Winding down

The moon is waning and we are winding down with it. Until late (late) Friday it’s waning in Leo; by the time we wake up on Saturday it will have moved into Virgo.

As usual, this is a good time to declutter and complete projects in time for the next lunar cycle. The Virgo influence makes the process easier and more effective (perhaps even oddly enjoyable). Don’t knock yourself out though – physical preparations are important but we also need to rest up and gather our thoughts.

Personally, it’s been a rough week. If you’re feeling knocked around too, take heart – the weekend is the perfect time to withdraw into your own space, lick your wounds, and prepare for a brand new tomorrow.

Monday’s new moon is in Libra (the sun having moved into Libra earlier this week). For those out there who are Libran suns, Monday is your power day. Enjoy.

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Photo by James Jordan

A little Virgo is never enough…

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…

Lunar eclipse in Aquarius

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.

Mars conjunct Saturn in Virgo

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?

Mars in Virgo: New Year, New Leaf!

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.

Back down to Earth (with a thud?)

I never thought I’d be so relieved to see a Capricorn moon.

While most of us were sweetly slumbering this (Thursday) morning, the full moon in Sagittarius peaked at last (at around 2:30 am EST). At 7:37 we had a moon-in-Sagittarius-conjunct-Pluto-in-Sagittarius moment; after which the moon was briefly void of course before moving into Capricorn just before 8:00. (Thank you Penny Unn for spelling out all the above!)

Capricorn: earthy, sensible, powerful. ‘In a word, Capricorn is the sign of integrity,’ Steven Forrest says. ‘In the sign’s highest expression, there are no lies and no pretenses.’ We may have seen a few truths come to light already in recent days (all that Plutonian action I’ve been harping on about). The moon in Cap can help us mop up.

And, as if conjured by those very words ‘mop up’: just before 3 o’clock Thursday afternoon the Cap moon aspects harmoniously with self-disciplined Saturn in down-to-the-nitty-gritty Virgo.

It all seems almost too convenient…