Sun in Gemini 2014, Mercury Retrograde in Cancer & Gemini

How fast can you run in knee-deep mud? What is the conversation between Immediacy and Obstacle like? What kind of story would you write with a pen that randomly changes color on paper that intermittently shrinks and grows while your mind’s perceptions shift like a kaleidoscope under water?

Sun in Gemini, 5/20/14 - 6/21/14:

The Sun’s transit through Gemini is normally a time of accelerated activity, when we can expect to be running about, chatting with people, and gathering up quantities of facts and ideas to process & catalogue in our noggins. We are alive with ideas, inspiration, energy and creativity, and not particularly drawn to such things as focus and commitment. Spring is overflowing, and starting to tip over into the fullness of Summer’s luminous energy. It’s time to have fun, but be patient this month as the pace of this year’s solar transit of Gemini will feel like an odd mixture of rushed yet sludgy.

Mars Stations Direct in Libra, 5/19/14:

<> Mars is a planet that appreciates neither the stillness that occurs during a planetary station, nor the grace, idealism and prudence of Libra. This is not a comfortable transit, but it does offer a reset button in terms of where and how we are directing our energies, especially in the context of relationships, & what actions we can take to attain & maintain balance.

<> When Mars is thwarted from expressing decisive force, strength and valor, he can resort to willy-nilly aggression. Depending on your temperament, this may show up as undue anger either expressed by you or at you, or as an injury, or a mental or physical illness that slows you down (especially be wary of adrenal fatigue & lower back injuries). Mars will not be up to his normal speed until July, so maintain patience in your relationships, and if you’re an artist, maintain patience with the progress of your art.

What actions can you take to bring your life into balance?

Where are you experiencing indecision in your life?

What do your values & your body tell you about the decisions you are facing?

How have your relationships shifted since late December?

Are your relationships in better balance, or do more adjustments need to be made?

What shifts have occurred in your body & physicality since late December?

What might your body be telling you, & how can you bring your body into an evolved state of balance?

grand Water Trine & Grand Cardinal Cross:

Throughout this month, we’re teetering between the tugs and shoves of one major configuration and the tides and strides of another, with jolly Jupiter at the center of this massive seesaw: Cosmic tough love meets redemptive cosmic gift this month, with the biggest challenges being:

Are you alert to the opportunities showing up?

Are you showing up to the opportunities that present themselves to you?

Are you leaving empty time in your schedule to let new inspiration & opportunity find you?

What these configurations offer:

<> The grand cardinal cross challenges us to maintain our center in the midst of pulls between finding balance in relationships, activating new inspirations about identity, attending to longterm transformations from the foundation up, while increasing the nourishment, support and love we give and receive.

<> The grand water trine is an intriguing mingling of nourishing expansion within intense limitations in such a way that redeems your animal nature, and dissolves old wounds. Now there’s a riddle to ruminate on:

What activities, people, places & practices return you to center?

What activities, experiences, & states of mind unite your instinctual & emotional nature with your intellectual & philosophical-spiritual nature?

Are you cutting away the unnecessary & unimportant in order to support your truest directions of growth?

Are you nourishing yourself appropriately - physically, mentally, emotionally, & spiritually?

Are you nourishing what’s important to you - relationships, communities, projects, environments?

Configuring time:

<> The grand water trine  is strongest in the second half of May.

<> The grand cardinal cross peaked most strongly in mid to late April, but it will have a smaller spike in intensity around the Sagittarius full moon on 6/12.

<> Get your nourishment issues squared away now (apologies for the astrological pun) because this is the last month of Jupiter’s yearlong hurrah in Cancer.

Mercury Retrograde in Cancer & Gemini, 6/7 - 7/1:

The good news is this Mercury retrograde cycle marks the apex of the early 2014 mire, & once it’s over, things will run a lot more smoothly - maybe too smoothly, so use this slower period to rest up. Also, be flexible and patient as this is the longest, slowest and most potent of this year’s Mercury retrograde cycles.

General Mercury retrograde protocols:

<> Until Mercury stations retrograde on 6/7, back up computers and other devices, tune up cars and bikes, and solidify any ambiguous communications and travel plans.

<> During Mercury’s backwards transit, 6/7 - 7/1, maintain flexibility during your commutes and travels, and suspend judgment and keep your mind open during communications.

This Mercury retrograde is brought to you by the Hanged Man tarot card:

<> Mercury retrograde periods offer us opportunities to evolve and shift our perceptions. With Mercury stationing retrograde in early Cancer, pay attention to how your emotions affect your perceptions. Also, your perception of your past is up for review - it’s time to update your story so you can create a more nourishing future.

<> However, the bulk of this retrograde occurs in late Gemini - Mercury’s home sign, and the sign of the Sun’s current transit. Meanwhile, Neptune stations retrograde in Pisces on 6/9. The key word in these planetary maneuvers is Suspension: Suspend belief, suspend judgment, suspend your urge to speak, suspend your movements. Only then will new beliefs make sense. Only then will true discernment shine through. Only then will you truly hear. Only then will you know your true direction.

What are the stories you tell?

What is the picture those stories paint?

Is that picture the landscape you want to inhabit?

If not, how can you shift your stories to create a more nourishing climate?

How do your emotions affect your perceptions?

Mind is an infinite territory - how can you expand the range you “in-habit” within that boundless expanse?

How might forgiveness and compassion expand your perception?

Coming Soon:

Next month’s posting will cover an overview of Summer 2014, the completion of the Mercury retrograde cycle, and (drum roll, please) Jupiter’s exciting entry into heart-warming Leo.

For more personalized insight, you may schedule a private astrological consult, healing session, or healing intensive in person, over the phone, or via Skype. Feel free to like, forward this page on & repost it as you see fit. Until next time, wishing you insight & heartsight.  Thanks for reading, Rae Diamond

Sun in Sagittarius, Loose Water Trine & Cardinal Cross

Solar Month of Sagittarius, 2013

Sun in Sagittarius: 11/21/13 (PDT) through 12/21/13

What comes into your mind when you read the following word?

REWARD

Spend some time with your answers (aside from any answers involving wanted posters from old Western movies or desperate lost pet flyers).  I’ll ask you again in the spring, & you’ll then find your answers to be quite different - richer & deeper in meaning, & with a sense of a vaster timespan.

On a similar yet different note, one of the things I get asked the most as an astrologer is, “When will things get better?”  The only honest answer to this question is, “There is no such thing as better.”  I’m a professional, so I have a better bedside manner than to say that directly to someone struggling with the beasts of life.  But these planetary reports are truth time, so it’s safe to say:

Things will not get better because there is no such thing as better.  Things will change, & hopefully we will evolve both as individuals & as a species so that we perceive & experience these changes in a more open way.

But for now, we are many planets, eclipses, & sensitive points deep in truth-telling, transformation-inducing Scorpio, in the throes of an on-going tense configuration of outer planets, decades away from gaining our bearings after the 2006 discovery of Eris (named after the goddess of strife!), & about to enter into an inner planet retrograding bonanza.  This age we find ourselves in, friends, is challenging.  But the coming solar month may feel just a tad softer than the previous month & the proceeding months, so whoop up & enjoy your holidays - or your avoidance of them - as the case may be... because we’ll be entering a dense time this Winter Solstice.

The Sagittarius solar month begins on November 21st with a close alignment of the recently stationed retrograde ruler of Sagittarius, Jupiter, dark moon Lilith & the Moon in the lunar home sign of Cancer, all widely trine Saturn, Mercury & the lunar north node in Scorpio, & recently stationed direct Chiron in Pisces.  This is a loose grand water trine, reminding you to manage your emotions this month.  Here’s how this planetary set-up asks you to do just that:

Cancer conjunction:

What happens when I deepen my faith in the support of the Universe?

How do I see my needs evolving, & how can I plan to support my future needs, rather than my present desires?

What needs am I afraid of acknowledging?  Am I projecting these “unsightly” needs onto others?

Scorpio conjunction:

Am I responding appropriately to my needs, & to the needs of those I’m closest with?

Am I effectively communicating my needs, or am I expecting others to just know what I need & provide it for me, like a mother for an infant?

Where do my needs & my deepest desires meet, & where do they diverge?

What are the most important responsibilities in my life - those things that having attended to them will allow me to die in peace, when my time in this body comes to a close?

Chiron in Pisces insights:

Which situations in my life will shift with the salve of FORGIVENESS?  Hint: Consider those wounds that will never go away in your most intimate relationships, & in your family.  Forgive the unforgivable, & see what happens.

Am I being compassionate enough - with myself as well as with others?

With the Sun in Sagittarius, the glues that will hold you together this solar month will be to maintain your optimism, deepen your faith, & do some behind-the-scenes work on taking right risks on yourself & your future.  With Sagittarian ruler, Jupiter in retrograde, you may find it difficult to act outright until the spring, or if you do get big plans set in motion now, expect them to revise, revision & realign in the coming months.  November closes with Venus in the shadow of her coming retrograde in Pluto-tinted Capricorn, & Mercury out of his recent retrograde in Scorpio.  One in-depth chapter closes, & another one opens.

In the first week of December, things lighten up a bit as Mercury enters optimistic Sagittarius on the 4th, & Mars enters Libra on the 7th.  This follows closely on the heels of the December 2nd Sagittarius new moon, so you’ll leap into a more hopeful, fresh start feeling around then. 

Mercury in Sagittarius:

What happens when I “zoom out” the camera of my perception in the various situations/relationships in my life?

What philosophies glue my experience of reality together in a way that inspires me to feel a vaster faith in the Universe, in humanity, & in myself?

Mars in Libra:

Am I compromising when a need to relinquish is necessary?

Am I standing up for myself when it’s necessary to stay my ground?

Am I doing the above in direct, effective & appropriate ways?

On the December 17th Gemini full moon, electrifying Uranus grinds to a halt in the sky as he stations direct.  At this point, the on-going Pluto/Uranus square - that challenges us as individuals & as a species to evolve the greater structures of our lives & governments while also managing outbursts of revolt against constrictions & jolting insights that rock our sense of reality - is now a grand cardinal cross, with Jupiter in Cancer & asteroids Vesta & Ceres in Libra.

Uranus stationing direct:

How have my revolutionary visions shifted since mid-July?

What is my inspiration now?

What is my muse now calling me to do that requires a new level of courage?

The cardinal cross:

How can I better balance activating my personal vision with nurturing & tending my most important relationships?

What can I do to live in better harmony with the earth, tending & stewarding this precious home we share with many other beings?

Am I being disciplined in my attention to the vaster shifts I’m making in my life?

Am I acting on my insights, & bringing them into reality in a way that accounts for the greater context of our shared reality?

Phew!  That’s quite enough.  We’ll get into the Venus retrograde in Capricorn (December 21st, 2013 - January 31st, 2014) in next month’s report.

If you’re the gift-giving sort, please note that I now have sweet little gift certificates available for any of my services, or as credit towards art, both commissions and ready-made.  Instructions for purchase can be found at the bottom of the astrology, CoAlithesis & Alithesis pages.

For more personalized insight, you may go here to schedule a private astrological consult, a healing session ($45 special on first-time treatments until 2014), or a healing intensive.  Consults & healings are both available in person, over the phone, or via Skype.  If you enjoy these reports, please forward this page on & repost it as you see fit.  Until next time, wishing you an inspired & expansive month.  Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond

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rae13diamond {at} gmail.com

Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, Mercury retrograde in Scorpio

Sun in Scorpio: 10/22/13 (PDT) through 11/21/13

Mercury Retrograde: 10/21/13 - 11/10/13

Lunar Eclipse in Aries: 10/18/13

Solar Eclipse in Scorpio: 11/3/13

Do you fly in your dreams?  Do you know that keen lightness of being that occurs in those Morphean moments of deepest sleep, when some part of you remembers, “Oh, all I have to do is let go, and...” suddenly you’re floating, soaring, weightless, & in a state of consummate grace?  The coming month, pregnant with Scorpio-infused death-and-rebirth invites you to bring this elevated state into your waking life.  To be clear, however, a Scorpio invitation is neither polite nor genial if you resist it or delay your response to it.  That invitation then becomes a superlative-soaked insistence, & eventually an out-right ultimatum.

The first question, then, is:

Do you feel backed into a corner?

If so, you have ignored or delayed too long the invitation to change.  But there’s hope!  You’ve been backed into a corner with a door.  Your only choice now is to suffer the constraints of your cloistered position, or go through that doorway into the uncertain & unknown.

There’s your big picture, friends.  Now for the nerdy nitty-gritty...

But first allow me to announce a $45 special, in effect until 2014, good for first-time over-the-phone energy healing treatments.  Follow these links to find out more about Coalithesis treatments, and read testimonials from satisfied recipients.

A few notes about Friday, October 18th’s lunar eclipse in Aries:

This is a stage setter.  This astronomically minor eclipse is important in three energetic ways.  One, it offers you an opportunity to release some garbage in preparation for the total eclipse in Scorpio on November 3rd.  Two, it is your introduction to the Aries/Libra axis eclipses that will grow stronger over the next couple of years.  The themes of I vs. thou, will vs. compromise, force vs. grace are now introduced.  Third, it is an opportunity to begin some deep work on the ways you are in relationship, which will be up for major shifts in 2014.

If you are up for an impromptu adventure in the desert, come to this extraordinary gathering this weekend (October 18-20), where I will be speaking further about this eclipse in conjunction with several seasonal ceremonies & celebrations.

Mercury stations retrograde on Monday, October 21st.

These Mercury retrograde cycles are famous for causing pesky problems in communication and transportation - cell phones falling into buckets of paint, voice mail messages disappearing unheard into the ether, a rash of flat bicycle tires, public transportation systems out of whack, car troubles that have been manageable suddenly refusing to be ignored any longer, etc.  The general rule of thumb with all of this is back up your computers, pull the glass bits out of your bike tires, tune up your car, and so on before the retrograde cycle begins, & then be calm & flexible through the wonkiness that will inevitably ensue.

But there are deeper and vaster forces (see below) acting in conjunction with Mercury’s inversion.  The rule of thumb is let go of your vexation that you may access the profound transformation that awaits you beneath the facade of mundane mis-events.  The Sun enters Scorpio the next day, on Tuesday, October 22nd.  Hence the solar month will be colored with Mercury’s near-still, subtle backwards motion.  This, among many other planetary influences in the coming weeks - the time of “the thin veil” between this reality & the beyonds - ask you:

Can you let go of the world’s claim to your time, energy & perception?

Can you let go of everything you think you are or ought to be?

Can you get out of your own way?

Can you trust that your true path, your truest way of being will emerge if you simply let it?

Can you be patient with the timing of things you cannot control?

Can you acknowledge that you are not in control?

Can you find & be in your deepest point of stillness?

The answer to all of the above questions, no matter who you are, is, “Yes.”  It may or may not be easy for you to do some of those things, but you most certainly are able.  The unknowable, however, is will you?  That is another matter.

The most significant event of the Scorpio month is the full solar eclipse in Scorpio on Sunday, November 3rd.  The Moon’s shadow will pass over the earth on this day.  We won’t see it in North America, but we will most certainly feel that specific alignment of the Sun, Moon & Earth.  We will feel the massive conjunction of retrograding Mercury (realignment of perceptions with a deeper truth), the Dragon’s Head (karmic point of evolution urging you to take right risk), the Moon (deeper needs coming to light), the Sun (deeper calling makes itself felt) and Saturn (step into your true responsibility, exercise patience & steadfastness), all closely aligned in Scorpio (release of ego in favor of Truth, thus accessing true power).

Your “homework” - tap into your subconscious (the “stuff” of Scorpio!) with some automatic writing.  For those of you new to automatic writing, set a timer for two minutes, start writing & do not stop moving your pen until the timer goes off, even if all you can write at first is the prompt over and over.  Let these prompts also lead you to more prompts with specific meaning to you:

Shadow

Power

Sex

Death

Responsibility

Communication

Letting go

Transformation

“I need...”

“I want...”

“I value...”

Other noteworthy events that add to the general sludgy stickiness of this time are:

Venus enters Capricorn on November 5th, where she will be gracefully dancing to and fro until early March.  Normally, Venus transits through a sign in less than four weeks, but she’ll be kicking off both winter & 2014 with her relatively rare retrograde cycle.  More on that in December’s report, but for now, take note of issues that surface around relationships, finances, values, patience & responsibility.

Jupiter stations retrograde on November 6th, & will continue to move backwards in Cancer through early March 2014.  This won’t be as overtly disruptive as a Venus or Mercury retrograde, but note what arises for you in the realms of nurturing, nourishment, tenderness and trust.  While Scorpio asks us to let go of what we cling to in order for something truer to find us, Jupiter in Cancer asks us to let go of needing to have a plan, of needing to know how things will turn out.  This influence asks you to take just that next step, not knowing where it will lead.  With Jupiter retrograding, the steps will be inwards.  We will be creating a vaster space within in order to receive a vaster embrace in the outer world in spring 2014.

Neptune & Chiron station direct in Pisces in mid-November.  They will ask you these riddles:

Have you let go of any martyr tendencies you may have, and the anger that seethes beneath?

What is your capacity for forgiveness of yourself & others?

What is true perfection - not the kind we strive for in this reality, but something more profound?

Can you allow yourself redemption - what signs of change do you see in your seemingly unsolvable issues?

Can you allow for others’ redemption - what signs of change do you see in the people you perceive to be stuck?

That, dear reader, is enough nit and grit for this month’s report.

For more personalized insight, you may go here to schedule a private astrological consult, a healing session ($45 special on first-time treatments until 2014), or a healing intensive.  Consults & healings are both available in person, over the phone, or via Skype.  If you enjoy these reports, please forward this page on & repost it as you see fit.  Until next time, may the release of your suffering lead you to true freedom.  I wish you well on your journey through the darkness of grasping into the light of open trust.  Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond

rae13diamond {at} gmail.com