Pisces Full Moon, August 31 2012

August 30, 2012 By

by Lynn Hayes September Planetary Illuminations will be out on Saturday!  If you’re not on my mailing list please sign up in the sidebar or on my website.

art by Sue Halstenberg.  Tomorrow’s Full Moon is packed with planetary goodness.  First we have the opposition of the Sun and Moon in the eternal dance that marks the midpoint of the lunar cycle.  As the Sun steps back and the Moon is illuminated in her full glory, the hidden can be revealed.  We can stop buzzing around long enough to sense the quieter magic that is normally hidden from view – the delicate sounds that hang in the air when the darkness falls.

This Moon is in Pisces, the sign of transcendence, and it opposes the Virgo Sun with its need for order and details and respect for the mundane details of life.  Under the Pisces Moon the soul longs for connection to something that transcends everyday life – an experience where magic and divine experience become the norm and not the exception.  Pisces is ruled by Neptune, and this Full Moon contains a Neptune double whammy because the Moon also conjoins Neptune which enhances that magic wand of illusion and fantasy as well as a spiritual yearning.

The Moon also conjoins Chiron, which opposes the Sun and becomes a part of the Full Moon planetary alignment.  Chiron’s role here is to utilize the Pisces/Neptune deep longing for the purpose of soul evolution and release, so the emotional pull will be very powerful.

Uranus and Pluto are tightly wound into the fabric of this Full Moon, with the Sun in a trine to Pluto, ensuring that transformation occurs as we let go (Pluto) of the dead weight that we typically carry with us.  Pluto is also in a harmonious sextile to the Moon, helping us to go deeper and more fearlessly into the void where we can find our true nature underneath the delusion of everyday life.

However, Pluto is still locked in the square to Uranus that is fostering revolution and change and unrest around the world, and Uranus is agitating the Full Moon chart with an inconjunct and quincunx to the Sun and Moon.  These are awkward aspects that aren’t problematic so much as they create unrest and perhaps a bit of frustration.  The power of transformation that Pluto brings is strong in this Full Moon, but Uranus makes everything a little bit harder.  Nothing will go exactly as planned, and perhaps that IS the plan.

Fortunately Mars, which is in Scorpio now where it is quite powerful in its aggressive force and pure drive and inspiration, harmonizes with the Moon and the Sun to motivate us to seek the kind of peak experience that will culminate in greater awareness and personal understanding.

Enjoy the magic of this Pisces Full Moon!  It is riper and richer than what we can normally ever expect.

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Phoenix Galaxy creates new star life

August 26, 2012 By

Although the Phoenix Galaxy was discovered a few years ago, scientists only recently discovered that this galaxy is creating stars at an astonishing rate of about 740 per earth year, or two new stars every day.

Stars are forming in the Phoenix cluster at the highest rate ever observed for the middle of a galaxy cluster. The object also is the most powerful producer of X-rays of any known cluster and among the most massive. The data also suggest the rate of hot gas cooling in the central regions of the cluster is the largest ever observed.

 

The Phoenix cluster is located about 5.7 billion light years from Earth. It is named not only for the constellation in which it is located, but also for its remarkable properties.

 

“While galaxies at the center of most clusters may have been dormant for billions of years, the central galaxy in this cluster seems to have come back to life with a new burst of star formation,” said Michael McDonald, a Hubble Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the lead author of a paper appearing in the Aug. 16 issue of the journal Nature. “The mythology of the Phoenix, a bird rising from the dead, is a great way to describe this revived object.”

This fascinates me.  What caused this star cluster suddenly to become infused with life?  And I can’t help but wonder what it means for us earthlings if this actually reflects a sudden shift in Universal energies powerful enough to begin generating stars at this “frenetic” rate.

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The astrology of Rosie O’Donnell’s heart attack

August 22, 2012 By

Rosie O'Donnell heart attackRosie O’Donnell, the well-known comedienne, suffered a heart attack this week at the age of 50.  I have profiled Rosie in these pages before, especially about her “Mars problem” as I call it:

It’s no secret that the most brilliant comedians are often depressed and angry individuals who release their frustration through comedy, and Rosie O’Donnell is no exception. Rosie was born with the Sun in Aries, the sign that is ruled by the god of war. The Aries influence is dynamic and inspirational but can also be rebellious and impulsive. Rosie O’Donnell exhibits all of these character traits.

 

Mars in her chart, the planet that rules her Aries Sun, falls in the mystical and adaptable sign of Pisces. When the fiery god of war (Mars) is expressed through the watery sign of empathy and the subconscious (Pisces), there is a tendency for unconscious resentments, anger turned inward into depression. In addition, Pisces tends to shrink from conflict so Mars in Pisces can produce passive aggressive behavior that doesn’t confront a problem directly but instead is outwardly peaceful (Pisces) but subtly sabotages a situation.

 

Mars in Rosie’s chart is conjunct Mercury, the planet of communication and transmission of ideas, a combination that links her aggressive instinct (Mars) with her thoughts and words (Mercury). Because Mercury is also in sensitive Pisces, Rosie is extremely empathic and compassionate to those around her, but she can also become a warrior (Mars) with words (Mercury) when she is crossed. Both Mars and Mercury are conjunct Chiron, the god of wounding and healing, which suggests a hypersensitivity that can be very reactive.

 

This Mars/Mercury/Chiron combination is opposed by Pluto, the planet of power and transformation. When the god of war faces off with the god of the underworld, there are power struggles and a sense of frustration that both generates a tremendous amount of physical energy but also can lead to an underlying rage. Mercury in opposition to Pluto shows an individual with an intensely probing mind who can become overly obsessive. Because in Rosie’s chart her frustration and rage is difficult to express through the watery Pisces influence, she carries that frustration around within her where it leaks out at inopportune moments, such as Rosie’s recent feuds with Donald Trump and Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

 

Rosie is in the middle of her Chiron return right now – the planetary cycle of Chiron that occurs for everyone when they are 50-52 and Chiron in the sky returns to the same degree as it is in our individual charts.  Chiron cycles tend to bring out issues that need resolving – it is known as the “wounded healer,” but more than that I like to call it the Soul Healer” because as these old wounds are wounds of the soul as well as the psyche and their healing helps us to advance in our soul evolution as well as personal development.
Our resistance to this evolution can create problems for us, both psychological and physical and nowhere is this more true than in Chiron cycles which are often associated with health problems.  It’s commonly said that “after 50 the body goes downhill” – astrologically, this is due to the shifts that occur at the Chiron return.
For Rosie, this is made more complicated by the fact that her Chiron is part of this major system in her chart as described above, so when Chiron returns to its place in her chart it is also transiting her Mars, and opposing Pluto where soul surgery is necessary.  This is an intense time that requires a great deal of internal work to navigate.
Uranus is working on Rosie too with an awkward (inconjunct/quincunx) aspect to the Mars/Chiron/Pluto system.  Uranus is electrical in nature, and because the pumping of the heart is an electrical process, challenging transits of Uranus can sometimes interfere with this mechanism and create heart difficulties where there are energetic blocks.
For Rosie O’Donnell, and others with the kind of pent-up rage that is the hallmark of a chart like this, regular physical activity is critical so that the energy that builds up can be released in a positive way.  Rosie is overweight, but in my view this is a symptom of the Mars problem rather than the source of the health problem since the Mars problem causes frustration to build up to a point where it needs to be addressed in some way, and many of us turn to food for that release.
The fact that Rosie didn’t take her chest pains seriously and didn’t know she had had a heart attack until she went to the cardiologist the next day could show that this kind of stress is more familiar to her.  Stress is indeed a killer, and I hope that she takes advantage of this event to do some critical inner healing work.
Disclaimer: I have no medical training and nothing in this article is intended as medical advice.  
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New Moon in Leo, August 17, 2012

August 17, 2012 By
Leo New Moon August 2012

Art by Michelle Snyder

by Lynn Hayes

The past few weeks have been rather challenging with Mars moving through Libra, where it is less than effective, setting off Uranus, Pluto and most recently Saturn.  Because Mars is the planet of drive and aggression, in the sign of Libra it softens and becomes more interested in what others think.  This is a lovely attribute, but it does diminish the strength and power of Mars to assert and dominate.  When Mars can’t find its full expression it acts out in more passive-aggressive or dysfunctional ways, and a high level of frustration can result. You can read more about that here in this earlier post if you missed it.

The New Moon in Leo occurs on the 17th just before noon Eastern time/4 pm GMT, and will actually help to balance the stress that the Mars patterns have created.  The New Moon occurs when the Sun and Moon conjoin, linking their energies in a new lunar cycle and offering an opportunity for beginning a new phase in our lives.

Leo is the sign that inspires us to express ourselves creatively and to celebrate our own unique individuality.  Under the influence of Leo we are more focused on ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we necessarily are more self-centered.  The Self needs to be expressed under the influence of Leo, and Leo inspires us to make sure that the Self being expressed is our very best Self indeed.  There is a focus on the Individual in Leo rather than the collective, so this New Moon is all about Me and You.

The Leo New Moon harmonizes and rebalances  the conjunction of Mars and Saturn that has been somewhat difficult over the past week.  When the Moon (representing our emotion and intuition) is new, it is actually at its darkest in the sky and it can be more difficult to know exactly how we feel, and when the Moon is in Leo, the sign of the Sun, the conscious Self (represented by the solar energy) is actually more dominant than it would typically be in a lunar event.

The New Moon in Leo is the perfect time to create a vision for personal evolution and transformation.  The connection with Mars (inspiration) and Saturn (goals) helps to stabilize our lunar dreams and make them a reality.

Uranus is still in a square to Pluto, as it will be throughout the fall, so this is no time to fall back to sleep.  We are in an awakening process through 2015, and under the New Moon in Leo we can become the co-creators of our own destinies.

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The Mars/Saturn conjunction 2012: how afraid should we be?

August 11, 2012 By
Mars Saturn conjunction

clip from the film "Mars Attacks"

Astrologers love to forecast doom and gloom for some reason, and in today’s world of intense energy shifts and change many readers of things astrological tend to filter astrological information through their lens of fear.  I have a mission to dispel this astrological anxiety, and what better time to do this than now.

Mars and Saturn are nearing a conjunction (alignment) in the sky – they will be at the same degree of Libra on August 15th.  Traditional and Vedic astrology consider both Mars and Saturn to be “malefic” – they are seen as promoting danger (Mars) and generally bad things (Saturn).  So when the two come together, this can be perceived as a dangerous time where generally bad things can happen.

Even Richard Nolle, an astrologer I greatly respect, reports in his August forecast “it’s a time to be on the alert for danger due to the haste, recklessness or outright malice of others – including mass shootings and other especially heinous crimes. Be safety-conscious. Steer clear or conflict and danger as best you can.”

There’s no denying that we have seen more than our share of mass shootings over the past few months, but that has had more to do with the alignment of Mars with Uranus and Pluto which began when Mars entered Libra in early July.  Mars represents energy and desire, and when it began to trigger the square between Uranus (rebellion and revolution) and Pluto (destruction and regeneration) in mid-July a great deal of wildness was released into the general consciousness.

Mars and Saturn last united on July 31, 2010, also in Libra.  At the time Mars and Saturn were exactly opposite Uranus, and very close to an exact square to Pluto.  You would have thought that would have stimulated some extreme news, but the news at the time was much calmer than it had been in previous months when the Uranus/Pluto square made its first alignment in June.

This idea that Mars and Saturn are malefic in their nature is something that I am always arguing against.  If it weren’t for Mars we wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning.  Mars is the energy that motivates and excites us – it provides inspiration as well as desire.  When that inspiration and desire is thwarted, Mars can become angry and that can easily escalate into the rage that Mars is known for.  Saturn provides a container and structure for our lives.  It inspires us to make commitments and to set goals for the future.  Saturn’s lessons become difficult when we attempt to ignore the need for rules and structure – then we may get the proverbial bonk on the head from the Celestial Taskmaster.

So when these two planets come together it can be a wonderful thing.  Saturn rules Capricorn, and Mars is said to be exalted in Capricorn, the sign which shares Saturn’s love of rules and order and achievement.  So when Mars and Saturn come together there is the potential to create a container (Saturn) within which our desires (Mars) can take root and grow.  Still, Mars is in Libra which is the sign of its detriment.  In Libra Mars is more concerned with the needs of others which hinders its full expression, and the conjunction with Saturn can add additional repressive force that makes it difficult to put our plans and ideas into motion.

If we resist the structure that Saturn places around our desires, then frustration will occur. We may feel this within ourselves, but we may also feel that others are trying to frustrate and restrict us.  If we understand the nature of the planetary energies we will be better able to utilize this time for careful planning and focused action, instead of wild and unrestrained expressions of desire.

If we feel restricted, we often feel angry and resentful.  The Saturn effect here will limit our ability to express that anger and when anger is not given expression it can turn into rage or worse, become internalized as a health issue in the body.  Physical exercise is the best way to manage a strong Mars event such as this one as it helps to channel the Mars energy more constructively.

Relationships may be stressed during this time because Venus (planet of connecting and love) will be opposite Pluto (intensity and drama).  Watch for power struggles that bring out the Mars side of you, and try to ensure that Mars is expressed in a way that is useful.  Assert yourself appropriately where needed, and be sure that interpersonal combat is as constructive as possible so that it doesn’t degenerate into the emotional violence that we often see with Venus/Pluto.

Mars transits are strongest when they are approaching, so we are in the peak of its effect as I write this.  By the 20th of August or so Mars will have moved far enough away from Saturn that its expression will be unfettered once again.

As an aside, I think it’s an interesting coincidence that the Mars Rover “Curiosity” is landing on Mars just as this conjunction takes place.

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Psychological inheritance and the lunar nodes

August 9, 2012 By

I did a reading for a client the other day who had Saturn, the planet of discipline and challenging life experiences, in a square to the Nodes of the Moon.  The Nodes of the Moon represent the pathway of our soul’s evolutionary journey from the past (the South Node) to the future (the North Node).  When a planet is in a square (90 degree) aspect to the Nodes of the Moon it is sometimes called a “skipped step” (coined by astrologer Jeffrey Green), meaning that planet plays an important role in our evolution and reflects an energy that requires constant examination and perfection.

I have found in client work that the skipped step often shows something that gets in the way of our evolution – a pattern or way of looking at the world that holds us back and keeps us from being able to move forward in our lives.  Like so many other ways in which astrological forces that are difficult also serve as the keys to personal growth, that same planet that holds us back is the portal to our own self-discovery.

In the reading I mentioned this square of Saturn to the nodes, and the fact that often individuals with this placement come into this life with a sense that life is too hard – the force of Saturn which forces us to work hard and apply great discipline both stands in the way of our finding ease in life, but also represents a key to our progress.  After the reading she shared with me that her grandmother had always told her that she was a descendant of a notorious mass murderer, and informed her that she and her family were being punished for the sins of the ancestors.

It’s often said that the family inheritance lives at the Imum Coeli or IC, the cusp of the fourth house but we limit ourselves if we look in only one location for any astrological revelations.  In this case the square from Saturn to the Nodes, which tends to bestow a sense of deep guilt and a belief that life must be hard, easily adopted the projection of the family belief system that the sins of a medieval ancestor were still visited on the family.

Not all of us are so connected to our family lineage, from what I have been able to glean from my years of doing chart readings.  But when there is a psychological and soul-based connection to a family history it will often show up in the South Node.

A psychological inheritance of a belief system is still just a belief – it does not become true just because it has been passed down through a family for hundreds of years.  At some point that belief system can be changed, and Saturn is just the planet to make that happen.

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More on the chart of James Eagan Holmes, the Aurora gunman

August 7, 2012 By

Photo from ABC News site

Last week I posted a profile of James Holmes, the gunman in the Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting. However, a birth certificate has been located and we now have a time for  Holmes that provides a more accurate chart.  The chart is posted on Astro.com but for some reason they do not use Chiron in these charts and Chiron plays an extremely significant role in the chart as it forms a Grand Cross (see my other article for more details).

With an exact birth time we can see the exact placement of the natal Moon, which is at the very last degree of Virgo.  The 29th degree, sometimes called the “critical” or “anaretic” degree, is associated with the endings of cycles and new beginnings.  The word “anaretic” derives from “anareta,” which in medieval astrology signified the planet of death in the natal horoscope.  This is likely what has given the 29th degree such a bad rap in traditional astrology, although endings are often  the harbinger of new beginnings and not to be feared.  However, there can be a sense of something critical to occur in an individual’s life, and this is made more true by the conjunction of the Moon to the South Node in the chart, representing karma from the past.

Leo is rising in the chart, so Holmes is a person who needs attention and admiration – he needs to be Somebody.  With a Leo ascendant there is a tremendous amount of fire in this chart including four planets in Sagittarius.  Yet the Moon (emotions and inner world) at the last degree of Virgo (critical perfectionism) is locked in this painful Grand Cross between Chiron, the planet of wounding and healing, and Saturn/Uranus (restriction and rebellion, tied together and operating simultaneously).

Knowing the birth time gives us an accurate sense of the progressed chart and that helps us to understand more about what is happening in the cycle of his psychological evolution.  His progressed Moon has been moving through a harmonious trine to the Sun (Self), Saturn (planning and organization) and Uranus (breaking free of restriction).  For someone with an impulse to violence, this sort of harmonious aspect can unlock inhibitions and bestow confidence especially when transiting Jupiter aspects the progressed angles (ascendant and midheaven) of the chart such as was happening for Mr. Holmes last week.  Jupiter’s beneficence can bring out the best in us – but it can also give the disturbed the confidence required to carry out terrible deeds.

The chart did not compel Mr. Holmes to engage in this horrific act.  Many people with the same chart would have made other choices to heal and transform their lives to work through their inner pain and challenges.  Each and every one of us make these choices every day, and every choice that we make can completely change the outcome.

For an interesting article examining some stunning coincidences using the named asteroids visit this link.

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Mercury retrograde roundup: Wild times

August 2, 2012 By

mercury retrogradeI knew this would be a tough Mercury Retrograde period when I wrote this post.  With Mercury and Uranus turning retrograde on the same day, we were bound to be in for some surprising (Uranus) twists of fate and weird events and we are certainly seeing that in some corners of the world, especially in the highly charged electrical atmosphere of yesterday’s Full Moon in Aquarius.

In my own personal world, this week I have (a) incorrectly scheduled a lunch date with a friend, (b) had a client forget his appointment, (b) scheduled a consultation for Eastern time when the client lived in Central time, (c) scheduled a consult for 11:30 PM instead of AM so it didn’t show up on my morning calendar, (d) had a service contractor attempt to repair something that wasn’t broken instead of something that was.

What’s happening in your world?

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Lynn’s Skywatch: Planetary Illuminations for August

August 1, 2012 By

The August report on planetary excitement is now posted in full on my website here. If you’re on my mailing list you will soon receive your own copy along with a translation into English which is easier to understand.  If you’re NOT on my mailing list, please sign up on my website or in the sidebar of this blog.

Here is the overview of major astrological events for the month:

August begins with a powerful Full Moon in Aquarius. For more details about the Full Moon please see this article. The emphasis of this Full Moon in fire and air sets the tone for the month as there is very little water to cool us down or earth to ground us.

Mercury is retrograde in Leo until August 8th and Uranus has just turned retrograde in Aries and is still moving extremely slowly which intensifies its influence. You can read more about this combination in this blog article, but the combination of Mercury and Uranus retrograde in fire signs suggests a powerful emphasis on mental activity and potential chaos of the mind. The lack of water and earth exacerbates this and means we need to take greater care than usual to ensure that we find internal stabilization and nurturing that are missing with a shortage of water and earth in the planetary alignments.

Mercury retrograde periods are always good for things like renewing commitments, retracing our steps, renovating our house or redoing our websites. With the addition of a strong Uranian influence, the revisions and remodeling need to take on an innovative quality so that the change brings in an element that is completely different from our previous experience. It’s helpful to avoid making commitments or signing contracts during retrograde Mercury periods but it’s not always possible. Expecting and being prepared for glitches will also help!

By August 8th when Mercury turns direct Venus will have moved into the watery emotional sign of Cancer. Until then the energy is dry and electrical so we will need to take care to provide experiences that ground us and cool our energy field.

Uranus is still within a degree of the square to Pluto, so that revolutionary intensity is still very much at work. Both planets are virtually stationary: Uranus will move only a degree during the month and Pluto only about 27 minutes of arc, so their pressure to create transformation through destruction of the status quo (Pluto in Capricorn) and energizing the new (Uranus in Aries) is still quite strong.

Otherwise though, there are no outer planet alignments to create stress so we WILL see a slight lessening of the intensity that has marked the earlier part of the summer.

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Aquarius Full Moon, August 1 2012

August 1, 2012 By

Aquarius Full Moon August 1 2012by Lynn Hayes

Today’s Aquarius Full Moon is full of Uranian energy for change, stimulation, waking up to a new way of living and creating new paradigms for our experience of life on Planet Earth.

The Moon represents our emotional world – the inner realm of mystery and instinctive behavior, but this is not an emotional Full Moon.  In fact, the water element is under-represented right now, with only Chiron and Neptune in a water sign (Pisces) helping us to move through wounds (Chiron) of the soul (Neptune/Pisces) and bathe in the waters of divine inspiration.  But emotions and feelings take a back seat in today’s astrological climate – it’s all mental energy and electricity and fiery activation.

For all that Aquarius is an exciting sign of liberation and helps us to facilitate change, the Moon isn’t very comfortable there.  Aquarius is unconcerned with the small feelings and fears of being human – there is a larger view of human-ness and a desire to transcend these smaller emotions in order to align with more universal truths.  Yet it’s during the Full Moon that our emotions are illuminated by the solar consciousness so we may have to take a good look at our inner worlds without necessarily becoming stuck in them.  The Sun, of course, is in Leo which is where we not only become human but we celebrate the glory of our individual personality.  As in any Full Moon, the key is to find balance between the polarity of individual ego (Leo) and transcendent universality (Aquarius).

This  Full Moon demands detachment and awareness – there is a strongly mental quality to Aquarius (ruled by Uranus, the “higher octave” of Mercury).  In addition, the Sun is in a nearly exact trine and the Moon in a sextile to Uranus – both harmonious aspects that tend to bring out the best in the relationship.  At its best Uranus frees us from the trappings of the past – it shows us where our lives have become stale and drab and opens the door to a new vision that can facilitate our transition into the new world.

Uranus is, of course, locked in a challenging square to Pluto that is only one degree from exactitude.  This is the planetary alignment that is causing the breakdown of the old structures (Pluto in Capricorn) and the fervor for revolution and change (Uranus in Aries) that does not yet seem to have a focus.  For the next few years this dynamic will be embedded in every astrological chart – lunations, eclipses, solstices and equinoxes.  Every event has within it this seed of revolution and change.

Meanwhile, all of this air and fire energy can create electrical imbalances for some that will require therapeutic care.  Baths in healing salts, swimming in cool and serene waters, yoga outdoors in nature – all of these things can help to ground us and cool overheated nervous systems.

All Full Moons offer an opportunity to look deeply within the heart as the Sun illuminates the Moon and makes the invisible visible for a short time.  The Aquarius Full Moon offers a higher vision of the heart’s contents and a viewpoint that may shift your awareness and give you a new framework of understanding.

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