Cosmic February and March 2019: keeping it ‘real’: Square from Jupiter in Sagittarius to Neptune in Pisces; Mercury Retro in Pisces

A shorter version of this article has been already published in the Uki Village News in early February 2019.

The Earth Signs

A shift toward the Earth Signs will characterize the astrological months of February/March 2019. Venus will be transiting Capricorn from February 4 to March 2 (marrying creativity with business sense), and Mars Taurus from February 14 to March 31 (a dogged, often hard working position for Mars). The historical ingress of Uranus in Earthy Taurus will take place on March 6, this transit continuing to 2025/26. Of course Saturn, the Lunar South Node and Pluto are also still in Earthy Capricorn, to 2020 and 2023/24 respectively.
To add to the above the Chinese Lunar New Year has welcomed the smart PIG, this time associated with the EARTH ELEMENT, the last Earth Element Animal before the switch to the next Element, Metal, from 2020. Each Element lasts in fact for twelve years and is in turn associated with each of the Twelve Animals.
So, for the long term as well as the short term, planning, discipline, dedication and hard work are top prerequisites for success.

Jupiter and Neptune

On the other hand, the 90 degrees angle between Jupiter in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces represents, this year, the biggest challenge to the Earth Signs’ need for realism and practicality (January14-June 17-September22). Jupiter is in fact the planet of expansion as well as exaggeration, and Neptune the planet of spirituality but also of confusion and passivity, together encouraging divorce from reality and from what is truly possible in the circumstances. And this is, after all, the most powerful transit of 2019!

We will all have to struggle somehow between these opposing Earthy and Psychic forces, their high contrast making our collective approach to problem solving fraught with contradictions and some paralysing moments. We will need to find ways to reconcile them and make their union fruitful.

In the short term the prevailing energy is encouraging us to work through difficulties rather than sweep them aside or avoid them. The Earth Signs will make sure that things eventually catch up with us and we will have to face the music. Prevention is definitely better than cure for the Earth Signs.  Getting too emotional will not serve our purpose either. Clear, practical, viable solutions will be available but we will need to put some real effort in, downsizing our expectations and waiting patiently for results. Immediate gratification of desires or easy windfalls will not be in the cards for most of us at this time.

Venus in Aquarius

From March 2 to 27 Venus will move to Aquarius, a lighter, more socially minded position for Venus, marking an ideal time for group works, friendships and love matches founded on mutual respect, learning, traveling, mixing with different people, networking of ideas, emotional independence etc.

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

In Pisces since February 10 Mercury will turn retrograde on Pisces’ very last degree on March 6 (same day Uranus enters Taurus). This period will last until March 29. People who were born with Sun, Moon, any Planet or one of the Four Angles (Ascendant – Descendant – MidHeaven – LowerHeaven) in Pisces or in any of the Mutable Signs (Virgo-Gemini-Sagittarius) will experience more personally the effects of this retrogradation: delays, communication breakdowns, misunderstanding, mechanical problems, tech issues, as well as striking insights, flights of intuition and creative  imagination.

Uranus in Taurus

On March 6 Uranus will enter Taurus, for good this time, until 2025/26. This extremely significant shift will gain even greater momentum in 2020, when the Saturn-Pluto’s conjunction in Capricorn will contribute to a quickening of planetary, political, social, economic and cultural transformations, with make/break situations for individuals and the planet to face squarely.

For in depth analysis of the transits of Uranus in Taurus and Chiron in Aries please navigate HERE to my April 2018 article.

Chiron in Aries

Worth of mention is also the unobtrusive final ingress of Chiron in Aries, on February 18 (until 2027), marking a whole new cycle for the planet of Healing! Looking back at the most recent times Chiron transited Aries (1918/1926-27;1968/1977), we see much struggle to realize historical social reforms: women suffrage, gender equality, sexual revolution, peace versus war. Aries, symbol of unbridled and often toxic masculinity, is going through a face of healing and higher learning from which it will emerge transformed.

 

 

Planetary crowd in Pisces, March 2016

Venus is now in the Water Sign of Pisces, like the Sun, Mercury, Neptune, the Descending Moon Node and the recent New Moon/Solar Eclipse, that began the lunar cycle we are now in. All these planetary entities in Pisces are highlighting the qualities of compassion, creativity, imagination, tolerance, sensitivity, spirituality. Or, negatively, could lead to dissipation of precious energy, confusion, inefficiency, illusions, delusions, ambivalence…

Jupiter leads the way in the opposite Earth Sign of Virgo, showing the wisdom of remaining humble and somehow anchored to what is of value in our everyday life and routine. This could be time for some real magic while doing simple chores or focusing on the little things, the magic of everyday life, a crooked flower pot on the window seal, a ray of sunshine on a rusty roof, a ‘thank you’ smile.

Venus will leave Pisces on April 6; the Sun and Mercury between March 20 and 22;  the South Node (moving in retro motion, toward Aquarius rather than Aries) will not leave Pisces until May 2017; last, slow moving Neptune will enter Aries only in 2025.

Highlight on dreams, intuition, creativity, with ‘a get real’ twist: Mercury, Venus and the Solar Eclipse in Pisces, Mars in Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Virgo to the fore at Sun opposition

Big changes are happening on the cosmic canvas this week. In the space of a few days three of our closer neighbors are changing Signs, while a Total Solar Eclipse is looming, heralding the first Eclipse Season of 2016.

Mercury entered Pisces on March 5; Mars Sagittarius on March 6; then, on March 8/9 (depending where you are in the world) the Pisces New Moon will be a Total Solar Eclipse. On the same day mighty Retro Jupiter in Virgo will reach his yearly opposition to the Sun (while Sun, Moon and Jupiter  will be at right angle to Saturn in Sagittarius); and finally, on March 12, Venus will enter Pisces also.

The week before a New Moon is always an important time, when we feel a change is in the air, but it is still just floating within us, not yet affecting our external circumstances, until the seed of that change will be released at the New Moon and begin manifesting outwardly. This is even more so if the New Moon is also a Solar Eclipse. This special phase, combined with the highlight on idealistic/dreamy Pisces and philosophical/inspirational Sagittarius, could indeed make us feel slightly unhinged for the time being, perhaps unable to perform our daily tasks as efficiently as we wish.

When Pisces is highlighted by many transits, as it is at present, we are all given a chance to explore the psychic openness and mental fluidity of this watery Sign. Pisces can encourage us to go with the flow of things, to surrender to what cannot be changed and to find spiritual and uplifting meaning in all our experiences.

If you are the type of person who values dreams and the symbolical life, if you are an artist or would-be artist, or are already conscious of psychic or mystical tendencies, these transits will suit you well, helping you to pursue these interests in a deeper way. They could also make you even more dreamy and unpractical though (no good if you are trying to get a job or to put your house in order!).

On the other hand, if you are mainly a practical person, busy with your family and career, goal oriented and used to get your own way,  you could find this great number of Pisces’ transits a somewhat bewildering experience, bringing you out of your comfort zone, in strange and foggy back alleys, where you feel you could become irreparably lost. Your efficiency level may drop and things which are usually simple for you will seem rather complicated and muddled. If this is the case, the best thing to do will be to slow down, learning to relax and to purposely lose control of your situation, now and then, so to realize that things can run their own curse even without your constant intervention. A more spiritual, less straight and controlled life is beckoning, it would be sad if you miss that call. The dissatisfaction about your present circumstances,  the lack of direction and low energy are all telling you that there is more to life than chores, business or paying the bills.

Said that, the present Pisces transits, enlivened by the transit of Mars in the questing Sign of Sagittarius, are only half the picture because, at the same time, Jupiter, in practical Virgo, is reaching great prominence via his opposition to the Sun/Moon at the Solar Eclipse, while Sun, Moon and Jupiter are all at right angle to pragmatic Saturn, and all in positive aspect to Pluto (Jupiter trine Pluto – Eclipse sextile Pluto). These are all signs that pursuing our dreams and ideals is not going to be enough to make us feel good. We will have to try to squeeze our ideals into the straight jacket of reality in order to take better advantage of these transits. And not just for now. While a regular New Moon exerts its influence for one lunar month (until the next New Moon) a New Moon which is also a Solar Eclipse can exert its influence for many months, some would say until the next Eclipse Season (this year August/September).

The picture that seems to come out of all of this is that dreams and ideals need to be acknowledged now more than ever, without however losing sight of what is possible and what may be impossible to realize, at least for now. Jupiter is retrograding in Virgo (until May 9), meaning that we will need to revisit our ways of working, our daily habits and routines in order to achieve the results we envision, if not immediately in the near future. Next May/June the same transits of Jupiter will repeat with the planet in direct motion, a promise of fulfillment and reward for the efforts we may put in now. At least that’s my plan! On this positive note, see you next time…

Future astrological transits March-June 2012: many retro planets; Jupiter in Gemini; eclipses

The following is a reading of the major transits active during the 2012 Aries Equinox season, the Sun’s journey through Aries, Taurus and Gemini, March to June 2012. The June 21 Cancer Solstice will mark the end of this astrological period.

The image on the right is Pandora by Odilon Redon (1840-1916). I have chosen it, for the Art of Healing, thinking of the Retrogradation of Venus and also of her magical rare conjunction with the Sun on June 5/6, 2012 (read more under the Venus’ heading).

Highlight on the Mutable and Cardinal Signs

The Mutable Signs are coming to the fore this season, Gemini in particular: Mars will be transiting Virgo until early July; Venus will be retrograde in Gemini for six weeks, transiting this Sign between April and August; two Eclipses will fall in Gemini and Sagittarius (Solar of May 21 and Lunar of June 4); Mercury will conjunct the Sun in Gemini at the end of May; and mighty Jupiter himself will step into Gemini on June 12.

Of course the Cardinal Signs are still highlighted too (Uranus in Aries, Saturn in Libra, Pluto in Capricorn) and will remain so for a long while. The combination Cardinal/Mutable gives a sense of restlessness, those Signs being very much in flux, Cardinals beginning things, Mutables finishing things off. The sense we get is one of not much stability or certainty, but rather of movement, with the need to be very adaptable and mentally resourceful in order to handle the pace and the changes.

At the bottom of the page you’ll find a bi-wheel with two Horoscopes: the Aries Equinox Chart in the inner wheel and the Cancer Solstice Chart in the outer wheel, to show the motion of the Sun and Planets between March 20 and June 21 2012.

Many Retrogradations

Mercury, Venus and Mars are just leaving or just entering their respective retrograde periods. This adds depth and complexity to the season’s picture. More: Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn are also retrograde between mid-April and mid-July. Though not a rare occurrence, many Planets retrograding mark a period when old issues will need to be revisited and the consequences of previous actions and thoughts will have to be addressed in order to move forward once the planets turn direct again.

So, for instance, during a retro period Mercury’s linear and rational thinking function becomes infected and enriched with intuitive feelings. This could well be the hidden cause, I believe, of some of the disruptions in communication we experience during such periods. On average three times a year, for three weeks at the time, creativity and intuition challenge   our ‘normal’ way of thinking. Used wisely these experiences can open whole new ways of perceiving reality and expressing it in words. Because this backward motion is happening through the dreamy and non-linearly thinking Pisces (Mercury will be in Pisces from March 24 to April 17), the inversion or introversion effect could be even more marked this time, especially for people who have Pisces, Virgo, Gemini and Sagittarius emphasized in their Birth Charts.

Mercury will be retrograde between March 12 and April 4, re-entering Aries on April 17. Afterwards Little Brother will be rising in the East before sunrise, allowing for more direct and effective communication, greater ease with the spoken and written words, enhanced logical understanding and mental stamina. Business transactions could benefit from this position too.

After his Superior Conjunction to the Sun on May 28, Mercury will appear instead as the Evening Star, a mature, inward looking God, leading us to deeper layers of thought and communication.

A historical Venus’ Transit

In Gemini since April 4, Venus will be retrograde from May 16 to June 28. This will especially affect people with Gemini-Sagittarius-Virgo-Pisces highlighted in their Birth Charts, and also the Air/Fire Signs Libra-Aquarius-Aries-Leo.

In this phase of her journey around the Sun from Earth’s perspective Venus is edging now closer and closer to the Sun visually, passing in fact between the Earth and the Sun, the closest she can ever be to us and the planet we inhabit. Now that’s something! And that’s retrogradation for you, not just a visual illusion fancifully imbued with meaning! The actual Inferior Planet (either Mercury or Venus, I mean) disappears in the glare of the Sun, but it is actually closer than ever, and therefore somewhat more influential, or better, more penetrating. Venus is no exception.

Venus in Gemini is usually described as light and flirty, seeking independence and variety in relationship, rather than heavy emotional ties and dependency. Retrogradation adds a deeper dimension to this placement. It is time perhaps to trim from our lives those friendships that are superficial and do not satisfy our real needs and longing. During the retro phase of her journey around the Sun Venus is as close to our planet as she can ever be. Thus we are given a chance to penetrate better the nature of love and relationship.

A special event is also connected with this particular retrogradation: Venus’ conjunction to the Sun on June 5/6, depending where you are in the world. This will be the second of a pair of conjunctions, separated by eight years, when the tiny disk of Venus will be visibly moving over the Sun. The first of these conjunctions occurred in June 2004. Try not to miss this event (wearing sun protective glasses, of course) because another one like it will not take place until December 2117!

At the time of a ‘normal’ conjunction Venus is too far North or South of the Sun to be visible. During a conjunction like the June’s one instead Venus is aligned to the Sun. These special conjunctions are sometimes compared to Eclipses, because Venus’ dark body becomes visible on the face of the Sun as the Moon does more dramatically during a Solar Eclipse.

This is conjunction is also the beginning of the 585 days Venus-Sun-Earth cycle, and the end of Venus’ inward journey as the Evening Star. After the conjunction Venus rapidly separates from the Sun and for 260 days will be Lucifer, Light Bringer, rising in the East before the Sun. This is a bolder and even forceful aspect of the Goddess, not at all passive. This Venus is adventurous and impulsive, ready to take risks in relationships but a bit naive and not so aware of emotional undercurrents.

The ancient astrologers from Babylon and the Mayas looked upon the morning appearance of Venus as a perilous phase for the world, portending wars and natural disasters. This is because Venus’ usually Yin energy becomes more Yang, upsetting the balance between feminine and masculine, with an excess of Yang energy. Adding to this, Venus and Mars will square each other twice, on April 8 and again on June 5. Around these periods we can expect some fireworks in our emotional lives, exciting or disruptive. While aspiring to achieve greater clarity in our communications and efficiency in our daily tasks (Gemini-Virgo), we run the risk of becoming overly critical and/or to be subjected to negative criticism.

End of Mars’ Retrograde period

Retrograde in Virgo since November 2011, Mars will finally turn Direct on April 14, on the third degree of Virgo, avoiding by a hair the opposition to Neptune in early Pisces. During retrogradation Mars shows a degree of introspection and caution usually not associated with the Red Planet, fact that could have hindered some of our activities. The retrogradation would have been more keenly felt by the Mutable Signs, Virgo-Sagittarius-Pisces-Gemini, and also by the Earth Signs Taurus and Capricorn.

For my interpretation of the Retrogradation of Mars in Virgo please navigate to one of my previous articles HERE.

From mid-April we are all been given permission to resume our normal pace of activities and hopefully start getting the sort of results we expect from our efforts. Mars is still in Virgo though, meaning that we still need to be humble and prepared to work hard and consistently. The Virgo-Mars’ period can work like a strong stimulant to take care of all those things that too often we tend to put off, while busy with supposedly more important things. But are often the little things that can wreck our health, that can clutter our life, and also create a sense of guilt from the awareness of a job not too well done.

If in business, work on your books, tax returns, loose ends, here and there. Dust the corner cupboard. Clean the computer, inside and out. Empty your wardrobe of all clothes you have not worn in the past two years (or more if you are like me). Look after your body, do that liver cleansing you always wanted to do, That colonic irrigation. Or simply book a visit to a good naturopath, or iridologist, chiropractor, Reiki healer, etc. Have a general health check with your doctor. Or that pap/prostrate test, that breast screening, that colonoscopy?

Even more important than all the above, give up unhealthy habits of all sorts, including, of course, psychological bad habits. Who doesn’t have some? Even eating too much carbohydrates is an addiction. Be discriminative and selective in your choice of food, drinks, work habits etc. Mars will help big time while transiting in Direct motion in Virgo.

Jupiter enters Gemini

Jupiter is moving Signs on June 12, from Earthy Taurus to Airy Gemini.

Until the end of June 2013 Jupiter will provide a time of opportunities and risk taking for people with a Gemini emphasis in their Birth Charts; also for those with Planets and/or Angles in any of the other Mutable Signs (Virgo-Sagittarius-Pisces). The other Fire/Air Signs (Aries-Leo-Libra-Aquarius) will be much stimulated by this transit too.

It was about twelve years ago that Jupiter transited Gemini the last time, 2000/2001. Looking back at those times, or even a further 12, 24 or 36 years earlier, we could all gain a better understanding of the way this placement of Jupiter is likely to manifest in our life.

Suitable choices to express Jupiter’s energy positively would be to study, travel, expand your business, take action aiming at bettering your circumstances, or embark on a metaphysical search of some kind. Jupiter will help you to get more out of life, giving meaning to your personal experiences, improving your general mood, inspiring you with confidence.  In fact the negative side of this transit could be to become too optimistic and overly confident. If this is the case whatever enterprise you may begin this year could prove more difficult to realize than you imagined or hoped for. It would be wise to make a conscious effort to stay grounded to handle the Giant Planet’s exuberance. On the other hand, if you habitually lack confidence, not to waste Jupiter’s blessing, it will be important to curb any old fears that prevented you from achieving your goals in the past. Trust Jupiter to help you do just that.

If Jupiter was in Gemini in your Birth Chart you will experience a Jupiter‘s Return between June 2012 and June 2013. This is an astrological way of saying that you are turning 12/24/36/48/60/72/84/96 years old (born in 2000/01, 1988/89, 1976/77, 1964/65, 1953/54, 1941/42, 1929/30, 1917/18; consult an Ephemeris for exact dates). Greater confidence in your intellectual abilities and a keener desire to learn and know could help you this year with exams and tests; also to put pen to paper if you are so inclined. New interests may also introduce you to new people with whom to share them.

I remember a special Jupiter Return year for me, when I turned 36. With my Return in the IX House accompanied by other exciting transits, I made a leap of faith that year, choosing to leave a ‘normal’ job that provided a modest but secure income, to embark more professionally into Astrology, an interest and hobby of mine for a number of years. The sense of excitement, the renewed confidence I needed for my brave move and also the high hopes that I then held for my career (many later quashed by some hard realities) are all clear Jupiter’s signatures. Despite the fact that the reality of things didn’t quite match Jupiter’s promises I would not go back on my choice at that time, because it has transformed my world in very meaningful ways.

Master astrologer Steven Arroyo says of the Jupiter Return that it ‘liberates vast new energies for self-improvement …for it is a time of committing oneself to a new vision of the future’.

A great amongst contemporary astrologers, if you haven’t read Arroyo yet, please do so.

Communications of all kinds are highlighted by the passage of Jupiter through Gemini. I wouldn’t be surprised if some unusual networking will take place, perhaps involving the disclosure of information of value to many people. A novel way of networking might emerge, allowing even greater connectivity. More and more people, from all countries, cultures and socio/economic backgrounds, will join the world wide web, to share ideas and learn from each other. This could be the year of self-publishing and free-lancing on a grand scale.

Jupiter’s transit through Gemini also highlights the risk that a lot of what circulates and is shared in our brave new cyber world will be crap, gossip, or useless, repetitive, unoriginal information.  To hopefully counteract this tendency in the months of June and July Jupiter will form a positive aspect to Uranus in Aries and a challenging aspect to Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, contacts that will permit a more exciting, visionary, innovative and inspired use of this placement.

Uranus square Pluto

Future events also are beginning to take shape in this Equinox season: the effects of the long awaited, with trepidation, Uranus square Pluto (first pass June 24), are likely to begin manifesting in May. This will be a test, one of the most difficult in recent years, not to give in to the temptation of solving the world’s issues via conflict and war. Unless a majority of people remain vigilant and committed to peace, this transit warns that the global situation could deteriorate in the near future. Not a pretty picture, considering that right now more than thirty large scale and localized conflicts are already raging around the world.

I’m leaving the proper analysis of this aspect to another time. I have already discussed the square Uranus-Pluto in many of my previous articles: in the 2010-2011 Astrological Forecast Page HERE, and the 2012 Astrological Forecast Page HERE)

The Eclipse Season

A Solar Eclipse on the very first degree of Gemini will take place on May 21, more evidence to the fact that Gemini is really the main character in this season’s astrological tale. The Eclipse will be an important event for some early Gemini (May-20/22), Sagittarius (November-21/23), Virgo (August-22/24) and Pisces (February-18/20).

Solar Eclipses are special New Moons, indicating not just the start of a new lunar month but of a whole new life phase. So, wait for exciting changes that will urge you to move, embracing a course of studies, moving house or even country, travelling, socializing, meeting new people, and all together having a busier and more stimulating time.

A Lunar Eclipse is expected on June 4, making the first week in June an eventful time astrologically, for all of us, but especially for some Gemini (June-2/8), Sagittarius (December-3/9), Virgo (September-4/10), and Pisces (March-2/8), or anyone with Moon, Planets and/or Angles around the middle of the same Signs. The Gemini Sun, conjunct Venus, and the Sagittarius Moon will be in aspect to Mars in Virgo, making this Eclipse a somewhat stressful or overly exciting climax for you. Something is coming to a head, positively or negatively, a big realization or a big disappointment, all providing valuable insight.

Love your transits, everyone.

Here is the bi-wheel: the Aries Equinox Chart in the inner wheel and the Cancer Solstice Chart in the outer wheel, to show the motion of the Sun and Planets between March 20 and June 21 2012.

The Sun enters Pisces, February 19, 2012

'Priest in trance', courtesy of Helga Hornung ~ http://www.helga-hornung.de/ - click image to link to Helga's site

The Sun enters the watery realm of Pisces on February 19. This year the place is crowded, as you can easily observe by looking at the Horoscope below. The Sun meets Neptune first thing on February 19, and then, within a few days, the asteroid Pallas (Athena) and Chiron in Pisces. In the same Sign, at the time of the ingress, are also Mercury and the asteroid Vesta. These transits and others, active on the day of the ingress, add their particular hues to the colouring of the astrological Pisces month, from February 19 to March 21.

Here is the Horoscope for this event, calculated for the coordinates of Wollumbin, my place in Eastern Australia. The relative positions of Sun, Moon and Planets remain the same all over the world, what changes from place to place is the orientation of the same to the local horizon, above, below, east or west.  To convert my standard time (5.17.36 pm) to yours you can use the World Clock HERE.

click to view larger image

The meeting of the Sun with Neptune is a yearly event, but the last time this meeting happened in Pisces was in February 1848! When we look a this year conjunction in this way we may realize how significant a cosmic event this is.

The function of the Sun, astrologically speaking, is to bring things in the light of consciousness, to make us more aware of the particular energy of planets and Signs. The yearly conjunction Sun-Neptune is always an ideal time to become aware of the underlying unity of all people, nationalities, cultures, religions, genders, ages, blurring the differences and washing away the rigid boundaries that usually divide us from others. This time the opportunity will be even greater, because, from now on, the conjunction will repeat yearly in Pisces until 2025. Among the gifts of Neptune in Pisces are imagination, creativity, a renaissance of the feminine arts, from domestic crafts to nursing the growth of plants and creatures other than ourselves. During the next few years it will become more obvious that we don’t own the place, we don’t rule the world, and that other creatures have as much right to live here than we have. In fact Pisces suggests that much of the power we have accumulated on this Earth may be taken away from us, eroded in irreparable way; not simply to teach us a lesson but because it is in the nature of things to eventually go back to their source.

Not only we envision now to protect the last wildernesses, but to actually re-create the ones that have disappeared. We will come to know more closely our oceans, rivers and lakes, and many will return to a sacred conception of the world and of nature as inextricably entwined with us, as us, not separated from the intelligence or the soul that we have believed, for a long time, to be our unique birth right. With tears of either joy or sorrow we may learn to be more receptive to our environment and each other.

Pisces, like Neptune, the planet that is said to ‘rule’ this Sign, is the least rigid, more fluid and unifying Sign of the whole Zodiac. We then could really celebrate today, and for the next 14 years, our common humanness, that shared soul that, in its diverse manifestations, is expression of the divine in ourselves and nature.

The transits occurring at the time of the ingress suggest also that strong spiritual connections can be made this month and that exploring our own depths will be also facilitated. The Moon is transiting one of the twelve magic cusps of the zodiac, between Capricorn and Aquarius, from the earthly, personal plane of experience to the mental plane of abstractions, ideas and communal feelings. The Moon is also Balsamic, the last phase in her cycle, getting closer every day to the New Moon that will occur in Pisces on February 22. The Balsamic phase is one during which we are given the opportunity to penetrate to the essence of the lunar month that is now finishing, to heal the wounds that have recently opened or the ones that life has re-opened for us in the last few weeks. Finding the meaning and richness of all these experiences is the gift of the Balsamic Moon.  

Other significant transits involve Pluto in Capricorn,  planet of emotional transformation and depth of knowing: Venus in Aries is separating from a square aspect to Pluto (90 degrees), Mercury in Pisces is in sextile aspect to Pluto (60 degrees); and Jupiter in Taurus is in trine aspect to Pluto, the last pass of a transit that has been active since July 2011 (120 degrees). This last aspect is already active but will become exact only on March 13.  We are encouraged here to look with greater honesty and insight into the secret dynamics of our relationships (Venus), our thought and communication patterns (Mercury) and the drive to improve our lives and expand our consciousness (Jupiter).

Scorpio Last Quarter Moon, Mercury in Pisces and highlight on the Asteroids goddesses

Today, February 15 2012, is the yearly Last Quarter Moon in Scorpio, significant phase for Scorpio but also for the other Fixed Signs, Taurus, Leo and Aquarius, not only if your Sun is in one of these Signs but also if the Moon, a planet, the Lunar Nodes or one of the four Angles happened to be there at the time of your birth, in particular between the 24th and 26th degrees of the same.

This is ideal time for some deep soul searching, penetrating to the core of any emotional problems you may be experiencing. No good trying to gloss these feeling over or escape them by getting busy with other things. The Scorpio Last Quarter is a wonderful opportunity to truly understand where all that emotional stuff is coming from, the root causes of it, because discovering those will be a great step toward healing them. The opposition of the Moon to powerful Algol, beta star of Perseus, also known as Medusa’s Head, at the time of the phase,  stresses the need to tackle old resentments and fears that may be disturbing our psyche and stopping us from loving each other the right way. It is time to liberate ourselves from darkness and open up to the light. The forming 90 degrees angle between Venus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn (exact on February 16) also stresses the need to fight the darkness with light, and to act upon those negative feelings which are the enemies of love.

To help with this, Mercury has moved into Pisces and became conjunct Neptune yesterday, February 14. The transit in Pisces will last until March 4, becoming active again between March 24 and April 17, due to Mercury’s Retrogradation (starting on March 12 when Mercury will be in Aries), a protracted opportunity to experience the psychic openness and mental fluidity of this watery Sign.  The transit of Mercury in Pisces and his current conjunction to Neptune could help us, during this Scorpio Moon phase, to avoid getting obsessed with emotional issues and bogged down by them. Pisces can always encourage us to go with the flow of things, to surrender to what cannot be changed and to find spiritual meaning in our experiences,  including the most trying ones.

Adding an interesting aspect to today’s Astrology the Asteroids Goddesses Vesta (Greek Hestia), Ceres (Demeter), Pallas (Athena) and Juno (Hera) are involved in important transits: Vesta in late Pisces is in trine to the Moon in late Scorpio, while the Moon will conjunct Juno after entering Sagittarius. Ceres is conjunct Venus in Aries and both are in square to Pluto in Capricorn, while Pallas is just separating from Mercury and Neptune in early Pisces . The highlight on the Asteroids makes this a very suitable couple of days for cultivating relationships amongst women and to honor the feminine in both men and women. The four major Asteroids in fact represent different aspects of the feminine: Ceres the maternal, Juno the lover/spouse, Pallas the filial and Vesta the sisterly aspect.

Click HERE To view my recent post on Venus’ transit through Aries (February 8 to March 5).

Click HERE for a description of the functions ascribed to the four major Asteroids in one of my Living Moon Tutorial Pages.

A good example of Mercury in Pisces’ effect…

In true Mercury conjunct Neptune and entering Pisces fashion (vagueness of mind, mental confusion, etc.) I made a big mistake writing my post yesterday. Luckily I realized it today, before receiving outraged comments from some of my readers!

I did state in the Weekly Forecast article that Einstein was born with Mercury in the Sign of Pisces. It isn’t true. Einstein had in fact the Sun in Pisces, but his brilliant intellect was indicated by a Mercury in Aries, Sign of vision and the pioneering spirit.

It is true however that Albert Einstein used to have visions of his mathematical intuitions and many of his most profound discoveries came to him in dreams and reveries.

One of the scientist I must have had in mind was Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone and eminent 19th century scientist. He had also a Sun in Pisces, and Mercury in Pisces.

Bell was endowed with a very sensitive nature, he was musical and attracted by all forms art. His Pisces nature was also revealed in his compassion. The invention of the telephone was in fact a result of experiments designed to restore hearing to profoundly deaf individuals.

Another great example of a scientist with this Mercury’s placement is Galileo, also born with Pisces Sun and Mercury in Pisces.

Here are the Birth Charts of these three inspired scientists.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Click to enlarge

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

Click to enlarge

GALILEO GALILEI

Click to enlarge

Weekly Astrological Highlights: February 21 to 27, 2011

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General Trends

It is Pisces’ week, no doubt! Remaining with our feet firmly planted on the ground could prove challenging, while we may find easier to float and drift aimlessly. If we manage to keep our feelers in contact with the Earth’s plane, we may sprout leaves and bloom like flowers, making the most of this emotional/psychic/spiritual journey. Fertility, in all its possible meanings, is the key word this week.

It will bring its reward to trust Providence or Life, the Great Mother or God, whatever you like to call it.

The Sun entered Pisces on Saturday the 19th of February, and just a day earlier, while still in Aquarius, met Neptune, Pisces’ ruling planet.

Mercury will make his ingress into Pisces on Monday 21st and Mars will follow on Wednesday 23rd. Chiron has been in Pisces since February 9 and Neptune is hovering on this Sign’s threshold, ready to enter it on April 5.

With the Sun and so many planets transiting Pisces, being fluid and adaptable will help us to navigate these changeable waters, but is is going to be tricky not to lose ourselves in dreams and fantasies.

For more information about the imminent ingress of Neptune in Pisces, please check two of my posts on the subject HERE and HERE.

Venus‘ position will hopefully help to stay grounded. Still continuing her transit through earthy and responsible Capricorn (now separated from a difficult angle to Saturn, exact last week) Venus remains however in Saturn’s own Sign while the latter transits the Venusian Sign of Libra, thus carrying the link to Saturn (Mutual Reception) to the end of her Capricorn transit, on March 4.

For more information about this transit please CLICK HERE to navigate to my Venus in Capricorn’s post.

The Moon is waning this week, after the cusp Leo/Virgo Full Moon on February 18. She will reach her Last Quarter Phase in Sagittarius on Friday February 25. Time to reflect on the Full Moon revelation and ‘disseminate’ the psychological riches we have gathered then. What we have realized and learnt from our experience could now help others in their journeys too.

Highlights of the week

• the ingress of Mercury and Mars in Pisces (February 21 and 23)
• Mercury and Mars conjunct Chiron (February 22 and 24)
• The Conjunction Sun-Mercury (February 25).
• Jupiter in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn (February 26).

Specific Dates

FEBRUARY 21 and 22: before entering Pisces on February 22 Mercury will conjunct first Mars and then Neptune, at the end of Aquarius, on February 21; while Mars will reach its own conjunction to Neptune in the afternoon of the same day.

Leaving the clear-headed and mentally concentrate Air Sign of Aquarius Mercury (and Mars) are today preparing to enter the often turbulent and mysterious waters of Pisces, where the mind tends to lose its rational boundaries, contacting unspoken realities that are difficult to verbalize. The conjunction of both planets to Neptune today can be considered their initiation into a world guided by intuition and vision rather than logic or practical considerations.

No doubt Mercury’s logical function often suffers somewhat in the Water Signs, especially in Pisces (or when in close contact to Neptune), but what it gains can make up for it tenfold, if the energy is used creatively.

Mercury will remain in Pisces only until March 10, an opportunity for all of us to test our intuitive faculties and get in touch with our creativity, idealism and dreams. We can now be able to contact a greater Mind than our individual one, ready to absorb influences from many different quarters, not too fearful to thread uncharted waters, but rather fascinated by all the possibilities.

Not the best time however to remain focused on one subject and to be mentally objective, because our feelings will colour our thought processes and ideas, even when we are not aware it’s happening.

The conjunction of both Mercury and Mars to Neptune today is anticipating the Pisces effect and preparing us for it.

The transits of Mercury in Pisces will be more relevant for people born under this Sign, or with Moon, Ascendant or Planets in Pisces. Also for the other two Water Signs (Cancer and Scorpio) and the other Mutable Signs (Virgo, Gemini and Sagittarius).

On February 22 Mercury will also conjunct Chiron, exaggerating in some cases feelings of intellectual insecurity, while providing others with a great depth of understanding, based on genuine compassion and empathy with other people difficulties, especially in the area of communication.

FEBRUARY 23 and 24: from February 23 to April 2 Mars, transiting Pisces, will energize all  the Water Signs, offering them an opportunity to be more assertive, but also posing the risk  of being easily carried away by strong and unsettling emotions.

In particular those individual born in the early stages of the Water and Mutable Signs will find it easy to scatter their physical, mental and emotional energies in these unpredictable oceanic currents, achieving little of what they have set out to do and getting muddled up in the process.

The waters of Pisces are in fact like the sirens whose stories are told in fairy tales and myths, alluring and beautiful but also treacherous and untrustworthy. Being fascinated by something or someone, emotionally, sexually, mentally, could be the line of least resistance this week for Pisces (February 19/22), Scorpio (October 23/26), Cancer (June 21/24), and also Virgo (August 23/26), Gemini (May 21/24), and Sagittarius (November 22/25) .

You need to find a state of balance, accepting what’s happening without losing your direction.

Attempts at asserting yourself may prove vain this week, it’s true, because events seem to run their own course, no matter what you try to do about them.  But of great help could be the psychological practice of keeping some boundaries standing between you and the world, a sense of your inner center, of who you are.

You may feel particularly intuitive and in touch with the soul of the situation and of other people, using your heightened imagination in a creative way will prove rewarding, and surprise you, if you aren’t usually a very inspired person.

Mars is the planet of Action, Do It!. In Pisces is activating the psychic/emotional, more than the physical or mental plane, a strange combination of action and inaction, assertion and passivity. Dance, the Martial Arts, Music, Creative Writing and any form of Art could express this energy at its best.

On February 24 Mars will meet Chiron, as Mercury has done on the 22nd.  If your birthday falls between the 21st and 25th of February the Healing Journey (fostered by Chiron) will be an important theme of your life this year, at the mental (Mercury),  physical and energetic levels (Mars).

FEBRUARY 25: today the Sun and Mercury become conjunct, what astronomically is known as a Superior Conjunction, with Mercury on the other side of the Sun from Earth’s viewpoint. During this phase of Mercury the planet, when visible, appears as the Evening Star.

As I wrote recently in a post on the mystery of Retrogradation (click here to see the entire article): ‘Mercury’s Evening Star incarnation (spanning in early 2011 from February 25 = Superior Conjunction to the Sun, to April 10 = Inferior Conjunction to the Sun), will be a time for giving due consideration to the way we communicate our thoughts and ideas to others, the way we tackle intellectual challenges, like writing, reading, studying, teaching. The retro motion of Mercury corresponds to a period of mental introspection, at the end of which we can start again to project our minds onto the world, with renewed inventiveness and adaptability to different circumstances and people. Mercury’s direct energy does in fact facilitate everything mercurial, such as change, communication, expression of idea in speech or writing, travel, brain-storming, moving etc. This is a forward looking mental impulse, bringing us out of ourselves and onto active participation with the world. This period will end with the Superior Conjunction on June 12, when our mental tendencies will have reached their more concrete and objective state. From then Mercury will begin to wane again, arriving at its next retro Station on August 3‘.

FEBRUARY 26: today Jupiter and Pluto are prominent in transit (at right angle to each other, while the Sun and Mercury are in sextile, 60 degrees, to Pluto and semi-sextile, 30 degrees, to Jupiter).

Jupiter tends to magnify the effect of every planet he comes in contact with. While Pluto has a lot to do with the use we make of our personal power and resources. With this transits we are meant to experience control issues in our lives (in particular people who celebrates their birthday today, yesterday or tomorrow). You may feel dominated by another or overwhelmed by a situation over which you have no apparent control, tending to rebel against it, in order to assert your own need of being in charge.

It could be difficult however to really know who is doing what: are you being dominated and rendered powerless by somebody or something? Or is it perhaps your own compulsion to dominate others or to control the situation at every cost that is causing the problem? An honest assessment of the situation is always a must when Pluto is involved, in order to go to the bottom of things, to the roots of the problem.

Used wisely this transit could enhance the scope of your personal power and put you in touch with a wealth of inner resources you didn’t even know you possessed. The expansive impulse denoted by Jupiter is meeting the depth of Pluto, an unusual opening to ours and others’ motives and secret life of the psyche.

Collectively this aspect may foster war rather than peace, escalating problems that have been hidden and untreated for a long time. Jupiter’s fiery energy in Aries could in fact push all these unprocessed issues to the surface, like a volcanic eruption pushes up the lava at the core of a mountain.

For a list of all Transits this week and for the rest of the month please CLICK HERE to the Monthly Transits Page

or HERE to navigate to the Astro-Calendar Page.