company of my sweetie whose first visit to St. Martin it was. The last quarter of my trip, which coincided with the New Moon in Pisces, was marked by a haunting sadness and creeped-outed-ness that I have not yet shaken, after more than a week back at home.

My oldest friend, whom I met at a summer writers workshop twenty years ago this summer and who introduced me to astrology, is buried on the small island of St. Eustatius, which one cannot reach except by puddle-jumper prop plane from St. Martin (actually, St. Maarten -- the airport is on the Dutch side of the island) or sailboat. I last visited my friend in March 2007; he'd been living in Statia, as the locals call their island, for the past two years. He died unexpectedly the following spring, from complications due to diverticulitis, which I did not know he had been diagnosed with, just two weeks after I'd returned home from a trip to the Bahamas with my best girl friend. It had been the first time in several years that I hadn't visited my oldest friend since he'd moved to the West Indies, and as I'd just returned from a vacation and was virtually broke, I did not make it down to Statia for his funeral, a fact that has troubled me for nearly three years. His three adult children made it down, and one of them gave me a pretty detailed description -- the pickup truck used as a hearse, the coffin built by a man who'd used the same wood to construct my friend's bookcase.

Through dreams I have often communicated with my departed friend. I do not feel as though I've "lost" him through his death; the sad, hard truth was that our true separation occurred while he was still in Statia. Four Marches ago, as I sat on the runway in the puddle-jumper that would fly me back to St. Maarten and then home, I saw that my friend's Jeep was still in the parking lot, and I thought I could see him, too -- a shadowy dot. I broke down and wept. I knew with absolute certainty that I would never see him again.

When you have a Plutonian relationship with someone, there is never easy "closure." My oldest friend, who was once upon a time not as platonic a friend, was persona non grata in my family, and no one in my post-2002 life knew him except for one ex-boyfriend (with whom, as it goes, I had a terrible falling-out a year and a half back, and is just now beginning to un-fall). I held a memorial party in my apartment at the one-year mark, to which his three kids, none of whom live in the NY area, did show -- though neither of his ex-wives, who are both relatively local in NJ, accepted the invitation. We talked and ate and drank and passed photos around. It was something; it just didn't feel like enough. I knew that somehow I had to get back to Statia, an expensive proposition given the fact that WinAir has raised skyway robbery to an art form and that my prospects as a freelancer were diminishing by the month.

So the trip finally happened, spurred in part by recently acquired steady part-time work, the other part from a false review I'd spotted on TripAdvisor about how the King's Well Inn in Statia was up for sale. This was my friend's last, and in some ways truest, home since he'd moved to the islands to teach pharmacology at the local medical schools. Far from a resort, the King's Well was a quirky little hotel run by an older couple, both Cancerians (in fact, the husband and I share a birthday and Moon sign!), who'd once run a restaurant on Long Island and fell in love with Statia while vacationing there in the '80s, at just about the time Pluto entered Scorpio. The King's Well had dogs, cats, and parrots, all of whom freely roamed the premises, so it was not a place for anyone who did not like or at least tolerate animals. The couple cooked savory, straightforward dinners (wiener schnitzel, chicken with ginger sauce, grouper with white wine sauce) and served huge gratis breakfasts to hotel guests. There was a nice swimming pool, jacuzzi, aloe plants in the garden; Oranje Bay was a short stroll down the hill. There was also a cemetery up the hill, which appears in this post's photo; I snapped this shot from the prop plane shortly before landing at Statia's FDR Airport in March 2007.

The review I read was so negative (the reviewer and his wife had left after only two hours, claiming extreme discomfort in the surroundings) that I immediately sent the owners of the King's Well an email to find out if the rumor was true. It was not; the wife informed me that the guest in question was out of his mind, and that when she and her husband were ready to pack it in, they would leave the hotel to their grown kids. I was also offered free accommodations if I chose to visit, only having to pay for dinners. Very soon after that exchange, I told my sweetie, who was in the process of packing up his apartment to move into mine, that I wanted to make a trip to St. Martin and Statia before winter's end. He was not surprised, since I'd mentioned more than once or twice my desire to revisit this part of the world, as well as my need to pay my respects at the grave of my oldest friend. It made perfect sense to start out in St. Martin and end the trip in Statia. Just before boarding the puddle-jumper, I picked up a bottle of duty-free champagne to thank the owners of the King's Well for their generosity.

What I was not expecting was that the King's Well Inn was just as decrepit, perhaps more so, as the reviewer on TripAdvisor had claimed. We were given an oceanfront room with a terrace, but it was situated near the hotel's dumpster, which reeked of garbage. The waterbed was fun and sexy in theory, but it was only halfway filled, causing extreme back discomfort for both of us. There were huge cobwebs all over the room. We did not put any of our clothes in the few drawers that passed for a bureau. The windows lacked screens, and the wooden French doors were warped and never stayed fully closed. Fortunately, the ceiling fans were in working order, which saved us from being eaten alive by mosquitos as we slept (albeit fitfully). The painting in the room was grotesque, depicting a couple clinging to each other not in ecstasy or tenderness, but in grief or agony. There were two other couples staying at the hotel, but I learned from the owners that they now only accepted known quantities -- even extending to those visitors who only wished to dine at the King's Well. The owner who is my astral twin was in a terrible car accident on St. Kitts last summer and is on a steady diet of painkillers; his wife, who never seemed to welcome "outsiders" to the King's Well as readily as her husband, seemed even more insular in her worldview; she will only visit nearby St. Martin a few times a year to pick up such hotel supplies as towels and sheets, since Statia does not offer much in the way of creature comforts. In her opinion, most people are morons or fools. The misanthrope in me sees her point, yet she is so strident and knee-jerky in her judgments that I find myself taking the other side, for the sake of balance and fairness. She also never asked me a single question about what had been going on in my world since 2007. I don't take this personally, as her own world is so circumscribed it could fit on one of her dinner plates.

We arrived late Friday afternoon, just before the New Moon in Pisces; after a quick dip in the pool, which thankfully was clean (I learned that the man who lives in my old friend's apartment, which is right next to the pool, performs this task), I cleaned up, donned my black sundress and shawl, grabbed a stick of incense and a candle that came in an ornate tin, and headed up the hill to the cemetery. It was my intention to be there at sunset, the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. My sweetie accompanied me. It did not occur to me that I would be unable to locate my friend's grave; that it would still, after nearly three years after his burial, be unmarked. My sweetie helpfully offered to walk back downhill to the hotel restaurant and ask the grande dame of the King's Well, who was preparing our dinner, for directions. In his absence, as the sun sunk into the ocean, I wandered around the cemetery, studying each headstone in the hope that finally I'd found the one I was looking for...and taking great care to avoid the mounds of goat shit (or maybe it was cow shit) that decorated the grounds. My sweetie returned with the information that my friend was buried near the break in the cemetery wall, near "Hank the plumber." Supposedly there was a pile of rocks to mark my friend's burial spot. I did not find a pile, precisely, but there were a few heavy rocks near the plumber's headstone. My sweetie respectfully walked off a ways as I lit the stick of incense and stuck it in the ground; I lit the candle, and as soon as I asked my friend if he knew I was there, the flame went out. I spoke to him for a few minutes -- nothing so different from the times I've spoken to him in my mind. But the situation was so dismal and depressing I did not want to stay in the cemetery for longer than that. I wrote in one of my first astrology posts that I rather liked cemeteries, but this one was the exception that proved the rule. It really took the cake (or cow patty).

I planned to mention the sorry state of the cemetery, and my friend's unmarked grave, to the grande dame once we'd finished the chicken with ginger sauce. But as soon as I voiced to her that I'd probably found the grave, she weighed in with her judgment that cemeteries were pointless, that she herself never visits, and that my friend was not really there anyway -- his spirit was at the hotel. I managed to hold my tongue. After all, we were staying at the King's Well for free, and we had another night to go after this one. But here is what ran through my head: So what if it was "just" my friend's empty shell rotting in an unmarked grave, in a boneyard scattered with shit? It was still the container of his spirit, his soul. He'd apparently asked for a Jewish funeral (which ruled out cremation). His adult children, at least the older two, were financially solvent enough to have chipped in on some sort of simple marker. That they hadn't done so this long after the fact left me gobsmacked. I have a difficult relationship with my own father (whose nickname just so happens to be identical to Statia's aforementioned dearly departed plumber -- ain't irony grand?) and yet if he died anywhere on this planet, even if I did not have my mother or sister around to help out on this formality, I'd make it my business to mark that shell.

My visit to Statia lasted for less than forty-eight hours, but it felt like far longer. There were some bright moments: yoga, making a decent watercolor painting on the moldering terrace, a long frolic in the sea with my sweetie (though the beach of Oranje Bay had eroded considerably since my last visit). Neither of the owners of the King's Well wanted to drink the bubbly I'd brought, so my sweetie and I shared it during our second and last dinner, which was grouper with white wine sauce, at the King's Well. (The food, thankfully, was as delicious as in prior visits.) Near the end of the meal, I met the man who took over my friend's dwelling; he'd just celebrated his fifty-seventh birthday, and was studying to be a doctor after considerable success in the business world. When I introduced myself, he came over, charming Texan that he was, and sat with my sweetie and me for a spell. I'd had enough champagne by then to mention that my oldest friend had once lived in his apartment, and asked if he'd ever sensed anything strange, any movements; I so wanted to believe the grande dame of the King's Well that my friend's spirit was on the hotel grounds, though I hadn't sensed it at all in the past day. He immediately shook his head no and said, "Only when I had that rat problem."

Later that night I sat alone on the rotting terrace's mildewed couch, sipping from one of the bottles of Ma DouDou rum punch I'd picked up in St. Martin (my all-time favorite elixir, particularly the banana-vanilla and chocolate flavors). It was just past the Lunar Return of my oldest friend, and with the Moon/Uranus conjunction approaching, I was trying so hard to connect with his spirit as I stared at the palm trees and the night sea. But it all felt like a stage set, perhaps because of the harsh lighting. All I could think was that I'd come to Statia to pay my respects, and found (barely) an unmarked grave and a dying hotel. My sweetie, who'd been reading in the uncomfortable bed, eventually drifted out to the terrace. He reassured me that I'd done what I'd set out to do. Maybe so, I fretted -- but what about my friend's pathetic excuse for a grave? Should I contact his kids or what? Lying in the swaying bed, my sweetie and I clung to each other much like the angst-filled couple in the disturbing painting overhead. We were tired but restless, sensing unrest if not outright ghosts.

The next morning, upon our departure, I was told to "have a good life" by the grande dame of the King's Well Inn. Obviously she realized without my having to say a word that another visit was not in the stars. My astral twin, who was apparently not too badly incapacitated from painkillers that morning, drove us to the airport. My sweetie and I were not able to grab seats together on the WinAir prop plane, even though we boarded in tandem. Perhaps having to sit next to a stranger was what made it possible -- that sense of aloneness I felt as I watched Statia recede in the blue haze that melds sea and sky -- for me to finally be able to cry for my oldest friend. Once again.

Uranus at 29 Degrees of Pisces: Part I

2011-03-12T18:54:00.011-05:00

This was going to be a post about how Uranus affected me in the final degree of Pisces, which is also the final degree of the zodiac. However, in light of yesterday's devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake (followed by tsunami and nuclear plant explosions) in northeastern Japan, it seems a tad self-centered to concentrate solely on the personal, especially because I came through it in one piece, albeit inwardly shattered (Uranus).

Studying the quake chart for 2:46 p.m. local time in Sendai, Japan (closer to the epicenter than nearby Tokyo), it is painfully clear to me that the toll of this disaster has yet to reach its climax.

Leo ascends in the chart, which means that the ruler of this chart is the Sun in Pisces--placed in the 8th House of death, along with Mars, Mercury, and (surprise) Uranus (which rules the 7th House of "the Other" and relationships).

Uranus forms a stressful square aspect to the Nodes, but I believe that the Moon/Uranus sextile, exact a scant few minutes before the official quake, was the true trigger: the Moon was in the last moments of Taurus, an earth sign, and even though sextiles are considered the "safest" of aspects, clearly the lunar contact to explosive Uranus trumped any such harmlessness. The outer manifestation of the quake occurred with the Moon in the first minutes of Gemini, and it was a double whammy (Gemini is the sign of the twins) with the tsunami.

The wide-but-approaching Sun/Uranus conjunction will not be exact until March 21, on the heels of the equinox; there may well be more troubling situations with nuclear facilities and aftershocks.

Also, Mars, planet of direct action and agression, has yet to transit over the quake chart's Sun and Uranus (March 20 and April 1, respectively), and to boot, is not well placed in Pisces; this final sign of the zodiac prefers "to sleep, perchance to dream" and indulge in various forms of escape rather than act.

With the approaching Mercury/Pluto square, exact tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. EDT (remember to "spring ahead" before going to sleep tonight!), the already high death toll will continue to mount. As Pluto rules radiation, more evacuations may occur around nuclear plants.

Certainly, any individual or nation that fails to respond to northeast Japan's disaster will face mass ostracization. Because the Moon is placed in this chart's 10th House of publicity and forms an opportunity-making sextile with the 8th House Mercury, immediate communication and emotional connection are apparent. The 9th House Jupiter, even placed in self-centered Aries, should ensure an outpouring of generosity and aid on a global level, because the chart's Mercury is approaching a conjunction to it. However, with the powerful square Mercury forms to Pluto, the ghosts of this natural disaster will linger--and the packed 8th House of this chart will ensure a sustained reverberation.

Stay tuned for my delayed post about how Uranus in the final degree of Pisces forced me to confront my own ghosts during an ostensible R&R--of course, if you are a Plutonian or just run with them, you already know that this Piscean getaway consisted of more Rs than rest and relaxation.

It's Been Nearly Two Months: Where Do I Start?

2011-02-26T19:08:00.004-05:00

At the beginning would make sense, but too much has happened since we rang in 2011.

Hmmm.

Basically, I have been too swept up in Uranus's last gasp of Pisces to sit down and write insightful, witty posts about the state of the world, Valentine's Day, my own life, and the upcoming Oscars.

It does seem that with Jupiter now back in Aries, as it was for a good portion of 2010, the relative calm that defined Jupiter in late Pisces has ebbed. The overthrow of the Egyptian dictatorship is a good example of what happens when hordes of people, many of whom are young adults, decides that they are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore.

Another way of looking at it is that if Jupiter in Pisces expanded societal focus on reflection, spirituality, art, and escape, Jupiter in Aries is about expanding bodily energy, and being headstrong and brave (at least, in the beginning, which is what Aries is all about).

I predicted that 2010 would be a good year for the arts in general, and Pisces especially shines its underwater glow on movies. I am more interested in watching the Academy Awards ceremony this year than I've been in a while.

My astrological predictions: The King's Speech will win Best Picture, since the Moon and Venus will both be in Capricorn tomorrow night (I associate Great Britain with this status-seeking, class-conscious sign of authority), and Colin Firth, whose Sun and Moon are both in Earth signs, will win Best Actor. I think Michelle Williams has a good chance to win Best Actress, since her chart is also very Earthy. (I do think that Jesse Eisenberg did a good job portraying Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, but as he is a double Libra, he may get passed over in favor of the Earthier actors. However, this movie may very well pick up an award in the directing/editing categories.)

On a more personal note, as my progressed Moon entered my 9th House, a very special Sagittarius (which rules the natural 9th House) joined me in my apartment. As a classic Pluto Rising I was very worried that I'd go crazy from lack of privacy--but actually, due in part to our differing schedules, I haven't lost too much downtime.

Oh, and my "We Regeneration" article, which was included in last year's 1st International Blog-a-thon and made the top 5 of most-read articles, will be printed in the March issue of NCGR's Ingress. If you haven't already read it, you can go into my article archives; I posted it on March 5, 2010. It's gratifying that an article nearly a year old is still going strong!

Ringing in 2011 with Mercury Finally Turned Direct

2010-12-31T20:25:00.004-05:00

Lucky me and my sweetie (a Sagittarius with Venus in Scorpio and Moon conjunct Jupiter in Cancer) barely escaped the 6th-worst blizzard in NYC history on 12/26; our original afternoon flight to Chicago was canceled, but we were put on an 11 a.m. flight. The first flakes were just beginning to fall as we boarded the plane.

Awaiting us in the Windy City was a blanket of snow from Christmas Day, but we did not have to deal with any precipitation.

I'd never been to Chicago before, and although we were only there for one evening-into-afternoon before taking the train to Deerfield to meet up with my sweetie's family, whom I'd never met before, it was a wonderful time: great hotel, delicious dinner, and the wonderful Cyrus Chestnut trio at Jazz Showcase.

I was concerned about the Mars/Saturn square, but its chief manifestation for me was low energy and a drive to write.

Back home now and ready to move forward along with Mercury. For this last post of 2010, I'd like to encourage all readers, instead of coming up with a dreary resolutions list that you will break by late January, to write down or otherwise record your big, crazy, unconventional, beautiful, mystical revolutionary dreams. Jupiter is nearly conjunct Uranus at 27 degrees of Pisces, and although the aspect is not exact till January 4, it's certainly in effect now, and with the Moon having just entered the sign of Sagittarius, its despositor is none other than Jupiter.

You may not see the fruits of your current dreams for quite some time, but by making them conscious to yourself, you will be in a much better position to take unexpected (Uranus) opportunities to expand (Jupiter) those dreams and ideals, so that by the time Jupiter and Uranus have both entered self-centered Aries, you won't just dream it--you'll be it.

Happy Holidays to Those of You Reading My Blog

2010-12-24T20:35:00.003-05:00

Jupiter is currently perching on the cusp of my 7th House at 25 degrees of Pisces, and so everything that the planet Jupiter and the sign Pisces stand for--philosophy, values, expansion, religion, education, travel (Jupiter) and Pisces (spirituality, reatreat, psychic sensitivity, the arts) have combined and are directing my energies to...others.

Given the time of the year, at least in my neck of the woods, it would seem impossible to avoid thinking of others--but there you have it. When Jupiter turned direct at 23 Pisces right before my reading last month, I anticipated a major shift with Jupiter crossing the Descendant of my chart, but did not foretell its depth of feeling. Relationships of all kinds are taking on a deeper and more profound meaning, and I find myself even less interested than usual in small talk and shallow interactions. And I find myself increasingly grateful for the connections I have formed with others that mean a whole lot, both online and off.

Then again, my progressed Mercury (planet of communication) conjuncted my prominent Pluto this year, and my progressed Moon will conjunct my Saturn next week--so I have been quite the serious, communication-oriented cookie lately, not that anyone would have ever confused me with Holly Golightly.

Whatever religion you practice (or don't practice), you are presumably reading my blog because you are interested in astrology--one of the oldest, most mysterious and yet commonsense paths in existence.

Religion means "to rejoin." In that respect, I feel that practicing astrology has reconnected me with something vast, scary, and wonderful. It may be outside myself, but it is also within.

Rejoin, and rejoice, wherever you may be, and whomever you may be with.

PS: With Mercury still retrograde, don't sweat it if you still don't know what you're doing for New Year's. You'll figure it out on the 30th. Even if you think you know how you'll usher in 2011, be prepared for a change of plans.

R.I.P. East West Books

2010-12-22T12:05:00.006-05:00

Yesterday's Winter Solstice (as non-astrologers refer to the Sun's ingress into Capricorn) and Mercury/Jupiter square found me experiencing a sense of loss and auld lang syne: after I left the office (yes, I'm now working in an actual office part-time for the first time in 5 years!) I decided to make my annual pilgrimage to East West Books to pick up Jim Maynard's Celestial Influences wall calendar and datebook. As it was not an overly cold evening, I walked down to 14th St. and 5th Ave. I passed many chichi shops doing brisk business, but when I arrived at where East West was supposed to be...well, it wasn't. Just a vacant space. A woman smack-dab in the middle of middle age was standing right outside, looking so annoyed I decided she was also looking for East West; it turns out she wasn't (looking for East West, that is), but she told me that they'd closed this past summer and that the website was still live and that the owner was still looking for another space.

Back in the mid-nineties, East West Books was my respite from the New School across the street, where I was an unhappy, fish-out-of-water grad student in the teacher trainer program. In that one year, I must've browsed through nine-tenths of the books in East West's astrology section (I did buy some of them, as well as calendars and datebooks). I also admired the crystals, wind chimes, and Eastern trinkets.

I haven't been a "regular" at East West in many years, but would still make a point of visiting a few times a year, mostly when I was in the neighborhood and needed to buy a gift for someone, and once I attended a lecture at the upstairs cafe that was added a few years ago. The fact that East West is no more is another nail in the coffin of Old New York--or at least, the Old New York that I knew, which I realize isn't the same as the Old New York of the '60s, '70s, or '80s. Still, for over 30 years, East West was the go-to place for local astrologers, hippies, New Age lovers, and disenchanted students, and now it's gone, and leases are ridiculously high in the city, and most likely an Applebee's, Starbucks, or Rite Aid will take its place, and that really, really sucks.

Lunar Eclipse at the Edge of the Winter Solstice!

2010-12-21T01:32:00.003-05:00

This is the third Full Moon in a row that falls in the 29th and final degree of a sign. Back in October, the Full Moon was at 29 Aries; in November, the Full Moon was at 29 Taurus; now we have the final Full Moon of 2010 at 29 Gemini, shortly before the Winter Solstice.

The last degree of any given sign is known as the "cusp," and its energy is highly unstable; it teeters on the verge of the next sign, yet is not quite there yet.

I have never read this anywhere, but it is my belief that the final "dwad" of any given sign (i.e., 27.30 to 29.59 degrees) has great potential to achieve mastery of the nature of that particular sign. My favorite aspect in my own chart is the trine between my Mercury at 28 Cancer and Neptune at 28 Scorpio.

In the case of this Full Moon, which is also a Lunar Eclipse (exact 3:13 a.m. EST--quick, go outside and start watching the Moon turn into a bronze medal!), the mastery can be found in the attributes of Sagittarius and Gemini. Although these two signs are opposite each other, they have much in common: curiosity, a desire to communicate on an intellectual and philosophical level, an affinity with travel, teaching, and learning.

When negatively expressed, Gemini is prone to gossip; Sagittarius, to overly blunt tactlessness. Since we are still within orb of the very recent Sun/Uranus, Mercury/Uranus, and Moon/Uranus squares, be particularly careful not to let your rebellion and desire for freedom get the better of you; these difficult squares may be manifesting as "December burnout"--losing patience with various holiday obligations and purchases.

Just after the Solstice at 6:39 p.m. is the Mercury/Jupiter square, so do try not to bite off more than you can chew. With the Sun moving into Capricorn, you won't be able to stomach overindulgence of any kind as well as you could with the Sun in Sagittarius.

Detective Work

2010-12-13T12:07:00.004-05:00

Did you say or share anything of great top-secret importance last Sunday, December 5? Or did someone share that information with you? Well, it's coming back today, although in slightly different form...perhaps whatever the secret 411 is will be "taken back" or otherwise transformed via an old-fashioned game of Telephone, where the original words are rendered into something unrecognizeable.

Just don't push too hard today, whatever that sensitive info contains. Mars is moving over that already supercharged Mercury/Pluto conjunction, so despite Mercury being retrograde, silence is highly unlikely.

This is a highly productive day for detectives, amateur sleuths, bloodhounds, therapists, and surgeons. But it's not such a good day for individuals, or corporations, in positions of power (the triple conjunction falls in the highly ambitious sign of Capricorn) who have something to hide. If you happen to be a member of a gang, call in sick with the fu today unless you relish the prospect of receiving broken bones for some infraction or other. And if you absolutely must scale that mountain today, bring along extra guides and extra supplies.

I would not be surprised if more pitch-black stuff comes out regarding the aptly named (given Uranus in Pisces) WikiLeaks, or if a whole other scandal breaks.

Basically, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. If you do have something to hide, you can either clear your conscience or join a huge club that's getting bigger all the time.

Wrapping up Sun in Scorpio on a Full Moon

2010-11-21T11:36:00.005-05:00

I've been incommunicado during most of the Scorpio period for a variety of reasons.

For starters, just a few days after Halloween, during a routine eye exam at my local eyewear store for the Visually Challenged, it was discovered I had a small hole in my left retina.

That Friday, during the very dark of the Moon in Scorpio, I got pyrotechnically ill not once, but two times at a lovely dinner party, from either too much to drink or too many samosas, and yet my abrupt excursions to the bathroom miraculously went undetected by all except for my Taller Half.

Upon further examination two days later by an opthalmologist who used to play tennis with my father, the "small hole" in my left retina had morphed into a larger rip, plus there were a few others, and the retina had already begun to detach. The eye operation as considered minor due to the fact that I was awake the entire time and not screaming in pain (though I did inwardly squirm with discomfort and a general sense of ickiness), yet the ordeal left me blurry and sore and quite out of the mood for astrologizing, or much of anything except for sleeping and watching reruns of Bad Girls Club on the Oxygen Network.

I am not looking forward to my follow-up exam at the end of the month, but I was extremely lucky my eye problem was detected at this time, for next year, with Uranus in Aries (eyes) squaring Pluto and opposing my Uranus, my left retina might have slipped its moorings altogether.

Last week, with the Moon robustly waxing, found me freelancing in an actual office for the first time in 5 years. On the way to my first day at the office, I decided I had enough time to pick up my new vintage eyeglasses in Chinatown, where I slipped on a leaf and fell on my chin and right knee in the middle of Mott Street. I managed to mop up the blood and buy a new pair of cheap tights and still show up at the office with my new glasses bang on time. I guess the Sun/Jupiter trine made all that possible--including my not being seriously injured. The workplace had great people and high energy, and they seemed to like my work...yet I was also trying to work on another at-home freelance project and prepare for a featured reading performance at the Cornelia Street Cafe. By midweek I was getting very nervous because I still wasn't absolutely sure of my performance program, which is something I like to lock in at least five days ahead of time so I can get in a lot of practice.

Fortunately on Thursday Jupiter and Venus both turned direct in signs that are considered very strong for those two planets: Pisces (Jupiter and Libra (Venus). Plus we got an inspiring Sun/Uranus trine in the wee hours of Friday Brooklyn Standard Time, so after I got home from the office I was able to figure it all out plus do a marathon run-through before passing out at 3 a.m. While still in bed the next morning, the Moon now in Taurus, I figured out what I was going to wear.

The poetry and prose performance itself, with the Sun less than a degree away from my very strongly aspected Neptune, went very well and I'm glad I bothered to find a videographer to film (Neptune!) it plus my Taller Half's performance. A gaggle of good friends showed up at Cornelia St. and we had a fun time afterward at an Indian restaurant--and despite drinking plenty of wine and ingesting plenty of spices, my digestive system did not revolt.

Now on the verge of the Full Moon in the last degrees of Scorpio and Taurus, this is a good time to take stock of the entire Scorpio period and balance intense ego needs and desire for taking sexual and financial risks with emotional sensuality and desire for comfort and security. Overindulgence in food, drink, drugs, and/or sex is a real possibility with this Sun/Moon combination, so try to be moderate in your extreme needs and wants.

It is indeed of great significance that this is the second Full Moon in a row that falls in the last degree of a sign. And it will happen again next month.

Stay tuned for my Thanksgiving report!

Master of Disguise: Happy Moon-in-Leo Halloween!

2010-10-30T16:28:00.002-04:00

My Halloween weekend forecast is a simple one: with the Moon in dramatic, showy, party-hearty Leo, and the Sun, Mercury, and Venus in equally dramatic, provocative, secretive Scorpio, the stars are perfectly aligned for you, regardless of your Sun sign, to attire yourself in a costume and mingle at a masquerade, not sit home alone watching horror movies and scarfing down bite-size Hershey candy bars. Of course, since Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, you can actually do both--go out and socialize tonight, stay home and go into a candy-corn-induced coma with your favorite cinematic psychopath tomorrow.

Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) should have a particularly wild time.

Trick-or-Treat!

Tail End of Libra: Another Full Moon Will Launch Us into Scorpio

2010-10-22T14:50:00.007-04:00

I hope everyone enjoyed the imaginative, romantic, soothing energy of the Sun/Neptune trine in airy Libra and Aquarius (exact 10/19 at 8:20 a.m. EDT) and was also able to surf the dynamic, expansive wave created by the trine between Mars in Scorpio and Jupiter in Pisces (exact 10/20 at 9:42 p.m.).

However, today that Mars in Scorpio made a challenging square to Neptune in Scorpio at 11:37 a.m. EDT, and I fear that many of us, caught between dreaming (Neptune) and doing (Mars), wiped out. (Some of the literal forms this wipe-out may have taken: food or alcohol poisoning, drug ODing, viral infection.)

Adding to the emotional intensity is the imminent Full Moon in Aries, exact at 9:37 p.m. EDT. The Sun is now in the last degree of Libra, and is obviously going out this year with a bang, not a whimper. You may know already that this is the second Full Moon we've had in Aries (the first being the Harvest Moon of 9/23). Optimistically speaking, this gives us a second chance at harvesting our relationship between ourselves and others, finding that elusive balance (Libra) between fulfilling our needs and wants and those of the people with whom we share open, aboveboard connections.

(Please note that the 7th House, which is associated with Libra, is where all of our relationships that are there for all the world to see are located--for hidden friends and enemies as well as secret romances, go to the Pisces-ruled 12th house, and if there is a decidedly unequal or unsavory power dynamic involving sex or money, head to the Scorpio-ruled 8th house.)

With the Sun's entrance into Scorpio tomorrow at 8:35 a.m. EDT, the Northern Hemisphere plunges into the heart of autumn. The last bit of summer, which lingered in NYC well beyond the Autumnal Equinox, has faded away; foliage will soon reach its peak as the temperature continues to drop; and at the centerpiece of the zodiac's most intense, transformative sign is Halloween, followed by the Day of the Dead. The benign pumpkin is carved into a scary Jack-o-lantern; the dead rise from their graves; horror movies are spotlighted. Hordes of costumed children may no longer wander about their neighborhood trick-or-treating after dark, as my generation did back in the '70s and early '80s, without a squadron of parents hovering nearby to protect them (and also to ration the candy booty instead of letting their kiddies go into their annual sugar coma). But if NYC is any indication, Halloween seems to be, more than ever, an adult-oriented holiday (sexy nurse costume or ridiculous politician mask optional). Interestingly, the majority of Gen-Xers, born 1961-81, have an outer planet in Scorpio--either Neptune (1961-70) or Uranus (1975-81). Stay tuned and see if Halloween becomes more popular with septo- and octogenerians in the 2040s and '50s!

Between tomorrow and 10/28, we will have four planets in Scorpio (Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars), and with Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, there is an awful lot of emotional, intuitive water energy going on. So it won't come as a surprise that the next five days will most smile on the water signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Capricorns should also benefit, but Taurus and Virgo may find some resistance if they push their practicality or pragmatism too hard. All that water is urging us to go with the flow, even though Scorpio is admittedly the most stubborn and controlled (and controlling!) of the water signs.

Stay tuned for my Halloween forecast!

Venus and Mars Don't Go Out on a Date When They Meet in Scorpio

2010-10-02T17:17:00.007-04:00

Venus und Mars, Giovane, c. 1590

This weekend is marked by the Venus/Mars conjunction in sexy, intense, mysterious Scorpio (exact Sunday at 5:59 p.m. EDT). Combine this energy with the Moon in fiery, extroverted Leo, there could be some pretty wild parties going on--but whether you are single or attached, try to get some alone time with the one you feel love (Venus)and lust (Mars) for even if you are also tempted to be a bit of an exhibitionist (Leo) regarding your sexuality (Scorpio).

This is a great time to explore your sexuality with a partner who is open-minded. If you are tempted to role-play, make a porno video, go to a sex club, read erotica together by candlelight, or dig out your adult toy chest--or visit a kink-friendly shop for fur-lined handcuffs or patent-leather boots--go for it. Even if you don't have a partner with whom to experiment, you still have yourself, and you have every right to turn yourself on if no one at that party you go to (or crash) responds to the sexual magnetism you are radiating.

Please note, however, that Scorpio is a sign of extremes and can be self-destructive, so here I'm going to slap on that "Play It Safe" label in glowing neon letters. This warning is particularly true for those of you who are Cancers or have Cancer Rising, Aries or Aries Rising, and Taurus or Taurus Rising. (And how about if you happen to be a Scorpio or have Scorpio Rising? Well, you're probably too hot to trot to listen to me, but yeah, that goes for you, too.)

If sex is out of the question this weekend for whatever reason, since Scorpio is also connected to clairaudience, you may wish to dig out that ouji board and hold a seance. A film noir festival would also make good use of this mysterious, deep energy, as would a seafood feast (ideally a clambake on the beach, but Red Lobster will do) with dark chocolate for dessert.

Interestingly, Venus is now moving more slowly than Mars--and the love planet will turn retrograde on Friday 10/8, at 3:06 a.m. EDT. Venus does not often experience retrograde periods (unlike Mercury!) and I take this to mean that whatever goes down (or up, or sideways) this weekend, you will soon have second, or third, thoughts about it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but do keep that in mind in case you either are tempted to pop a pretty serious proposition or are the "popee."

Sun/Saturn Conjunction: Taking Responsibility for Yourself

2010-09-30T12:34:00.006-04:00

Today the Sun and Saturn meet (the exact conjunction is 8:42 p.m. EDT). Because we are also coming up on the Last Quarter Moon in Cancer (11:52 p.m. EDT), there will also be a Moon/Saturn square (11:40 p.m.). The Last Quarter aspect itself relates strongly to the sign Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn. All this by way of saying that there's a lot of Saturn energy out there today. Saturn can be a melancholy "heavy," and especially combined with the Moon in Cancer, a "wet blanket." The weather today, at least at my coordinates, is literally reflecting that: plenty of rain with the possibility of flooding. (The Moon also opposes Pluto in Capricorn at 2:54 p.m., which is a good time to avoid being drawn into any emotional or manipulative exchanges.)

How best to handle your inner weather? Saturn is all about time--especially slowing it down. If your day is dragging, take it as a blessing in disguise and use that extra time to ponder your relationships (since the Sun/Saturn conjunction occurs in Libra, the most relating-centric sign in the zodiac), your ambition, your goals. It is a good day to concentrate on structure of any kind, both inner and outer, such as hierarchies, architecture or bones (especially spine), outlines or timelines. It is a good day to work hard, but not so hard as to force an idea whose time has not come.

Fellow earth sign Virgo is the sign of discrimination, details, organization, and service, but Capricorn is more likely to want to run the company and be on top than to toil or tinker, unrecognized, on the finer details. Yet if you wind up being the lone goat on the mountaintop, you can easily become disconnected from others; it is very important to make an effort to connect and foster a sense of interdependency. Even if you are the most rugged, anti-team-player individualist on earth, you can't do it all (whatever "all" means to you) by yourself. Again, the fact that Sun and Saturn are in Libra, the relating sign, should help.

And if all this difficult yet necessary effort is getting you down, listen to Capricorn Janis Joplin's "Try Just a Little Bit Harder" (preferably the live version).

Love Letter from "Anonymous Follower"

2010-09-27T15:41:00.008-04:00

I received this comment about my last post ("Ch-ch-changes," 9/23) over the weekend and thought I would share it:

I still like you a lot, but please do not bring politics into your witty, intelligent and knowledgeable Plutonian astrology..even as a fellow Plutonian I understand that you can not resist..I follow you and you are always spot on with all planet's directions... But please more astrology and no politics-it just doesn't make you look good...you have taken away from your overall allure with your unintentional tirade..why?
I know you can write whatever you want, but this has made me question my intention of contacting you and doing astrological consultation...I will still follow you but I am not sure if you would be sick of me -as a part of all the political things you are sick off... as we all are..

The piss-and-vinegar Plutonian in me cannot resist dissecting this left-handed love letter for all 21 "followers" of my astrology blog (plus an unknown number of casual or uncommitted readers) to enjoy. Maybe I'll wind up alienating some more of my small-but-select readership...that's how I'll truly know I'm on to something good! And since my secret admirer self-identifies as a Plutonian, I won't bother mincing words.

I may very well have gone on for too long about politics in my last post. However, it did not come from nowhere; it was within the context of the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Pisces. I first made observations on this major aspect's more positive manifestations, then had quite a bit to say about the negative--which focused on politics. Had I also included environmental issues, or expanded upon the potential for creative inspiration and genius, perhaps the post would've read in a more balanced way.

I believe that astrology blogs can include politics within the context of astrology, and this is what I set out to do, even if it went on too long because I am, in fact, tired and disgusted by the nonstop propaganda and flat-out lies, and I am very concerned about how the effects of the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction will reverberate and possibly affect other major aspects to come over the next few years.

I live in the real world, and cannot and do not want to astrologize in a vacuum. That would be doing everyone, including myself, a disservice. Everything, including Anonymous's comment and my response to it, is fair game in the context of various transits and aspects.

Anonymous's comment was sent to me on Saturday, the day of the Sun/Pluto square (indicating resentment, challenges to the ego, and power struggles). I did not see the comment till today, as I spent the weekend offline. The Moon is now in late Taurus, approaching a square to Neptune, so I'm more inclined to react to this red flag being waved in my direction (Taurus) and address this follower's, and my own, disappointment and confusion (Neptune) than to say "whatever" (which, despite my membership in the "X" generation, I try to avoid saying or thinking anyway).

If this one "tirade," as my anonymous commenter described it, has had the effect of dimming my "overall allure" and putting him or her off contacting me for an astrological consultation despite my "witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable Plutonian astrology," so be it...and so much the better. I wouldn't want to do astrological work for someone who would latch on to the one thing I've done on my blog that, in his or her opinion, "just doesn't make [me] look good" in over a year of "spot on" astrology posts.

It is, of course, Anonymous's right to express his or her opinion, just as I am free to opine that Anonymous is engaging in the kind of pedestal-toppling that results from rigid perfectionism (or perhaps from rigidly adhering to putting people into neatly defined categories).

As for the sign-off, "I will still follow you but I am not sure if you would be sick of me -as a part of all the political things you are sick off... as we all are...," huh? How exactly would Anonymous's continuing to follow me make me feel as ill as when I ponder political things (that apparently everyone is also sick of)? Does Anonymous think he or she is all that? Even though I've devoted an entire post to this comment, that does not mean Anonymous is even close of making my Major League Sick List.

At least, not yet.

"Ch-ch-ch-changes...turn and face the strange...."

2010-09-23T17:34:00.007-04:00

I've been a bad Plutonian this month for not keeping my small-but-select readership abreast of all the astrological changes we've been going through...in part because Mercury was Retrograde till 9/12, which partly manifested though many difficulties with my new computer, and also because we've had so many changes that it's a formidable task to keep up with them, let alone offer up insights. Truly, it's as if we've entered another time zone, and perhaps another time--not the future, but the sort-of-recent past.

Have you been feeling unusually passionate, intense, sexy, emotional, moody, dreamy, and/or just plain thirsty? If so, you're in sync with our solar system's transits: Venus entered Scorpio on 9/8; Jupiter retrograded back into Pisces 9/9; Mars entered Scorpio 9/14. Add Uranus, which retrograded back into Pisces in mid-August, and we have four out of ten planets in the water element.

The Jupiter/Uranus conjunction at 28 degrees of Pisces ideally triggered inspiring visions, unusual and idealistic plans, and creative pursuits, especially involving film, music, dance, and writing. However, Uranus is entirely capable of rebelling against rational behavior, and Jupiter is all about exapansion. Combine these two planets in Pisces, there is unusually high danger of emotions distorting facts.

Specifically, this month we have seen more crackpot manifestos issuing from the Tea Party, the ascendancy of a Republicon (yes, I know how "Republican" is spelled, but poor Abe Lincoln has been turning over in his grave enough since the Nixon administration, so I'm spelling it with a "con" to denote both conservatism and con job or con artist) who opposes abortion even in the case of rape, and considers masturbation adultery. (And if you're not married...? I guess that means you're having pre-marital sex with yourself, and we all know how evil sex outside marriage is.) Oh yes, and the Republicons have just promised the American people a repeat of the mess that contributed largely to the recession that we are supposed to believe is over, as well as a promise to take away whatever good has come from the health care reform.

Astrologically, amnesia can be attributed to Pisces; it seems to be brought on by a blow, trauma, or shock (Uranus). I sometimes refer to the country in which I live as the Untied States of Amnesia; I am not joking, because this is no joke.

As a Plutonian, I understand all about the effectiveness of propaganda, a fancy term for having one's brain washed in bullshit. This is partly why people will vote time and time again for Republicons, who most assuredly do not have the poor and middle-class citizens' interests at what passes for their collective heart. Never mind the facts: Repubicons want for voters to be confused, poorly educated, and unhealthy, and an effective way to keep them that way is to feed them nothing but red herrings. Facts would hang the Grand Old Party out to dry.

Not that I think the Democrats are so groovy--they're in the back pocket of Wall Street, corporations, and various interest groups that are mainly self-interested opportunists, and I think the health-care reform leaves much to be desired. But politicians basically hang out with rich people, many of whom balk at the very idea of giving up a few percentage points of their vast millions and billions. Never mind that during the Eisenhower administration, the super-rich did just that and then some, and the result benefited everyone in the USA, not just the monied. Still, I really hope that the Democraps (sorry, couldn't resist) point out the obvious during this mid-term election instead of doing the usual, i.e., alienating the many voters who think "lib-uh-ruls" are wimpy, politically correct elitists preaching to the converted from their ivory tower/White House.

I honestly did not mean to go on a political tirade, but really, it all makes me sick.

In the meantime, I hope you feasted your orbs upon the big, beautiful Harvest Moon that coincided with the Autumnal Equinox (and the Sun's entrance into Libra). That bright star next to the Moon, by the way, was Jupiter.

Bad, Mercury Retrograde. Bad, Bad.

2010-08-27T20:50:00.006-04:00

No groovy image this post. I don't feel like pasting a tacky, trying-too-hard-to-be-witty cartoon of a laptop that has turned into a "lapstop," or anything else that symbolizes Mercury Deeply, and I Do Mean Deeply, in Retrograde.

It sucks linty lollipop to be an astrologer and know that this is destined to be a few-weeks stretch (1 week down, 2 to go) of delayed communications, malfunctioning machinery, and the inability to have mens sana in corpore sano, and yet still be so thrown by these charming manifestations of Retro Merc.

My new laptop, barely 6 weeks old, is acting funny, as in Sick Funny, which really isn't humorous at all, and I've been too tired and stressed-out to deal with tech support because I don't think it's a Minor Problem. Maybe my new laptop is schizo and thinks it's my old laptop, on which I am writing this post; my old laptop, which has been on its last legs for the past several months, is fortunately still letting me tickle and pound its partially worn-off keyboard, like the old soldier that it is.

Also, instead of losing the 10 lbs. I'd planned on losing by Labor Day, I've gained another 5 lbs. My petite body is not meant to be overweight; I now have a constant stomachache. I could cry when I think of how modest I was when I had a perfect figure. Now I'm shameless, but am too ashamed of my expansion (props to progressed Moon in Taurus) to flaunt it.

Too bad that this expansion has unfortunately not extended to my bank account. A check that I was supposed to receive from Unnamed Publishing House never showed; upon asking my unnamed Production Editor about its whereabouts, I was informed that it "fell through the cracks" and was never sent to Accounts Payable. It could take another month for me to get it, and meanwhile, I still have to pay rent, and not only don't I have any real savings, I have slow-but-sure losings.

I may or may not still have my health--I don't want to get my annual checkup while Merc is still Retro, having made that mistake last September.

At least I'm not stuck in a mine till Christmastime.

Venus and Mars: Late for a Very Important Date?

2010-08-20T10:59:00.008-04:00

(A preface of sorts: I forgot to mention in my last post, all about Friday the 13th, that social historians Neil Howe and William Strauss dubbed what most know as "Generation X" the "13th Generation" back in 1990 [see their exhaustive, sometimes exhausting tome entitled Generations], the year before writer Douglas Coupland arrived on the scene. According to Strauss and Howe, those born in the U.S. between 1961-81 are the 13th generation of Americans--if you count the Puritan Generation, which apparently has many parallels to modern-day Boomers, as the first [methinks it is not a coincidence that Strauss and Howe are Boomers]. Back in the early '90s, 13ers/Xers were generally maligned as materialistic, Halloweenish, stupid slacker barbarians by the media [13 just doesn't get good PR] and more recently have been overshadowed by the younger Millennial Generation. Now let's get on with today's order of business....)

Venus and Mars, Sandro Botticelli, c. 1483.

There is a lovely Venus/Mars conjunction coming up at 2:49 p.m. BST (Brooklyn Summer Time). Friday is ruled by Venus, Venus rules the sign Libra, and the conjunction occurs in at 13 degrees of Libra--a critical degree, which means the double dose of Libra present via Venus and Mars already present is quadrupled.

To quote Libran John Lennon, "Love, love, love...all you need is love."

Venus is stronger than Mars in this conjunction, as Venus and Libra are one and the same, but Mars is in its detriment in Libra. You are therefore more likely to be approached (ladylike Venus) for a romantic interlude or date than to do the approaching (go-for-it Mars) in the next few hours. However, if you are more of an aggressive type, you may want to take advantage of the general passivity. Just don't be too "Mars"--make sure to conquer using pretty words and flowers and a nice-sounding plan for the evening, not by clubbing the dude or dame of your red-hot dreams over the head and dragging him or her back to your cave.

More words of caution: we are approaching the Moon/Venus and Moon/Mars squares (exact at 12:45 and 12:49 p.m. EDT, respectively), and the Moon is in Capricorn--so it would not be the wisest idea to interrupt your intended date's focus on work or other duties until after these squares have passed; literal and figurative heartburn could result.

Oh yes, and Mercury turns the Big R (i.e., retrograde) today at 3:59 p.m. Unexpected delays, losses, or miscommunications could result in your being late for that very important Venus/Mars date, so have a backup plan in mind (e.g., if you miss the movie due to being stuck on the subway from hell) in order to take advantage of the Moon/Mercury trine (exact at 11:49 p.m. EDT).

Much has been made of what a pain in the ass Mercury retrograde is and so I will not bother adding fuel to the fire, but it is worth mentioning that Mercury Rx in Virgo could get especially sticky, as Virgo is ruled by Mercury. Miscommunications are particularly likely in writing, and worrying too much and being too self-critical may have an adverse effect on your health, particularly your digestion. However, because Mercury is retrograde from now till 9/12, you have the chance to extend your summer activities beyond Labor Day...especially if we get August-in-September weather. Unfortunately, your boss or teacher probably will not want to give you that chance, you'll feel the need to prove you're not a space case while your head and heart are still lazing along in Augustville, and if you're un- or underemployed, you'll probably be too depressed to take yourself to the beach.

I only wish I were kidding.

Friggatriskaidekaphile's Delight

2010-08-13T20:09:00.004-04:00

Ah, what better time to pick up on my astrology anti-horoscope blah(g) than on Friday the 13th?

For those of you who have been hanging out on this site for at least the past month, it shouldn't come as any great shockarooni that 13 is my favorite number. Yes, I celebrated my birthday exactly one month ago--but my love of 13 is not only about my birth date.

The number 13, regarded by many with a combination of awe and fear, is clearly ruled by Yes It's Still a Planet Dammit Pluto. Even without taking into consideration this number's early pagan connection (which was an especially positive one), followed by the Judeo-Christian connection (an especially negative one, due to the pagans' high regard for this number), even without pondering the fact that superstition is a Plutonic emotion/philosophy, and even without reflecting that 13 is one number past the perfect circle of a clock or the zodiac, just take a look at the 13th major arcana card in any Tarot deck: XIII = Death.

Now, any Tarot reader worth his or her salt knows that Death in this case does not mean the "significator" is about to be mowed down by a scythe-wielding skeleton in a hoodie; it's a card that speaks of profound inner transformation. Ah, the T-word. Pluto, anyone?

Fear of the number 13 translates into the tongue-twister "triskaidekaphobia" (if you can even say it once, it's an impressive feat), and since the 13th day of this month falls on a Friday, hard-core friggatriskaidekaphobes may have given into the tempation to call in sick and/or lock themselves in their homes to watch horror movies. (In case you are friggatriskaidekaphobic and reading this, please consider going out tonight, especially if you are in NYC: not only is it arguably the most comfortable day of the summer, the majority of accidents occur in the home.) Friday is ruled by Venus, so perhaps the combined energies of the love 'n' beauty planet and the sexiest planet in our solar system should be approached with awe and respect; however, instead of hiding under the bed alone tonight, why not roll around on top of it, either alone or in good company, and surrender to the possible ecstasy that can be yours so long as you face it and give it a saucy wink?

While you're at it, you might consider making a Venus/Pluto gesture to a southpaw, as today happens to be International Left-Handers' Day. (If you suffer from sinistrophobia, just think, you can kill two phobias with one...um...whatever.)

And wherever you happen to be at 11:31 p.m. EDT, pause to let Uranus's retrograding back into Pisces wash over you like a warm, salty, midsummer wave.

And if this weekend you find yourself caught between two polar opposite choices, situations, people, or sides of your own personality, remember that we are coming up on the Jupiter/Saturn opposition (exact Monday 8/16 at 4:45 p.m.). You may feel like gambling at the same time you feel the need to sock away every penny; you may desire travel and philosophy and parties at the same time you're in an antisocial, agoraphobic rut stronger than Duco cement glue.

Which, when you think about it, really makes all this friggatriskaidekaphobia business supercalifragilismallpotatoesdocious.

Full Moon + Jupiter/Pluto Square = Oy Vey Its Meir!

2010-07-24T15:37:00.006-04:00

If you're overwhelmed, feeling funky in a bad way, being unreasonable, or are unable to tell your ass from your aspirations, relax, it's only the Jupiter/Pluto square (exact today at 9:51 p.m. EDT), a difficult aspect further complicated by the fact that it occurs within 24 hours of the the Full Moon (exact tomorrow at 9:37 p.m. EDT).

Since Jupiter and Pluto both operate on a mass level, I was not at all surprised to find in today's news that 15 people were trampled to death in a panicked stampede in an overcrowded entrance tunnel (Pluto) and 10 seriously injured at the Love Parade, an annual techno music festival in Duisburg, Germany.

Also, 241 teachers (Jupiter) in Washington, D.C., were fired because their students did not perform well on standardized tests (more Jupiter). I personally do not think it is fair for teachers, who often must take charge of overcrowded classrooms of unruly students (who often lack home environments that are conducive to studying), who have zero-to-no autonomy over their classroom's curriculum, to be held accountable.

Shirley Sherrod was, as New York Times columnist Bob Herbert put it, "thrown to the wolves" after a comment of hers about a white farmer was taken out of context about a much larger statement about racism and poverty cutting across color lines; she was fired by phone as she was driving home, and was forced to pull over and text in her resignation. Fortunately, the NAACP later recanted its incendiary remarks and President Obama called Ms. Sherrod to encourage the continuation of her good work in the U.S. Agriculture Dept., but this was a classic case of the injustice, dogmatism, and poor judgment that is the hallmark of a Jupiter/Pluto square. Ms. Sherrod was simply not given a chance to defend herself against the self-righteous, intransigent, impulsive powers that be.

North Korea is threatening to take action over the joint U.S.-South Korea naval exercises scheduled to take place tomorrow. The U.N. Security Council, thanks to China, has essentially passed the buck on censoring North Korea for sinking a South Korean warship a few months ago. What is particularly Plutonic about this situation is that the U.S. is imposing even more sanctions on nuclear-ready North Korea in the hope that China will finally decide to keep its neighbor in line.

I'm honestly not sure if the Jupiter/Pluto square is also responsible for the hottest recorded summer in NYC, but Jupiter will be retrograde in Aries, a fire sign, for the rest of the summer, so there might be something to it.

The Full Moon in Aquarius on the heels of the Jupiter/Pluto square councils all of us to avoid a black-and-white approach to solving problems. Reformist zeal is strong in the personal sphere, but if you try to "fix" your friends or lovers, you may soon find yourself all alone. On the positive side, this is an excellent time to embrace your own creativity and share your visions with others.

Happy Solar Return to Me

2010-07-13T12:56:00.009-04:00

My Solar Return officially happened today at 2:58 a.m., and naturally as a Pluto-in-Virgo Rising native I had to not only see my 39th birthday in (for the second time), but also engage in a bit of ritual. I have a nice little collection of upscale candles, the subtly as opposed to overpoweringly scented kind that come in decorative tins, and I lit the pink magnolia one as I wrote in my journal.

How I wish I could share some choice profundities from that journal entry upon entering my 5th (!) decade in this life, a la F. Scott Fitzgerald in his "The Crack-Up" essay, which he wrote just days before turning the big 4-0. Yet I don't think I was waxing so wise late last night. It was more like I was in unexpected shock that the moment I'd been anticipating for the past 10 years, i.e., entering middle age, was finally happening. I was so reflective and conscious of passing time as a child and younger adult that I never actually felt young; now that I am definitely no longer young, I feel wistful at the same time I have zero nostalgia for it...

...except for isolated incidents, like walking on Lido Beach on the South Shore of Long Island with my grandparents' nearly untrained Lhasha Apso, feeling totally at peace with the world and with myself. Like believing with all my heart as an adolescent that I would grow up to be a SoHo artist and thus get my revenge on all my classmates who treated me like an alien or as if I didn't exist. Like having the energy and persistence to send out my short stories and novel on a regular basis despite the constant rejections because I believed so much in what I was doing...

Compared to most of the people of the world, especially in this worsening Global Recession-slash-Depression, I know how lucky I have it: an aesthetically pleasing roof over my gradually graying head in the so-hip-it-hurts borough of Kings; decent if not excellent health; work (albeit the kind that is erratic and not terribly lucrative, i.e., freelance editing, and all of the CVs I send out for salaried positions fall into a cybervoid); some real friends; a real love; family that no longer features the sort of drama that shredded my nerves on a regular basis; some validation for my creative work (today my audio book has been published on paper-bag-press.com, a very cool manifestation of Moon in Leo in my Solar Return chart's 3rd house, and sextile the SR Ascendant). And this evening I'm going to dine in very good company in an iconic restaurant that is fortuitously taking part in NY Restaurant Week.

Yet there is so much more I could be if only I could harness my willpower the way I used to be able to do. With my progressed Moon in Taurus, I've grown soft. Just as I predicted a year ago, I've gained weight (about 10 lbs., which is like 20 lbs. on a small frame) and creatively speaking, have been reaping more than sowing (the poems in my eBook and audio book are new to readers, but they are old hat to me...I feel like the Beatles must've felt doing "Twist and Shout" in 1965, but without the fame and fortune).

And just as I could not enjoy my youth when I had it, I worry that what I do have will be swept away in next year's Uranus/Pluto square. At least if such loss comes to pass, I will have plenty of company. I can't predict whether the U.S. is going to have a Civil War or a decade or so of uncivil scrounging, but with my progressed Mercury conjunct my natal Pluto/Asc., I doubt I'll be sitting quietly by the sidelines. I suppose that getting assassinated (a Plutonian activity) would do wonders for my career, since having a shady reputation (also Plutonian) hasn't done the job.

Interestingly, I learned last night that Julius "Et tu, Brute?" Caesar was born on July 13, not July 12 as is commonly thought. Apparently his birthday was celebrated a day early so as to avoid conflict with an ancient Roman festival, the Ludi Apollinares (the games that celebrated the Sun god, Apollo). You'd think that Julius, who basically made the Roman Empire, could've moved the festival to suit his schedule, but maybe he didn't want to press his luck. (Or maybe he just liked festivals. I wonder if he'd have enjoyed the one I went to over July 4 weekend? I can just see him cannonballing into the swimming pool wearing an LED-light-enhanced toga....)

Anyway, this bit of knowledge I just acquired gives me even more of a reason (as if sharing a birthday with Harrison Ford, Cheech Marin, and Cameron Crowe weren't enough) to refuse to rest on my laurels.

Show Me the Way to Go Home: Solar Eclipse in Cancer

2010-07-10T22:39:00.003-04:00

Have you recovered from the Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn about 2 weeks back? Good, because we are about to have the Solar Eclipse in Cancer (exact July 11, 3:40 p.m. EDT).

"There's no place like home."
--Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

"I'm wasted and I can't find my way home."
--Blind Faith, "Can't Find My Way Home"

"Home is where the heart is."
--Old proverb, often found needlepointed onto a pillow at your great-aunt Gertrude's.

What does home mean to you right now? Are you content in your current domicile? Do you have a yen to renovate or redecorate or visit yard sales? Are you feeling more domestic, intuitive, downright psychic? Do you long for the shore, sand between your toes, listening to music in a shell, diving through the waves?

How do you feel about your family?

This is a great time to allow yourself to feel intensely about home and family, and an equally fortuitous time to begin a new cycle in terms of these issues. Follow your instincts as long as you can be objective about your subjectivity. Connect with water, even if it is the form of a long bath with sea salts. You may need to reenter your shell when you are out in the world--but at home, let yourself open to receive something truly wonderful from the past in order to live fully in this present moment.

Pluto Rising Goes to a Festival

2010-07-09T12:54:00.005-04:00

You know you're a Plutonian when you're at a 3-day festival of the Burning Man school (though not technically Burning Man) and the best part of it for you was getting about 15 or 20 minutes of unexpected, total privacy. (There was another unexpectedly satisfying Plutonian moment, but as Plutonians do value their privacy, I ain't getting into specifics.)

Pluto is the outermost of the outer planets, and as such, those who have Pluto strong in their charts can feel far more alienated or lonely when in a crowd than when they are alone.

Last year at the same festival, my 1st-house Uranus trumped my 1st-house Pluto; I met new people, got to know some other recently made friends better, and generally got into the groove. This time around, though I had someone very special with me, connections with others, both known and unknown, were not so easily made.

During last year's festival the Moon was mostly in expansive, adventurous Sagittarius; this time, it was mostly in aggressive, self-focused Aries (along with Uranus and Jupiter in Aries, another change from last year), squaring the Sun and Mercury in sensitive, moody Cancer.

This time around, I ate too much (highly uncharacteristic behavior considering the heat wave), the constant throbbing techno music gave me a headache (downside of Aries), and I felt too out of sorts after no one attended my writing workshop to go with the flow.

Fortunately on the last day of the festival I was able to connect with some friends at the very popular pool, and the open mic I MC'd on the last night of the festival had a decent turnout; there were some strong performers, someone in the audience asked me if she could have a signed copy of the poem I read to close out the show, and someone else who came to the open mic sent me a friend request on Facebook. With Mercury conjunct my Sun that night, I was finally able to add my voice to the festival--though it was by holding a mic and standing apart.

Can we say "Plutonian" again?

Stay tuned for my 2 cents about the upcoming Solar Eclipse in Cancer.

Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn: Time to Cut Those Apron Strings!

2010-06-26T16:35:00.005-04:00

If a simple pair of scissors won't do the job, if those apron strings are more like unyielding steel or sharp barbed wire or a brick wall, then locate a chainsaw or machete. Whatever it takes, fellas.

(I've decided to use the salutation "fellas" instead of "lovelies," often used by female bloggers and hip party promoters, because I'm too much of a misanthropist to believe that most people are deserving of such an endearment. Chocolate ice cream, however, is lovely, so any chocolate ice-cream cones reading this post, especially soft-serve ones with rainbow sprinkles, are absolutely exempt from "fellas.")

Okay, so I'm late to the Lunar Eclipse party. I'm probably the last serious astrologer in cyberspace to post about it. But last night I was using the approaching Full Moon in Capricorn energy to clean up my apartment, which had degenerated into a pigsty during the past two weeks when I had a terrible head cold, and preparing for an erotic writing workshop I'm facilitating at the PEX festival in Maryland next weekend.

And I was obsessing about my family even more than I usually do. It gave me a typically Cancerian tummyache.

Yes indeed, fellas, this is the Full Moon in which you too may be obsessing about your family and home, your career and ambition, and any ties that bind. Not all ties and obligations are bad, to be sure--but if you feel you're being held back in a big way, go fetch those scissors or stick of dynamite, pronto.

This is also the time to try to balance your homebody-slippers-domestic self with your ambitious, latent-CEO-of-your-universe self. If you deny either side, if you claim to be fine with your humdrum existence while secretly daydreaming of glamor or a more creative existence, you will truly feel more torn apart than under any other lunation of this year.

The Lunar Eclipse adds power to any Full Moon, and good ol' Pluto adds even more power--but on the downside, more issues dealing with resentment, manipulation, and skeletons rattling around in the closet. I don't happen to agree with the puritanical statement that "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger"--it can make you bitter and twisted and wanting to treat other fellas like shit to prove the point that life is unfair. So if you're feeling subterranean rumbles of resentment or suspicion, for god's sake deal with it now before it gets out of hand and explodes six months from now.

Now I've got to get ready for an evening of astrologizing at a local shop/cafe called Hom, which is having a Full Moon dinner event, and my mini readings are the icing on the cake.

By the way, the image in this post is one I painted several Full Moons in Capricorn ago, titled "Quite a Kid," all rights goddamned straight reserved.

I'm Back (In Case You Missed Me): Ready for Uranus in Aries?

2010-05-26T14:09:00.004-04:00

Plutonians can be highly self-involved creatures, and I am no exception. For the past two months my concerns have focused almost entirely on my BM (big move): first finding the new apartment, which was a breeze due to following astrology; then packing up my old apartment, which was hellish, but I had help from my devoted Moon-in-Cancer sweetie; the actual move, which occurred on Tax Day, two days before Mercury turned Retrograde; and post-move unpacking (which has halted due to needing a new bookcase and another set of shelves to display doodads that will otherwise be tossed because I ran out of closet space.)

In fact, although Mercury turned Direct two weeks ago, it hasn't yet reached 12 degrees and 38 minutes of Taurus, where it was when it turned Retrograde on 4/17. So we're all still playing catch-up here.

With Uranus about to leave Pisces tomorrow at 9:49 p.m. EDT and dip its toes into headstrong Aries till it Retrogrades back into Pisces in mid-August, I am anticipating many big changes afoot (yes, all these Piscean puns are intended). We will be within shouting distance of the notorious Uranus/Pluto square, which last graced us with its presence in the early 1930s, the depths of the Great Depression and the birth of fascism. Uranus shies away from making that square exact till next year, but we will certainly get a taste of it--especially since Jupiter will enter Aries in early June and square Pluto in late July. Jupiter, in other words, could well be Uranus's pilot fish.

I do not exaggerate when I predict that Uranus in Aries will make the past seven years of Uranus in Pisces look like a walk through the park. Although Pluto's ingress into Capricorn in 2008 certainly mirrored the economy turning sour, the gap between the haves and the have-nots growing ever wider, and the symbosis between politics and Wall Street becoming ever more painfully obvious, Uranus in Pisces provided some measure of escape (Pisces) through technology (Uranus), and injected more CGI and 3-D into the movies (Pisces again). Uranus in Aries, by contrast, is far too martial to lose itself via dreamy escapism. The motto of Uranus in Aries is "Off with her head!" It is perhaps fortunate that next year Neptune enters its ruling sign Pisces; it may take the edge off Uranus in Aries, but it may also trigger coastal flooding and more gas leaks and spills.

Many pardons if this sounds alarmist, but with all the potential for reforming (Uranus) one's self-identity (Aries) on a collective level (Uranus again), and figuring out what you really want (Aries again), the next seven years will usher in an era of rising intolerance, me-first-ism, and bloodshed. Particularly in light of the upcoming Uranus/Pluto square, If I were a U.S. banker or a higher-up in Big Pharma, I'd make plans to move to a remote island in the Fijis and leave no forwarding address. If I were a politician, I would refuse to align myself with either party, and that includes the Mad-as-a-Hatter Tea Party. This will be a time to attempt to reshuffle the decks, not get into bed with corrupt, "too big to fail" institutions of any kind.

While it's true that more can be accomplished under a square than an easier aspect, more can be lost. Over the next seven years, we will all have to pick our battles (Uranus in Aries) wisely, even if that does mean fighting City Hall (Pluto in Capricorn). Many brave individuals will choose to sacrifice themselves, even if they are never recognized or eulogized.

Revisiting Saturn in Virgo

2010-04-07T17:02:00.004-04:00

Saturn's retrograding back into Virgo today at 2:55 p.m. EDT urges us all to revisit (and perhaps relearn) hard lessons about the state of one's health as well as job situation. Saturn spends about two and a half years in a sign, and although we got our feet wet with Saturn in Libra shortly before Halloween 2009, we must now jump back to a sign that concentrates not on relationships, but on purifying oneself and making oneself useful in preparation of entering the world of relating to others.

So I advise you to think back to the fall of 2009 in order to get some sort of road map to guide you for the spring and early summer of 2010 (Saturn goes back into Libra on 7/21). Keep in mind that although Uranus enters Aries for the first time in late May, Saturn will oppose Uranus at 28 degrees of Pisces in late April. This is hardly a fun aspect, since Saturn and Uranus are hardly the best of friends to begin with and oppositions always indicate relationship difficulties and projecting one's own issues onto others. The opposition from Virgo to Pisces emphasizes hard lessons to be learned regarding health and work; even if your own health and job situation couldn't be better, I'm talking about on a mass level here, since outer planets always indicate the collective. The news will be filled with more editorials about the Great Recession, obesity, scandals that concentrate on the major disconnect that makes possible such hypocrisy on the part of those who hold everyone but themselves to exemplary standards, and waking up from the American Dream that has become more of a nightmare for increasing numbers of citizens.

Under a Pesach Moon

2010-03-29T17:17:00.005-04:00

As we've moved toward the Full Moon in Libra these past two weeks, things have been more than a little hectic (but mainly in a positive way) for this Pluto Rising astrologer. I am writing this on the fly from my mishpoka's place on Lawn Guyland (aka Wrong Island) before the Seder to wish my slightly increased readership a very Happy Full Moon, exact tonight at 10 something EDT. Whether or not you celebrate Passover, use today and tonight to concentrate on your most important relationships. If you manage to balance your independence (Aries) with diplomacy, (Libra) you as well as your relationship will experience a growth spurt. If you are not romantically involved with anyone, you could focus on improving matters with your boss, your business partner, your landlord, or anyone with whom you have a contractual relationship.

The Jewish calendar is a lunar one, and Passover, which always falls on the Full Moon, marks the spring in Judaic tradition in not just a literal way: although the days are indeed getting longer and warmer in the Northern Hemisphere, this holiday marks the springing as in liberation, of when the Jewish God acted in a particularly Mars-like manner to loose his worshippers from 430 years of slavery in Egypt. A host of troublesome and downright violent plagues were visited upon the Jews' Egyptian oppressors, and the Jews were free to wander the desert for 40 years (almost 10% of their slavery years...was this their Freedom Tax?). The pascal lamb that is featured at the Seder is an apt symbol of sacrifice, rebirth...and also Aries!

Ides of March: Pile-Up in Pisces

2010-03-15T23:28:00.009-04:00

We're still in the midst of a major pile-up in Pisces, and I figured I should stop daydreaming for a moment and try to write about this very special stellium (in astrology, this means three or more planets piled up on top of one another). We are in the New Moon period (exact today at 5:01 p.m. EDT), Mercury and Uranus were conjunct earlier this evening, the Sun/Mercury conjunction happened yesterday, and the Sun/Uranus conjunction is yet to come on the 17th (2:51 a.m. EDT). Yes, it sure smells like a Pisces in here!

Pisces is not only the last sign of winter, but the last sign of the zodiac. It is represented by two fish: one looking up toward the light sparkling on the water's surface, the other looking down into the murky depths. Pisces dreams with eyes wide shut (fish lack eyelids) and seems to have bits and pieces of every other sign in its complex, contradictory nature. Pisces rules the feet, and has karmically walked that mile in every other sign's shoes. Pisces can be the most lost of all the signs, and also the most found--and it's not uncommon for someone born under Pisces to vacillate between these two states. The same goes for the Piscean ability to empathize and then suddenly shut off that compassion and be a cold-blooded fish.

And how many types of fish there are: to list just a handful off the top of my head, there are angelfish, goldfish, catfish, koi, bottom feeders, minnows, salmon, sharks. (Shellfish, by the way, fall under the rulership of fellow water sign Cancer, which literally means "crab.")

Pisces is famous for being "psychic," but just as infamous for being self-destructive--in a more passive, victim-of-circumstance way than its fellow water sign Scorpio, who is more apt to go out and find trouble than sit back and wait for it to rain down on its head.

With the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus all in Pisces, it may be hard to focus on any one thing, especially if it is "practical." But this is a wonderful window of opportunity to create, invent, come up with new ways to communicate, have visions, and solve long-standing problems in a highly unorthodox, illogical way. This past weekend, about thirteen hours before the Sun/Mercury conjunction, I was fortunate enough to perform as a featured poet at Madame X, a rosy-hued downtown venue, and I believe it was the best performance I ever gave. Pisces is not about performance per se--that's more Leo's specialty--but Pisces has the ability to mirror whatever the audience desires and be a living, breathing fantasy.

Let yourself dream and fantasize without censorship over the next few days. Once Mercury and the Sun join Venus in fiery, headstrong Aries, you will be more likely to "just do it." Yet the seeding process of Pisces is necessary for Aries action.

After all, if you don't know what you want, how will you go after it when the time comes to act upon your truest desire and carpe diem?

Signs of Spring: Welcome Venus in Aries!

2010-03-08T16:03:00.006-05:00

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but this past weekend certainly felt like spring in New York City.

Unless you happen to be a fan of the N.Y. winter that began with a deep freeze and continued with ever-deeper snow, you may tip your hat in the direction of Venus in Aries, the first harbinger of spring. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, the beginning of which marks the vernal equinox, which happens this year on March 20, 1:32 p.m. EDT. Venus shows what is loved and valued. Although Venus is about the passive or receptive side of love, Aries is far too headstrong to cool its heels and wait for a suitor to come a-callin'. Hence, Venus in Aries is said to be in its "detriment," as it is a challenge for the aggressive sign of Aries to express itself effectively via the refined rays of Venus. Think of a high-spirited, profanity-spouting teenager tracking mud into a pristine, dainty living room and that's Venus in Aries for you. Nothing subtle, yet such energy can be refreshing, especially if you don't mind getting a little down and dirty and are not shy about setting boundaries (actually, make that not shy, period).

Yesterday featured a beneficial trine aspect between Venus and Mars (which is finally about to turn direct at 0 degrees of fiery Leo this Wednesday), so if you were feeling neither romantic nor randy, neither creative nor in the mood to carpe diem, I'm going to bet that you reside on a planet other than Earth...or that you are extremely sensitive to the fact that Mars is still Retrograde. If the latter is the case, in less than 48 hours you should begin to thaw out and embrace some early spring fever.

I can't comment on The Hurt Locker's sweep of the Oscars last night because I haven't seen the film, yet I am pleased as punch that Avatar (see my 12/28/09 post-viewing rant for more details) did not walk away with all those golden statuettes. I would also like to humbly thank the Academy Awards committee for scheduling, since 2004, the ultimate celebration of our most Piscean art form during the Sun in Pisces period. I wonder if the Oscars planning committee finally got around to consulting an astrologer? One aspect of last night I did not predict was the short-lived but highly dramatic war between Cablevision and ABC, which ended 20 minutes or so into the Oscars ceremony, yet it certainly had the mark of Venus in Aries.

The "We" Regeneration: The Pluto-in-Libra Group Faces the Pluto-in-Capricorn Challenge

2010-03-05T16:31:00.017-05:00

Pluto’s energy is primal, compulsive, and willful—it deals with both eros (sexual desire, which ensures the survival of a species) and thanatos (the death wish). People tend to obsess over and repress Pluto issues; a few years ago the International Astronomers Union literally demoted Pluto to the status of “dwarf planet.” Yet Pluto’s power refuses to be diminished.

Pluto calls upon us during crises to evolve and survive, or die. Due to Pluto’s eccentric orbit, different generations experience transiting Pluto’s square to their natal Pluto position at varying stages of life—or not at all, when Pluto passes through the slower-moving signs. The square is an aspect of inner conflict. As Pluto passes through Capricorn (2008/09–2023/24), the group that will have the most challenges to face during this very challenging era is Pluto in Libra (1971/72–1983/84; please consult Astrodienst.com’s free ephemeris for exact dates), the younger half of Generation X (born 1961–1981, according to highly regarded social historians Neil Howe and William Strauss).

Most who have Pluto in Libra will have similar timing with their square as the Pluto-in-Virgo group (born 1957/58–1971/72), and be in their mid- to late 30s—but to different effect, due to the different signs involved. The Virgo/Sagittarius Pluto square was about health, work, and obligations (Virgo issues) conflicting with sky’s-the-limit expansion, ethics, and globalization (Sagittarius issues)—which resulted by 2008 in too many obese, sick, unemployed, outsourced adults in their late 30s to early 50s with ruined credit and foreclosures.

The Libra/Capricorn Pluto square features relationships (particularly contractual ones) challenging institutions and structures. Because Pluto is slowing down in its orbit, the last of the Pluto-in-Libra group (1982–1984) will be in their early 40s when their Pluto square occurs—signifying a generational shift that will give them something in common with their Pluto-in-Leo Baby Boomer parents, whose Pluto square also coincided with the early 40s “midlife crisis” aspect: Uranus opposing Uranus.

Yet for the majority of Pluto-in-Libra individuals, the Pluto square occurs before the Uranus opposition. The Pluto square is such an intense aspect that it could make the potentially explosive Uranus opposition a half decade later somewhat anticlimactic. My take on this: Gen X, from front to back, had to grow up fast in an increasingly fragmented, R-rated, accelerated culture, and is now entering its prime earning years during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Many soon-to-be forty-somethings will not have the luxury of experiencing the type of midlife crisis in which the Silent and Baby Boomer generations often participated.

Now that Pluto is in Capricorn, trading in your reliable but boring wheels at midlife for a hot sports car, your reliable but humdrum job for something more exciting, and your reliable but sagging spouse for a younger trophy wife (or the buff UPS guy) seem like relics from a bygone era. Perhaps as Pluto passes through Capricorn, it will be more common to see the Pluto-in-Libra group shun cars that utilize fossil fuels (Capricorn) in favor of “green machines,” and respond to chronic unemployment by finding something beautiful (Libra) to craft or build (Capricorn), which will result in more indie arts & crafts sites like Etsy.com.

I predict that even well-off Pluto-in-Libra individuals will choose not to flaunt it if they got it—especially if the growing numbers of desperate have-nots transform from frightened, fragmented individuals to angry, mobilized mobs. We may see quite a few “Bonnie and Clyde” couples (Libra) who rob banks (Capricorn) while minding their manners (Libra again!). And they will be seen as figures of romance, now that almost everyone on Main St. loves to hate Wall St. Marriage is likely to be an all-or-nothing proposition for the Pluto-in-Libra group; many will create an entirely new set of vows, and advocate for same-sex marriage. Since Libra rules the arts, there may soon be more depictions onstage and in the movies of gay couples that are more about love and relating, less about activism and AIDS.

When Pluto passes through a sign, everything concerning that sign is brought to the surface, obsessed about on a mass level, and transformed—or killed. Looking back to Pluto’s transit of Libra, “the term ‘relationship,’” as Jim Ryan puts it in his hilarious cartoon book The ’70s: Life in a Dumb Decade, “came from the ’70s need to categorize what Joni Mitchell was having. [Relationships] were thought about…talked about… discussed… worked out…opened up…taken on the Donahue Show.”

As many states implemented “no fault” divorce laws, divorce rates in the U.S. skyrocketed, finally peaking in 1980; many of those born with Pluto in Libra were young children of divorce. Libra is ruled by Venus, the planet women are said to be from; “women’s lib” during the 1970s resulted in more women entering the workforce and fighting for equality (Libra) with men. Although the Pluto-in-Libra group may take equal rights for granted because they were born into an era of feminism (and Mattel’s “We Girls Can Do Anything” ad campaign of the ’80s endeared the Barbie doll to young Pluto-in-Libra girls), there are deeper, more disturbing currents afoot that could potentially result in a new battle of the sexes.

Because the U.S. has lost much of its manufacturing and IT base, and its infrastructure has been allowed to crumble, more men have lost their jobs recently than women—to the extent that this recession has been called a “man-cession.” Men also have fallen behind women in educational achievement. Although the dual-income household has been the norm in the U.S. ever since Pluto transited Libra, the concept of the husband as main breadwinner is currently being turned on its head. Perhaps one challenge the Pluto-in-Libra group faces as Pluto passes through Capricorn is how to navigate marriages that feature more involuntary “househusbands.”

Look back at an earlier ’60s and ’70s era in America: the 1760s and ’70s, which just happened to be the last time Pluto passed through Capricorn. As hard as it might be to believe this early on in the transit, another revolution is coming. This revolution may gain momentum on MoveOn.org and social network sites like Facebook and Twitter (which certainly reflect the Pluto-in-Libra style), but it will need to move into the material world in order to take root (Capricorn).

Interestingly, George Washington was born with Pluto in Libra—which exactly squared his Moon in Capricorn! I for one hope that our next George Washington, regardless of gender or political affiliation, will soon come forward and play a huge role in saving our nation from its own corrupt government, poisonous pollutants, and out-of-whack institutions—including the Tea Party movement that many alienated Pluto-in-Libra extremists will be tempted to join.

The concept of depression as a psychological state, as well as its treatments, will undergo a transformation as Pluto transits Capricorn. Due to the Pluto square I described earlier, this will be especially relevant for the Pluto-in-Libra group, who came of age during a time when antidepressant drugs were not only being prescribed, but overprescribed. Long-term users of various mood elevators are becoming worried by the tolls these drugs may take on their physical health; combine this concern with the escalating costs of prescription drugs in general, and we may be looking at an era of mass withdrawal from the antidepressants that were so widespread when Pluto transited Sagittarius (tellingly, a sign that does not tolerate depression). Talk therapy will make a comeback, and there is also a growing belief in evolutionary psychology that depression serves a purpose, that “sadder but wiser” has the ring of truth.

Over the next dozen years, the Pluto-in-Libra group is most likely to take the hardest knocks from Pluto in Capricorn. Yet this group is also the best situated to transform itself by not only thinking of itself—and in so doing, just might go down in history as the “We Generation.”

T. C. Gardstein is a Brooklyn-based astrologer and writer. She is especially pleased that this article is included in the 2010 International Astrology Day Blog-a-thon (March 19-21) because her favorite planet is Pluto. T.C. has published articles in Dell Horoscope and Mountain Astrologer, and created and managed an astrology website, PlutoRising.com, for the now-defunct dot-com company Webseed. Her novel, Circuit, is available for purchase on Amazon and Xlibris, and her eBook of erotic verse, The Poetry Prostitute, has been published by Paper Bag Press (audio book forthcoming). T.C. is available for private astrological consultation as well as parties. Contact her at PlutoRisingAstrologer@gmail.com.

Sources:

Astrodienst.com
Generations, Neil Howe and William Strauss
Etsy.com
The ’70s: Life in a Dumb Decade, Jim Ryan
MoveOn.org
“The Axis of the Obsessed and Deranged,” Frank Rich, 2/27/10, NYTimes.com
“Depression’s Upside,” Jonah Lehrer, 2/25/10, NYTimes.com

The Astrology of Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T16:55:00.005-05:00

This year, Valentine's Day coincides with the Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Tiger: Will you be a wildcat or a pussy cat? Or perhaps a pink panther?

We are approaching the New Moon in Aquarius, but most of Valentine's Day occurs with the Moon in Pisces (the ingress happens at 7:23 a.m. EST). This Piscean feeling is strengthened by the Sun/Neptune conjunction. It's an auspicious day to be emotional and downright mushy with both friends and lovers.

If you're not sure what to do with your sweetie tomorrow (other than the obvious), you might consider taking in a movie or three, having a photography or video session (use your imagination), sharing and perhaps indulging in a fantasy, a champagne-soaked brunch, liquor-filled bonbons, or evening wining and dining. However, be careful not to indulge too much in alcohol or any other substances that may affect your ability to stay conscious.

If you don't have a sweetie, but do have a crush, tomorrow is an optimal day to declare your feelings, as long as your crush is actually available to be amenable! Seriously, with elements of fantasy running so high, you should ask yourself before declaring yourself if you are infatuated with the actual person, or with the idea of him/her.

As I mentioned earlier, this is also a wonderful V-Day to spend with close friends. In fact, it is entirely possible that platonic feelings between friends may turn more, well, Plutonic. Again, as long as you don't let the fantasy aspect (it's pretty romantic to fall in love with a friend) and too much to drink overwhelm what's truly going on here, a wonderful time could be had.

Whatever your situation, Happy Valentine's Day!

Pluto Blushes for the Camera

2010-02-05T13:09:00.005-05:00

(Photo copyright NASA, ESA, and M. Buie, Southwest Research Institute)

In a neat little bit of what Jung, who also practiced astrology, would term "synchronicity," NASA has just released 350 amazing close-up photos of Pluto; the Moon (which rules, among many other things, the public) is currently transiting Scorpio, the sign ruled by Pluto.

Apparently Pluto has been growing redder and brighter during the two-year span of these photos (2002 and 2003). No official reason has yet been determined.

My feeling is that Pluto is either camera-shy and blushing at having its privacy invaded via Hubble Space Telescope, or it is prophetically pissed off, knowing that by the time these photos were released, its stature in our solar system would have been demoted to "dwarf planet" and would suffer such headlines as: "Pluto, Former Planet, Ready for Its Close-Up."

More than any other planet, Pluto needs good PR. I hope these photos will help reintegrate this planet into our collective psyche, for Pluto will not go gently into that good night. Demoting or belittling its energy is like trying to close Pandora's box, or put a skeleton back in the closet. Attempting such a thing has already enabled the negative aspects of Pluto--manipulation (also known as power-tripping), repression, oppression, resentment, and yes, plutocracy--to dominate Pluto's positive traits of transformation, mediumship, literal and figurative X-ray vision, healing at the root level.

It is heartening to learn that some members of NASA who are involved in another Pluto project, which involves a robotic spacecraft (carrying the ashes of Pluto's discover, Clyde Tombaugh!), believe that Pluto should still be categorized as a bone fide planet.

PS: My late-to-the-party Groundhog Day predictions: we'll be getting the first signs of spring on March 11, when Mars turns direct...yet we'll also be dealing with the effects of Mars retrograde until mid-May. I still wish I could crawl into a burrow and hibernate for the next five weeks instead of having to pretend it's business as usual in the Borough of Kings.

Bullies, Enemies, Frenemies: Sun Opposing Mars

2010-01-29T13:49:00.003-05:00

If you're feeling a bit bellicose today, you're right on schedule: the Sun is opposing Mars (exact 2:43 p.m. EST). Take a step back and count to ten before becoming embroiled in a confrontation that could lead to the sort of physical violence that used to sell newspapers before the Internet made it possible to receive a free, constant flow of newsworthy bloodshed.

The Sun/Mars opposition might not be as stressful if you decide not to let your ego (Sun) be steamrolled over by a bully (Mars) who knows just which buttons to press. This opposition could be considered a follow-up to the Venus/Mars opposition earlier this week, in which many hearts were broken. The ego now may want to lash out (Mars) at the one who done you wrong (poor syntax totally intended).

An opposition always indicates a challenge in a relationship (that need not be a romantic one); often the issue is one of projecting your perceptions onto another person. When Mars is involved, aggression and the desire to win are more important than maintaining or reinstating harmony. Given that we are coming up on the Full Moon in Leo (exact 1/30 at 1:18 a.m. EST), emotions are already running at a fever pitch.

I for one am going to embrace my Cancerian nature and stay out of the fray if at all possible, though I may fight for my right to party.

Oh yes, that baleful bundle called the Saturn/Pluto square is exact on Sunday (exact 5:07 p.m.) with the Moon in Virgo. You may be less inclined to laze around and more inclined to work, worry, or resolve to become a hermit.

Sorry for the joyless nature of this post, but I'm sure you can find many other astrologers who will give you a more optimistic view of these tough planetary aspects. I just can't put a smiley face on any of the ones I've mentioned here.

Bye, Bye Baby: Happy Birthday, Janis Joplin

2010-01-19T20:30:00.009-05:00

I came of pop-music age with the Go-Go's and Madonna. Yet as I was perusing my parents' LP collection as a teen-something, I paused at an album depicting an oddly attired woman on the cover: huge granny glasses, feathers, bangle bracelets, flywaway hair. This was Joplin in Concert. And from the very first sound of her chiding voice--"You've been playing the wrong chord all night"--right before "Down on Me" kicked in, I was transfixed. Yet the raw emotion and obvious vulnerability of this performer (there was no doubt in my mind that she was not just a singer, but a performer of epic proportions) also frightened me, and I hadn't even realized yet that her life was in the past tense. Listening to her wail the blues was like gazing into a mirror at my own teen angst, although my "voice" was that of a scribbler of morbid, puerile poetry that graced the pages of my suburban high-school literary magazine to little recognition (except for the local newspaper that offered me the job of "high school correspondent," obviously on the unfounded faith that a budding poet would make a good journalist).

Perhaps a year or two later, an hour-long documentary called Women in Rock was released on cable TV, and I saw, not merely heard, Janis wailing "Ball and Chain" and "Summertime" onstage at the Montery Pop Festival that ushered in the all too brief Summer of Love that had died by the summer I was born. And I was retroactively hooked.

Janis Joplin's first name could not have suited her more: she was born in January, the month itself named for the two-faced Roman god Janus, which looked both backward and forward. Janis was born at the end of the sign of Capricorn, a sign noted both for its melancholy and spiritual potential, and at the very beginning of the generation that became known as "hippies," although like the beatniks of the 1950s, Janis made the pilgrimage to North Beach a few years before the Haight-Ashbury district became psychedelicized.

But what, astrologically, could account for Janis's seismic personality; her persona of "Pearl," the tough-talking, hard-drinking, blues-singing floozy; her rebellious nature; her untimely demise?

Janis Joplin was born just before the Full Moon, the phase of the moon most associated with a desire for fame. And her Moon in Cancer (whose gem is the pearl) widely conjuncted her Jupiter, which only magnified the hypersensitivity of her innermost emotions. She may have talked tough, but it was obvious that her sharp words were there to protect a very soft underbelly. Indeed, a slight snub from a stranger at a party could make her burst into tears, and she often lamented that her life on the road was a cruel joke. She claimed to want a nice man to take her out to dinner after a show, as opposed to the hangers-on of the groupie scene that had nothing to do with her real self. Yet paradoxically, the more she retreated into her "Pearl" persona, the more of a caricature she became, the more she surrounded herself by sychophants, the less chance she seemed to have of someone "real" being able to break through.

She was the firstborn of three, and as the fates would have it, was born with Aquarius on the Ascendant, making her a natural rebel, especially in a town as "proper" as Port Arthur, Texas, and a time as constricted as the U.S. in the 1950s. Had she been born slightly earlier or later in the morning, Janis might have upheld the status quo (Capricorn Rising) or merged into her local environment (Pisces Rising). But Janis was born on a metaphoric fault line, and indeed, her conservative parents would never approve of the unusual path she created for herself. Janis was born with Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius in her 12th House, opposing Pluto; how apropos, then, that one of her "complexes" involved her younger sister (Mercury), who was perceived as the "good daughter," the one who was approved of by her parents while Janis herself was "lost" to the Plutonian underworld of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Capricorns, the cynics of the zodiac, are often influenced strongly by the father; Janis's own father, who by today's standards would probably be considered an alcoholic (certainly, he spent more time drinking and tinkering around in the garage than with his family), taught his oldest daughter about "the Saturday Night swindle": the realization that it's not ever going to get any better than being out on a Saturday night, not having a particularly good time, blowing your weekly paycheck on a few drinks, only to start all over again the next day, hung over and broke.

Yet with that prominent, creative, ever-hungry 5th House Moon in Cancer, Janis was one of the very few women of the era who made it in the men's club of rock and roll. Grace Slick similarly dominated her all-male band, yet "Gracie" was also a conventionally beautiful ex-model from a rich family, whereas Janis was a much rougher diamond. Both helped pave the way for subsequent generations of women in rock, yet Janis paid a very steep price for being the archetypal goat atop the mountain: she was already addicted to alcohol by the time of her success, and her ultimate undoing, heroin, soon followed to dull the pain. Yet because Janis was such a huge success, few people, even among her closest friends, felt that she deserved any sympathy or understanding for her so-called problems. "People like their blues singers drunk and miserable," she said bluntly.

(And dead?)

Her version of "Ball and Chain" is certainly a Capricornian masterpiece, showing how duty, sorrow, and loneliness can make the heart so heavy in love. Yet I would rather celebrate her upbeat "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)": as she exhorts in her stage patter right before the song kicks in, "If you're lookin' for a nice piece of... action, and you ain't gettin' any, you know what you gotta do, baby...you gotta try harder."

Somehow, this exultation to hard work, which flew in the face of the "tune in, turn on, drop out" hippie era, seems the opposite of sea-goat cynicism.

I love you, Janis.

Baby, It's Cold Outside: Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn

2010-01-11T13:37:00.006-05:00

As I warned in my last post, which was posted on the last day of 2009, we are collectively entering 2010 looking backward. Mercury is still Retrograde in Capricorn, and at least on the East Coast, we have been in a deep-freeze unit. As I remarked to a friend last week: "My gloves need gloves." Yesterday, I finally cracked and dug out a pair of itchy woolen mittens. I have given up all pretense of stylishness until the mercury (as opposed to the planet Mercury) rises above 35 (on second thought, make that 40) degrees.

Although Mercury turns Direct on the New Moon and Solar Eclipse this Friday, 1/15, Mars remains Retrograde until 3/11. If only I could petition the Powers that Be and explain that no one should be expected to perform up to standard as long as the planet that is most responsible for determining one's personal drive is Retrograde in the sign that is all about ego (in the sense of "I am," not necessarily a bad thing and in fact a requirement for a healthy sense of self) and performance. If only I could pass an emergency law, effective for the rest of the winter, that is sort of an anti-stimulus plan: one that would encourage mass hibernation, with brief excursions for food (unless you prefer home delivery).

Rather than give an entire overview of 2010 in one post, I'd like to concentrate on a "biggie" aspect that we experienced back in November 2009, which will repeat at the end of January: the Saturn/Pluto square. Any lessons learned, or not, back in November will have to be repeated again at this time. I already posted details about the meaning of this square the first time around, but it's worth repeating here: any issues of resentment and rigidity will become heightened. This is a time in which skeletons (Saturn) will come out of the closet (Pluto). Various political (Saturn) and sex scandals (Pluto) are likely, all involving abuse of power. But so too is the ability to slam the brakes on a painful situation. A square between these two heavies of the solar system can indeed bring a lot of pain, but again, if you reach your personal breaking point, it may force you to say "never again," and really mean it this time. We will be getting yet a third Saturn/Pluto square this July, giving us all yet another opportunity to say "never again." (Third time's the charm, right?)

On 2/17 Jupiter ingresses into the emotional, visionary, compassionate sign of Pisces, and I hope this means that some of the friends we have found with Jupiter transiting through Aquarius will blossom into soul mates. If you find that you need to spend more time in solitary reflection and meditation in the coming months, though, you're right on schedule. Also, this Jupiter placement should benefit creative writers and artists, especially those working in the medium of film (both movies and photography).

More to come, and in the meantime, keep warm!

Once in a Blue Moon New Year

2009-12-31T10:22:00.005-05:00

That's right, my Western Civvers: it's New Year's Eve (even though it's still morning in my neck of the woods) and it's happening on a Blue Moon, which means the second Full Moon of the month. The last time we had a Blue Moon was May 31, 2007, so you can see the expression "once in a blue moon" in literal action. This Blue Moon is even rarer, though, since it's also a Lunar Eclipse.

I realize this New Year's Eve recommendation may not make me popular among my not-impressively-vast readership, especially since none of you specifically asked for my advice, but this is not the New Year's Eve to party to excess, unless it is a dinner party that culminates in a food fight. Yes, there's a lot of Full Moon energy out there, and it's a Lunar Eclipse, and you may feel as if you are being magnetically pulled out of your home or your comfort zone. This is because of the opposition and possible conflict between the Sun in publicly-oriented Capricorn and the Moon in home-oriented Cancer. You may have the opportunity to attend a party that will increase your public standing or your influence--but only if you don't mess it up by getting plastered and generally loony. You may have the opportunity to spend New Year's Eve with family, which could be quite comforting as long as your family is unmarked by dysfunction in any way.

Still with me?

It takes guts to gently decline getting together with people, many of whom you may barely tolerate, and say no to spending money you do not have on the most loaded night of the year (in the sense of having expectations of tons o' fun, not indulging in your favorite poison--though that naturally goes with the territory). This night is doubly loaded because of the media spotlight on bidding adieu to the naughty aughties, the less than zeroes, or the Decade of Decline; never mind that the next decade doesn't actually begin till January 1, 2011. Yet not only is the Moon in the most home-oriented of signs tonight, Mercury and Mars are both Retrograde. You may be having second thoughts about whatever commitments you made for tonight (Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn), and you may also be confused about what you really want in order to express your joie de vivre (Mars Retrograde in Leo). Collectively, we are entering 2010 as a breech birth: looking backward, pulling inward. A Caesarian section is indicated.

If you can manage a quiet night in with your nearest and dearest, I don't think you'll regret it. If you have no nearests and dearests, it might still be better for you to be a party of one instead of with pseudo friends or desperate strangers.

As for me, who just so happens to be born under the sign of Cancer, I will most likely put my socializing off until tomorrow morning. There's an interesting sounding after-party going on not too far from me, and on a Moon/Uranus trine (exact at 10:43 a.m. EST) it might be worth it to get to sleep reasonably early tonight, wake early tomorrow, and head over there. If that actually happens, I'll be the freshest daisy in that crowd.

Stay tuned for 2010 predictions.

Sun/Saturn Square: Astrologese for Sucky

2009-12-28T13:33:00.006-05:00

This does not apply to you if you had an unbelievably fantabulous Christmas, whether you celebrate that holiday, Chanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, some combination of the above, or none of the above. For all I know, you found the Sun/Saturn square a comfort instead of a straitjacket. And Mercury turning Retrograde on the 26th (at 9:38 a.m. EST) did not necessarily mean that you had to return gifts, if you were lucky enough to receive them at all, because the pants didn't fit right, the choker was choking you, the throw blanket wasn't your style, you already owned the Beatles box set or Season 2 of Mad Men, or it was just...no. No. No way could you keep whatever it was on your person or in your dwelling, not even hidden away in your closet, not even kept to re-gift to some unsuspecting soul next year. For all I know, if you live in the New York area, you liked the cold rain that fell nonstop for over 24 hours, because it made you appreciate yesterday's 50-degree sunshine all the more.

On a personal level Christmas was a hangover, both literally and figuratively speaking. The former I didn't mind so much, as it meant I'd had fun the night before, at a dinner-and-way-beyond party that took away any lingering bitterness I felt over not being invited to an annual party I'd gone to for the past 5 years. The metaphorical come-down I did mind; it wasn't pleasant to see the wrong movie with a close friend after I took the trouble to purchase the Sherlock Holmes tickets online and pick them up a few hours before the movie so we wouldn't have to stand on a long line and wind up getting bad seats (there's only one window at the box office, which is outside the theater). We even met 40 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start in case everyone else had also decided to pick up tickets in advance. I was that paranoid about the Sun/Saturn square, since it was exact at 6:58 p.m., 2 minutes before the movie was supposed to begin. The usher told my friend and I to go to the theater upstairs, but we were too busy catching up on our respective Christmas Eves to notice that the small sign about 20 feet above our heads read Avatar and that it was the other stairs we should've been taking to the other upstairs theater. We also didn't notice anyone holding 3-D glasses. We shut off our cell phones, so did not notice when 7 came and went and they were still showing trailers. Finally, there was an announcement to put on your "Real-D" glasses. Huh?! My friend ran and got them from the lobby while I tried to figure out why I didn't realize Sherlock was a 3-D movie. And when my friend returned, she told me it was already 7:15. There was no way we'd be able to get good seats, or even seats together, at the movie we were supposed to be viewing, which had started 15 minutes ago.

The less said about Avatar, the better. The fact that almost everyone loves this movie, including the critics, is proof that the viewing public's standards have been lowered even more than I ever dreamed possible. It came as no surprise 2.5 hours (that felt like as many eons) later that the usher refused to comp us so we could return to see Sherlock. That was when I finally noticed the sign. I usually love this small, non-corporate movie house, but right then it felt like the equivalent of a highway in New Jersey.

And this personal indignity was small potatoes in the face of what truly made the Sun/Saturn square sucky on a grand scale: that attempted terrorist attack that will now make flying even more of a miserable experience for the 99 percent of us whose main crime when traveling by air is to forget about that dangerous 4 oz. tube of toothpaste or the equally dangerous tweezers stashed away in our toiletries case. I remember when the prospect of flying somewhere got me giddy in a good way. Everything was so laid-back you could even (gasp) smoke on planes, as well as get served a full meal (even if it was kind of gross), plus not have to take your shoes off, get The Wand Treatment, or pay to check luggage. Now I am almost thankful that I don't have the means to fly to Venice or Paris. I feel so sorry for people flying home from family gatherings this week since they'll have to check all those holiday gifts received instead of carrying them aboard the plane in a second bag, and of course pay the airlines more money for the privilege. I can only imagine how humiliating it will be to lose control of one's bladder or bowels because no one is allowed to use the bathroom during the last hour of the flight, and also cannot read a book, access medication, or soothe an anxious child with a stuffed animal because Mr. Teddy might contain explosives. I can only imagine the lawsuits--but then again, perhaps there won't be any, because doing so could land you on a no-fly list. The Sun/Saturn square serves as a grim reminder that the terrorists are winning the War on Terror. Are airlines really any safer because of these arbitrary restrictions? I certainly don't feel any safer knowing that no one can attempt to detonate a commerical plane while standing up or using the lavatory during the final hour of flight. Since Saturn symbolizes limitations as well as structure, I predict that by the time of the next Saturn/Pluto square, those who have no choice but to fly on a plane that they do not own will be locked (Saturn) into their seats and can choose to purchase (credit cards only, please) potties (Pluto) and toilet paper from the airline attendants.

I am not entirely joking about this unfunny scenario.

Holiday Spirit: Jupiter/Neptune Conjunction

2009-12-20T20:59:00.005-05:00

There has been much astrologizing going on in my life, but unfortunately none of it has taken the form of updating this blog. I hope to begin to make up for lost time as the year comes to a close (more likely, given the aspects, on a bang than a whimper).

A perfect planetary symbol of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is Jupiter--even though by December 25 we have entered the Capricorn period, the traditional excesses of food, drink, festivities, and shopping for presents mostly occur during the Sagittarius period, which may well be a reaction against the naughtier pleasures of Scorpio (which climaxes, so to speak, on Halloween). Tomorrow not only marks the Winter Solstice, but the exact Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius, a significant aspect that has been building for weeks. If Jupiter is an apt representation of the holidays, Neptune represents spirit--and presto, we have holiday spirit.

Yet the message of this particular Jupiter/Neptune conjunction is far from simple or placid. It is filtered through the lens of Aquarius, the most complex of the air signs: group-oriented, reform-minded, revolutionary, brilliant, stubborn. During a time that some are calling "Great Depression II," perhaps the most rewarding holiday spirit is to be found among friends, the family you make for yourself. Air is not material; friendship is a present you cannot put in a box and wrap. Compassionate or creative visions (Neptune) may very well hatch between friends or in larger groups of likeminded people uniting toward a common goal.

The health-care reform bill has been a topic of great controversy among people of all political (or apolitical) stripes, and although it now appears that the Democrats have their sixtieth vote in the Senate, the controversy is far from over. Many are also upset about the upshot of the climate talks. It will indeed be interesting to see if there are any mass protests or marches on Washington, especially as inner planets move into Aquarius. However, since this is also such a technologically oriented sign, protests may well have a greater presence online--in blogs, chat forums, petitions, and so on.

The Venus/Uranus square (exact yesterday at 8:52 p.m. EST) was marked by the Northeast's first blizzard of the season, but I read this square as less about the weather than about blowing hot and cold in matters of the heart...possibly not being able to decide whether a situation is platonic or more than a friendly hug goodnight. The far more harmonious Venus/Jupiter and Venus/Neptune sextiles, which are nearly exact at the time of this writing, should hopefully smooth out any lingering rough edges. It is also of interest that the Moon transiting Aquarius will create a pleasant emotional reverberation of the above sextiles early tomorrow morning (for Eastern Standard Timers). The Winter Solstice of 2009 will most definitely not be a boring one.

Saturn Square Pluto: Tear Down the Wall!

2009-11-16T00:27:00.007-05:00

This has been an unusually dark Dark of the Moon in Scorpio; Pluto, ruler of this capital-I intense sign, has been squaring Saturn. If this were a boxing match, it would be the heavyweight division: Pluto, Lord of the Underworld vs. Saturn, Lord of Karma.

Although the square is officially over (exact 11/15 at 9:42 a.m. EST), and I don't think either planet "won," I have found that aspects involving Saturn reverberate for quite some time, possibly because Saturn's action delays.

A prime example of this would be the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of August 2001, which culminated in the events and long, bloody, morally bankrupt aftermath of 9/11.

Planets are more powerful than the signs they inhabit, yet it is always important to consider the signs of an aspect. Saturn entered Libra just before Halloween; for the next two and a half years, all legal, contractual relationships will take on more structure and grave importance, and require greater maturity in order to survive. It is worth remembering that the last time Saturn was in Libra, the early 1980s, the divorce rate peaked in the U.S. Big business, which ushered in the "greed is good" decade, was also on the rise, and not coincidentally, in 1982/83 was a Saturn/Pluto conjunction...solidifying plutocracy, anyone?

Certainly, with Saturn squaring Pluto in early Capricorn, there is much pressure within relationships that are unbalanced in some way. One person, party, or group has been abusing the other person, party, or group for far too long, and something's got to give. Libra, the sign of the scales, is all about justice; the law ideally should mete out justice to any and all who have abused their power and goodwill. (Of course, this is no guarantee of what actually occurs.)

On a personal level I can speak for no one but myself; just a few weeks ago I placed far too much trust in someone who had done nothing to earn any of it, and I am still dealing with the fallout.

On a national level, we have been dealing with disturbing developments in our long-awaited, hopelessly bogged-down health-care plan, in which women's rights are taking a backseat to the status quo (in this case, the male-dominated Congress and the Roman Catholic Church). Americans are divided about the swine flu vaccine, and there's also a vaccine shortage. We have also been hearing all about the end of the recession even though unemployment is up, because Wall Street (Pluto in Capricorn?) is doing so well that bankers are using $100 bills as toilet paper. On a global level--well, to expect world peace may be a naive pipe dream, but issues involving the environment and pandemics (of which the swine flu is just the beginning) are just as important as all the futile, costly wars being fought.

About forty years ago, John Lennon and Yoko Ono advised people to "think globally and act locally." This seems like more timely advice than ever. Instead of only focusing on national or global problems, take a good, hard look at your own relationships, within your own environment. If you don't like what you see or feel, there is no better time to be honest about your perceptions and act. If you try to renegotiate the dynamics of your unhealthy, unsatisfying relationships in a reasonable way and it doesn't work, it may be time to leave such relationships behind entirely. It's possible that you have literally become sick of them; the mind-body connection is not a myth. Far better to tear down (Pluto) the wall (Saturn) of oppression keeping you from your true self and desires, even if doing so leaves you vulnerable and alone, than stay in any contractual relationship, whether it's a marriage (Libra) or professionally based (Capricorn), that is doing you harm. Otherwise you run the very real likelihood of becoming increasingly resentful (Pluto), rigid, depressed, numb, and ill (all Saturn specialties).

They say that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I say, screw that puritanical crap and take a stand for yourself, because even though Saturn is now in the sign of justice, life just isn't fair, and you may have to be your own judge, jury, and executioner.

Full Moon Fever: Relationships in the Hot Seat

2009-10-04T10:34:00.016-04:00

Your faithful astrologer attempted to post this update last night, but her computer was out getting loaded, and the dashboard wouldn't load.

Anyway, we are still in the Full Moon period (exact at 2:10 a.m. EDT) and the Moon in Aries still has a few aspects to other planets to make before it moves into Taurus tomorrow, so this post will still have plenty of Full Moon food for thought.

In astrology, the "relationship aspect" is the opposition, and Libra is the sign of the zodiac that is the most naturally attuned to the concept of relationship. Therefore, this particular Full Moon highlights relationship issues. They need not be romantic connections, particularly if you are not involved with anyone romantically; issues in business partnerships may be of concern at this time. Yet since Libra is ruled by the "love" side of Venus (the "material" side of Venus, i.e., money and matters of the flesh, is the domain of Taurus), it's most likely that any issues that have been building within a love partnership have reached the boiling point with the Moon in fiery, aggressive Aries. If you are single, this weekend may have been a time of being "on the hunt" for a lover.

The conflict between this Full Moon that can also lead to its resolution is "me or thee?" Aries, the polar opposite sign from Libra, is all about the self. Unlike its romantically inclined fire-sign cousin Leo, there is very little awareness of "the Other." This does not, of course, mean that Aries is incapable of having relationships--just that this very first sign of the zodiac is more concerned with being for itself. Aries can be a great leader, and also, despite its potential for extroversion, a great loner.

So, "me or thee?" For those of who you may have been doing too much for that "Other" in your life, this opposition challenges you to take better care of yourself, even if that means doing it on your own and detaching from your partner in order not to live through him or her. For those of you who have been living out the Aries side of the opposition, this Full Moon may motivate you to consider the needs of your partner above (or at least as much) as those of your own, to develop a better give-and-take situation instead of mostly taking and not even saying "thanks."

This is not a typical horoscope blog, but individuals that are likely to experience the highest degree of conflict with this Full Moon are Cancer and Capricorn natives, followed by Aries and Libra (although these two signs stand the most to gain, as well). Leo, Sagittarius, Gemini, and Aquarius are more likely to resolve relationship conflicts without ultimatums, and even if there is a loss or a break, these four signs are most likely to not let icky emotions like fear and neediness get in the way of personal growth.

This is also the Harvest Moon, so regardless of what sign you are born under, it is a time of reaping what you have sown back in the spring. The Full Moon always brings a culmination to the monthly lunar cycle. What has not been resolved during this period is not likely to fix itself over the next two weeks as the Moon wanes. This does not mean you should throw in the towel if your relationship seems to be going down the toilet, but not to force any needless issues, particularly since we are coming up on a difficult Mercury/Uranus opposition (exact today at 5:06 p.m. EDT). Under such an aspect, it would be far too easy to snap during a conversation. A real breakdown in communication may result, along with a break. You may instead wish to consider quietly gathering your forces for the New Moon in Libra on 10/18, which will give you a fresh chance to unite your own emotions and needs with that of your partner's. And once again, if you happen to be single, this will also be a good time to consider what relationships mean to you, and how you can strengthen your relationship with the one person who will never leave you: yourself.

Equinox: Not Just a Gym. Get Ready for Fall!

2009-09-22T11:57:00.008-04:00

We've gone through some fairly stressful astrological aspects during the past week, as we reach the end of the Virgo period. As much as I wanted give real-time updates, it was too painful at the time. My self-identity is undergoing a serious transformation, courtesty of Saturn conjunct my Pluto and Asc. Basically, I am trying to cast out my bad habits and compulsive behaviors without being too hard on my imperfections. Also, an unconventional, relatively-short-yet-long-enough-to-feel-real relationship broke up (Uranus conjunct my Desc.) and although it ended pretty jarringly it's really for the better, and has also made me ask myself some pretty hard questions about relationships in general and the kind I've been trying to have in particular.

The Dark of the Moon period (9/16 to 9/18) was perhaps the darkest a Dark of the Moon can get: the Sun, followed a day later by the Moon, opposed Uranus and conjuncted Saturn. The Uranus/Saturn opposition is one of the more difficult aspects out there, so it's a good thing it doesn't happen very often; this time around (2008-09) it's manifested in the terrible economy, a repolarization in politics that culminated in the election of the first black president of the United States (black as a color is represented by Saturn; yet President Barack Obama, given his relative youth and his landslide victory, is more Uranian), the swine flu panic, and the health-care debate. Throwing a Mercury/Pluto square into this already uncomfortable mix, it's a wonder more of us didn't go postal last week: Uranus is all about reform and revolution, while Saturn is about structure and the status quo. The Sun highlighting this opposition made it a far more personal struggle for many of us, since the Sun represents our conscious sense of self. Egos were definitely trampled on by other egos, and unless you're an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) it was probably hard to detach.

The Jewish calendar is lunar, and so the Jewish holidays do not fall on set days of the year, but in accordance with the Moon. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, fell on this New Moon; the next two weeks will lead up to the Harvest Moon, in which we hopefully reap the bounty of all that has been sown this year.

We officially leave summer behind today with the fall equinox at 5:19 p.m. EDT, and enter the Libra period. Since the first major Solar aspect in Libra is a difficult square to Pluto at 0 degrees of Capricorn (exact Wednesday 9/23 at 10:21 a.m.), it will be a challenge to keep our balance, particularly regarding relationships (Libra) and authority, power structures, and the status quo (Capricorn). If you are currently employed, this would not be the best time to ask your boss for a raise or test his/her patience in any way. In fact, it might be better for everyone in your life, especially yourself, if you take a personal "mental health" day tomorrow. On a more positive note, light will be shed (Sun) on last week's unpleasant Mercury/Pluto square; even if you can't fix it or take back your words or your actions, at least you'll have a better understanding of what went down.

Second Thoughts? Welcome to Mercury Retrograde.

2009-09-09T00:48:00.005-04:00

Mercury turned Retrograde on Labor Day, which makes me really glad I'm not starting school or a new job right now.

Mercury will be Retrograde in Libra and Virgo until September 29, so for the love of whatever god you do or do not believe in, don't sign anything--don't commit to anything you can't easily get out of--expect heavy second thoughts regarding relationships until September 18, and then second thoughts regarding your job, your health, your diet, any writing you might be engaged in, and any service-oriented activities until the 29th.

The Sun signs most affected by this particular Mercury Rx transit will be Gemini, Libra, and Virgo. Gemini and Virgo are ruled by Mercury and thus are that much more attuned to the quicksilver planet's energy than other signs; Libra will also get mired in the muck this time because Mercury is Rx in Libra until the 18th, when it slips back into Virgo. Virgo natives will be most strongly affected between the
18th and the 29th, but at least the 18th also brings the New Moon in Virgo, which should give some much-needed "starting over" energy to a sign that will need it more than the rest of the zodiac.

No matter what sign you happen to be born under, the next three weeks are an excellent time to reflect, retreat, and take stock of the events of August for the purpose of deciding whether or not you want them to continue into the fall.

In the meantime, don't be surprised when the check doesn't arrive in the mail, the phone doesn't ring, and everyone around you seems to be elsewhere.

Full Moon in Pisces: Purification Via Tsunami

2009-09-04T11:09:00.008-04:00

It's a damned good thing I practice astrology, or else I'd be convinced I was going off my rocker. For the past day or so I have felt the energy of the Full Moon in Pisces, and this lunation is exact at 12:03 p.m. BFT (Brooklyn Freelancer Time).

Full Moons always bring a culmination to the lunar cycle: for the past two weeks, whatever has been building in yourself as well as the outer world will reach its maximum form of energy. A Full Moon can shed much objective light on an important situation and provide excellent, creative release if you use its energy wisely. Otherwise, the energy curdles, and the next two weeks of the waning Moon may be spent wondering, "Where did it all go wrong?"

Full Moons also illustrate a very important principle in astrology: polarity. Instead of thinking of twelve separate signs, living and dreaming in their twelve separate zodiacal boxes, think instead of six poles, each consisting of a particular sign and its opposite. You may think that opposing signs are truly opposite and have nothing in common; nothing could be further from the truth. Opposing signs always share a "quality," i.e., cardinal, fixed, or mutable, and also occur in compatible elements, i.e. Fire/Air, Earth/Water. Visualize the beauty of the yin-yang symbol: two interlocking black and white paisley shapes, each sporting a drop of the oppposite color. In astrology, each sign contains its opposite in seed form. Much, therefore, can be learned from your opposite sign. Interestingly, the astrological aspect that concerns relationship issues is the opposition! In other words, without the opposition, there would be no awareness that "the Other" exists...I am not just talking about relationships between people, but between objects, words, numbers...the world of abstractions.

For the purposes of this particular Full Moon, which is a "pure" one because no other planets are aspecting it, I shall concentrate on the Virgo/Pisces polarity. Both of these signs have unusually heavy karma attached (the other "heavy" of the zodiac is Scorpio). In the case of Virgo, the stage of self-consciousness has been reached; the self needs to be purified in order to enter the realm of relating that self to the rest of the world. Virgo is considered the final "personal" sign, which does not mean the signs that follow are impersonal; however, the second half of the zodiac generally is pulled toward shared resources and experiences, which culminates in the universality, empathy, collective unconscious, and dissolution (and unfortunately disillusion) of Virgo's opposite sign of Pisces. The Full Moon in Pisces urges us all to consider how healthy we really feel, and this is not limited to our physical body, but how we are getting along with the planet Earth (remember that Virgo is an Earth sign!), and our mental health. Some of the difficulties that can surface during this Full Moon include:

- Extreme perfectionism and dissatisfaction over only being human, leading to beating yourself up (Virgo) or fatalistic "I give up" depression (Pisces)
- Hypochondria
- Psychosomatic illness brought on by constant worry and anxiety
- Indigestion, often due to bad food/drink choices
- Insomnia
- Addictive behavior (if you have a strong Neptune in your natal chart, you may find that you are particularly vulnerable to the energy of Moon in Pisces)
- Reaching the breaking point in terms of services rendered: "After all I've done for (him/her/the world), THIS is what I get in return?" (Slam door, brood, and retreat for the rest of the lunar cycle)

If the above list leaves you shaking your head and wondering if there is anything good about the Full Moon in Pisces, here is another, admittedly smaller list of its more positive manifestations:

- Insightful creativity in the arts, especially writing, film, and dance
- True selflessness that encourages you to serve without expecting a reward
- Increased environmental awareness
- The ability to synthesize trillions of bits of information and, in so putting some metaphoric jigsaw puzzle together, understand the whole
- Setting more reasonable "shalt nots" and "shalt dos" in your life, especially those that affect your physical and mental health

Catch the wave!

Shape-Shifting Virgo: Michael Jackson

2009-08-29T14:26:00.003-04:00

Today would've been Michael Jackson's fifty-first birthday, and so despite the relentless media coverage following his demise earlier this summer, I thought I'd take a brief moment to acknowledge this deeply talented, deeply troubled individual, who was born with a close Sun/Pluto conjunction in the First House of self-identity.

In a way, "Jocko" was more of a Scorpio because of the heavy Plutonian influence--and he certainly had more than his fair share of scandal, particularly surrounding what went on with young children at his "Neverland" ranch. Yet his essential Virgo self shone through in many ways: in his precocity, in being the youngest son of a harsh, authoritarian father who drove him relentlessly, in his insecurity that manifested in his turning from a handsome young black man into an apparition resembling the Phantom of the Opera.

The peak of Michael Jackson's fame occurred in 1983, when Thriller ruled the airwaves and he broke the unofficial color barrier on MTV with the incredible short film/music video of that album's title song. Yet the following year, Pluto transited into its ruling sign of Scorpio, and it seemed that the following dozen years were not particularly good for Michael. Nor did Pluto in Sagittarius turn things around for him--although he could've wound up in jail, but didn't.

His death's being ruled a homicide on the eve of his Solar Return is highly significant, and also extremely Plutonian: Michael was a drug addict, and yet the very people around him who could've and should've helped him (family, friends, and oh yes, doctors) instead enabled his addiction.

RIP, Jocko.

T-Square City: Mercury, Mars, Pluto Problems

2009-08-26T12:39:00.007-04:00

One of the toughest things I find about being an astrologer is heeding particular planetary aspects about which I freely (and sometimes less than diplomatically) caution others.

Case in point: the T-square between Mercury, Mars, and Pluto that is still in effect, although the Mercury/Mars square (which killed Ted Kennedy, who was suffering from a malignant brain tumor [a Mars affliction] late last night) is over, as is the Mercury/Pluto square (I do not look forward to reading breaking stories on NYTimes.com.). But the Mars/Pluto opposition is not over until later today.

To backtrack just a bit, for those of you who have no idea what a T-square is: this is a configuration that involves at least three planets, two 90-degree squares, and one 180-degree opposition. As potentially nasty as a T-square can be, it is still preferable to what is called a Grand Cross, which involves at least four planets and two sets of oppositions, which means four sets of squares. A Grand Cross is an aspect that I would not wish on anyone's natal chart, as it is a classic case of being locked up, immobilized (especially when the fixed signs are involved); however, a T-square has a "key" in the form of the sign that is not involved in the second opposition.

In the case of this T-square, critical degrees (i.e., degrees traditionally considered very significant) are in play: Mercury at 0 degrees of Libra, Mars at 0 Cancer, and Pluto at 0 Capricorn. The key to this morass of misunderstandings, miscommunications, anger, resentment, aggression, and abuse of power is 0 degrees Aries--perhaps the most headstrong degree of the zodiac (keeping in mind that Aries rules the head). Aries can be a soft, wooly lamb--or a battering ram. You must decide which of these creatures to be in order to free yourself from this T-square.

Yesterday, despite the oncoming Mercury/Mars square, I chose to throw caution to the wind in terms of communication with two people, and no harm resulted; indeed, with Mercury in the last degree of Virgo and Mars in the last degree of Gemini I was bitten by a most glorious poetry bug. Yet today I decided not to confront someone else about an issue that has been troubling me. At the very least, a Mars/Pluto opposition indicates power plays, secrets, and subterfuge; at most, severe betrayal and violence result. As a Plutonian, I cannot easily shrug off the heavy vibrations and consequences that come from fucking with this planet at the wrong time. The Moon, keeper of the emotions, is still transiting the Pluto-ruled sign of Scorpio.

Time to bide my time.

Clean-Up Time: Welcome to the Sun in Virgo

2009-08-23T01:06:00.008-04:00

Summer officially has four more weeks to go, yet with the Sun's entrance into Virgo today at 7:39 p.m. EDT, the season is on its last legs--at least in this hemisphere. Labor Day fittingly occurs with the Sun in Virgo, after which there is a renewed emphasis on such Virgo matters as school, work, and the coming harvest (or not, as the case may be). The mutuable signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces all mark the waning of a season, preparing for the next one while still in this one, which often manifests in those born with the Sun in these signs' relative instability and duality as compared with the rest of the the zodiac. This also means more flexibility and ingenuity, if other planetary aspects concur.

Virgo is perhaps the least understood of all twelve signs, and has the most mundane, least awe-inspiring adjectives to describe it: Perfectionist. Competent. High-strung. Service-oriented. Hypochondrical. Obsessive-compulsive. Detail-oriented. Yet the list of exciting, awe-inspiring Virgins is a long one, and over the next four weeks I shall make it my business to post some astrological profiles that will bust this signs's boring rep.

In the meantime, get out those freshly sharpened #2 pencils and take some notes:

The skinny on Virgo:
Element: Earth
Quality: Mutable
Polarity: Feminine/Yin
Planetary ruler: Mercury
Body part/function: intestines/powers of assimilation

After Leo's joy of self-expression comes the task to refine the self. Like Gemini, the other Mercury sign, Virgo is curious and eager to learn but much more painstaking in the process. Virgo marks the crucial stage of human awareness: self-consciousness. Sexually, the Virgin maintains a certain innocence and purity even after losing its virginity--even if it decides to experiment like wild. Its Earth element lends definite sensuality. The scene in the film 9 1/2 Weeks that combines sex, food, and the Domme/Sub dynamic must've been conceived by a Virgo.

This year's entrance into the Virgo period occurs with the Sun trining Pluto at 0 degrees at Capricorn, making it an excellent time not just to clean up, but to excavate and transform the contents of your inner basement...and plumbing. If you find that you are "backed up," blocked, stymied, tangled up, or otherwise constipated, cleanse your system by ruthlessly confronting it and trying to make sense of the clutter, even if you come to the conclusion that whatever you are dealing with is utterly chaotic and illogical. Only by clearing out what no longer works (and perhaps never did) in your mind, office, and body (all ruled by Virgo) can you effectively clear the decks for something new.

Second Lunar Eclipse of the Summer

2009-08-05T12:49:00.007-04:00

Exact at 8:55 p.m. EDT, get ready to howl at the Moon! Loudest howlers will be Leos, Aquarians, Geminis, and Sagittarians, but even if you're another Sun sign, much light will be shed on a situation that's been building for the past two weeks.

You can run but you can't hide from this most publicly oriented of lunations. If you're seeking fame and/or friends, take my advice and don't run.

Post Solar Eclipse Reflections

2009-07-27T13:10:00.007-04:00

It's been a busy-in-a-good way July for this Cancerian astrologer, as I might've predicted with not one, but two New Moons in my sign. Some reflections on the past 6 weeks:

I have entered into one of the most fun getting-to-know-yous imaginable with a certain Gemini, whose intelligent duality energizes and intrigues me and who, as a double bonus, has Mars and Venus in my Sun sign of Cancer, as well as Mercury in Taurus exactly sextile my Mars-Mercury conjunction.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I attended my first-ever Burning Man-type festival, PEX (Philadelphia Experiment) on a defunct summer camp in Maryland, after missing the Memorial Day festival in Delaware due to a bad case of tonsillitis. Held on the approaching Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in humanitarian, reform-minded Aquarius, PEX was, for me, about an expansion (Jupiter) of fun (more Jupiter), old and new friends (yet more Jupiter), creativity, dreaminess, water in the form of a swimming pool, and Felliniesque costumes (Neptune City). With Chiron also conjunct Jupiter and Neptune, I felt a healing energy emitting from an unconventional group of people (Aquarius) who make these festivals possible. I no longer cry for the fact that I had not even been conceived at the time of Woodstock. The message of the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction: "The Age of Aquarius is far from dead!"

The day after returning to my "real life" in NY, my Moon progressed into earthy, sensual Taurus. In the past 3 weeks, I have noticed that my appetite for just about everything has increased, also that I have become a bit of a bull in the china shop who doesn't know its own strength (at least I haven't broken anything of value). Because that progressed Moon is approaching a trine to my natal Venus and transiting Pluto, I am trying to appreciate and fully live in this magical window of time while realizing that nothing either very good or very bad lasts forever.

Turning 39 was not nearly as traumatic as turning 29; I still look young for my age, and feel in a much more grounded, stable place, although I still worry over my lack of savings; at least in my work I am doing what I care about, feel more confident socially and sexually, and hope that with my progressed Moon in an earth sign that I shall also figure out how to improve my financial situation.

July still has a few days left, and as we approach the First Quarter Moon in sexy, intense Scorpio, I anticipate that this month shall go out with a bang....

Progressed Moon in the Last Degree of Aries

2009-06-18T17:14:00.005-04:00

It takes approximately two and a half years for one's Moon to progress through a sign, and this often manifests in one's emotional climate--what you care about and need the most.

As of this writing my Progressed Moon is at 29 degrees of Aries, the final degree, and as a Cancerian born with most of my planets in the sensitive water and practical earth elements, what a tumultuous time it's been. Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, is an impulsive, enthusiastic, yet naive fire sign; its worldview is so different from my natal blueprint that it's really had the effect of shaking me out of my comfort zone.

Because most of this progression occurred in my 7th house, the place it's had the most impact has been in my relationships. I have had fiery, exciting romances, yet they have also been selfish (sometimes on my end, sometimes on my partners') and immature. About 8 months ago my Progressed Moon moved into my 8th house, and now I can feel new issues arising, concerning resources, sex, and the occult--but this is business as usual, as the 8th house is ruled by Scorpio, and my natal Moon is in Scorpio.

I am looking forward to my Progressed Moon moving into Taurus right before my birthday next month, because I believe it will be a more peaceful, loving, beauty-filled progression...I just need to make sure, since Taurus has a huge sweet tooth, not to gain any weight.

Full Moon in Sagittarius: Time Travel to 1925

2009-06-07T19:06:00.022-04:00

The Full Moon in Sagittarius is a great time to travel and explore, as this is perhaps the most questing of all lunations. And indeed, I spent the afternoon at a place I've never been: Governor's Island in New York Harbor, less than a mile from the southernnmost tip of Manhattan. It was also spent in a time I've never been (except for possibly a previous life)--the 1920s. There was a Jazz Age Lawn Party that encouraged picnickers; the centerpiece was an achingly exquisite band, Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra, that played such red-hot tunes as "Sweet Georgia Brown." There was an actual wooden dance floor on which you could fox-trot, shimmy, do the Charleston, or just kick up your heels while making "jazz hands." Also on the premises were two societies you could sign up for: F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker.

I have been drawn to the 1920s ever since age 11 or so, even though my version of the Charleston is more like a Boston, and I cannot wear my hair in a flapper bob because I would look more like Little Orphan Annie than Clara Bow. Yet I find myself admiring and even relating far more easily to such Lost Generation literary luminaries as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dawn Powell (a lesser-known literary giant), and the first generation of film stars, than the hottest names of today, many of whom seem to have little-to-zero class, in my most nonhumble opinion. As for the music, jazz before it was co-opted and homogenized to "swing" makes me want to get on the dance floor and do my pseudo Charleston, and also get more than a little bit naughty, while techno and hip-hop make me want to flee clutching my violated ears.

Astrologically, what put the flame in Flaming Youth and the roar in the Roaring Twenties was Neptune (the collective dream) transiting the fiery sign of Leo (what does the lion say, children?). On an even deeper level, Pluto had entered Cancer in 1914, the beginning of World War I, which effectively ended the Victorian age and began transforming at a very deep level (a Pluto action) what constituted home, hearth, and femininity (Cancer is, bar none, the most feminine sign of the zodiac). The combination of Neptune in Leo and Pluto in Cancer was certainly dramatic and crucial for women. Prior to the 1920s, only actresses and prostitutes appeared in public wearing noticeable makeup; then it became more common to see the girl next door wearing lipstick and other cosmetics, possibly even smoking a cigarette. The ideal beauty went from being curvy (plump by today's standards), with masses of upswept hair, to a thinner, flat-chested "garconne" as epitomized by Coco Chanel, who managed to blend glamour with practicality (she virtually invented costume jewelry and the women's suit). Another stylistic manifestation of Neptune in Sun-ruled Leo: sunglasses, and the suntan, which for the first time became a fashionable symbol of moneyed leisure among people who did not have to toil out of doors for a living. (These days, of course, thanks to the depleted ozone layer, sunbathers are more likely to apply SPF 85 to every inch of exposed skin.) Prohibition of alcohol (another Neptune thing) only served to make "painting the town red" a more daringly appealing mission; speakeasies thrived. Other types of "vice squad" morality were being challenged as well. Car ownership jumped during the '20s, and the backseat of automobiles gave young, unmarried, unchaperoned couples room to experiment. The proliferation of "petting parties" (an apt expression of Neptune in Leo) guaranteed that even young pedestrians could join in on the fun. Puritanical older people fretted over the so-called loose morals of the younger generation, but they were fighting a losing battle. Magazines of that era announced it was "sex o'clock in America." Shameless, nonshockable flappers (so named because they wore their galoshes unbuckled), even if most of them were not as outspoken and articulate as their heroines Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker, rolled down their garters and rouged their knees, which you could see flashes of as they frenetically danced the night away. Freshly minted Lost Generation argot includes such terms still in use today as "getaway car," "racket," "underworld," "sugar daddy," and "hot pants."

But what about the influence of Uranus, the closest of the outer planets? Well, Uranus happened to be in Pisces for most of the 1920s. Uranus is revolutionary by nature, and I believe its flowing trine aspect to the sign Cancer, where Pluto was transiting throughout that decade, further helped women's rights; fittingly, women in the U.S. were finally given the right to vote in 1920. Uranus in Pisces also translated into new technologies (Uranus) such as radio to disseminate such Piscean phenomena as music and the first soap operas (soppy, never-ending stories literally sponsored by soap manufacturers). Silent film (a perfect representation of Pisces, since this water sign rules film and the water element is not verbal) peaked; not so coincidentally, the first "talkie," The Jazz Singer, was released in 1927--the year Uranus entered loud Aries. The square between Uranus and Pluto was not exact until the early 1930s, which signified the Great Depression as well as a "New Deal" in the U.S. and the rise of Fascism in Germany; that is really a whole other blog post. But during the late '20s, this fiery placement of Uranus ensured that youth would still flame...yet like its unofficial poet laureate, Edna St. Vincent Millay, it was burning its collective candle at both ends, and finally burned out altogether (another Aries trait) in the wake of the Crash (a Uranus action) of 1929.

Uranus has an 84-year cycle, spending 7 years transiting each sign of the zodiac, and reentered Pisces in 2003/4. Right now Uranus is at 26 degrees of Pisces; the last time it was in this degree was 1925. Neptune is now in Aquarius, and Pluto is in Capricorn--both, in other words, directly opposite from the signs of the outermost planets during the 1920s. So I can say without entirely joking that the 2000s have been the 1920s turned upside down. Alcohol is now legal, yet so many other prohibitions or severe restrictions are in effect it is easy to forget that they were no big deal in the U.S. back then (e.g., marijuana was legal until 1937) or even very recently (e.g., security measures). Indeed, I was irritated yet unsurprised that I was not allowed to carry my St-Germaine cocktail (an enticing mix of champagne and St-Germaine liquor, made in France from elderflowers, served on the rocks with a twist) I'd purchased back to my picnic blanket--drinking was restricted to the area where cocktails were sold. And of course, everyone had to flash their ID before they were allowed anywhere near the makeshift bar.

With Uranus once again transiting Pisces, nostalgia for the 1920s has gained momentum over the past five years--at least in New York City, the capital of the original decade-long party. Such regular or semi-regular '20ish events as "Shanghai Mermaid" and "Dances of Vice" are popular; BAM has recently been showing silent films with live music, the way it was done when these films were new. Retro cocktails, albeit legal for those of drinking age, are now more fashionable than Cosmos and Appletinis. As today proved, interest in the decade that roared is strong enough to draw hundreds of people--many of whom dressed in vintage apparel for the occasion--to a Jazz Age Lawn Party. I myself had such a swell time hanging with friends and hepcat strangers on a sun-drenched lawn that I didn't want the day ever to end. For many reasons, I was definitely not in the mood to take a 10-minute ferry ride back to the present.

"In the meantime, in between times, ain't we got fun?"

Gemini at the Midheaven Musings

2009-06-04T23:54:00.005-04:00

Traditionally, this means I should have two careers. Ideally it would be three, but at the moment I'm earning more money as a writer as I am as an astrologer, which is terrifying to contemplate. Still, it makes me feel good to know that I have my eggs distributed, albeit unevenly, in more than one basket. Especially during Great Depression II, it's a strength to be flexible in this way.

Plutonians, however, are not noted for flexibility, and my own Pluto exactly squares my Gemini Midheaven from the Ascendant. I have indeed clashed with authority figures on more than a few occasions, and yes, like nearly everything, it started in the home. If I ever become an authority figure, I sure hope not to run into power struggles with myself. It's actually something to which I've given much thought, just like the mock interviews I used to conduct with myself, even though I am still only a legend in my own mind. Perhaps this "training" I've put myself through means I am conscious enough not to become a power-abusing tyrant if I manage to get the kind of break that really matters in the real world.

Now I have to get back to the job at which I'm almost earning a living, even though I'd much rather be writing.

Mercury Retrograde Meandering

2009-05-27T14:12:00.027-04:00

During my "sick" weekend, I managed to get out of the city for a day and a half by visiting my parents. That I'd managed to convince myself I'd get some real rest out there is proof that tonsillitis can also infect the brain.

The one bright spot was visiting the cemetery with my father, as it was my dearly departed grandfather's yahrzeit (i.e. anniversary of death). Grandpa died on May 25, 1982, while I was on a weeklong school trip. It wasn't until I'd returned home from it that I was told he'd died earlier that week. Grandpa was my favorite relative, the one who taught me about unconditional love. Not too coincidentally, he was a fellow Moon in Scorpio, although with his birth time unknown, I don't know the exact degree. What I do know is that if I hadn't basked in this man's affection for my first twelve years, I would've turned out to be a much nastier strain of Plutonian toting an even bigger chip on my shoulder. Truth be told, I'm still pissed off at my parents for not coming to get me or have my teacher put me on the next bus; I was a few hours away in the Catskills, after all, not Togo. It's not as though attending a loved one's funeral is fun by any stretch of the imagination, but by being left out of the loop, I was denied something important: an official chance to grieve and cry with my family and with all those who recognized my grandfather's compassion. He'd been a doctor, a GP, and I don't doubt that a Pisces with Moon in Scorpio would have had quite a bedside manner, and healing abilities that went way beyond allopathic medicine. But like many healers, he did not take such good care of himself.

As you might expect from a Plutonian, I like cemeteries. They're quiet and well organized, unlike life, and I can pick up on a strangely soothing kind of energy. It occurred to me to jot down birth dates of other relatives who are buried there. After returning home, I pulled up my great-grandfather Samuel's chart. Samuel was the patriarch of my father's side of the family, the one who came to America as a teenager, studied (and later taught) at Cooper Union, and established himself as an architect who had worked on one of the most famous housing projects in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, during the (last) Depression; the design was considered revolutionary at the time because it allowed actual sunlight to stream through the windows. The Sun sign of this "patriarchitect" was not Capricorn, as an astrologer might more than half expect (in fact, it was his wife, who died before my birth, who was a Cappy), but Gemini. When I perused Samuel's chart, I found a wide-but-approaching Sun/Saturn conjunction; the latter planet's influence certainly contributed weight and purpose to a typically lighthearted, insouciant sign, but what really stood out was a tight Sun/Pluto conjunction, which was exact at 11 a.m. in Hamburg. Another point of interest: Samuel was born with Mercury Rx conjunct Neptune in Taurus and trine Uranus in Virgo; not only was he an extremely intelligent visionary, but left-handed. My father, who was also born with a Mercury/Neptune conjunction and is also left-handed, recalled that Samuel wrote with his right hand, as most people were switched at school in those days, but drew with his left. I myself was born with an exact Mercury/Neptune trine, an aspect that informs my own left-handedness, as well as my vivid imagination, intuition, empathy, and capacity for visualization--all of which, thanks to the trine, I flow into naturally.

Yesterday afternoon I felt well enough to walk into Brooklyn Heights, where I paused in front of the building where Samuel set up his practice in 1920, according to the "Special Index Issue" of The American Architect, July-December 1920. (God bless Google.) It was situated on a junky stretch of Court Street, much of it covered in scaffolding, but it was right across the street from the courthouse, which impressed me. I zeroed in on the somber gray number 26, the only thing about the building that seemed apropos for an architect; now it was a New York Sports Club. Its next-door neighbors? A bank that will probably fold or merge with a bigger bank within the next six months, and a crappy-looking little deli that had probably not been operating since 1920.

I tried to avoid being jostled by all the people whose mission on Court Street was most assuredly not rooted in nostalgia but in present-day errands and business, and wondered if Samuel would have approved of me. He lived to ninety-three, an extremely old age by 1970s standards. I have a few early memories of him; my main impression was of a quiet, stern old man who radiated power and control, the farthest thing from a doddering, incontinent victim of senility. I imagine that even if he'd recognized a fellow Plutonian in wee me, I had not yet reached the so-called age of reason, and was therefore too young to bother instructing. What would the patriarchitect have taught me, anyway? "Hey kid, don't worry if you start to feel alienated by the age of nine, and don't get separated from your luggage?"

My heavily aspected Neptune is Retrograde in the Third (Mercury) House, and when I walk around my local environment, I often drift into waking reveries to the degree that it's probably safer for everyone that I'm usually a pedestrian. I definitely feel like I'm communing with my grandfather whenever I'm in Brooklyn Heights, particularly on Henry Street, where he was born; had he been born on Clinton Street, perhaps my grandpa would've been named Clinton instead of Henry. Especially with Mercury still Rx, such strolls make me feel as if I'm walking into the past. Yet I'm not sure that I managed to commune with Samuel yesterday. The man put his Plutonian nature to use by moving across an ocean at the same age that I was a self-styled nihilist disgusted with my high school--hell, make that my entire home town, and much of society except for that which occurred below Fourteenth Street in Manhattan. (Sigh.) Samuel came from admired, successful artisans, and upped the ante by becoming an admired, successful architect and establishing a family many of whom entered the medical profession (though my father's younger sister became an architect). As for me, I am on a decidedly downwardly mobile slope, and my friends, the majority of whom are struggling freelancers and/or kooky creatives, are my family.

I like to say that writers are architects, using words instead of bricks, literary stories instead of literal stories, character studies and plot lines instead of blueprints. Both writers and architects reflect as well as challenge the collective soul, the collective dream. Yet people will enter the same building countless times without a second thought, while rereading a book is a big deal. (Well, not to me, or to most writers, but most people don't bother unless it's something like the Bible.) Even if my great-grandfather would smile at my comparison, something tells me that he'd frown at my mystical tendencies, dismiss them as part of the Old World that he apparently left behind without a backward glance.

It is easy to forget that just as Pluto deals with transformation and cutting one's ties and burning one's bridges, it also has to do with repression and simmering resentment. As much as Pluto personifies the old Groucho Marx joke that it would never want to belong to a club that would have someone like itself for a member (which is exactly why Pluto doesn't give a shit that it's been demoted from planethood), as much as Pluto wants to wear the pants and dominate (preferably behind the scenes, so that it can be the puppet master instead of the sitting-duck puppet), perhaps the most significant paradox of Pluto is that power can be mined in its very vulnerability as an outcast, or outlier.

Whatever Samuel may think of that statement, I feel unconditional love still pouring in from his younger son, my grandfather. It's real. I would bet my left hand on it.

More Mercury Retrograde Angst

2009-05-21T12:56:00.011-04:00

For the past several months I've had semi-idle to not-so-idle thoughts of Philadelphia, mainly because even with the recession/depression, real estate in New York City still sucks; as a freelance copyeditor/proofreader/writer/astrologer I can do my work from anywhere; I'm definitely a city girl and Philadelphia is a city; and especially if you live in the "old" part of it, you don't need a car, so you really can save the money you're not shelling out for rent. It's also not too far from NY, so I could hop on Amtrak to visit friends and family.

Imagine my happiness when a dear friend of mine offered to take me to a Burning Man offshoot in Delaware called PDF (short for Playa del Fuego, although it's not on a beach) for Memorial Day weekend, and in a neat bit of Jungian synchronicity, the group of 25 or so people in his camp was called PEX--the Philadelphia Experiment. So not only would I finally get to experience my first-ever "Burn," but would get to hang out with some cool people from the City of Brotherly Love.

With Mercury Stationary Retrograde at the time of my friend's offer, I should've known it wasn't going to be so simple.

At first it was a question of getting an extra ticket, because another friend he'd asked several weeks earlier said she could come just a few days after he asked me. But the extra ticket was secured on Monday. What happened very late that night or very early the next morning, with the Sun opposing my Neptune, was that I got sick. This entire Mercury Rx period has been jam-packed with work, comings and goings, various responsibilities, and dealing with people from my past. What I didn't count on was my health suffering. But since Mercury is my ruling planet (something easy to forget, as Pluto sitting on my Ascendant tends to overshadow the Virgo Rising part), and I've been under an unusual amount of strain and haven't gotten nearly enough sleep, eventually my body decided to rebel. At first I thought it was a continuation of the spring allergies that normally peak for me during early May, but then I started feeling achy. Like any self-respecting Virgo Rising, my medicine cabinet includes a thermometer, which confirmed that I was running a fever.

I managed to see my doctor yesterday although I had to wait most of the day for her to squeeze me in. Oddly enough, I was not seriously concerned about swine flu, probably because at a very deep level I think of myself as invincible. But my tonsils apparently resemble Polaris missiles and my nose and ears are congested. (What, did you say something?) At least my lungs are clear. I'm on antibiotics and codeine for my cough, and by tomorrow morning I probably won't be contagious anymore, but I'm still running a temperature; even if that goes away by tomorrow, partying this weekend is out of the question, my body just couldn't handle it, and although I'm semi-altruistic, it would torture me to watch people around me having that kind of fun if I am unable to participate.

(Cue: violin.)

And how can I gift the people at PDF with my astrology, stories, and poetry if I barely have a voice? I don't want to be around others feeling like warmed-over doggie-do anyway; the antibiotic I'm on is making me nauseous even though I took it with food, and I just want to hide out in my bed with the phone turned off and catch up on sleep, Netflix, journaling, and fictioning.

It's a sunny spring day as I write this pathetic little blog, which somehow adds to the indignity of the situation. A person should not get tonsillitis when it is 73 degrees and the sky is a seamless cobalt blue.

Astrology teaches that, just like George Harrison sang on his first solo outing, all things must pass. Mercury will not be Retrograde forever. My health will return if I listen to my body and slow the hell down for a bit instead of flipping the bird to the cosmos and continuing to burn my candle at both ends. PDF is a biannual event. And Philadelphia, the last time I checked, is also still there if I seriously want to see if it's my kind of place.

Mercury Retrograde Musings

2009-05-13T11:54:00.008-04:00

I promised this wouldn't be a traditional horoscope blog, and it isn't, but thought I'd mention that Mercury Retrograde is a particular pain in the ass to the two signs that are ruled by this planet: Gemini and Virgo. Also, if you were born with either of these signs rising, get ready to get all bollixed up. And let us widen the net even further to include all those who were born with any of the inner planets besides the Sun (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) in Gemini and Virgo.

To be sure, that's a lot of people, but this theory fits when you consider that "Mercury must be Retrograde" is the one astrologese phrase that lots of people who don't speak it get the gist of. When it takes you an hour to get someplace that normally takes half that time, or you can't remember which witch is which, or you can't pin down anyone in terms of making definite plans, including yourself . . . well, Mercury must be Retrograde.

Other planets turn Retrograde all the time--in fact, as of this writing, Saturn is still Rx (it will turn Direct on Sunday 5/17) and Pluto is Rx till mid-September--so what is the big deal about this li'l pipsqueak planet, anyway? Here's what: Mercury is the planet that governs communication, both written (Virgo) and spoken (Gemini), as well as messengers, postal/UPS/ FedEx workers, siblings, neighbors, your neighborhood, grade school, and short-distance travel (think commuting or a stroll). In other words, Mercury covers myriad things that comprise everyday life. You may shun love or money (Venus issues), or avoid taking direct action or getting angry (Mars issues), but even if you are a total shut-in, monk, wimp, or crackpot, you probably can't avoid Mercury issues for long, including trying to figure out where the hell you put your keys that you clearly remember placing on the coffee table just two minutes ago. That's right, Mercury also rules keys.

Decisions made during a Mercury Rx period are often unmade a few or more weeks later; purchased items may not satisfy, or work, or fit. So if you can delay, it might be a wise idea not to commit to anything major, sign any contracts, or buy anything other than essentials till Mercury turns Direct, which will be at 9:22 p.m. EDT on 5/30.

Mercury Rx does have its beneficial side: you may be thinking more about the past, and such reflections may help you figure out solutions to problems that have bugged you for a long time. Someone or something from your past may pop up during this transit, as well. Depending on who or what it is, such a visitation could be either amazingly wonderful, unbelievably bad, a mixed bag, or whatever-neutral. However you react, just don't shoot the messenger.

The Moon Is in Scorpio, Mercury Is Retrograde...Do You Know Where You Are?

2009-05-09T17:11:00.001-04:00

I thought it would be delightfully contrarian of me to start this astrology blog just past the Full Moon in Scorpio with Mercury Retrograde, a time when no one can tell their ass from their elbow, let alone stumble upon a new site with zero traffic. Yet it also makes a certain amount of sense for me to finally recover something quite similar under the same name. For at the dawn of the '00s, the decade with no name that I refer to as "the naughties," I created and content-managed an astrology website for a now-defunct company called Webseed. At one point I received something like 52 cents every time someone clicked on an ad that was invariably trashy and had nothing whatsoever to do with astrology. Then I was down to 17 cents per click. But until sometime in mid-2002, when Webseed went the way of so many of the dot-com empires, i.e., bust, it was a rewarding experience. People from Montana to Malaysia wrote in to my advice column. Pluto Rising got good PR on a German website. I always figured I'd start another website devoted to astrology. Not the typical Sun Sign horoscope kind of website, which I personally believe cheapens the art of astrology and contributes toward people's skepticism of it, but something simultaneously more serious and more fun, more profane and more sacred.

Pluto Rising, by the way, refers to a placement in my own astrological chart, in which Pluto is conjunct, or smack-dab on, the Ascendant, or the eastern horizon. Not everyone has a planet rising in their chart, but if it's Pluto, then you're all about transformation, in addition to being a pain in the ass and partly or completely unfathomable to most people who think they know you. Astrology itself is transformational in that it encourages awareness, reflection, healing, and change.

Pluto is also the skeleton in the closet, radioactivity, the phoenix rising from its own ashes, X-ray vision, and X marking the spot to buried treasure on a pirate's map.

For all 7 of you who are reading this, you indeed have much to look forward to!