Today is my love’s birthday, which got me thinking about the sign of Capricorn in general, and all the reasons I adore them in particular. With the recent and Very Significant move of Pluto into Capricorn, it is doubly timely to ponder the uniqueness of this, the last of the Earth signs.

First, a disclaimer: it is widely known that no-one is their Sun Sign alone. There are many other factors in the chart that need to be considered before you start applying labels. So I’m really talking here about Capricorn the sign in general, not just Capricorn Suns.

One thing Capricorn blokes are not known for is being the playboys of the zodiac. Endearingly in this modern age, they usually won’t push for sack action – they genuinely do want to Get To Know You first. When courting, they tend to do things touchingly Right. Lovers of rules and structure, they’ll woo you as they ‘should’ – with wine, candlelight and immaculate red roses (or whatever equivalent they’ve decided is the Thing To Do).  And although it can be hard to win the affection of Capricorn, if you are lucky enough to do so there is no more loyal or committed partner.

Tending towards the serious themselves, Capricorn often adores playfulness and fun in their other half. It’s as if you provide the spark and exuberance that they never learnt to manufacture for themselves. They are the rock below and you (depending on your chart) are the cool waters, clean breeze or fiery spark above.

Generally known as ambitious souls, I have also found them to be ardent supporters of anything that will advance the careers of their loved ones. This is perhaps because Capricorn’s ambition is intricately tied to their sense of self. A career is more than just something you do to pay the bills – it is a place to find fulfillment, to practice your dearly held ethics. So it is best, they figure, that you do something you truly believe in and are happy with.

Capricorn is ruled by the planet Saturn, generally known as the Ol’ Bastard of the solar system. Although I sometimes think of Saturn as the devil incarnate (it can certainly feel like it when he’s activating something in your natal chart), in many ways he is more analogous to the god of the Old Testament – the one with the thunderbolts in his pockets and a willingness to hurl them at anyone who deviates from his impossibly high standards. You know – the god with the capital G. The one from whom we get the phrase ‘God-fearing’. Saturn is exacting, uncompromising and rigidly focused. Saturn is a lesson to be learnt.

Imagine being ruled by such a planet! Poor little Cappy, it makes your heart bleed (although that could be my Pisces Sun speaking). In fact, little Caps often have a rough start in life. If forced to take the weight of the world on their shoulders (and they often are), they Grow Up Too Soon. If as a consequence they veer towards their shadow side, they can end up all-too-closely resembling that nasty Old Testament god. It is because of this resemblance that you do on occasion see Capricorn get a bit of a bad rap.

Even vaguely enlightened Caps, however, are true gems of the zodiac. It is as if their Earthiness has been hardened and tempered so that they resemble an ancient and abiding mountain, or an enduring foundational rock. I admire them immensely in a general sense… and, more specifically, have the pleasure of loving one to distraction and being loved beyond any dream or expectation in return.

Happy, happy birthday Capricorn. May 2009 be all that you need and desire.

To distract myself from pointless seething about how over my job I am right now, I decided to read the weekly ’scope for my sun sign written by the ever-insightful Astrobarry. And felt immediately vindicated:

“…I’m definitely beginning to sense a ‘fed-up-ness’ emanating from you, Pisces,” he says, “As if you’re wondering when you might catch a break from the tangled web into which you’ve found yourself woven.”

Elsewhere Astrobarry discusses the Saturn-Uranus opposition, which is now apparently within a 5-degree orb and hence officially in force.

An opposition is exactly what is sounds like – on the current astrological chart, Saturn and Uranus are opposite each other. The effects of an opposition are, too, as you would expect – the two energies are literally opposing, or pulling against each other.

To me, Saturn is ‘the rules’ planet – work hard to reap rewards, put in necessary effort, look at the big picture, grow and progress according to lessons learnt. Uranus, however, is more of a maverick energy – calling on us to ring in big changes, bring on the new world, shuck off ritualistic behaviours, defy cultural norms.

With these two energies opposed, is it surprising, then, that I am ever-more-aware of the huge discrepancy between the-world-and-my-life-as-I-want-it and the-motions-through-which-I-am-forced-to-go-through? I guess not.

Of course the impact of this may be heightened or lessened depending on where these energies are ‘hitting’ areas in my own natal chart. Investigating this could well be my next project…

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Photo courtesy of Vox Efx

This week both Pluto and Jupiter turn direct. For most of us, the change will be palpable.

When a planet retrogrades, from our viewpoint here on earth it appears to move backwards over the same orbit it has just travelled through. So, during the time of the retrograde we go back over the same emotional ground. It’s a like a second chance to ‘get it’. To hammer home whatever lesson we need to learn.

After turning retrograde in early May, Jupiter goes direct on Monday. “We could feel the alteration in a big way”, says Julie Demboski, “Through obvious differences in social attitudes toward material realities”. Hard on Jupiter’s heels, Pluto is direct on Tuesday, completing a retrograde cycle that began in early April. What lessons have you ‘been over’ in these past four or five months? Whatever it is, Mystic Medusa advises us not to drag out or prop up this scenario any longer. It’s time to take what we’ve learnt and move on.

In times of great change we need something to hang onto. Right now, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are in relationship-oriented Libra. As Julie Demboski says, “Relationships, clear communications, and a willingness to take needed action can be our anchors in those moments when foundations seem made of sand and threaten to shift beneath our feet”. While some associations are ending or lessening, some are strengthening and growing. These, I think, are the jewels shining through the struggle of the everyday.

Take heart, too, from the energies of the recent Sun/Saturn conjunction – the air is fairly crackling with all the energy needed to build and consolidate the future of our dreams.

Yesterday saw a Sun/Saturn conjunction in Virgo. (This literally means that, from the perspective of the earth, the Sun and Saturn appear to be directly on top of each other.)

Ruler of Capricorn, Saturn is known as a hard taskmaster. In our natal charts he often points to areas of life where we will encounter difficulties, or need to learn lessons.

‘If you’ve been feeling stressed, weighed down, not listened to, like you’ve run into too many brick walls,’ says Lynda Hill, if you’re ‘tired, unsatisfied and unrewarded’, then ‘welcome to the land of Sun/Saturn’.

Saturn is the master of harsh reality, of flushing the sediment at the core of our pretty illusions to the surface. It’s not pretty. Not at all. But there are enormous opportunities for change. For creating the life that we want to live.

Saturn is not gentle. When he’s ready to teach us something, it’s best to go willingly. Those who resist will be dragged along kicking and screaming anyway.

What appeases Saturn? Hard work. Honesty. Bravery. These are the qualities that will see us through right now.

Above all – don’t lose hope. There is a great deal of love and happiness in the world. And although he works in mysterious ways, Saturn does help us reach and hold it for ourselves.

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Further reading: Lynda Hill’s post Removing the Veil – Sun/Saturn Conjunction is simply magic.

Fact One: I’ve been unusually focused on GTD of late.  And my tolerance for fools is markedly low. 

Fact Two: The Sun is in Virgo, now until late September. 

Could these two Facts be related?  Certainly my heavy-handed prose implies that they are.  Not only that – read almost any description of Virgo and you’ll be tripping over words like ‘perfectionist’, ‘meticulous’, ‘fussy’ and ‘overcritical’ from here until Sunday.

Virgo gets a heckuva bad rap. Condemned as a worrier on one hand and damned with faint praise (like ‘diligent’) on the other.

A few months ago I ran across a cool post on Mystic Medusa’s blog wherein readers were asked to send in Virgo positives.  At the time I was labouring under the delusion that I had a Virgo ascendant (a long story… or, more accurately, a short yet incredibly dull story), so I read on with interest and discovered that Virgos are frequently:

-subtly witty
-green thumbed
-artistic
-thoughtful
-there in a crisis
-kind
-sensual.

Link through to the comments on the post for more of the above (and a healthy dose of cynicism – seems it’s hard to avoid when the topic of conversation is Virgo).

Virgo is a mutable Earth sign and, along with Gemini, is ruled by Mercury.

In seeking to understand Virgo, it’s useful to dwell on these facts alone.

Earth – fair enough. Practical, reliable etc. Mutable – surely the monumental pain-in-the-ykw Virgo is made out to be would be fixed? And Mercury – renegade planet, trickster, magician, alchemist… I mean, what’s up with that?

As usual I have no answers, dear Reader… instead I Open the Floor to You for guidance…

A lunar eclipse is similar to a full moon, Lynda Hill explains, but much much stronger.  Also longer lasting - we could feel the effects for nine months or even more.

So the lunar eclipse this weekend (exact 7:16am Sunday) is important.  It’s at at 24 Aquarius 21, and Neptune (planet of illusion) is only a couple of degrees away.  Also nearby are Chiron (the wounded healer) and the North Node (the future). 

I’ve been reading a bit about what all this means and the consensus seems to be: discard anything (physical, emotional, spiritual) you no longer need or want in your life.  You can’t make room for anything new and great until you clear out all the old crap.  Surround yourself activities and people that feed, motivate and extend you.  Prioritise these people and experiences over those that numb and paralyse you.  Prepare yourself for something new and wonderful to enter your life.  Then actually do what it takes to make it happen!

As a write this it occurs to me that it might be useful to draw up two lists – one headed ‘Discard’ and the other ‘Create’.  This is what mine would look like:

Discard: fear, envy, anger, worry, sloth.

Create: joy, energy, space, calm, compassion.

All very Aquarian big-picture lofty goalish, don’t you agree?  Of course there are specific activities I’ll need to undertake to make this happen.  Luckily for me, Saturn is in GTD Virgo right now – and, as a friend pointed out only yesterday, Saturn rewards hard work with steady progress.  All the ingredients are there for us to live to our best potential.  No excuses!!

One last thing: the Sun is still in Leo and, as Mystic Medusa says: ‘detaching and having a good giggle at the follies of your ego where appropriate could be good medicine for this moon’. 

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For some great lunar eclipse tips (much more specific and practical than mine) – check out Linda Rose’s post on the topic.

I’m working out a new approach to dreamscopes, departing from time-bound ‘predictive’ posts to something more, well, me.

But I couldn’t help but comment on the Mars-Saturn conjunction happening in Virgo now-to-Friday-morning-ish (sorry, can’t be more specific – still learning).

The effects have been in the air for awhile. It’s been a big week for ‘oh god I want to go home and crawl into bed’ emails from friends. We’re feeling the pull of two strong energies – ‘wet-blanket’ Saturn smothering fiery get-up-and-go Mars. That means there’s anger flying around – Mars is a warrior energy and when that can’t be channelled usefully, it gets frustrating.

With Saturn in the picture, the anger can result from feeling ‘not good enough’ or not measuring up, says Lauren from Inspiredastrology. We might feel we can’t stand on our own two feet. Take initiative. Be what we want to be.

That’s the downside. Even on the upside, though, it can feel a bit restrictive, as Mystic Medusa says.

But nothing lasts forever. Things will start moving again from Friday. And it’s all happening in Virgo, so there’s plenty of momentum for GTD, if that’s your thing. Even if not, there should a feeling of finally moving forward – and hopefully a lot more positivity.

In the meantime, hang in there darlings.

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Update: How apt is this quotation, seen on Danae Sinclair’s blog this afternoon?

After spending time in dramatic Leo since early May, Mars travels through Virgo from this Wednesday 2 July until mid August.

We may notice a shift from Leonic grand guesture to a more analytical, practical frame of mind. ‘If Mars is how we assert our initiative and will, and if Virgo is the sign of purity and idealism,’ says Astrobarry, ‘then naturally we must put on our reading spectacles and look very closely at what we’re doing.’

Or, as Mystic Medusa puts it, this is the ultimate get your shit together fast transit. We may begin to assess the cogs of our daily lives and plan some finetuning. Even more shockingly – we may put those plans into action! Complete them! And then move onto the next target!

We’ll be helped along the way by more than just Virgo. Mars is conjunct Saturn for the next three weeks or so, making this is one of our best moments all year to tackle the work we’ve been either unconsciously shrinking from or consciously avoiding.

Good thing too – after all, it is the beginning of the financial year. AKA time to start thinking about those pesky tax returns. My in-tray is filling up with receipts and PAYG statements as we speak (yes, I do have an in-tray at home. Yes, really). Not to mention all the other things I’ve been putting off… painting the house for example… and the yearly doctor’s appointment (several months overdue)… also, my wardrobe could do with a little reorganising…

Which brings me the full circle, back to the Venus-in-Cancer-mother-yourself stuff I was on about yesterday. It’s good to get things done. But let’s not get carried away (always an option when Mars is in the equation). We need to look after ourselves too!

Fortunately, Virgo is concerned with more than just the mundane nitty-gritty of life. She is intimately interested in our health as well. Nutrition. Healing. Exercise. Detoxifying.

Like I said yesterday – take a walk, draw a bath, eat some vegies. You’ll feel good physically and get that wonderful virtuous glow, all at the same time. Perfect!

During my astrological browsings this morning, I discovered that this week Jupiter sesquisquared Saturn (Thursday evening EST). A sesquisquare, or sesquiquadrate, is three times the semisquare, resulting in an angle of 135°.

So – what does that mean? A thought-provoking post on Inspiredastrology says that, because the two planets govern the workings of society (Jupiter = hope and Saturn = rules), this sesquisquare highlights our attempts to balance personal goals with our responsibilities and obligations. ‘The rules, as you’ve always followed them, may seem especially limiting and off-course. There may be something else you need to be doing for your future success, yet you already have an obligation.’

I mention this because last night I experienced a stronger-than-usual crisis of conscience. I was reading Steven Forrest’s The Inner Sky, trying to work out what my Aquarius moon in the 9th house might mean. Rereading the chapter on Aquarius, I was struck by its significance as never before. Sentences leaped out: ‘The Water-Bearer’s mortal enemy is the tribal instinct’; ‘The battering ram takes many forms, but in essence it is the pressure brought upon us by our culture to conform to an established pattern of behaviour’; ‘Somewhere, deep in the core of her psyche there has to be a conviction that her perceptions are valid’ (emphases his). The 9th house: ‘All our views of reality are conditioned by an unspoken model of the world – and that model is always arbitrary and limiting’; ‘We must intentionally move to break up our routines of behaviour and thought’. Finally, a question posed by the moon: ‘What kinds of experiences are most essential to my happiness?’.

Last night, I reviewed my life and saw how, brick by brick, I had steadily constructed my own prison. Believing the stories I was told, I devotedly acquired everything I ‘needed’. A job. A mortgage. A car. Various insurance policies. Nice clothes. And in doing so I frittered my energies away, at the expense of that which will make my life truly worthwhile.

It’s not a pleasant feeling. We know that the path that leads us away from the norm is not an easy one. But how much harder – each and every grinding, dreary day – is the alternative?

Of the Jupiter Saturn sesquisquare Inspiredastrology says ‘Your obligations may be from the past, but they also represent your own need for safety and security. If this has become a burden, you may be realizing how you have restricted your own growth through your beliefs.’
Tick.

But this time also offers hope: ‘Why shouldn’t things work out? Try to think of what blocks you have put in your path to greater success and abundance. As Jupiter is also in a supportive aspect to Uranus, this is a time you can break through old beliefs that have prevented you from accessing your intuition and experiencing life spontaneously. This is a time you can recognize and release old judgments and criticisms that keep you locked just where you are. If you want to move beyond whatever feels blocked, you can do it with your own willingness to grow, experience, and develop.’

The moon is in Pisces until lunchtime Thursday EST. This adds extra H2O to an already watery sun-in-Cancer landscape.

To tell the truth, I’m finding it difficult to theorise on this Pisces moon. I spent most of my life thinking of myself as ‘a Piscean’ – and wondering, for example, why I wasn’t as endlessly compassionate or considerate as I was supposed to be! Having my birthchart done was a revelation. I’m now so busy revelling in my Aquarius moon and Gemini ascendant that I have retreated, somewhat, from my Pisces sun.

After all, Pisces can be difficult. ‘Life under the sea is very different from life on land,’ says Liz Greene. ‘The fishes live in a world where there are many secret and hidden things, mysteries and strange beauties.’ The heightened sensitivity and intuition commonly associated with this sign can be draining. The shadow side of Pisces is escapism – daydreaming, tv-watching, drink and drugs – and even, I saw somewhere recently, reading too much (note to self!).

So what can we expect from this Pisces moon? The wateriness is offset by some good old-fashioned Sun-Saturn contact (Sun in Cancer sextile Saturn in Virgo) today – enabling us to ‘bring efficiency, organization and productivity into our daily activities’ (Saturn) without sacrificing caring interaction with the people around us. Let me know how that works out for you!