Fallout from the New Moon and Neptune & Co

Ever since the New Moon in Cancer on Monday, life has been eventful for many of us.

From what I’ve been hearing it’s either been very good or downright awful with little in between. This is consistent with the opposition between the New Moon and Pluto and stationing Uranus in Pisces forming an out of sign t-square with those two.

Three celebrities died recently, two this week and one last: one unexpectedly, Michael Jackson; one sad but anticipated, Farrah Fawcett; and the last peacefully, Ed McMahon. If we consider these high profile people to be the bell weathers of the collective, then I’m sure these deaths were representative of many others. Pluto is the master of clearing out the old to allow for something new to manifest. In the USA in particular, we seem to have the idea we can live forever and spend billions attempting to do that. Why is it so difficult to see death as part of life? This includes everything from the death of a dream courtesy of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction to the end of a life.

As I’ve commented elsewhere, this turned out to be a very productive period for me as in being able to take care of business in a matter of fact manner. For example, when the dentist’s office called to remind me about an appointment for getting my teeth cleaned on Monday, I brought up costs and when the dentist wouldn’t budge, I canceled the appointment. Those who are not willing to compromise are going to find others telling them, “thank you but no thank you.” Pluto in Capricorn is just getting started – just wait a couple of years and look around you!

Those whose charts are most affected by the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction are getting stepped on too, especially if they bet the farm on a certain outcome. The Capricorn lunar eclipse on July 7 finds Mars in Taurus squaring Neptune & Co and that is going to bite, big time. That particular Full Moon squares my natal Moon in Libra, so I’m wincing in anticipation because one way or another, my emotions are going to be all over the place. :::groan:::

Thankfully the tricksy t-square with Uranus has faded but keep in mind Uranus will be stationing retrograde on July 1. It may be just me but I keep getting the feeling we would be much further ahead to take advantage of the hints Uranus is throwing out now to clean up our act because next year Uranus will not be nearly as polite. It will be in Aries – a sign noted for directness.

So throw away the rose colored glasses and start thinking in terms of having several alternative plans in place, always. With all the earth and water dominating the sky right now, it would be wise to forgo the drama, pick up the pieces and move on. Yeah, ouch!

If you didn't catch yesterday's post on Real Astrologers, here's a link:Ask Real Astrologers: Wrapping up an Eclipse Cycle

Image: Since we only get 8-10" of rain a year, the glorious skies thunderstorms bring are rare and much enjoyed. Beauty sustains this Libra.

The Gemini-Sagittarius Axis

Jessica (it was Jessica, Kashmiri, you were right - found the thread on the boards) commented on ElsaElsa she had difficulty understanding this particular axis, inspiring me to write about these two signs because my Nodal axis is Gemini-Sagittarius. I’ve had a few years direct experience with it moving from my South Node in Sagittarius childhood as a tomboy and generally solitary wild child to my North Node in Gemini life now. I am an active part of an astrological online community and communicate via computer and webcam with people around the world. Who would have thought it possible I’d be so comfortable with this shift.

I see Sagittarius as concerned with understanding the big picture, the philosophical concepts behind civilization and belief systems. It is devoted to the pursuits of Truth with a capital “T” and is not noted for tact and diplomacy when expressing what it sees as the Truth. Most Sagittarius types also have a deep love of wide open spaces and being on the move. I have a dear woman friend with Sagittarius rising who loves to drive around the state with her truck driver dad just for the fun of it.

Gemini likes information too but of an entirely different sort. While Sagittarius prefers to withdraw and live a contemplative life, social Gemini enjoys being right in the middle of things chatting to everyone and anyone. They love collecting tidbits of information and squirreling them away to pull out to charm someone else down the line.

Another way to look at Gemini and Sagittarius is to remember Gemini rules the third house and Sagittarius the ninth. The third house is about siblings, your neighborhood and close friends, communications and all types of mental activity while the ninth house deals with foreign lands and far travels, higher education and philosophical pursuits. But both of these signs are mutable giving them a flexibility and ability to adapt.

I get really annoyed with the idea any sign is more “evolved” than another though I do subscribe to the idea the first six signs relate to the personal and the last six deal more with the collective. It makes sense that Gemini is more concerned with personal issues and Sagittarius with broad concepts affecting many of us. Gemini is also interested in connecting people with others with shared interests – the original go-between.

This photo was taken when I was around six, happily showing off the results of one of my dad’s hunts. The only reason I had shoes on was because my mom made me wear them when we went up into the hills. The clothes were probably worn by several other kids before they got to me because we were cash poor in those days but I didn’t care! Loved to run around in the brush and play by myself.

Oh yeah, Scorp rising had no problem handling dead critters . . .

Thoughts on Transits

Thinking about the timing of transits can make my head hurt which is why I write about them frequently in an ongoing effort to understand them. Synastry is much easier for me to get my head around and judging from the feedback from those I have done compatibility readings for my intuitive leaps work well. But transits always seem much more left brain and have so many, many picky rules to follow.

I have read what both Betty Lundsted and Bernadette Brady have to say about transits and while I’ve learned a great deal from both of them, I find Betty’s ideas easier to implement. When Bernadette starts talking making these little boxes, I start to glaze over. Betty has a general rule of thumb on using a ten degree applying orb for transits from Jupiter on out to Pluto – simple, easy to understand and it works for me!

In general we feel most transits during the period when a planet is drawing closer to aspecting a natal planet or Angle. After the aspect is exact by degree, then the transit enters the separating phase. However it’s not always that tidy because if the transiting planet is triggering a natal aspect pattern then the affect of the transit can reverberate longer. For example, your 20˚ Aries Moon is square natally to Uranus at 26˚ Cancer and transiting Mars in Aries is coming along to conjoin your Moon. Mars irritates the Moon so you would probably start feeling this transit when Mars hit 10˚ Aries. Even after Mars exactly conjoins your Moon, it will still be another twelve days or so before it exactly squares your Uranus and will still be irritating your Moon via the natal Moon-Uranus square. So check your natal aspect patterns for the later degrees and use those to determine the end of a transit.

I was really annoyed when I woke up with this particular realization, so I decided to share it! What I’m wondering now is if anyone else can corroborate this.

Image: A selection of this year's peonies from my garden. My new favorite is the one on the right hand side of the photo. It's white in the center with a blush of pink to the outer petals. Libra to the core!

Out of Sync and Sorts

Going through one of those phases when I feel very much out of sync with others except for my immediate family, so I decided to take a look at the transits to see what was going on.

For starters, whenever the Moon is in Sagittarius, it is in my first house and conjoining my Venus and South Node in Sagittarius. Plus the Sun is currently in my seventh house and just finished hitting my North Node in Gemini and Saturn in Virgo is sitting in my tenth square to both. Yesterday my Gemini step-daughter and Gemini rising granddaughter went with us up into the hills looking for ‘shrooms. How reflective of the Sky is that, besides being a lot of fun.

Mercury in Taurus is exactly conjunct my Descendant today and that means it opposes my Ascendant, forming the base of a t-square with Neptune-Chiron and Jupiter currently in my third house. Put that together with Mercury ruled Gemini (Sun) as well as Virgo (Saturn), and no wonder my brain keeps short-circuiting! I do a little bit here, go outside and do a little bit there, come back in and prepare meals, sit down at the computer, pick up a book by Sherri Tepper I’m re-reading and so on. I really truly hope once Mercury makes its final square to Neptune & Co on Wednesday and returns to the degree it went retrograde on June 16, my normal ability to concentrate will return.

Off Topic: I want to thank Casey for the various wrist exercises she found. I’ve been doing a selection of them and they seem to be helping. Despite those who have urged me to have the surgery done, I consider that a last resort measure for a number of reasons. One of which is financial. All one has to do is step into the medical system and money vanishes like magic and we only have a $1,500 deductible major medical policy. The parties who have recommended surgery were all government employees (teachers, postal workers, etc) with excellent health insurance and not a CLUE about what it means to live in the world of the self-employed. Yes, I support a single-payer health care system in this country. Don’t get me started on living in a country where a murderer on death row has access to better health care for free than I and many others do.

Since I seem to be wandering all over the place, I’m wondering if anyone else is dealing with this lack of focus.

BTW, go here to read my thoughts on the Full Moon in Sagittarius.

Image: We are finally getting the occasional thundershower moving through making much more interesting sunsets to enjoy.