Sun in Sagittarius, Jupiter Stations Retrograde

When you read the word, ECOLOGY, you probably think of the natural environment of the Earth, which may then lead you to feelings of anxiety, frustration, or grief. But before the emotions, before the association with the global environment, there was only the word, ECOLOGY. Say it out loud and repeat it a few times, fast and slow. Notice its inherent musicality, its implied lilt and melody. Now consider the implications of ECOLOGY’s roots: the study of home. This month, take a look at the interrelation of your mind, body, beliefs, and life. Observe - and perhaps revise - your ecology of mind.

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Sun in Sagittarius: 11/22 - 12/21

At this point in the Sun’s yearly journey, we leap from the destroying and empowering depths and darkness of Scorpio to the exhilarating heights and unbridled freedom of Sagittarius. It’s time to ask the big questions of life, to search for meaning, to cast off some constraints, and revel. That would be the whole story if the Sun traveled in a void, but there are other forces acting on this solar month. Some of Sagittarius’ fire will be earthbound and even subterranean this time around, but you will still find yourself mulling over such questions as these:

     Are your philosophies in alignment with your values?

    How does your ecology of mind compare to the ecology of the Earth?

    What are the most meaningful experiences you could choose to engage in this month?

    What are the most meaningful experiences you could choose to engage in this lifetime?

    What do you really believe?

    Are your beliefs limiting or liberating?

The Anchored Vision Lunation Begins: 11/22, Culminates: 12/6

The Sun and Moon conjoin in the first degree of fiery Sagittarius, closely sandwiched between the two earthiest planets: Saturn and Venus. This gives the imperative for beliefs based on values, and anchored in reality. Neptune in Pisces squares the Sun and Moon, further emphasizing the shattering of illusions, and the need to let go of that which simply does not work, or no longer belongs in one’s current phase of life. This new moon configuration suggests we allow ourselves to dream, to suspend our normal beliefs for a moment, and allow our minds to travel into vaster potential outcomes than we usually dare to consider. The formula is: As belief expands, so too does reality.

    What is working in your life? - How can you further nourish those aspects?

    What in your life is falling apart, dissolving, dissipating? - How can you surrender to that process?

    What elements of your life do you whole-heartedly believe in?

    What visions are worthy of manifestation?

    Suspend belief: If you believed anything was possible, what could unfold in your life and in the world?

This lunation culminates on December 6th with a full moon in Gemini. At this point, Mercury - the ruler of that Gemini Moon - conjoins the Sun in Sagittarius, highlighting the experience of these two opposing signs as a single axis. Fact and detail can thus inspire a fresh sense of the big picture, while the gestalt can bring heretofore unnoticed minutiae into focus. This full moon chart also shows a loose grand fire trine between the Sun, Mercury, Venus, asteroid, Ceres, and planetoid, Pholus in Sagittarius, with Uranus in Aries and Jupiter in Leo. This configuration offers great opportunity, but also inspires compulsive over-doing and over-committing, with a tendency to compensate for the attendant stress with over-consumption. There is also a strong imperative to get out into deep nature. The high road in the first week of December is this: Spend some time in the mountains or woods, and let yourself dream big. Then jump back into your hectic life, and make some more informed and wise choices about what to commit to and what to let go of.

    What opportunities are showing up for you at this time?

    Which of those opportunities bring you the most joy, or feel closest to your heart?

Jupiter in Retrograde: 12/8/14 - 4/8/15

Jupiter is far enough out in the solar system that his annual four-month retrograde cycles don’t directly effect the everyday functioning of our lives. This is one of those more subtle, internal influences from the Cosmos. This year, however, Jupiter’s retrograde station is significant because it occurs while the Sun and Jupiter are in mutual reception - each planet is traveling through the other planet’s home sign. This increases the fusion of their energetic pairing, and also implies that our experience of the Sun (i.e. life force) will also hit a slump around December 8th.

    How do your involvements, creations, and joys inform your beliefs?

    What have you been giving a lot of energy to since mid-September?

    Are those involvements bringing you joy, and are they in alignment with your beliefs?

    If so, how can you bolster your faith in those involvements?

    If not, how can you let them go?

   

Tension in the Heavens:

December is classically a tense month in our society due to familial and consumeristic pressures that clash with our animal bodies’ needs to be slowing down for the winter. This December will have an extra oomph of stress from the heavens as Uranus makes another exact square to Pluto on December 14th. This is the fourth of five exact passes between revolutionary and impatient Uranus in Aries and exacting, destroying and regenerating Pluto in Capricorn, spanning from 2012 through 2015. These are slow planets, so you’ll feel the intensity of this energy throughout December. Venus squares Uranus and conjoins Pluto on December 20th. On the low realm of the spectrum, these aspects can inspire greed, hunger for power, and a belief that whoever does not share our value system is wrong. On the high end of the spectrum, this influence can help us commit more deeply to what we believe will have lasting importance in society, help us value the good of the past while still allowing for change, and teach us about the transformative powers of love. As always, how you experience this energy is your choice.

    What are you slowly and steadily constructing that is transforming you and your life?

    What are you impatient & frustrated with? - How can you relinquish control there?

    What does liberation mean to you, in your life and in the world at this time?

    What is the difference between power and control?

    How can you inspire and attract others with the power and beauty of your values?

Wrapping up Saturn in Scorpio: 10/6/12 - 12/23/14

We are coming to the end of what I refer to as “The Scorpio Era.” Since October of 2012, we’ve had a mutual reception of Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn, Mercury retrogrades in Scorpio, and eclipses in Scorpio. For one more month, as Saturn completes his transit through Scorpio, we’ll be rooting through our deeply held pain and insecurity around authority, sexuality, gender and power. We have one more month to find and tap into that personal agency and authority that stems from our deepest knowing. We have one more month to turn around, face our shadow, and embrace the strength and beauty of that inner beast. One of my favorite ways to tap into the subconscious is automatic writing. Set a timer for two minutes, and then answer the questions below, two minutes per question. Keep your pen moving on the paper throughout the two minutes, even if it’s just writing gibberish or repetitions.

    What/who does your shadow look like? - Bonus: Draw a picture or make a collage.

    What does your shadow say?

    What does your shadow want?

    What is your shadow’s power?

Coming Soon:

Next month’s report on the solar month of Capricorn will offer insights into the major shift of Saturn into Sagittarius, and the energetic imperatives of the 2015 calendar year. Feel free to like & repost this report as you see fit. Until next time, wishing you a heart-ful month.  Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond

Scorpio Solar Eclipse, Mercury Stations Direct

Have you ever looked through a gauzy thin veil? Try it. Put on a thin veil, walk around, observe your world, and then look in the mirror. The world is visible to you, although somewhat altered, while you, yourself, are obscured. Now try (or imagine trying) the same thing with a thicker fabric. Depending on the fabric, you can either just barely see your world, or not at all, and you yourself are completely invisible in the mirror, save for the knowing of some presence. The Scorpio solar month is famous for its’ “thin veil” - a time when our three dimensional, material “reality” mingles with ethereal dimensions, thus increasing the occurrence and gravity of mysterious and synchronistic events. What is actually happening is you are more able to witness, be seen by, and interact with layers of reality that are in fact always there.

Sun in Scorpio: 10/23 - 11/22

During the solar month of Scorpio, we find ourselves in mid-autumn, when leaves mimic the colors of sunset. Each wind storm thins out the foliage, increasing our view of the sky, helping us remember how small we really are beneath the vastness of that limitless ceiling. It’s a time of nostalgia, of reminiscing about the fun and follies of spring and summer, and of remembering places, experiences, and people - including our own past selves - no longer in our lives. It’s a time of conservation and retraction, a time to let some things go in order to conserve our energy and focus more deeply as our bodies slow down for the winter.

    What & whom do you remember fondly, including parts of yourself?

    How can you honor the people and experiences of your past?

    What are the trunk, root, and main branches of your life?

    What are the leaves you need to let go of in order to nourish that trunk, those roots and branches?

The Transformation Lunation Begins with a Solar Eclipse: 10/23

Both the solar and lunar months of Scorpio begin with a partial solar eclipse in the first degree of Scorpio, with Venus also entering Scorpio that day, close on the heels of the Sun and Moon. This eclipse is not a particularly strong eclipse, but it is significant because it beautifully illustrates Scorpio’s main theme of death - as the seasoned last eclipse in this sign for over eight years - and rebirth - for the first degree of a sign always embodies the freshness and naivety of rebirth.

Venus’ presence in this configuration helps us to rebirth that which we value, and let go of that which matters less to us. The operative word here is matter. Astrological information and the questions that arise from that information can put us in a cerebral state of being, but transformation - literally, the changing of the form or matter of something - requires that we translate idea and inspiration into creative action. Ideally, the physical matter of our lives reflects what actually matters to us. Neptune trines this eclipse from Pisces, highlighting the sacredness of the necessary sacrifices we make at this time, and reminding us to be mindful and grateful in our lettings go.

    What has changed in the form of your life, relationships & body since November of 2012?

    What grace do you receive when you let go of that which no longer lights up your life?

    How might letting go help you connect with infinity & with possibilities otherwise unavailable to you?

Mercury Stations Direct in Libra: 10/25

The quick little trickster of our solar system stations direct in mid-Libra on October 25th, enabling you to move forward with the transformative and balancing realizations that have struck you since he stationed retrograde in early Scorpio on October 4th. Mercury represents our style and finesse of perception, communication and movement. When he appears to move backwards (retrograde), our assumed perceptions are challenged, which forces us to communicate more clearly, and to move through the world with renewed awareness. This particular retrograde cycle marks another death and rebirth imperative - because it began in early Scorpio, conjunct the degree of the 10/23 eclipse, because it is the last (death) of Mercury’s retrogrades in water signs for over three years, and because he stations direct in Libra, close to the degree of the dragon’s head, which represents the evolutionary ideas from which rebirth arises.

    What “A-ha’s” have you had since October 4th?

    How do those realizations help you to think, move and communicate differently?

    How do these shifts in perception bring you into balance?

    How do they help you to change the forms of your life, relationships, actions, and speech?

Some Saturn insights:

Meanwhile Saturn, the structurer, continues his trudge through the depths of Scorpio, having entered there in October of 2012. Each of the Scorpio eclipses in the past several springs and autumns have been like storms to this slow and steady traveler - electrifying, drenching, cleansing, and muddying. Each of Mercury’s autumnal retrogrades in Scorpio (since 2012) have altered Saturn’s steady course as the journey’s goal shifted somewhat each time. With only a couple months left in Scorpio, Saturn receives a couple bursts of inspiration in mid-November as Venus and then the Sun conjoin him for a moment, softening and then lighting the depths of Scorpio’s intensity and Saturn’s determination. This is a perfect time to attend the Saturn and his Cycles workshop (clarifying Saturn returns & more) on Saturday, November 15th, from noon til 3pm. It’s also a good time to ask yourself these questions:

    What stability & structure have I lost since 2012?

    What truer stability & structure have I gained instead?

    Are the structures of my life in alignment with my values and purpose?

Neptune stations Direct: 11/15

The last significant event of the Scorpio solar month occurs when Neptune stations direct in early Pisces. This indicates we have opportunities for insight into the Neptunian and Piscean themes of mindful awareness in favor of illusion, and sacrifice as a prelude to redemption.

    What have you sacrificed since early June?

    What redemption do those sacrifices offer you?

    What illusions have shattered since then?

    What awareness & inspiration have you received in the wake of those clarifications?

Coming Soon:

Next month’s report on the solar month of Sagittarius will help you gain insight on Jupiter’s coming retrograde cycle, and support your alignment with the evolutionary cardinal T-square, instigated by another exact pass of the ongoing tense Uranus/Pluto square. Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond

Aries Lunar Eclipse, Mercury Retrograde, Autumn Equinox 2014

In autumn, the slant of the light produces a familiar glow that signals a confluence of gathering and dissipating activities. Animals store food for the winter in their bodies and homes while leaves and fruits fall from plants. Throughout nature, decisions are being made - what goes and what stays? What continues to live, and what dies?

Sun in Libra: 9/22 - 10/23

Autumn begins on September 22nd, as the Sun enters Libra, the sign of the scales. Typically, during the solar month of Libra, our primary aim is to bring our lives into balance. After the expansive, try-anything, do-everything energy of spring and summer, our energy starts to flag. We need to decide what is worth continuing, and what needs to be let go of. We’ll have some help in that process this month as Venus, the ruler of Libra and clarifier of values, travels close to the Sun - i.e. our light of consciousness.

     What relationships, activities, communities and places do you value most?

     How can you let go of that which means less to you with grace?

     What is your relationship with your own dignity?

     How can you honor the dignity of that which you commit to and that which you move away from?

Autumn Equinox & Pluto stations Direct: 9/22

The autumn equinox also occurs on September 22nd. After six months of the days being longer than the nights, nature brings light and dark into balance for a moment. It’s a brief still point, but it’s also a tipping point. From this day on through the next six months, darkness will be stronger than light. In a culture that equates light with all things good, and dark with all things bad, we may have to face some fears and resistance to this change.

     What is the wisdom of darkness? What does it teach us?

      How do you move in the dark? What senses become more acute when you cannot see?

     What treasures might you find when you explore the shadows of your mind?

One more key event on this particular autumn equinox day is Pluto, the planet of power through transformation, stations direct in steadfast and ambitious Capricorn. Pluto stationed retrograde in mid-April, indicating that deeper shifts have occurred within us, rather than in our outer world. On this equinox day, the scales start to tip in this way as well - the deeper truths revealed in the past five months can now be put into practice. The transformation process of Pluto in retrograde is often subtle, and only fully understood in hindsight. However, these questions may help you identify some elements of your current process of deep change, and therefore how to implement these shifts more consciously.

     What deeper power have you tapped into since mid-April?

     How has your relationship with your own and others’ authority shifted since mid-April?

The Liminal Lunation Begins on 9/23 (PDT)

The moon is new in Libra late the next night, on September 23rd. This means that autumn began under a balsamic moon, thus accentuating the elements of stillness, release and return throughout the season. The energetic imprint of the second degree of Libra, where this new moon occurs, is that of a threshold. Mars in Sagittarius is sextile the Sun and Moon in Libra, offering courage through conviction and faith. Mars is also square Neptune in Pisces, so you may find it helpful to retreat into nature - especially near water - for clarity at this time. This configuration suggests that something may need to be sacrificed. To sacrifice means to make sacred through release. To walk through that doorway, we must leave the old, known world behind. Neptune urges us to bid farewell to our known world with devotion.

     What two worlds do you currently stand between?

     Can you let go of the known world you are leaving behind with dignity and devotion?

     Can you step into the unknown world before you with courage and faith?

Grand Fire Trine: 9/25 - 10/8

In the midst of all of this letting go, we have a very different energy building in the form of a grand fire trine. Between the equinox and the first two weeks of October, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars will be in alignment in the three fire signs of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. Grand trines tend to offer great opportunities with a lot of momentum, but it’s up to us to act on them. There are down sides to this configuration, however. Watch out, however, for burning yourself out. There may be too many opportunities knocking at your door, and you may not be able to take them all. The high road with this configuration is to take creative and courageous leaps based on your convictions, but do take a moment to first get clear about what your beliefs actually are before you jump into the fire of commitment. Fire-prone areas of the world may also be in extra danger at this time.

     What opportunities are showing up for you?

     Which ones are most in alignment with your own philosophies?

     How can you maintain a balance between stillness and action at this time?

Full Lunar Eclipse in Aries: 10/8

Meanwhile, the distant rumbles of the full lunar eclipse in mid-Aries draw nearer. The Sun, north node of the moon, Venus, and asteroid, Pallas, are conjoined in Libra. Opposite them, the Moon, Uranus, south node of the moon, and planetoid, Eris, are conjoined in Aries. Mars and Jupiter feed the flames of this tense configuration while Pluto applies some torque from Capricorn. If you feel like you’re being scorched and torn asunder, congratulations - you’re in alignment. During a lunar eclipse, the shadow of the earth passes over the moon while it is full, and thus in the peak of its light phase. At the moment of greatest light, we experience darkness. It is in these moments of abnormality that we can gain insight not normally available to us. Here is what the planets ask us during this lunar eclipse:

     How can you exercise patience in the midst of strife?

     What practices, people, beliefs and values bring you into balance?

     If you allow yourself to be torn apart, how might you fit back together into a truer whole?

     What might be missing from your life that you can add only once you release something that’s in its way?

Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio & Libra: 10/4 - 10/25

In the midst of all of that motion and stillness, and all of that arising and descending, Mercury enters his final retrograde cycle of 2014. This particular Mercury retrograde period is intrinsically linked to the two eclipses occurring in October by timing, sign, and degree. This means we have access to greater insight and clarity during this difficult eclipse season if we practice accurate awareness, and then accept and adapt to what is happening within and around us. The combination of Scorpio and Libra suggests we work with these questions:

     How can you bring levity and grace to that which feels heavy and awkward?

     Which activities and relationships are you not fully committing to?

     Which of those activities and relationships are you willing to commit more deeply to?

     How can you respectfully let go of those activities & relationships you cannot commit to?

     If you are the one being let go of, how can you gracefully accept that loss, and adapt to your new reality?

     What rebirth may come in the wake of the endings you face?

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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 Virgo 2014

Satisfaction: It’s an elusive thing in the first world. The U.S. breeds a simultaneously workaholic and over-indulgent culture. We never feel as though we’ve done enough, and we are haunted by unfulfilled - and perhaps unfulfillable - yearnings for something more. The roots of the word satisfaction mean to have done enough. The planets, in this solar month of Virgo, want us to find that feeling of having done and received enough.

Abundance: Embodiment & Faith Merge

Tomorrow night (late August 17th in PDT), Venus conjoins Jupiter in Leo, encouraging us to take concrete action on what we believe most whole-heartedly in. This is a brief transit that creates ebullient feelings that are easy to enjoy. Do so, but if you also take action on what you enjoy, there will be profound rewards. This energy filters more subtly into the next week, and infuses the whole solar month of Virgo with a bit of its serendipitous spark.

        What opportunities are most calling to your heart right now?

        Which relationships offer a sense of mutual expansion & growth?

        How can you joyfully bring your beliefs & actions into alignment?

Sun in Virgo: 8/22 - 9/22

The Sun’s transit through Virgo marks the beginning of the harvest season. It is the culmination of the dreams of winter, the efforts of spring, and the cultivation of summer. Both the fruits of our labors and our labors are at their peak, so - provided we have dreamt well, and put forth the proper effort and care - it is a time of accelerated and focused work with clear rewards. This is also a time when our level of mastery become apparent to us and others. Depending on where you are on the spectrum, it’s thus a time to either impart your wisdom and experience, or gain more expertise & knowledge from the masters you feel drawn to.

The root of the word, harvest, means to cut. We cut the fruits of our labors off so we can be nourished by them. Also, we cut away dead matter and anything that directs energy away from the integrity of the system we are cultivating. Thus Virgo also has an association with purification.

       What are you harvesting?

         Are you being nourished by the fruits of your labors?

        What mastery have you attained? What mastery do you wish to attain?

        Who are your teachers? Who are your students?

        What work gives you a sense of satisfaction?

        What happens when you cultivate the feeling of satisfaction at the end of each day?

        What/Who needs to be cut away to maintain the integrity & health of the whole of your life?

The Right Effort Lunation Begins on 8/25

The moon is new in Virgo on the same day that Mars conjoins Saturn in Scorpio. This is a double indication that it’s time to commit to those matters of deepest importance to you. A new moon marks the beginning of the lunar cycle. It is a time of realigning intention and redirecting focus through contemplation and inner seeking. Neptune’s opposition to the Sun and Moon bring elements of redemption into the month’s story. Meanwhile, Venus and Jupiter in Leo remind us to play, to love, and to enjoy life to its fullest, even as we attend to our goals, visions, responsibilities, and realms of service.

        Have you identified your life’s Work? If not, see below*

        What are the structures you need to put in place to manifest that Work?

        What/whom do you need to forgive in order to help you move forward with clarity?

        How is your work/life balance? Are you making time to play and rest as well as work?

        Is there an element of redemption in your skills - for you, for those you serve, or both?

        *Write a letter to yourself about the decisions and challenges you face now

            from the perspective of an older you in your last few moments of life.

Pisces Super Full Moon: 9/8 (PDT)

The Virgo lunation, which began with a private inner search, culminates in an outgoing super full moon. This Pisces moon is aligned with the planetoid, Chiron, and features a Venus/Neptune opposition, all in the 1st/7th house axis. It thus offers powerful healing through direct encounters with others, so it’s a very fruitful time to work with a healer, therapist or teacher if you are in need of a breakthrough. Here are some recommendations of wonderful healers (& artists, who are the healers of society). Or perhaps you will be the agent of someone else’s breakthrough. The truest statement to be made of this Pisces full moon is we are all connected through a vast and intricate web, and thus we are all capable of being agents of each others’ healing.

Coming Soon:

Next month’s report on the solar month of Libra will give you some tools for maintaining equilibrium during the double whammy of a lunar eclipse and Mercury’s next retrograde cycle.

 

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