Some tips & tricks for surviving & thriving under Mercury square Neptune. With this energy in play through June 23rd, be aware of literal (as in, while driving) and metaphorical “blind spots”!
05/12/2015
Enjoying The Silence Of The Mercury/Saturn/Neptune T-Square
As a writer, it’s always interesting for me to watch how my energy shifts as Mercury finds itself in contact with the other planets. In case you hadn’t noticed I’ve been a bit quieter than usual on the blogging front, though behind the scenes I’ve been strategically toiling away at astro-forecasts, getting hardcore tuned-in to the incoming Mercury-Neptune energy so prevalent this month & next and using it as fuel for an enlightening newsletter article, and generally just staying on-task and minimizing distractions while in this “zone”. This has meant allowing some time off from blogging, which is actually good practice for the astrology we currently have in play. You see, Mercury has just passed an opposition to shut-your-mouth Saturn and edges ever-closer to a square with dissipating Neptune, so there is certainly no sense for any of us in prattling on (whether that’s writing, texting, or talking) just to fill space now. There must be a purpose to what we say and it must be meaningful, otherwise what’s the point?
I think it’s interesting how so-called “dead-air” seems to make us, as a species, rather anxious these days. What’s wrong with a little silence now and again – especially if/when our focus is lacking and maybe we don’t have a clear idea of exactly what we want to say? At what point does chatter just become white noise that only fills the mind with static? I say it’s far better to be deliberate with what we say under this kind of sky and even erring toward laconic rather than babble on distractingly about nothing substantial! And with Mercury in Gemini squaring Neptune for most of May, maybe a (temporary) retreat from the information overload and/or gossip fest that Mercury in Gem can sometimes be is in order. We could always brush up on our mindfulness practice, meditate in order to quiet our Monkey Minds, get lost in a fantastic work of fiction, reconfigure our brainwaves with the use of some binaural beats or even hypnotic/subliminal messages….the key is using tools or techniques that unlock the more intuitive right hemisphere of our mind so the overstimulated left hemisphere calms and allows information to flow in from non-rational, non-linear sources.
Once this occurs, you may be surprised at the amount of magic and synchronicity that can be found in the everyday. Consider keeping a dream diary, paying attention to songs on the radio for any hidden messages, and generally just being receptive to what your intuition has to say, because Mercury wired to Neptune is apt to be nonverbal and prefers speaking to us in symbols or via music. Listening is an important part of communication too, you know – it’s skill every bit as critical as being able to articulate out thoughts. Because whenever we’re motor mouths, we’re essentially jamming the receiver and sending The Universe a “busy” signal – how can its messages possibly reach us if we’re too busy talking to listen? How can we expect it to get a word in edgewise? Ebb and flow, ebb and flow…allow the tide to recede and then watch what shows up on the beach.
05/04/2015
The Mercury/Venus Mutual Reception
Mercury has entered Taurus (sign of moo-lah) tonight while Material Girl Venus floats through Gemini, and you know what this means…! Yes, we have a mutual reception between Mercury and Venus in effect for a good 2+ weeks! This pairing puts our minds on our money and our money on our minds, to riff on a lyric from urban poet laureate Snoop Dogg, LOL. Tap this mojo to generate ideas for revenue, and definitely use your Gift of Gab to get commercial transactions flowing. Be polite, polished, and affable in all conversations, because the easier you are to talk to, the easier it will be to ask for (and be granted) favors. For some, this energy could correlate to joining with a co-worker, sibling, or other relation for the purposes of commerce – even for those that don’t, know that partnering up with someone to bounce your thoughts off one another may prove particularly fruitful/lucrative now. Also, if you have to engage in diplomatic negotiations of any kind, this is the astrology to do it under because the chances of everyone being able to reach an accord are higher than normal.
The Mercury and Venus-ruled signs – Gemini, Virgo, Taurus, & Libra – capitalize on this vibe most, but ANYONE can use it to their advantage by seeking out avenues that allow for conscious manifestation of any of these desirable traits. Raising our consciousness and being aware these energies are, in fact, out there for us all to access is all that’s required for to resonate with them. Along this vein, the main pitfalls to watch out for with this mutual reception may involve a tendency to be a bit too agreeable to the point that it veers into “yes-man/woman” territory, and mental laziness. While this is a light and sociable pairing, the tendency may be to seek social distractions so the intellect doesn’t have to work too hard – allowing mental inertia to take over potentially squanders the more tangible benefits this pairing has to offer us. Also, this energy does like to talk, but instead of chatting aimlessly about superficialities, dialog should serve as a vehicle for true connectedness and bonding – try using this mojo to tell someone you value/appreciate/like/love them.
04/14/2015
Another Cautionary Tale For Saturn In Sadge!
And the journalism debacle continues, folks…..! We’ve already spoken in a previous post about the effects of Saturn in Sagittarius on reporters as a whole and how Saturn is basically putting them on the stand and requiring that they tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But just a few short weeks after Saturn halted movement and turned retrograde in a square to Neptune, guess what has popped up on the radar? Disgraced journalist Judith Miller recently had a book published – The Story: A Reporter’s Journey. For those not familiar with her work, Ms. Miller became a household name for her coverage of the Iraq War and came under fire very publicly for her role in reporting on supposed “Weapons of Mass Destruction” in Iraq that were never actually there. Uh, whoopsie!
It seems she might have been seeking redemption and to clear her good name – supposedly this book was going to “set the record straight”. But that didn’t quiiiiiite happen!
Critics have been….um, shall we say, vocal…in voicing their disgust with the book. Apparently it was received by readers as being heavy with excuses for her conduct/poor judgement as a reporter during the Iraq War. And when you’re a journalist who has already screwed up pretty bad to the point that your credibility has been shredded and your level of respectability within your chosen profession has virtually become nil, needless to say the very last thing you would want to do during Saturn in Sadge is put out a book that gives people the impression of anything less than a complete “mea culpa”.
You don’t shift blame, you don’t offer up half-assed excuses for your conduct, you don’t go on the defense….you suck it up, say you were wrong, apologize, and then most importantly, you ask for the ability to EARN FORGIVENESS back! This is an important concept with Saturn making 3 exact squares to Neptune between now and late 2016 – when you do wrong and/or make a mistake, if you want people to trust you again it means you are actually going to have to earn (Saturn) that forgiveness (Neptune) and work at it. You don’t just get to wave a magic wand and think all will be forgiven, heavens no! You have to acknowledge that it will take time, and that you will have to make consistent and repeated efforts before people will find you trustworthy again.
But if you err on the Neptune side of the equation and make nebulous statements about how the whole thing was nobody’s fault, really, or how it was supposedly all just a big misunderstanding ….well, nobody’s really going to want to hear that! Saturn says,“Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to JAIL!” OK…maybe not *literally* jail in all cases, but rest assured if you are a reporter the penalties for *not* “getting with the program” are inclined to be very stiff during the next 2 1/2 years. People are going to be hard on you, mostly because you deserve it if you’re caught lying or if you blab on in a book about your biggest career failure (which, by the way, was BECAUSE of a credibility issue) without actually accepting real and direct accountability for that transgression. As a Capricorn Sun (governed by Saturn), Miller really SHOULD know better!
But yes, people are rightfully going to be tough on those who fall on the wrong side of this energy. On that note, I must mention the reviews – this New York Times piece on Miller’s book by Terry McDermott is virtually saturated with the energy of Saturn/Neptune square – especially the last two lines of it. Then there’s one of the more interesting (and politically controversial) Amazon.com reviews, which with one line pretty much sums up the current state of journalism during these Saturn-in-Sadge-with-Neptune-in-Pisces times “…the media is no longer capable of finding the facts, much less reporting them honestly”.
As I’ve said, Brian Williams may have been the first reporter casualty to be felled by his own hand during Saturn in Sagittarius, but he definitely won’t be the last. We now have Judith Miller apparently digging herself a deeper hole with the release of this book and sacrificing herself upon the Saturn-Neptune altar.
Who’s next?
04/10/2015
Proof Of Capricorn!
Meet Pismo the surfin’ goat! In an era where modern astrology has largely dismissed Capricorn’s aquatic ties via simply referring to this sign as “The Goat”, Pismo serves as living proof of Capricorn’s seafaring roots! In actuality, Capricorn is the MerGoat – a hybrid creature with a caprine front half and a fish’s tail at the rear. Perhaps we could think of this sign as the original “all terrain vehicle”, LOL! Goats have an incredible innate sense of poise that gives them sure footing on even the sketchiest of mountainside precipices, so it makes sense that being able to hang ten on a surfboard wouldn’t really faze them all that much as far as these things go.
It’s interesting that we have so much watery symbolism occupying the last 1/4 of the zodiac, isn’t it? In order of appearance, we have the SeaGoat (Capricorn), the Water-Bearer (Aquarius), and the Fishes (Pisces), but of all three, only Pisces is considered an actual Water sign. So what gives, then? Why all the aquatic themes? In ancient Egypt, December, January, and February (aka Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces seasons, respectively) these winter months coincided with the start of the rainy season. Egypt was an epicenter of astrological study in antiquity and therefore had significant influence upon how things were viewed and interpreted from a cosmological standpoint, so it makes sense that parts of the zodiac would come to bear their stamp – Capricorn, being depicted as both a rugged, hardy land-dwelling creature (epitomized by the goat) and half aquatic denizen (fish), certainly would serve as a visual reminder to the people the dry season was almost over and that a wet spell was about to commence. But as evidenced by Capricorn’s disappearing tail, it appears the modern era has caused this once-powerful influence to fade and die-out, so perhaps in these Pluto-in-Capricorn times we live in it’s good to get back to our roots with a little (astrological) history lesson every now and again!
03/30/2015
When Mercury In Pisces Squares Saturn In Sadge…
….it is generally a good time to shut one’s mouth and practice a little self-censoring. Why? Well for one Mercury (our words, communication) is debilitated in Pisces. We may have a hard time being articulate and picking the right words, something may be lost in translation, we may not exercise enough discretion about what we’re saying, we may bend/distort facts and fib, lose our verbal filters and have poor conversational boundaries, we might say things in a roundabout way that lacks clarity and creates confusion, or we may just flat-out be misunderstood.
Now Saturn is The Enforcer. He insists that we mind our P’s & Q’s and, most importantly, be responsible – with his contact to Mercury, this demands accountability for the messages that we put out there, so caution should be used with what we’re saying. As Saturn currently resides in Sagittarius, this pertains especially to topics involving, religion, race, politics, worldviews, etc. So this is really not a time to be saying things that are socially irresponsible unless you want Saturn to come along and slap some sense into you.
Let’s start with Exhibit A, the recent Dolce & Gabbana flap. Here’s the recap of what happened in case you missed it: Fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana gave a recent interview for an Italian magazine in which the duo expressed their views on gay adoption. The statement reads as follows, “We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one. No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.”
O_O
Now I don’t know if this opinion was volunteered or solicited, but either way you’ll recall from my newsletter that I mentioned one of the key themes of Saturn in Sadge is putting a stop to bias. Surely making sweeping generalizations about “chemical offsprings” and “rented uteruses” counts as a rather ignorant and prejudicial statement by itself? There are double Saturn bonus points penalties involved here because it’s a rather harsh political statement to boot, and Saturn in Sadge does not like soapboxing – you can be sure he’ll check dat ass if/when a line has been crossed! Apparently one was, because a call to #BoycottDolceGabbana has ensued, involving several high-profile celebrities.
Now what have we learned from this illustrative example? That it’s generally an ill-considered time to be running off at the mouth with political statements. Apparently, Starbucks did not get this memo either, because they are currently involved in a little social media flap of their own. Here’s the scoop on this one: Evidently someone high up on the corporate food chain at Starbucks decided *this* was going to be the moment to launch their #RaceTogether ad campaign. Cue epic fail. In this campaign, the company encourages its baristas to engage their customers about the topic of race relations. Which, if you’ve been paying any attention to American news at all, is kind of a loaded topic at the moment in the wake of things like the events in Ferguson, Missouri involving Michael Brown, the Eric Garner case…things like this. Ergo, it’s probably not the wisest of choices for a corporation to pick this topic as a conversational “jumping off point” for its baristas to engage with total strangers. This was then followed up by heavy social media criticisms of how Starbucks doesn’t hire enough people of color, doesn’t feature enough ethnic diversity in their ad campaigns, etc., and culminated in their VP of global communications terminating his Twitter account due all the flak he was getting from this. Um, so let me see if I have this straight: As a corporation, you are asking people to talk to you about race relations, and then when people actually do your response is to slam the door in their face? Yeah, not a good plan.
I think Joanna Rothkopf of Salon.com summed it up perfectly: “Half-assed efforts at creating the appearance of a corporate social conscience are suspect at best”. If this truly was just a misunderstood attempt by Starbucks and an earnestly compassionate effort to get dialog going in order to work on race relations, how about instead of taking ads out in the NY Times and USA Today about #RaceTogether, they walked their talk by supporting diversification in the workplace and hiring more people of color so this way any dialog about the topic could unfold more naturally instead of being artificially forced by corporate pressure? Or feature a broader array of ethnically diverse individuals in their advertising? All of these would be good starting points that would actually indicate some kind of social conscience rather than just paying it phony Mercury-in-Pisces lip service.
Now there is also a little taste of the approaching Saturn/Neptune square in all of this, because you may also recall from the aforementioned newsletter how I mentioned Saturn in Sadge naturally frowns upon hypocrisy – it’s very important that we be an example of whatever moral code-of-conduct we purport to believe in so that we don’t wind up fooling ourselves with Neptunian smoke-and-mirror delusions about how we’re practicing what we’re preaching when we really aren’t. As a very good “for instance”, see the Brian Williams post – here is a guy who’s job (well, theoretically anyway, LOL) is to report the truth. Meanwhile, he goes on record telling a baloney self-aggrandizing war story about himself that never happened and naturally gets into trouble for this. It’s never a good idea to pull the wool over our own eyes (or others’, for that matter) and bullshit ourselves with Saturn in the mix!
As I post, the square between Mercury in Pisces and Saturn in Sadge is waning. However, Mercury will remain in the sign of its detriment for almost another two weeks and all conversations are best engaged with compassion and sensitivity.
03/17/2015
Music Please, Maestro!
We’re now just days away from the final exact hit of the generationally-defining Pluto/Uranus square! It’s been a long road, and much has changed within the context of our individual and collective lives since this square began in 2012. I’m of the philosophy that every significant life moment requires a soundtrack and the following two songs I find to be particularly emblematic of this energy as a whole – have a listen:
The lyrics that are particularly resonant:
“….This is it; the apocalypse. Whoa.. I’m waking up. I feel it in my bones; enough to make my systems blow. Welcome to the new age, to the new age, welcome to the new age, to the new age.”
“I raise my flag, don my clothes; it’s a revolution I suppose. We’ll paint it red to fit right in. Whoa..”
Radioactive was released in April 2012, just prior to the very first Pluto-Uranus square in June. This not a coincidence – there’s a reason this song took hold in the collective consciousness like it did! Music has the ability to touch the collective because it has an almost mediumistic ability to channel/resonate with the higher, invisible energies of the cosmos. If you want to know what’s going on with the planets, simply take a look at the big musical hits of a given era and they’ll accurately describe the zeitgeist.
It may interest you to know that in astrology, Pluto has dominion over nuclear power and Uranus = revolutions. For further ha-ha’s, note that both Plutonium and Uranium are radioactive elements.
This brings us to our next song –
Key lyrics:
“It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small, and the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all. Up here in the cold thin air I finally can breathe; I know I left a life behind but I’m too relieved to grieve. It’s time to see what I can do; to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me – I’m free!”
Anyone who has any sort of contact with children has certainly heard this song many times over by now! It’s a hit from the Disney movie “Frozen”, released in late 2013 just a few days prior to the exact heliocentric square of these two planets on November 23rd, so once again we can see how this song had a very direct connection to this energy.
I’ve spoken many times over – particularly in my monthly newsletter – about how one of the primary functions of this square is to break down situations where we’ve been manipulated by things like fear, a sense of inadequacy, and/or scarcity consciousness into remaining in “status quo” situations that have grown stagnant and that have prevented us from breaking new ground essential to our evolutionary growth so that we can finally break free from them. Elsa’s song seems particularly illustrative of this, and it’s is another great example of why a song found a foothold in the collective consciousness like it did.
Before we go, though, let me share with you one of my personal favorites – as much as I love the original, I’ve always had a soft spot for the piano and this one has a slightly more Neptune-in-Pisces approved feel to it courtesy of all the water:
03/13/2015
Path Of Least Resistance Mars
Hi-Fi Mars is awesome – it’s heroic energy and bravery incarnate among many other things! But with Mars passing over the Moon’s South Node in Aries tonight, let’s talk about the more unsavory side of this energy for a moment; the “path of least resistance” that can get us into trouble.
Lo-Fi Mars in Aries is a bully and on the South Node this indicates an excess of self-assertion. Its whole paradigm is built on conflict as well as its ability to flex its muscles in response to this; so with Mars on the Aries South Node we have to be careful how we use our strength so that we don’t push others around – especially when it comes to getting what we want. Standing up for ourselves is one thing; dominating others is another. Because Mars in Aries relishes a competition and is invigorated by the thought of winning, we should also watch for a tendency to engage in “pissing contests”, or to take anything/everything as an affront/challenge. Lo-Fi Mars loves an opportunity to trounce someone or something, so this is a situation where operating from that baseline paradigm of life = conflict CREATES conflict. As ye seek, so shall ye find, and Mars passing over the Aries South Node can be extremely pugnacious and willing to fight over nothing at the drop of a hat. Unresolved anger issues can also be problematic with this placement – Mars in Aries would be much better suited to just taking it out on a heavy bag, picking up a martial art, getting laid, or doing something – anything – else that gives this stereotypically “macho” energy a healthy outlet. Um, well how about some virtual hand-to-hand combat with “Macho Dragons” at least, LOL? Mars has always championed dragon-slaying, and digital Uranus lingering close to Mars would certainly approve of doing it via a futuristic medium like your computer – hey, this IS the Age Of Aquarius we’re in, after all!
Real Mars can take a challenge and respects any opponent willing to go to the mat with it, baby Mars flips out and has a tantrum if someone has the *audacity* to challenge it when it know this opponent has a strong position and it might not be able to win. Lo-Fi Mars in Aries is libel to pitch a fit before throwing its toys out of the sandbox in an infantile manner; a real sore sport. Lo-Fi Mars on the South Node can also be supremely selfish, and nobody looks out for old “Numero Uno” and is capable of demonstrating such a profound lack of consideration for others as a Lo-Fi Mars in Aries! The final angle I’ll touch upon re: Path Of Least Resistance Mars is how crass, obnoxious, and abrasive it can be when done wrong. This is the lowbrow guttersnipe complete with cockney accent – indeed, this energy in combination with Venus’ simultaneous passage through this sign does have a rather Eliza Doolittle feel to it! The Libra North Node working in concert with Venus in Aries ask that we do our best to introduce a little refinement (however challenging this may be with Venus in the sign of her detriment!) to the equation.
Hopefully this post has provided ideas for how *not* to do this energy – those with planets or points near the 10 degree mark of Aries/Libra may be particularly sensitized to this vibe at the moment. Since the Moon’s Nodes are essentially creating echoes of last year’s Mars Retrograde, issues may be brought to the forefront that are reminiscent of events that arose between late December 2013 and mid May 2014. While Libra can certainly benefit from incorporating some Martian elements into their persona now, care should be taken not to swing to the other pole and go overboard with it because it can be real easy to do under these conditions. Aries, on the other hand, should be particularly wary of the hazards outlined in this article and looking to integrate a more considerate, polite, and compromising demeanor – for both signs, it appears there has been a sort of rebalancing going on where change has been the name of the game.
03/04/15
Brian Williams: A Cautionary Tale For Saturn In Sadge
Yikes – so “Get with the program!” Saturn entered truth-seeking Sagittarius for an almost 3 year long stay back in late December 2014, and guess who has already found himself “regulated” by Saturn? NBC’s Brian Williams recently got himself into big trouble for fudging a story about how, during the Iraq war, a helicopter he was supposedly in came under fire and had to make an emergency landing. Needless to say, this was not the truth and it seems Saturn has now come along to fact-check his ass!
Sagittarius is the sign of broadcast journalism, and when Saturn visits the sign he definitely requires that we “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” or face the consequences. Brian Williams may be the first newscaster casualty to be felled by their own hand during Saturn in Sagittarius, but I doubt he’s likely to be the last – especially with the approaching square between Saturn & Neptune activated this year & next. Lo-Fi Neptune represents self-undoing and deception, and as this planet clashes with Saturn during 2015 & 2016, we should expect hard truths to hit if/when we’ve been fibbing to ourselves or others. For the field of journalism as a whole, this transit is definitely all about integrity & ethics – those involved in this profession are well advised to walk the straight-and-narrow.
For the rest of us, we should know the disillusioning potential of this transit comes into play whenever our expectations are held too high. That phrase about expectation being the companion of disappointment comes to mind – especially as this pertains to our journalists, politicians, and religious leaders with Saturn in Sagittarius. I think this is a good time for the humanity as a whole to be asking itself …Read More…
Planets As Superheroes (Or Supervillains…)
I’m always entertained whenever Art imitates Astrology – case in point: Magneto of Marvel Comics fame! This world-class supervillain shares many characteristics of the archetypal Pluto, though he does range toward the darker expression of this planet’s energy overall. Magneto is known as the Master of Magnetism, and as any astrology 101 book will tell you, Pluto’s energy works on this very same metaphorical principle – the invisible power to draw, pull, compel, or fascinate. Plutonic energy exerts dense gravitational force much like a magnet – it enthralls and captivates; almost as if a spell or tractor beam were placed upon us. Now Magneto may exemplify the more literal side of Pluto energy with his supernatural power over magnetism, but there are plenty of other ways their characteristics appear strikingly similar.
In most storylines, Magneto is depicted as being bent on power and destruction – both qualities that resonate with the Lo-Fi expression of Pluto. Beyond surface appearances, though, his story is far more complex as befits his alignment with this planet. His underlying motivations in seeking power and repeated attempts to destroy humanity are to – in his point of view – save the mutant race from the prospect of extinction at the hands of mankind.
Why is this so? Check this shit out: His background includes …Read more…
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