If you loved the talk and want to know more about how you will experience this configuration, and others, please feel free to book a consultation. If you loved the formatting of this specific talk, please let me know if you want me to do a similar work-up for Saturn in Aries. I would be very happy to put something together! Speaking of Saturn — Saturn in Pisces and now Saturn and Aries nativities can access a 30% discount off of one reading of their choice. Please ask me for the discount code if interested.

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I know it’s been a while! But between the Saturn return, a year of my chart ruler in detriment, and many retrogrades and eclipses — life has really kicked my ass. Regardless, I’m back and hoping to share more of my astrological musings and field notes now that the app formerly known as Twitter has devolved into a fascist cesspool. The world as we know it seems to be collapsing ever so slowly, and I think that exploring these topics through the lens of astrology is one way to cope with that. I also think it’s a neat tool to try to make sense of where things could go and how we can eventually negotiate with fate to correct course.

Anyway, I can share that rant for another time. If you are reading this post, it’s because the results of the Canadian election are out and there is so much to unpack. I have been sitting on this interpretation for AGES because I have been burned by the outcome of the US election (I have been working on a post-mortem for that, but it’s a lot of reflection to parse through). Astrology never ceases to amaze, and hopefully real-world events serve as living allegories of what seem to be abstract principles for interpretation. Since I am living in Canada and most of you are based in the US, I hope to keep you all informed on what goes on outside of the bubble that is the dying US Empire. I will preface this with the fact that I have been working with the information and tools that I have at my disposal, and so this has framed my interpretation of the events of the last 6 months or so. This interpretation has only gotten richer as more of the context began to fill in. I hope you enjoy!

Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become a Villain

Trudeau’s Timing: As many of you know, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation from his post as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and as Prime Minister on January 6th. Back in October, I posted a quick and dirty thread on why I thought Trudeau would take his “walk in the snow,” much like his father did when he stepped down as Prime Minister for good in 1984. I will spare you the details of his rise to power (as impressive as the timing is astrologically), since the fall is a lot more dramatic and relevant to the current narrative.

A quick look at his profections along with the solar return that went into effect on Christmas 2024 will make my thought process on this pretty clear. His timelord from the ascendant is Saturn, yet again— his out of sect malefic. This means that act one of the sade sati and the closing Saturn square before his second Saturn return are especially challenging. With the collapse of his marriage and public support during this time, it makes sense that it was time for him to re-evaluate his priorities when it comes to career. The solar return’s cardinal ascendant hints at quick change over the first half of his 53rd year. To add insult to injury, when you calculate the month of burden (the distance between the lot of fortune and lot of burden), it suggests that difficulty would come sometime in March. With eclipses and his chart ruler going retrograde in and out of the sign of its fall? It only made sense to suggests that some type of event would remove him from the helm.

However, while I was sure that he would be leaving his post in March for the reasons stated previously, I was torn on whether the Liberal Party would still make it. Assuming that he stayed on as leader, the fact that he had angular eclipses and Jupiter moving from its detriment in his 10th to its exaltation in the 11th by transit next year as generally favorable for his party putting up a good fight to retain power. However, his timelord from the ascendant would be moving into its fall in his 8th house, and natally Saturn is tied up with 10th house matters. If the election took place in October 2025 as scheduled, this would not be so bad since Saturn would move back into Pisces the month before and be received by an exalted lord. Common sense and material reality at the time also dictated that the Liberal party was on life support as far as the polling was concerned.

A New Champion Emerges

So, Trudeau resigns and a leadership race takes place for the Liberal Party on March 9th. How uncanny that the man at the center of the fallout between the Prime Minster and his right hand cabinet minister throws his hat into the race?! One of the first things that stood out about Mark Carney is that he is a Virgo Moon and that an eclipse was going to occur just before his 60th birthday. When someone on reddit discovered an announcement of his birth from a local newspaper on the day he was born, the chart that revealed itself made certain things click into place.

This chart is padded with eminence factors like you would not believe. With the chart ruler exalted, in the house of good fortune in mutual reception with Jupiter, that already bodes well for Mr. Carney. The lights are not only angular from the lot of spirit, but he has the ruler of the lot of fortune and the moon in the 11th from fortune. It makes sense that he is a well-respected banker who has able to be adjacent to politics, but also an extremely wealthy man.

When looking at the solar return that was active at the time he became Prime Minister, adding multiple timing techniques allows the timing to make sense. After all, most planets are angular or succedent his potential to rise is clear. I think the Sun, Saturn, and Venus all retaking their oaths in the 8th house of the return are evocative of him inheriting the reigns in a difficult time. It does help that his Venus-Jupiter mutual reception also retook its oath. This heralds a lot of good or opportunity that comes from leveraging his connections to rise to the highest office.

There is another timelord technique called the Lord of the Turn, which assigns a planetary hour to each house starting with the planetary hour of birth. Unlike profections, the planetary hours proceed in chaldean order and repeat every 7 hours. The turn lord came to the Moon, which was the planetary hour of the 11th house. Any time the Moon is the lord of the turn for Mr. Carney, you would expect to see potential gains for him depending on the condition of the Moon in the solar return. The Moon in that revolution was in Gemini in the 11th conjunct Aldebaran, about to perfect with Mercury who rules the 11th. This is after separating from Venus. Very on point for leaving behind a cushy banker role to move to politics.

Speaking of the Moon, the eclipse in Virgo being hilariously literally for its swapping of the ruler energy. It was his lunar return but also a 1st house eclipse for Former PM Justin Trudeau, with the 10th part of that eclipse falling in the former PM’s 10th. This is very much a passing of the baton moment in favor of Mr. Carney with lots of stacked testimony.

A Tale of Three Virgoans

This narrative would not be complete without cycling back to the other key figure in this narrative — Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre. Trudeau may have fallen on the sword, but it is Pierre whose perceived inevitability as Prime Minister was snatched from beneath his feet. Like Prime Minister Carney, Mr. Poilievre also has a Virgo Moon. Since we do not have a birth time for him, it is not clear if it is in the second or third decan. But we do know that like the two gentleman leading the Liberals, there is a strong Mercurial influence on a key point of life.

Therefore, one thing you can do is treat either luminary as a hypothetical ascendant and run transits and other annual timing techniques from that perspective. When you profect either luminary, everything moves to the 10th from itself since he is 45. Either Jupiter via Pisces or Mercury via Gemini would be a critical time-lord from the sect light. How interesting that the Mercury retrograde in Aries coincided with a literal reversal of his trends in the polls, which handed him a defeat. It’s even louder when you consider how the eclipses would be impacting him. The Virgo Eclipse of March 14th was not only a lunar return, but the 12th part of that eclipse fell 10th from the Moon in Gemini. If we work from the perspective of the moon chart, there would be implications for his ability to rise to power.

I hope that this post was demonstrative of the many technical considerations that go into mapping these storylines. You may not have perfect AA rated data for everyone, but sometimes you may have enough to fill in the blanks where possible! I hope you all are seeing the implications for the dynamics you have with various people in different facets of your lives. I want to do more things like this, both from a political and pop-culture-based standpoint. If you would like to see how techniques like this could be used to understand your own life and the narratives that you are playing your part in, please consider booking a session with me! Otherwise, please stay tuned for my revamping of the blog (and eventually the podcast).

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We are a few days away from the Great American Eclipse as I write this reflection on this spring’s eclipse season. I hope this turbulent time has been treating you well, even if it means navigating difficult change. This eclipse season marks an important watershed moment that sets the tone for changes that will reverberate for the rest of the year, both on a personal and global level. These eclipses also serve as a master-class in the role that dignity by face (decan) can play when interpreting the manifestation of major transits. Each luminary will be eclipsed in its own decan, suggesting that there may be some core skill or talent that is needed during the challenges presented by the corruption of the lights. I think it’s great that decans have become really popular again in astrology discourse, and I hope that you can check out Kira Ryberg’s new guidebook on them. It’s a great way to reflect on how these eclipses show up thematically in your own life.

The Tangled Net

As I alluded to in my year ahead post back in January, the most striking feature of this eclipse season is the fact that the dispositor of both eclipses lands in the middle decan of Pisces. As a decan with both lunar and jovial influences, there are lots of connotations of sustenance, capacity for sharing, and often serendipitous discovery. Often, “the invisible hand,” “Providence,” or the more constructive manifestations of fate conspire to reward us for our willingness to wander and become vessels for collective benefit. However, Saturn recently entered this decan, marking the second phase of its transit through Jupiter’s nocturnal domicile. When either malefic is here, there can be challenges to achieving this sense of sustenance. Since Saturn will be spending all of 2024 here, we may find ourselves getting comfortable with the expectation of scarcity or feeling that we are bound by forces or expectations beyond our control.

When the planets of peace (Venus) and strife (Mars) conjoin the great gatekeeper, you can expect that some of the hidden influence on the eclipses deal with gridlock of some kind. These eclipses will allow us to connect the dots in ways that allow us to see the origins of systemic blockages to peace but also blockages to our ability to take inspired and acute action. As I engage with astrological systems outside of traditional, Western sources, I have come to appreciate how Jyotish describes friendships between planets. Venus and Saturn are considered somewhat friendly towards one another, while Mars and Saturn are definitely not friends. While exalted Venus and Saturn may conspire to set a high bar for distributing resources and brokering peace deals, the malefic conjunction is a whole other ball game. Mars has a “freezing” effect on Saturn (sthambana), implying a dismantling of the arbitrary systems that Saturn enforces and keeps in place. It’s unsurprising that Mars-Saturn conjunctions define 2 year crises since it becomes necessary to erect new structures in the face of existential threats.

Act I: Justice Unblind

On March 24th (or 25th, depending on your location), we had our first lunar eclipse on the Aries-Libra axis. The decanic journey through Libra reminds us that maintaining equilibrium is both a struggle and a dynamic process. In Libra’s first face, we are made painfully aware of disparities between people or between ideals and reality. Since eclipses are corruptions of the lights, it was no surprise that the news was dominated by the exposure of corruption or scandal. Here we are faced with the different ways of restoring equilibrium: turning a blind eye to obvious wrongs to maintain the illusion of stability, or actively mitigating disparities with corrective action. I think this eclipse on a societal and personal level reminded us heavily of the things that we cannot look away from.

With the dispositor of this eclipse being an exalted Venus being maltreated by her buddy Saturn, themes of bribery, extortion, and temptation come to mind. Alternatively, delayed overcorrection in the form of seizing rights to precious resources. This was evident in the raids on P. Diddy’s properties in an investigation on his involvement in sex-trafficking and drug related crimes. While he was not captured and put in jail, this demonstrative display of “justice” comes to little to late, since countless people likely aided and abetted these crimes while they were being committed.

The other manifestation that was of note was the US’ abstention towards a UN Security Council motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, despite veto-ing nearly every other vote. The move reflecting a larger change in tone of Western powers trying to maintain their image and influence over “rules based international order.” Choosing to take on a more passive role to promote “peace” despite bankrolling the carnage with a blank check up until now feels very literal for an eclipse in this face ruled by Venus conjoined to Saturn. I think a lot of Saturn and Venus being allies of sorts, and Venus being the hand that feeds but also strikes. Here she hides behind the austerity of Saturn to absolve herself of guilt and responsibility for perpetuating the cycle of violence that she benefits from materially. There is an element of trying to save face to protect ones reputation and honors, which leaves a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.

Act II: The No-Confidence Vote

On April 8th, we have the Great American Eclipse of 2024, which promises to be quite the visual spectacle! There is so much to unpack about the themes of this eclipse, that I do not think I can do it justice in a blog post (it actually deserves a dialogue, really). Furthermore, I think that other astrologers such as Dr. Ali Olomi and Blaze have provided very useful mundane perspectives on the consequences of this eclipse. However, due to the symbolism of this eclipse you cannot help but note that there will be obvious societal (especially political) implications to come from this one.

Most notably, the Sun is not only in its own face but is near maximum exaltation when it is eclipsed. As the Sun traditionally symbolizes leadership figures, it is obvious that this is not a good eclipse for those in power. This solar powered decan of the zodiac encourages us to fill important power vacuums by embodying and projecting an essence that people can coalesce around. With the Sun being blotted out, such an authority figure is missing or possibly needs to be removed in favor of someone who can fulfill this role. I think a lot of the guest-host relationship and the duty that a host has to uplift and protect its guests. For the Sun is not just about visibility and authority, but there is a sense of responsibility here. The Sun provides the energy that many organisms on this planet need to survive and provides the gravitational force that propels the planets into motion around it against their inert tendencies.

What happens when a ruler is not fit to lead? They get removed, one way or another. Whether the ruler abdicates due to unwillingness to be the authority that is required, or they are outright deposed by usurpers and rebels— the existing power structures cannot continue in their current iteration. To add insult to injury, the eclipse is coinciding with the beginnings of a Mars-Saturn conjunction. As the malefics are meeting in a Jupiter-ruled sign, in a decan with themes of sustenance, it is not surprising that people will lose faith in their leaders. When authorities cannot do their due diligence to ensure that everyone has the bare necessities and fails to prioritize the distribution of resources to help people who may be hurting, people will begin to dismantle these systems that do not carry out the functions they should. However, people may turn to charlatan leaders to provide that false sense of security.

This eclipse isn’t all bad! I think that on a personal level, some people may rise to the occasion when a hyper-visible person inevitably over-promises and under-delivers. There is a chance for people to rise up from the margins or the fringes due to their ability to capture the deeply emotional frustrations of people neglected by the people who are meant to protect or lead them. But if you are not ready to assume the responsibility that comes with a position of influence, be prepared to step aside.

The cardinal eclipses are thrusting us into uncharted territory in an attempt to recover some sense of equilibrium. I hope that exploring these themes on an archetypal level gives you something to reflect on deeply as you navigate the changes in the Aries and Libra-coded sectors of your lives! If you would like to learn more about how configurations like these intersect with your own timing cycles, please book a consult below. Due to major changes in my own life, my availability is super limited. Pisces Saturns, I am still offering a 30% discount on any session of your choice. Please contact me if you would like access to that discount code.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year if you are an astrologer! We can finally start sitting with the astrology of the upcoming year. 2023 was quite a strange one that ended on the most bitter of notes, but 2024 is slated to offer us something a little more… interesting. The reason I say this is because we are starting the first of two transitional years that bring us closer to some major planetary shifts.

It took a lot of strength to avoid calling this post “mutable madness,” because there is a profound emphasis on what is happening in the mutable signs this year. There is a feeling of veering off into uncharted territory this year, that will test our willingness to push past the fragile stability we have fought to maintain the past couple of years. I would argue that the only stability that 2021-2023 offered was setting hard boundaries of where we cannot go back. The only challenge is that no one really agrees on what moving forward should look like. Fragmentation and scattering feel apt for the overall vibe of 2024 given this mutable emphasis. I hope my top transit picks of the year help you understand why:

1. Jupiter ingress into Gemini

2. Eclipses in Aries, Libra, & Pisces

3. Venus Star Point in Gemini

4. Mars Retrograde in Leo (& Cancer)

Jupiter ingress into Gemini

On May 25th, the greater benefic moves into the airy domicile of Mercury. Jupiter moves into the sign of its detriment, bringing up key challenges around the concepts of truth, morality, and narratives that the collective should place their faith in. Since Jupiter is in Mercury’s sign, there can be a focus on anecdotes and specific pieces of evidence over making sense of these things in a greater context. There may also be a sense of moral decay since anecdotes might make us think about how relative morality can be— “rules for thee, but not for me.” To add insult to injury, Saturn in Pisces is applying pressure to Jupiter in the form of looking for guidance to deal with fluctuating boundaries. Unfortunately, Jupiter has lost the plot and Saturn may force us to scrutinize these systems of thought and and belief in ways that skew negative.

But fear not— Jupiter has triplicity in Air signs, meaning the Air element is compatible with jovial principles. There is a quality of exploration, experimentation, and fluidity where Jupiter can operate comfortably. This may be a great year for challenging outdated modes of thought and morality, but also for making important scientific discoveries. People do not talk enough about how having too many options can provide a sense of analysis paralysis. And while Jupiter in Gemini may bring that, there is a sense of excitement that can come from stringing seemingly infinite options together. Saturn may also provide the necessary boundaries to limit senseless exploration.

Eclipses in Aries, Libra, & Pisces

Similarly to last year, we continue our deep exploration of the Nodal Axis in Aries and Libra through the eclipses. We are also continuing our trend of weak lunar eclipses this year since we do not get a proper Blood Moon until 2025. Yet again we are experiencing potential for unstable elevation and brutal humbling since the Sun is being eclipsed on the axis which it is exalted or fallen.

The Spring 2024 eclipses share the quality of being ruled by planets conjoining Saturn in the second decan of Pisces. On March 24th/25th, we get our first lunar eclipse in Libra. This one is interesting because it is ruled by an exalted Venus and because the lunation occurs in the lunar decan of Libra. While there is a chance for peace and equilibrium, there are deep connotations of disparity and how one responds to it in that first decan. With Venus coming out on the other side of her conjunction to Saturn, there is a sense of making some profitable exchange in favor of not crossing a boundary. There is a sense of turning a blind eye for personal gain or comfort, and a tenuous peace. It feels like denying equitable access to something to increase its value or scarcity.

This sets the stage for the Aries solar eclipse on April 8th. The tone is much more intense and not as subtle, since the Sun is eclipsed on its exaltation degree. I have always adopted the point of view that exalted and domiciled eclipses can have seemingly positive themes under very unstable circumstances. Given the narrative of deposing of kings associated with thousands of years of eclipse lore, I feel like some authority figure gets elevated at the expense of another. To add insult to injury, Mars rules this eclipse as it applies to a conjunction with Saturn in the middle decan of Pisces. I think there is an element of authority abandoning its responsibility to care for everything and everyone under its domain, and it gets swiftly corrected in an unstable way. From a Jyotish perspective, Mars has a sthambana (freezing) effect on Saturn, reinforcing this idea of the dissolution of boundaries to make way for the deposing of an authority.

The Autumn 2024 Eclipses take on a more somber and less idealistic tone, as they are ruled by unhappy benefics. However, the benefics that rule them have triplicity dignity, which suggests that people have a deep sense of empathy and agreement with the subversive role that the benefics are playing at the time. Both eclipses have themes of sacrifice as well, because they are occurring in malefic-coded decans of benefic signs.

On September 18th we get our first preview of the Pisces-Virgo eclipse axis with the lunar eclipse in Pisces III. This Mars-ruled decan asks us what we are willing to sacrifice for the collective good, which does include us and does not occur at our own expense. This eclipse is co-present with a retrograde Saturn which is grappling with a loss of faith in the collective good. As this eclipse is ruled by a Jupiter who stations retrograde the following week, there is a growing sense of needing a change or needing reforms. With Jupiter in the last decan of Gemini, we realize that something has to give and the unstable duality that we have tried to maintain for so long needs to give way for something different.

On the other hand, the subsequent solar eclipse in Libra acts as quite the unfortunate “October Surprise,” which does not bode well for my fellow Americans concerned about the upcoming presidential election. The Sun gets blotted out in the Saturnian decan of Libra in the closest configuration it has had to Ketu while eclipsed. There is a deep sense of humbling of some kind of authority figure, and a need for them to step aside as an ultimate testament to their obligations to other people. This feels like time (Saturn) has run out and the Sun has set for something that needs to go away. Sometimes a contract ends and you are disposable, which is never a good feeling. This eclipse is ruled by Venus in Scorpio’s middle decan. While there is a deeply nostalgic quality and a sense of collective effervescence that may wash over people, there is a sense of competing for creative control over the legacy of something that has come to an end. It feels like new, unstable alliances and acquisitions may come about as a result of this collective (mis)remembering which can forge trauma bonds.

Venus Star Point in Gemini

Another thing we can look forward to this summer is the lack of Venus retrograde! However, on June 4th we will get another Venus Star Point in Gemini, marking the halfway point between the the last retrograde in 2023 and the one in Spring 2025. This particular conjunction of Venus direct to the Sun in Gemini last occurred in 2016, so there may be thematic elements that repeat themselves for you and collectively. This conjunction takes place in the second decan of Gemini, so there may be themes of moral quandaries or dilemmas or questions of what is appropriate. Since Venus does well in this decan, I would imagine there is also a deep capacity for wearing the right masks, saying the right things at the right time, code-switching, and double speak in a way that is captivating.

Venus is transitioning from war-like morning star to seductive, pillow-princess evening star. On some level this transit reflects a shift in our approach to acquiring things of value, creating things, diplomacy, and relating to others. This configuration is ruled by Mercury in Gemini conjoined to Jupiter, which allows Venus to be more deliberate and tactical because she does not want to close herself off to the options being presented. However, the cazimi is square to a slowing Saturn in Pisces. I would imagine that despite the capacity for exploring these different states of being, there is some obligation or fear of scarcity that is forcing your hand or limiting the range of expression that is most comfortable or natural.

Mars retrograde in Leo (& Cancer)

This year ends on quite the cliffhanger! Mars stations retrograde in the first decan of Leo on December 7th. Since this retrograde takes place in the first decan of Leo, Mars will regress to Cancer in 2025. However, we will worry about what that means in the 2025 sneak peak! The planet of action, conflict, and separation in the Sun’s sign may drive lots of heated conflict over questions of sovereignty and right to be (hyper)visible. The first decan of Leo is tightly controlled and performative in its presentation, often vying for leadership and attention.

I prefer the Jyotish take on retrograde planets as being strong since they are proximal to earth at this point, and double down on their significations. Strong does not mean comfortable or operative. Especially not in this case. This feels like someone starting an uproar over being denied their perceived right to lead or failing to acknowledge their loss in a competition. They may be loud and they may be strong in their protests, but since Mars lacks triplicity in fire signs, there is not that same collective support Mars might have in the water or earth signs. Course may be corrected when Mars goes back into Cancer, but again— check back for my thoughts at the end of 2024 on this.

Interestingly, Mars in Leo rx will oppose Venus in Aquarius, which has an interesting echo of the Mars-Venus conjunction in Aquarius I we will get in February. Venus is harmed either way, but in February it seems like the conjunction facilitates some maladaptive pursuit of a desire that people feel is unattainable, especially if it involves breaking off to find a community aligned in material pursuits and aesthetics. December brings a clear rejection or rebuke of whatever action was taken in February at the conjunction, because the objectives outlined in February are likely no longer attainable. Venus does have the advantage in both cases as she is operative in her own decan, and uses the principle of exclusion to filter unwanted relationships and advances. On a mundane level, it will probably be a bad time. On a personal level for night chart people, this might be an opportunity to get realigned.

I’m hoping 2024 will provide opportunities for experimentation, even if it isn’t the most comfortable thing ever. If you want to find out more about how these configurations and others affect you specifically, please book a consultation at the link below. Those of you with Saturn in Pisces are entitled to a 30% discount on one reading of your choice, and this is good until 2026. Message me for access!

I also have a 30% discount on new consults (NEWRDG30 - available for the first 20 people who book). New pricing went into effect on December 4th.

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Hello Friends! I know it’s been a long time since I’ve visited your inbox. The summer of retrogrades required me to evaluate my own life very deeply, and I hope you were able to do the same in yours. While Venus has made her way into tropical Virgo and wrapped up the narrative associated with her spectacular retrograde this summer, we are not done with our masterclass in all things Venusian. This is because eclipse season is here, and is colored in the many shades of the lesser benefic.

There are many parallels between this eclipse season and our Spring 2023 eclipses. Eclipses ruled by a planet of war in the sign of its depression, but we are dealing with the Venusian facets of war rather than martial ones. I know that people have a hard time accepting that Venus is a planet about war, but Venus in her morning star phase was used to time war in some ancient civilizations. Furthermore, Alice Sparkly Kat does an amazing treatment on Venus as a planet of conflict in their book, Postcolonial Astrology. While Mars describes the combat itself, Venus describes the relational dynamics and motivations for engaging in or refraining from conflict. Not all conflicts are bloody, and many are waged psychologically and materially.

This eclipse season, we will be forced to confront our sense of values. Not in the Jovial and moral sense so much as in the material sense. However, with Jupiter occupying (tropical) Taurus and answering to the whims of Venus, the moral and material will collide in a way. While Venus has high standards about the experiences she would like to indulge in, the fickle and mercurial nature of the sign Virgo is contrary to Venus’ highest ideals— to feel the elation of merging with and surrendering to a collective in spite of petty differences and squabbles. Mercury wants to break things into smaller pieces to understand the fundamental nature of something. There is an overly cerebral quality to the ways in which we weigh matters of the heart or subjective things such as assigning “value.” At best, we can ensure that we do not settle for scraps when demanding what we deserve. However, subtle deviations from the ideal relationship or experience are so uncomfortable during this period, that otherwise viable outcomes are shut down immediately. Both eclipses are complicated by perfectionistic Venus, which may cheat us out of experiencing the comfort we so crave during these times.

Part I: The Paradox of Equilibrium

On October 14th, the Sun gets occulted by the Moon in Libra Decan III, which is fascinating for several reasons. The first of these is that the Sun is severely maltreated here, due to its proximity to Saturn’s exaltation degree and the degree of its own maximum fall. This is an inversion of the Aries Solar Eclipse we had back in April, and the one we will have in 2024. Fallen planets are actively disrespected and impeded from their ability to be true to themselves. As the Sun relates to sovereignty, authority, authenticity, and ones higher self, I’d imagine the overall theme of the eclipse is one of disempowerment and a removal of sovereignty. There may be situations where someone needs to resign or be replaced due to a lack of trust of authority, or situations where someone strips individuals of their right to self-determination due to mistrust. While the Sun in Libra understands that appearances do matter and that appealing to as many people as possible can be useful, sometimes you end up giving too much personal power away.

As this eclipse is on Saturn’s exaltation degree, there is a punishing element that can be at play here. Saturn represents the masses, and exalts in the sign Libra, which weighs the opinions of many to create consensus and achieve decorum. Saturn can represent the cruelty of the masses or the rule makers, to deliver retribution in the name of justice— whether real or perceived. I think this is where the third decan symbolism comes into play. I like to think of the decanic journey through Libra as the struggle to maintain equilibrium. While people mistake Libra as a passive sign, creating agreements and maintaining social order is a very active and calculated process. This final decan often describes the extreme measures that must be taken to restore balance. With Saturn exalting here, there may be a hard boundary or crushing blow delivered to halt something or reverse the direction in which it moves. Everyone says they want peace and balance until a major correction needs to be issue to make things right.

The aspects to the eclipse are even more telling about some key themes. For example, Mercury is caught up in the eclipse even though it is in the middle decan of Libra. Mercury is the negotiator, merchant, or trader attempting to broker an exchange— but also a trickster element with no clear loyalties or clear objectives. The middle decan of Libra has heavy connotations of the binding agreements that constrain our ability to act, but also speaks to the sacrifices and concessions that need to be made to maintain relationships. This feels like a stressful configurations for intermediaries, as their attempts at smoothing over a challenging situation may burn them badly.

Lastly, the Sun will meet its square to Pluto, whose station in the late degrees of Capricorn have exposed the material structures that uphold imbalances of power. Perhaps this great humbling of an authority figure or this loss of sovereignty exposes something deep about power structures and the value of resources. We get a full display of the optics of sovereignty, who gets to wield it; who gets to be the victim or the victor in certain narratives. Most obviously, this eclipse may also expose how incompetent leadership is propped up by these power struggles. It is important to take note of how these consequences play out in the Libran facets of your lives.

Part II: Budgeting to Zero

On October 28th, we get the final lunar eclipse on the Taurus-Scorpio axis until 2029-2030, when Rahu and Ketu are back in tropical Scorpio and Taurus, respectively. While still an eclipse, the Moon is close to her exaltation degree. I am of the opinion that eclipsed luminaries in their domicile or exaltation can bring constructive outcomes, but under unstable or less than ideal circumstances. Given the themes of the previous eclipse, I think that the final lunar eclipse in Taurus will bring some reprieve after a devastating blow or setback. Where the Solar Eclipse in Libra disempowers some, the Taurus eclipse may provide cushion to soften the blow.

This exalted eclipse takes place in Taurus Decan I, which carries connotations of planning for the raining day, and the consequences of the harvest. My younger sibling, who has her Sun in this decan of Taurus recently talked to me about the concept of “budgeting to zero,” and it felt pretty on point for this section of the eclipse. This concept means that every dollar you earn needs to serve a purpose to improve your saving habits, rather than having extra money you have left over. She explained that at times, the belief in money that was not accounted for led to poor spending decisions as this money had no purpose. This is so on brand for the decan! It also makes me think of a lot of concepts within different manifestation techniques. You have to have an idea of how you want your ideal situation to look and the purpose of the resources you may need to get there, in order to achieve a satisfying outcome.

She also explained how “budgeting to zero” sometimes made her feel like she was living paycheck to paycheck. This made me think instantly of the Five of Pentacles card, which often gets associated with Taurus I. This card depicts two impoverished individuals, often a mother and child, outside of a place of worship. The layered meanings of this imagery is particularly evocative to me, considering the themes of the times. Sometimes, things do not go according to plan or it seems like we must endure lots of struggle in hopes of achieving something greater— especially in terms of material outcomes. However, sometimes there is a resourcefulness that comes from hard times that ends up paying off. Being humbled by circumstances can bring out a resilience, that can beget great rewards. I think this is where the exalted Moon piece comes in.

In terms of aspects, Jupiter is co-present with the eclipsed moon, adding to the sense of relief that may be felt during this eclipse. Since Jupiter is currently in the middle decan of Taurus, I believe the outcome revolves around something that can bring people together for an important cause! The principle of reciprocity is huge in Taurus II, and I get the impression that through some collective effort people may come together to nurture or support people through some plight. Jupiter is a planet of alliances and friendship, and Jupiter and the Moon are both very nurturing planets. I get the impression that consistently showing up for people when they were at their lowest encourages them to come back and help you through a hardship. There is great capacity for solidarity between people under this configuration.

While Jupiter does bring friendly energies to this eclipse, it is worth noting that the Mercury-Mars conjunction is opposing Jupiter and loosely opposite the Moon. Mars and Mercury in secretive Scorpio may provide a covertly disruptive element to the sustenance the Moon and Jupiter may be trying to build. The harshness of speech, potential for slander, and indirect means of tearing people down with misinformation are a threat to take seriously during this time. However, unlike the solar eclipse in Libra, the eclipse does witness its lord Venus. With Venus also being in a pocket of Virgo that she is somewhat operative in, that critical and discerning eye may soften some of these hidden jabs and blows.

While the vibe of these eclipses is not the most exciting or dynamic, I do believe they will force us to examine our standards for seeking pleasure and relating to others. They may even expose that there is a lack of clarity about what we want, or inconsistencies that plague or desires or ability to connect with people. Regardless of where these themes take you, I hope that reconciling these internal conflicts of the heart can bring greater themes of stability. If you would like to learn more about how transits like these affect you specifically, I am open for consultations. A gentle reminder that I have a discount for Pisces Saturns, and I can provide the code to you if you send me a message.

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It’s been 18 months, so you know what that means… Venus is going retrograde. Although retrogrades get a bad reputation, fear not! Venus retrogrades are useful for reflecting on our relationships, emotions, and how we are moving towards things that bring us joy. Venus will turn retrograde tonight in Leo, a sign known for its fiery passion, creativity, and ability to command attention. She will strut backward through the Sun’s domicile until September 3rd, and become a morning star once more. The combination of the Venusian, Solar, and Leonine energies have made quite the statement already, but let’s take a closer look at core themes of the transit.

Venus in Leo: The Golden Child

Venus is a powerful celestial body that represents the objects of our desire, abundance, relationships and love. I discussed how Venus represents the highest values of the nocturnal sect, which is characterized by ambiguity, and a lack of definition, and is composed of disparate and divisible parts in my blog post, Venus, Jupiter, & Abundance. The influence of Venus can be incredibly powerful, stirring up deep feelings of love and longing within us. With its positive energy, Venus encourages us to fulfill our desires and manifest our dreams in the physical realm. Venus teaches us how to create peaceful and harmonious relationships, in spite of differences with others. 

Leo is a fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun, symbolizing a constant motion that projects the more stable facets of the self, reflecting our true essence or highest ideals. The Sun, which rules Leo, represents the inner divinity that resides within each of us and motivates us to project something into the world. In my blog post, Sun, Jupiter, & Divinity, I discussed how just as the Sun's photons are transferred from organism to organism, planets in Leo radiate energy outwards, making an impact on those around them. Due to these qualities of the Sun and Leo’s status as a fixed fire sign, important transits here can represent developments in personal growth, self-discovery, and embracing one's core identity.

Blending the Solar energy of Leo with Venus emphasizes the concept of commanding attention and praise. The Sun provides the light that allows us to live and commands our attention by virtue of existing. Venus is the brightest object in the night sky (besides the Full Moon). There is a showstopping quality to both planets, hinting at general attractiveness and a performative quality to each of them. Despite being visual spectacles to behold, the two are very contradictory in their natures – Venus and the Sun are actually enemies in jyotish. Venus performs for the purpose of appealing to others and building connections, while the Sun is more focused on projecting its essence. This tension between appealing to others and honoring self expression is a core struggle of this transit.

Scandals, Selfishness, & Sexism

During Venus retrograde, we are encouraged to reflect on and reevaluate our relationships, both romantic and non-romantic. It’s possible that connections from your past may be brought back to the present, prompting us to reassess our feelings and desires. It's important to be aware of the 30-day shadow period before the retrograde, since the themes of the retrograde were set in motion then. As Venus retrograde takes hold, consensus will be challenged, allowing for a new social dynamic to emerge. 

During the shadow period, Venus pursued Mars, but was left behind when he entered Virgo. The conjunction between them that never perfected adds a layer of intensity to this retrograde cycle. In relationships, Venus in Leo can create a requirement for dramatic displays of passion, often in ways that prioritize the self and defeat the purpose of maintaining relationships. Mars typically harms Venus through his aggressive pursuit of her as a prize to be won or an object to be acquired. Venus and Mars’ near collision in a very Mars-influenced segment of Leo brought very public instances of female celebrities being humbled or humiliated by their partners. The dynamic of being controlled or punished for the very qualities that made them attractive in the first place planted an important seed to be explored during this retrograde. 

This is an especially challenging time for women and people who identify with the concept of femininity, who Venus also represents. Venus in fire signs can have the effect of performing beauty or femininity in a more self-focused way. It’s fascinating that the Barbie movie was released a couple of days before this retrograde. Early commentary on the film positions it as a bold display of femininity. However, this has drawn criticism from those who have views of femininity as something that should always be in service to others (specifically, men).

To make things more complicated, Venus stations retrograde to a conjunction with Black Moon Lilith and Mercury. The associations that Lilith and Mercury have with childlessness are interesting, since some elements of society are resisting agency over reproductive health. Mercury also gets associated with queerness, which contradicts conservative expectations around sexuality serving the purpose of reproduction. So both fight against reproductive rights and the right to perform femininity are heavily intertwined. Even on a personal level, this can reflect challenges in relationships about whether a couple wants children or not. Seeing Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello end their relationship over this matter was literal!

The Pursuit of Happiness

The most important feature of Venus’s transit through Leo is that she will be squaring Jupiter in Taurus three times. I have already explored the differences between the benefics in my article Venus, Jupiter, & Abundance, but both planets represent the different forms of good we can experience in life. In my article on Jupiter in Taurus, I discussed how that transit reflects the collective desire to maximize the amount of material security achievable. Since Jupiter is answering to a more self-involved Venus, both planets are reinforcing the idea of getting a slice of the good life that one feels entitled to. 

Jupiter in Taurus is teaching us that while money doesn't buy happiness, fair distribution of resources so people can be comfortable makes us happier as a whole. Venus retrograde in Leo therefore offers us an opportunity to boldly advocate for the enjoyment we deserve. With Venus ruling artisans, it makes sense that virtually all of Hollywood is on strike now that the SAG-AFTRA union is also striking with the writers for fair compensation. When Venus turns direct on September 3rd, Jupiter actually turns retrograde within 24 hours! Venus will clarify the personal sense of pleasure worth seeking, while Jupiter allows us to delve deeper into social systems that maximize collective comfort. 

Despite the challenges Venus retrograde brings for relationships this summer, this is a great opportunity to ask ourselves important questions. Who are we and what do we enjoy? How can we reclaim a more personal sense of pleasure? Are we in relationships that support our authentic pleasures? What can we learn from this? This retrograde period can offer opportunities for growth and reflection that allow us to be more intentional with our relationships and how they honor our genuine pleasures.

I hope this transit motivates you to take up space so that you can connect with your most authentic desires. If you are interested in learning more about how this retrograde will affect you and your birth chart, book a consultation with me at the link below. A friendly reminder that a 30% discount on one reading of choice for those with Saturn in Pisces is still available. Please email me for access to the code!

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It’s officially the second half of 2023, which will also be marked by important shifts in the astrological weather. In just under two weeks, the nodes will end their 18 month stint on the Taurus-Scorpio axis. This new 18 month cycle is taking us away from the intense permanent changes brought about by the past few years of heavy transits through fixed signs. The shift to cardinal energy is taking us into a brave new world of sorts, which is exciting in some ways but stressful in others. In this newsletter, we will explore the nodal journey and key themes of the Aries-Libra axis.

The Nodal Journey

Though many of us are somewhat familiar with the nodes, not enough people are versed in what they represent and their significance for astrology. The nodal axis is a mathematical set of points representing the positions on the ecliptic where the orbits of the Moon, Earth, and Sun come together in perfect alignment. This facilitates the formation of eclipses, events that block or obscure the light of each luminary. Solar Eclipses form when the Moon perfectly blocks the Sun’s light, while Lunar Eclipses form when the shadow of the earth provides a red tint to the Moon’s light. Unlike the other planets, the nodes move retrograde through the zodiac (I know the True Nodes can move direct sometimes, but whatever). Therefore, the nodes allow us to experience the typical zodiacal journey in reverse.

The nodes hold special significance because they are the lunar nodes. Regardless of the tradition of astrology you ascribe to, the Moon has bodily, emotional, and mental connotations and says a lot about the activity of living things on this planet. Where the axis falls in your chart can provide greater context for those primal experiences that motivate us to act.

While many of us approach the lunar nodes from the perspective of past-lives vs current lives, I find that the conceptualization of them from jyotish captures their essence appropriately. The asura (demon), Svarbhanu sat amongst the gods to drink the amrit, an elixir meant to grant immortality. However, Surya (solar deity) and Chandra (lunar deity) quickly noticed an intruder amongst them and ratted Svarbhanu out. As a result, the newly immortal Svarbhanu was decapitated by Vishnu. The head became known Rahu (North Node) with the tail becoming Ketu (South Node). Since the gods associated with the luminaries contributed to his downfall, the nodes have the effect of “swallowing” the lights (eclipses them).

I love the mythology spelled out by jyotish because it allows us to understand that the nodes are halves of a whole. A lot of western astrologers make the mistake of telling you to reject Ketu/the South Node in favor of Rahu/the North Node, but this is incorrect. The Nodal Journey is one of balancing extremes. The head (Rahu/N. Node) houses the intelligence and goals, but lacks the body to ground it in action and know when to cease pursuing desires. The tail and body (Ketu/S. Node) hold the skills and ability to act, without a head to give it direction and desires. I’ve seen some jyotishis suggest that Ketu describes the places that we have conquered and things we have mastered; while Rahu describes that which we have yet to conquer or master. Thinking about the nodes in this manner allows us to appreciate the roles they play in our lives and on the world stage.

The Aries-Libra Axis - Self vs Other

The nodal axis is tasked with the important job of providing us with a masterclass on the two signs that they land in. Since they are halves of a whole, they allow us to see the important duality that signs who oppose each other represent. Signs that oppose each other share modality and polarity, but they differ in one of their elemental qualities and have rulers with opposing objectives. When the nodes come to any pair of signs, they allow us to see these “diametrically opposed energies” as two sides of the same coin.

The movement of the nodes from the Taurus-Scorpio axis to the Aries-Libra one is fascinating for several reasons. First, the nodes are changing from a more receptive polarity to a more active one. Next, the nodes are shifting from fixed to cardinal, which allows for change to happen more quickly rather than gradually. And the most interesting point is that the nodes will be ruled by Mars and Venus, but the planets will switch their ownership of the nodes.

The Taurus-Scorpio axis speaks to the relationship between acquisition and loss, while the Aries-Libra axis speaks to the assertion of our individual will versus our capacity for connection with others. Rahu in Taurus wanted us to focus more on creating containers we could consistently derive pleasure from. Since we have built new containers to sustain our burning desire to acquire more, now we can focus on reasserting ourselves with the shift of Rahu into Aries. Ketu in Scorpio reminded us of the depth of loss and its inevitability, leading to a necessary purging of things in life that had outgrown their utility. The shift of Ketu into Libra will make us realize all that we have mastered in the realm of building relationships with others, perhaps making us complacent when it comes to building new contacts. Rather than prioritizing the Venusian principles of relating and acquisition by receiving, we will fixate on Martial principles of individualization and conquest.

On a personal level, this can look like reclaiming personal agency in an area of your life that is somewhat influenced by the actions of other people. If you are easily influenced by the values of people around you, you may feel brave enough to pursue new actions if their support is already implied. On a societal level, this may look like prioritization of individuality in places where it might have been flattened by the need for social equilibrium. We are already seeing a preview of that with the recent court decisions coming out of the US Supreme Court. While this is a great time to pursue bold new actions, don’t forget that the ability to act does partially depend on who is around to support your decisions. The pursuit of hyper-independence and individuality is also an illusion, as knowing yourself and what you want to pursue allows you to cultivate relationships with others. This imbalance between themes may be exacerbated by the square to Pluto in Capricorn at the beginning, since Pluto’s gasping breaths through that sign signify last ditch efforts to build structures that can cement disparities in power between groups.

Supercharged Solar Eclipses

This nodal cycle is interesting because it coincides with a period where we do not have total lunar eclipses. As a result, the solar eclipses occurring while the nodes are on this axis are total or annular. These solar eclipses are supercharged since they are occurring on the axis of the zodiac where the Sun has its exaltation (Aries) and is fallen (Libra). I love to consider the essential dignity of the luminary being eclipsed since it can provide context for how constructive the energy of the eclipse can be. However, eclipses are “malefic” by default since they can bring erratic and unstable qualities to their typical manifestations.

When the Sun is debilitated in Libra or Aquarius, there are struggles with projecting the most valued facets of the self. The Sun is fallen in Libra, the sign where Venus rules and Saturn exalts, since there is a focus on the needs and values of others. The projection of the essence becomes heavily filtered through the restrictions (Saturn) and values (Venus) of public opinion. The Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 14th takes place close to the degree where the Sun has its maximum fall. Some key themes may involve the humbling of an authoritative figure or the “humbling” of someone by diminishing their claim to authority within a certain sphere of their life. This eclipse is ruled by a fallen Venus in Virgo, suggesting that some of the underlying themes may reflect a failure to live up to extreme standards in some fashion.

When the Sun is dignified in Aries or Leo, it can indicate strength in embodying the highest forms of the self and projecting them outward for others to see. The Sun exalts in the Mars ruled sign of Aries, and demonstrates the bravery required to assert one’s will in the world and the ability to distinguish oneself from others. The Solar Eclipse in Aries on April 8th, 2024 is interesting because it is situated right on the Sun’s maximum exaltation. This may result in the elevation of someone under extreme circumstances. Since the eclipse is ruled by a Mars in Pisces conjunct Saturn, it is possible that someone becomes elevated by necessity after an authority figure abandons their post, or if a crisis of faith in someone requires someone new to step up and restore credibility in a particular area.

The Nodes on the Aries and Libra axis provides opportunities to create new beginnings by finding opportunities to assert yourself where you cared too much about public opinion. However, it is equally a time to express yourself in ways that reflect an innate understanding of themes that inherently appeal to others. If you want to learn more about the ways the nodal shift and other transits fit into your life’s journey, please book a consultation with me! I am open to subscribers of my newsletter, existing clients, and referrals at this current point in time. If you are a Saturn in Pisces, I have a discount code on one consultation of your choosing. Please contact me for the code if you are interested!

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I am still feeling the positive vibes from attending NORWAC in person a few weeks ago, which was my first time attending an astrology in person. This one was even more special because I had the privilege of speaking at the conference as well! I really enjoyed spreading the gospel of the use of Davison Relationship Charts in a formal conference setting. I am hoping to extend on that talk by sharing some case studies in a series here on my blog, so that you can appreciate how to use them.

Many of us fixate on romantic or marital partnerships when performing relationship analysis in astrology. And while that is useful, there are so many more types of relationships that we encounter in our lives. Our first relationships we have are familial in nature, and these experiences with family shape so many other relational dynamics we encounter later in life. So as a post-NORWAC treat I want to walk you through an analysis of the sibling relationship between William, the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Their relational dysfunction has become very public to see, so I think this will be a fascinating case study! If you want more details on how I conduct relationship analysis with the Davison Chart, please catch my NORWAC talk or look at any of the webinars I have given on the subject!

Prince William’s Experience of Siblings

First, we will look at Prince William’s chart to get a sense of his typical dynamics with siblings. He’s a Sagittarius rising, making Aquarius his 3rd whole sign house. Since his 3rd is empty, we will primarily look at Saturn to describe his siblings— which is hilarious because Harry himself is a Capricorn Ascendant and ruled by Saturn (in the 11th whole sign house). Aquarius does have connotations of being at the margins or dealing with social order, but its interesting that Saturn goes into its exaltation in the Libra 11th. This would generally describe a likable sibling who is capable of commanding attention and is prone to being rewarded for service. Since Saturn is in its own decan in Libra and nearing its exaltation degree, there is a certain degree of respect that siblings carry for the sacrifices they make. Harry does get a lot of accolades for the service he does, especially for people in the armed forces.

However, the exaltation of Saturn is corrupted by its enclosure between Pluto and Mars. Both planets can have connotations of obsession and fixation, but Pluto is one of immense power struggle, while Mars is just warlike in general. Since this enclosure happens in the 11th house of media, you can see the bigger picture being painted here. Harry does seem to have a negative relationship with the press and has declared war on them. When you think about the roles that Mars plays in William’s chart, Mars rules his 5th and 12th whole sign houses, but also his Scorpio midheaven. Perhaps by painting the brother as “wild” and “out of “control,” the sibling can be a scapegoat to uphold William’s personal objectives around his reputation while also concealing some of his own escapades.

The exaltation of the Saturn in Libra II reminds me of the times when Harry was still single and playing the “role of good brother,” that time also served to benefit William’s reputation. However, that part of Libra also has connotations of binding agreements or covenants that require each party to sacrifice something to hold the relationship together. I think of Harry’s own revelation that part of the falling out with his brother involved going back on promises made about press dealings. Interestingly, Harry being that exalted Saturn has leveraged the power of reclaiming his narrative, in ways that damage William’s reputation regardless of his intentions.

Prince Harry’s Relationship to Siblings

Next, we will see how Prince Harry connects to his siblings and what they are like. He has a Pisces 3rd house, and since it’s empty we would look to Jupiter. I find it fascinating that William has a Jupiter ruled ascendant and Harry has a jovial 3rd. Jupiter is depressed in Capricorn, but in the 1st house. This might seem odd when you think about William, but the placement makes a lot of sense. The first decan of Capricorn is not only Jupiter ruled, but has a lot of thematic elements related to conservation and surveying of land or other places to build foundations. William does have a lot of projects related to the environment.

But Jupiter in Capricorn is not the easiest place for Jupiter to be, and represents a point in the zodiac where Jovial principles of hope, optimism, and more abstract metrics of good are shoved down in favor of material outputs. It’s a scarcity driven Jupiter, as opposed to an abundance driven Jupiter. I can see that with siblings occupying the 1st in Harry’s chart, siblings are not only perpetually dissatisfied with the causes they hope to champion but rely on material incentives to justify their reasons for supporting them. Jupiter also typically has connotations of freedom. Jupiter in Capricorn is bound by the weight of expectation. Capricorn being the progenitor of tradition, is carrying a heavy burden and the sibling in this case does not get to enjoy the freedom that Harry has. Perhaps there is also resentment towards Harry as a result.

Jupiter in Harry’s chart is configured to much kinder planets. The most notable of these is the Venus-Jupiter square, with Venus occupying the 10th whole sign house. Venus ruling the 5th, 10th, and Harry’s IC are telling in this case, because there is likely something about Harry’s ability to freely pursue his passions and creative projects that might be motivating William to outperform him, while also working within the limitations he is expected to adhere to as next in line to the throne.

Their Davison

Now that we have looked at the projections around siblings each of the men carries, it’s time to look at their combined chart to understand their relationship. I find it quite telling that the chart is a Leo ascendant with Sun in the first, considering they are royal births. The Sun is in that middle decan of Leo, which does get to enjoy a lot of praise and accolades without having to do nearly as much work as others around them. It’s interesting because between the two of them, William did do a lot less engagements compared to the older royals. However, Harry is enjoying the perks of being born into the firm while also not being a working royal. This tracks for the two of them.

I think the Moon conjunct Chiron in 11th is telling about their complex relationship to the public or the media considering the trauma they must carry around the loss of their mom. However, there is a chaotic nature to their response that may suggest that they were never quite on the same page about it. The Moon is in a close square to Venus, and I find that the Moon in challenging aspects to the benefics can often describe the struggle between reconciling your desires (Venus) with your needs (Moon). To add insult to injury? Venus is not the happiest where she is, and she is ruling their 10th house. Venus really wants to find her purpose and niche to contribute to, but being fallen and retrograde might make this challenging. Venus also being the general significator of relationships makes me think that marital status also tends to change the priorities for these two when it comes to their objectives.

Interestingly, Venus also rules the 3rd house of communications and siblings. I can easily see how Venus retrograde in the 2nd, conjunct exalted Mercury (who also rules 11), and in her fall can create a breakdown in sibling relationships. Quite literally, it feels like turning a profit from either selling stories about your brother to the press, or him earning money to share his side which ends up making you look worse. Though the Venus retrogrades are no longer beginning in Virgo, this Venus rx in Leo should be interesting as it will have implications for their relationship.

Lastly, I did mention that you can look at how your Davison with one person can interact with other people. I find it telling that Kate’s ascendant is conjoined the Davison’s ascendant, and that Meghan’s chart has multiple contacts to this Davison as well. For example, Meghan’s Sun is on the Sun of the chart, her ascendant on the Mars of the chart, she too is a Cancer Mars, and also has that Virgo Venus! I think there is something here implying that her entrance into the firm really was a disruptive force to the dynamic between the brothers in a way that Kate’s marriage to William was not. Considering that the two of them would have married when the nodes were on the 1H-7H axis of Harry and William’s Davison, this would make sense. However, I will not bore you with the details and suggest you tune into royal tea time if you want more about the royals as case studies.

Understanding your relationships starts with understanding your natal chart first! I am hoping that this exercise was useful for showing you how to perform relationship analysis for non-romantic relationships. I plan to do more installments in this series so if you have specific chart examples you want to see, email me! Also, if you want to chat about changes in romantic or non-romantic relationships in your life in greater depth, please consider booking a session with me. I am closing my bookings to everyone except those on my mailing list, existing customers, and referrals. So if you are a newer subscriber, please shoot me an email and see if we can start a great working relationship together! Finally, I want to reiterate that I have a discount for anyone with a Saturn in Pisces that counts towards one reading of their choice.

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I hate to disappoint those of you who were looking for me to stop talking about Jupiter, but here we are. Since the benefics will have a square relationship with one another for the next four months, now seems like a great time to compare them. I have done something similar in previous newsletters, the most recent being an exploration of the similarities between the Sun and Jupiter. This is a great mental exercise because not only can we beef up our astrological vocabulary, but it’s a great tool for reflecting on nuances of the planets and what they are meant to express. I also feel that I’ve hinted at the difference between the greater and lesser benefic for several newsletters, and wanted to explore this difference more deeply. Jupiter and Venus are regularly mentioned when we talk about wealth and prosperity, but differ in their methods of delivering them to us. While these means are not mutually exclusive, let’s take a critical look at these two branches of abundance.

Freedom is Prosperity.

As I discussed in my newsletter on Jupiter in Taurus, the greater benefic is often associated with more abstract forms of wealth. However, in the current form of globalist capitalism we are all under, the lines between material and immaterial prosperity are blurred. One concept associated with Jupiter across many astrological traditions is the concept of freedom and liberation. But what do we need liberation from and freedom for, and how does this tie in with the concept of prosperity? Jupiter is a hot and wet planet with an airy nature, and I feel that this maps onto its desire to bring about liberation. One common theme amongst world religions and systems of spiritual belief is that we are souls trapped in bodies forced to have a physical experience. Many things that are reflective of our physicality, such as labor, needing shelter, needing a source of food, and also need of social relationships to maintain our survival are reminders of our physical nature. Therefore, anything that can free us from the fixation on these things and take us out of the focus on our physical world can be associated with the types of prosperity that Jupiter can bring.

Jupiter doesn’t necessarily want you to suffer in a physical sense, but perhaps it wants you to prioritize that which can allow you to transcend the limitations of your day to day experiences. Contrary to popular belief, many of these material status symbols do more than just feel good and look good. They are symbolic of freedom to overcome the limitations imposed on us by our existence. Money provides the means to free up your time to do other things, and to purchase other things that free up your time. Vehicles, whether car, a plane, or a boat, can provide you with the freedom from being tethered from your location. In the current iteration of our society, having freedom in the material sense allows us to free up our time and mind to focus on other things. This is where it’s helpful to invoke Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The more material basics are met, the more we can address these mental and spiritual needs that we have. The wealth that Jupiter represents is one of freedom.

Remember that Jupiter represents abstract forms of good. Freedom from material hardship and constraint is not the only form of freedom that Jupiter is associated with. Freedom from mental suffering regardless of material circumstances is a very jovial principle as well. In Jyotish, Jupiter is a planet that can guide us towards liberation (moksha) from the painful cycles of death and rebirth. Cultivating a sense of internal abundance and gratitude serves to free us from the cycles of pain and struggle that our material existence gets us trapped in. This concept can be seen in the promises that many systems of religion come with— one where we can cultivate an internal state of having everything we could ever need in hopes of working towards a state of increased freedom from suffering. Whether in this life or an afterlife, cultivating a sense of internal abundance serves to help people free themselves from suffering, which is the ultimate form of prosperity.

The Pleasure Principle.

If Jupiter represents the abstract forms of good, Venus represents that material sense of good. Being the poster child for the highest good of the nocturnal sect in the Hellenistic tradition, and being a rajasic planet in the Vedic tradition paints a clear picture of the forms of prosperity that this planet tends to bring. Rob Hand outlines the philosophical distinctions between the values of the nocturnal and diurnal sect, and characterizes the night team in terms of ambiguity, lacking in definition, and being composed of disparate and divisible parts. This is stark contrast to the diurnal, which seems to mirror a cohesive, indivisible, singularity. In the Vedic system, when something is said to be rajasic, it is one that invokes passion or desire and attempts to create things in the material world as a result of that desire. There is a physicality to Venus that is implied here, perhaps one that isn’t centered on freedom as the ultimate form of prosperity.

While Venus is also a benefic or generally seen as a force that brings great ease, it differs greatly from the type of prosperity that it is capable of bringing. If we follow the logic of sect distinctions, despite having a capacity for bringing people together, Jupiter and Venus differ greatly in their means of doing that. Jupiter is often associated with friendship or assimilation into an indivisible group united by a common goal or belief. Jupiter is also sattvic, wanting people to experience as much of their true essence as possible, regardless of material conditions. Venus, being nocturnal is not capable of seeing those larger goals but instead fosters the ability to relate in spite of differences. This might be easier to achieve on a one to one basis, rather than in a group. Considering Venus’ desire to generate and create, it makes sense that this planet gets associated with the arts or romantic pursuits. The pleasure of exploring the unknown expanse that is other people in intimate relationships (romantic or otherwise) is a huge motivator for us to stay tethered to the material world in some ways. The pleasure of giving form to something that was once formless and lacking in definition also motivates us to achieve things as well.

This is not to say that Venus cannot be spiritual. Valens himself points out that some significations of Venus include priesthoods — roles which involve setting the standards and procedures for acceptable rituals for worship. Engaging with material pleasures and engaging in elaborate rituals can often be used as a means of creating meaningful relationships with the divine. One way of accessing the spiritual plane is through the use of substances, which not only make us feel good in a physical sense but also break down barriers our brain puts up to ensure that we have as normal of an experience as possible. The challenge with these sensate methods of achieving higher consciousness is the dependence on something external to achieve a meaningful internal experience. It becomes easy to get caught up in the grandiosity of a ritual or the acquisition of objects to derive this feeling.

Fruits of the Sea.

Despite the differences between Jovial and Venusian images of prosperity, the two of them join forces in the sign of Pisces, where they have their domicile and exaltation, respectively. I am also hoping that someone here appreciates what I did in calling this section of the essay fruits of the sea. The transliteration of “seafood” in French (fruits de mer) and Italian (frutti di mare) is actually “fruits of the sea.” When thinking about a culinary experience rich in flavor but also costly in price, I cannot help but think a lot of seafood as a concept. Who knew that some strange creatures could make for some tasty experiences? Not to mention adding the visual spectacle of enjoying such a meal when it is caught close to where you are eating it (if it’s not obvious by now, I am manifesting a trip to Mallorca and wanting to eat some great Mediterranean seafood).

However, in peppering this article with hopes of sensory and abstract experiences I hope to achieve in the near future, I hope that the underlying threads that link the benefics together become apparent. Jupiter is a planet that encourages us to have faith and allow faith to guide us into experiences and situations beyond what we are capable of imagining. Venus is a planet that wants us to experience pleasure on a tangible level so that we can become intimate with the sweeter and cozy parts of life. I find the blending of these objectives to play well with each other in the sign of Pisces. The key to achieving prosperity in both the Jovial and Venusian senses involves an element of surrender, which Pisces is all about.

Unlike the Sagittarian version of what Jupiter has to offer, Pisces is much like a wanderer waiting to get absorbed into something larger than itself. I always think of how going to sea was the ancient version of going to outer space. Beyond the confines of the land, you do not know what you will find when you embark on that journey. Even to this day, you never know what interesting finds lie within the ocean’s depths. From culinary delicacies to black gold and other minerals of value, there is much prosperity to be derived from exploration of the unknown. In the Western astrological tradition, the highest forms of Venus involve a sense of transcendent love with fewer conditions placed on it. Meanwhile, Jupiter wants to create that singularity between people. Relinquishing control over your trajectory and objectives allows people to experience this cohesion and transcendent love, while also allowing for sources of tangible prosperity to come. Whether you vibe with the Piscean principle or not, I think most of us have had an experience where something we wanted so deeply came to us when we stopped trying to dictate how and when it would happen. Therefore, there might be value in applying this to your own life and reflecting on how your relationship to prosperity and abundance will change.

I really hope this blog inspires you to reflect on the different streams of prosperity and how they can show up in your life. If you want to learn more about how configurations like this and others tie into your own personal narratives, please book a session with me. I have decided to maintain my current pricing until Venus leaves Leo in October, so get me at my current rates while you can! Lastly, I want to gently remind all the Pisces Saturns out there that I am offering a 30% discount on a reading of your choice for the entirety of our Saturn Return era. If you want the code, please contact me directly for access.

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As I alluded to in a previous newsletter, Jupiter in (tropical) Taurus is one of the biggest events of 2023. As a Taurus Sun, I have been looking forward to this transit for an eternity. The movement of the greater benefic into a fixed sign marks the beginning of what astrologer Cameron Cassidy coined “fixed sign reparations.” With Saturn off axis and the nodes getting ready to be in cardinal signs again, it’s a great time to have fixed placements (yes, I am ignoring Uranus, and we will talk about Pluto later). Additionally, we are moving to phase two of Jupiter’s journey through the zodiac. Now that we have reaffirmed the personal narratives and journeys we want to embark on following the Jupiter cazimi and solar eclipse in Aries, it’s time to make them concrete. In this newsletter I want to explore some potential themes of Jupiter’s time in Taurus.

Idol (read: Idle) worship.

Poking fun at my religious upbringing (and also unpacking religious trauma by dissecting the archetypes), the fact that I am tropically a jovial Taurus, and the literal nature of the transit, the symbolism of the Golden Calf feels quite apt here. Moses left the other Israelites to go receive the Ten Commandments from god, and they replaced their god with an image of a golden calf out of fear that they would be abandoned. If this isn’t telling of the conflict between Taurus and the Venusian principles against Jovial ones, I don’t know what is.

To understand how Jupiter in Taurus may feel collectively and on a personal level, it is important to understand the relationship between the Jupiter and Taurus as a sign. Jupiter is the poster child for the daytime team, embodying the highest good of the diurnal sect. Jupiter is a hot and wet planet, and does have an airy nature. Therefore, it favors the abstract over the material, and is more concerned with assimilating people into shared collective values. This is a major contrast between Taurus — a cold, dry earth sign. Taurus as a concept is rooted in the material and is focused on maximizing, stabilizing, and consolidating materials. Since it is ruled by Venus and the Moon exalts there, comfort and pleasure take precedence over everything. Jupiter doesn’t necessarily want you to suffer, but there is an abstract quality to Jupiter which maps on well to its association with faith as a concept. You suspend your disbelief of what is possible because you have this deep conviction about committing to a particular mindset. Taurus energy suggests that the proof is in the pudding. If you cannot engage with something on a sensory level, why entertain it at all?

To add insult to injury, for the first time since Jupiter was in Capricorn, we have a Jupiter that is without support or authority. At least in Aquarius and Aries, Jupiter had triplicity dignity. Jupiter was at home in Pisces. While Jupiter is in the least hostile of the earth signs, it’s really in no-mans land. Here, I find the narrative of the Golden Calf particularly evocative of what can happen when times are tough and you need something to put your belief in. You may begin to worship idols or tangible symbols of those things you have lost your faith in. There is an element of “losing your way” spiritually or becoming really lazy in that regard which may characterize this time.

On a personal level, this can look like forgetting the larger purpose for doing something and focusing on the material benefits instead. Or walking away from a path that aligns with your morals for the pursuit of short term material stability. On a societal level, the pursuit of money and wealth is likely to take an insane turn. However, people of higher socioeconomic status may be forced to justify their right to exist. We do start this transit with that square to Pluto in Aquarius, an let’s be real— the billionaire class does not uphold their part of the social contract like they used to. Before, they built parks, schools, and other public utilities the government couldn’t provide in exchange for being allowed to amass obscene amounts of wealth. This idea might be heavily challenged for much of the transit. Regardless, the worship and valuation of the material at the expense of alignment with what really matters is a major theme of the transit.

Prosperity gospel.

Though Venus will be in Cancer for the first two weeks of the transit, the first third of Jupiter’s time here will be characterized by a square relationship between the two benefics. Each of them represent different flavors of what prosperity and goodness can look like in life. I will likely do a deep dive on the contrast between Venus and Jupiter in a later newsletter, since their square dominates much of the summer. But briefly, Venus represents more of an individual, sensate, form of prosperity which is kind of at odds with Jupiter and its agenda. Whereas Jupiter may promote sharing for collective benefit without expectation of anything in return, Venus is very much about a quid pro quo relationship. Relationships, whether people like them or not do involve exchange, but Venus wants to facilitate mutual exchange.

However, Venus will spend much of her time this year in the sign Leo, suggesting that there will be excessive valuation of situations and relationships where people can advance personal goals an objectives. Venus does have a hard time here because the Sun as a planet is very self-contained and self-involved, and fire signs also share this energy. Since Jupiter is answering to a more self-oriented Venus, I cannot help but wonder if the messaging Jupiter sends out for a good portion of this transit is one of prioritizing personal prosperity over everything, and perhaps at the expense of others. I get the impression that there may be a lot of opulence involved, and that people might get the false impression that the accumulation of more resources translates to increased superiority or moral goodness. In a time where we will likely be entering a recession (after all, the 2007 Venus rx in Virgo and Leo gave us the preview to the financial collapse of 2008), this is a dangerous road to go down. Especially in the US, given all the mythos around becoming a self-made millionaire/billionaire, which has prevented the country from making meaningful investments in social programs that could benefit everyone. Even the religious messaging here reinforces those beliefs, speaking to the co-opting of the spiritual to justify more selfish material pursuits.

That being said, one good thing that could come from this transit is collective action around advocating for our rights to prosperity. Jupiter in Taurus suggests that the collective values will be focused on being able to cultivate something and to have things that make us feel safe, comfortable, and stable. Venus in Leo is especially equipped to ensure that we advocate for our individual rights around personal enjoyment. People may raise the bar that they have around their ability to access comforts an status symbols. This is a great time to charge what you are worth, especially if you are providing services that are of value to the collective at this time, especially if you are doing something around the arts or building relationships. This is my long-winded way of saying: raise your prices, folks! People are willing to invest in things that have perceived quality, and this square is pushing you to believe in the quality of that which you can offer to others.

The Fruits of Cultivation.

An interesting feature about this particular Jupiter transit is that it will have its retrograde in the same degrees of Taurus that Mercury went retrograde in during spring 2023. Jupiter also enters Taurus within 48 hours of Mercury’s direct station. Finally, on September 4th, Venus turns direct just before the Jupiter station! The implications of these configurations occurring in close proximity to one another could not be louder!

The decanic journey through the sign of Taurus is one of cultivation. Whether planting literal seeds or making a financial investment, there are no guarantees that things will go according to plan, even if you organize everything effectively beforehand and people come to help you along the way. Mercury and Jupiter’s retrogrades in the first two decans of the sign will likely have us reckoning with the idea that the principle of reciprocal exchange is an inevitable part of life that can support or deny the growth of anything you hope to cultivate in this life. Mercury’s retrogrades may have been one of gathering insights, analysis, and subtle experimentation to assess whether something you want to work on is feasible or has public backing. Jupiter’s movement through here might represent the phases where you secure the resources needed to make good on those plans, or profit for any of the things you set in motion this spring. Venus going direct as Jupiter stations retrograde adds a nice touch! Venus gets her mandate and sets her standards for participating in a meaningful exchange, allowing Jupiter to re-appraise the profitability and value of these exchanges for the rest of 2023.

The Gold Rush 2.0

As stated earlier, this is a great time for expansion of materials and assigning value to different kinds of material outputs. It’s also important to remember that Jupiter is sharing a sign with Uranus, the great destabilizer and one of the significators of technological innovation. Since no one will shut up about AI, and so many technological innovations, including those that will end our dependence on fossil fuels, depend on “rare earth minerals,” I think that we are likely going to have valuation of new commodities on our hands. I’m not as versed in stocks and the market as some people are, but it’s better to buy into things early before they become too expensive and profit later. Even in Canada, PM Trudeau is already chomping at the bit to begin tapping into Canada’s reserves of these minerals such as lithium and cobalt to support US efforts to bring back domestic production of chips and lithium batteries.

I really love how we end this transit with the Sun, Venus, Uranus, and Jupiter all being close to each other in the last decan of Taurus. Not only is it because those energies are baked into my next solar return, but because there is a chance to experience some kind of surprise windfall. The last decan of Taurus is the more challenging of the three and does have a lot of Saturnian themes. Mining, things that come out of the earth, and anything that takes insane amounts of labor to produce might be evocative of this decan as a result. You may find that the energy of the final month of Jupiter in Taurus is captured by finding out you are actually sitting on something really profitable after all other efforts have failed. Perhaps the thing that you have put so much effort into, to no avail, begins to take off because it becomes valuable! This is an exciting time for those who may have persisted in a particular area, in spite of the lack of tangible gains in the short term. You all will have the last laugh, methinks. Milk it before Jupiter goes into exile in late May 2024.

Another thing I could also see for this last phase of the transit is a resurgence in the valuation of things that are more material and artificial. In addition to taking money out of the stock market and buying bonds based on fiat currencies, some kind of new version of the gold standard if not the gold standard itself might be in vogue, even if temporarily. On a personal level, if you have some kind of skillset that people no longer have because of the outsourcing to tech to make things easier, you may find that you can tap into a niche that will support you because of the rarity of such skills. This may be another time where doing the less popular, but tried and true thing actually works to your advantage. Also, raise the prices for whatever you are doing. They don’t build them like you anymore.

May Jupiter in Taurus allow you to concretize the aspirations that you have for yourselves, and to find value in simple pleasures! I know I am looking forward to the some of the positive developments this transit will bring. However, don’t forget why you started. Don’t get consumed by the pursuit of profit at the expense of what really matters to you. If you want to hear more about how this configuration and others may align with your own timing, please book a session with me. I know I said prices were going up post-eclipse, but honestly? I will wait until after Venus retrograde is over this summer. Lastly, I just want to drop gentle reminder that I do have a 30% discount code for people with Saturn in Pisces, and if you want it please shoot me an email!

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Eclipse season is here! Twice a year we endure a two week period where the lunations form an eclipse. This occurs when the luminaries conjoin each other (New Moon, Solar Eclipse) or oppose each other (Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse) within a certain range of the lunar nodes. Eclipses typically come in pairs, but sometimes you can get sets of three if these lunations happen within a certain range of the nodes. This particular cycle is notable because we will not have total lunar eclipses again until 2025. As a result, the lunar eclipses are weaker and we won’t see the reddening of the Moon. However, the Solar Eclipses are going to be quite dramatic these next two years.

Additionally, the eclipses are moving out of Taurus and Scorpio and into Aries and Libra. Since the nodes won’t shift until mid July, the spring eclipse season gives a preview of what Rahu (north node) in Aries and Ketu (south node) in Libra will be bringing us from 2023 until early 2025, when the nodes finally move into the Pisces-Virgo axis. The nodes will still be ruled by Mars and Venus, but the North Node will gain rulership of Mars while the South Node gains rulership of Venus. Rahu in Taurus encouraged us to fixate on the pursuit of comforts, pleasures, and material stability while Ketu in Scorpio forced us to accept that transformation and internal turmoil are inevitable. Now that we have achieved the illusion of stability, we can fixate more on pursuing independent and maybe selfish actions, at the expense of forming new relationships. I would argue that Ketu brings a sense of complacency and mastery of the areas it transits. It describes the terrain we have already conquered. We may forgo seeking of new agreements or creating consensus (Libra).

Finally, I want to point out that these two eclipses this spring are both Mars-ruled lunations. Mars is a planet of competition, conflict, separation, and all things inflammatory. While the intemperate heat of the lesser malefic can bring about destruction, it can be used to forge new things into being or to remove things to facilitate repair. There’s a reason that people who work with metals, butchers, and surgeons are all associated with Mars! Interestingly, Mars will be in its depression in Cancer during this transit. Though Mars has a hard time in Cancer, there is triplicity dignity, suggesting that there is some sympathy for this heightened sensitivity to perceived threats since it reflects some truth about the difficulties of the human condition. Not only does Mars have triplicity dignity in Cancer, but during both eclipses the Moon will have mutual reception with Mars. Birthing pains and amputations may ultimately be necessary evils that can promote decisive action in the Aries and Scorpio colored parts of our lives. I hope to paint a nice picture of some key themes these eclipses may bring up for you.

Part I: The Phoenix Reborn

We open up eclipse season on the 19th (or 20th) of April with our first solar eclipse in Aries. I want to reiterate the fact that solar eclipses are supercharged this cycle, making the movement into the Aries-Libra axis is a big deal. The Sun has its exaltation in Aries, while it has its depression in Libra. Therefore, solar eclipses may represent major highs and lows when it comes to things that are being initiated. The Sun’s exaltation in Aries represents the highest manifestations of the Solar principle — the assertion of one’s true essence in a way that can command authority.

Ironically, the eclipse happens at the anaretic degree of Aries, before both luminaries cool down in Taurus a few hours later. This feels like the opportunity to seize power before anyone can really do anything to stop it, especially since the luminaries will move into a fixed sign and one where the Moon exalts. With the Sun having connotations of your soul or true essence, I cannot help but wonder if there is an element of shifting identity as a means to reclaim power. This eclipse is happening in the last decan of Aries, which can have connotations of grand symbolic gestures that can inspire short-lived action. I remember a while back, the astrologer Ursula Rising told me that people who have Venus in this decan have a grand capacity for glamour magic. Through bold displays of adornment you can temporarily alter how others perceive you if even for a short time. One person who comes to mind is Marilyn Monroe, who adopted this moniker and the bombshell persona to match and the ways in which it catapulted her to great fame. Perhaps this can be a great time to participate in a daring form of self-expression or to forge temporary alliances that will allow you to assert a new found identity. That way, when the luminaries shift into Taurus and the Moon gets her time to be in exaltation, you can bask in the reception that comes from being in a strange situation where you can start seemingly from scratch.

The last thing worth noting about this eclipse is that Jupiter is caught up in this drama as well. Jupiter already went through a purification of its intentions when it was in the heart of the Sun last week. Jupiter also does well in this last decan of Aries, since there is a quality of story-telling or narrative building that this portion of the zodiac allows for. I think that the eclipse acts as an intensification of the narratives we tell about ourselves, perhaps in a bolder fashion than we were intending when the character arcs we wanted to start got set in motion. If you want to be an epic hero or whatever character archetype you wish to embody, sometimes there is a symbolic ritual that you must undergo to assume that identity. However, sometimes there is a price to trying to embody “main character” energy too hard, and we should be careful about the stories we tell ourselves.

Part II: La Petite Mort

The closing act of eclipse season involves a lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5th. This is our last eclipsed lunation in Scorpio until November 14th, 2030, when we get a hybrid Solar eclipse. If the Aries Solar Eclipse involved the rebirth, the Scorpio Lunar eclipse will involve the complete shedding or sacrifice of something old. This is especially true since Scorpio is the 8th sign relative to Aries, which can have connotations of death, culling, and repaying of debts. If you want to claim your rightful title or assert a new form of identity, I would imagine this eclipse speaks to the necessary death or the collateral damage that has to result from making such a change.

In order to fully step into the new identity that you want to embody, you really cannot leave a single trace of the old behind. If you made a deal with someone or compromised something important in order to propel yourself to new heights, this eclipse may remind you that the people and powers that made you will come and collect what is owed, whether you like it or not. This eclipse takes place in the middle decan of Scorpio, which can symbolize a powerful merging of two forces at best, or a power-struggle at worst. Regardless, there is a strong reminder that you are on borrowed time trying to pursue the things you lust after in this life. The sublime feeling of temporarily aligning with these factors that support your attempted rise to power is a short lived one, much like the temporary euphoria of an orgasm. Everything seems ideal until the post-nut clarity hits, and the underlying feelings of regret and doubt set in when you realize that doing battle over fleeting moments of ecstasy leaves you feeling hollow.

With the Moon being in her depression and answering to the agenda of an equally depressed Mars, you may find that these temporary moments of bliss are simply tainted by the knowledge that you have hit a point of no return. However, you may take solace in a temporary truce between your budding self and the past selves you are leaving behind. There is something bittersweet about a fallen, eclipsed moon being situated in this decan of Scorpio. Especially when Mars will be in that segment of Cancer describing the perils of excess. This eclipse feels like one last hurrah to indulge in the illusion of going back to a life that you can no longer claim. Whether its because old comforts begin to make your stomach turn or because you have acquired new tastes that you cannot satiate, the Sun has clearly set on that old way of being.

Take special care this eclipse season. What painful initiatory processes are taking place in your life during this period? Which parts of your life need to be sacrificed to facilitate the proper rebirth in another area? If you would like more specific guidance on how transits like these will fit into your life’s journey, please book a consultation with me. My prices will be going up after the 5th of May, so be sure to book before then even if the consult is for a later date. Also, if you are a Pisces Saturn, remember to shoot me an email to access your 30% discount code!

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While the Sun is making its annual pass through the sign of its exaltation and Jupiter is also co-present with it, I decided that it would be a great idea to explore the overlapping themes between these planets. The idea for this post was born once I completed the post about Mercury, Moon, and Mind. In reflecting deeply on the planetary joys scheme and its contributions to house meanings, along with the natural house system where each sign and the planet ruling it get associated with the themes of the houses in question. While I am not super keen on the natural house system in my astrological practice, I can understand the resonance between certain planets, signs, and houses. I hope that this newsletter will encourage anyone who reads this to see some interesting parallels between the Sun and the greater benefic.

The Holy Grail

When reflecting on divinity, we think of proximity to a higher power or a god-like figure. We cannot talk about divinity without invoking Jupiter, the greater benefic!! This is often forgotten amongst current practitioners of Western Astrology, but Jupiter is very much a spiritual and moral planet. There is a reason that Abu Ma’shar places “truth and divine reverence, faith and the teaching of the law, religion, and the veneration and fear of God, charity, piety, also the unity of faith and its foresight, and the fitness of morals and responsibility” under the domain of Jupiter. Furthermore, William Lilly writes that “…ecclesiastical men, bishops, priests, ministers, [and] cardinals…” are all people represented by the greater benefic. Instead, we often focus on the wealth giving and expansive qualities of Jupiter. This is a valid signification of the planet, but what happens when we combine faith, righteousness, and morality with the concept of wealth, freedom, and expansion?

I think talking about the symbolism of the Holy Grail will be a great allegorical device to unpack these themes. This mythical chalice not only promised miraculous powers, infinite abundance, eternal youth, and other god-like powers, but many legends describe the lengths which people would go to find it. What is clear about these narratives around this mythical object, is the levels of conviction about the existence of this object and the quests or pilgrimages protagonists would embark on just to claim it. Where the quests are concerned, Jupiter does have connotations of travel to foreign places, especially in the context of pursuing some higher quest or to find divine inspiration.

Therefore, it makes sense that in jyotish and certain branches of modern Western astrology, Jupiter gets associated with the natural 9th house if Sagittarius is taken as the ninth sign. However, you can arrive at this with the 12th house as well, since it does have connotations of exile and estrangement. If Pisces is the natural 12th and Jupiter rules it, of course one would surrender and subject themselves to the elements in hopes of receiving just a drop of divine Providence. In the Vedic system, the 12th house gives moksha — which describes the process of being liberated from the cycles of death and rebirth. Regardless of the astrology we are discussing, Jupiter may speak to our ability to have faith in forces beyond ourselves, the ability to receive blessings from them, and the lengths we are willing to go to strengthen this relationship.

The Divine Spark

We cannot talk about divinity without talking about the Sun! Regardless of the spiritual framework one adopts, one theme seems to be quite clear across many cultures— we are intangible beings encased in bodies that are forcing us to have a material experience (materialists please sit down, we aren’t talking about you). Though I am not the most reverent person ever when it comes to spirituality, I do think that the concept of spirit and soul is somethin deeply embedded in astrological thought across cultures. While many of us practicing Western astrology consider the Sun the “ego” and the king of the chart, I think that the Sun better represents the “superego” if we have to map your big three onto the different layers of consciousness outlined by Freud and co.

The Sun is correctly identified as something very central in our lives, but sometimes we overstate our ability to access and connect with this in a straightforward way. As I briefly discussed in a previous newsletter, the Sun is the inner divinity that resides within each of us and motivates us to project something into the world that is reflective of it. If you think about it, we are all able to sustain this experience because the Sun’s photons are being transferred from organism to organism. While we cannot directly experience the all consuming flame, everything we interface with deliberately brings us closer to experiencing that inner self.

A facet of the Solar principle that doesn’t get emphasized enough is the constancy and seemingly permanent nature of the Sun and the functions it carries out. The Sun always rises in the east, its light undergoes the same repetitive shifts in light and dark cycles (seasons), and shepherds all of the planets in our solar system with its gravitational force. When life no longer exists and the material realm withers away, the solar principle is one that never seems to die. This is true whether you are talking about the Sun likely outlasting the very species living under it, or if you are talking about the concept of the soul outlasting the body. Yes, the Sun will swell into a red giant and eventually go supernova. But such an event is billions of years off from now, and in comparison to our miniscule lifespans the Sun may as well be burning for eternity. These qualities of the center of our solar system map onto the association of the Sun with the fixed fire sign, Leo, and the rejoicing of the Sun in the 9th house. I will speak more on the Sun’s joy in the next section.

The Hero’s Journey

Cadent houses have connotations of movement, whether these are goal-directed trips (3rd and 9th axis) or movement by force or as a result of displacement (6th and 12th house). Of all the cadent places, the ninth hose is the most positive of these, and the one we often invoke first when thinking of travel as a concept. The houses in astrology derive their meanings partly from diurnal motion, which describes the rising, culminating, setting, and anti-culminating of the Sun and other celestial bodies. Since the ninth house represents the cadent place next to the culminating point, it describes the situations and events that came before that which is occupying a higher point in the sky. The ninth house has a lot to do with higher education, morality, and beliefs (spiritual, political, etc.). Many of these things can be found in the form of legends and epic myths, which are manifestation of the values and ideological frameworks deeply embedded in each culture. These values were defined, debated, and disseminated thanks to the nature of the rulers, scholars, and heroic cultural figures that preceded the ones on center stage today.

To borrow from the Vedic astrological framework, the ninth house can describe fathers and things passed down from the patrilineal side, which usually can involve certain values and customs (at least in patriarchal societies). These are standards we are operating in response to, regardless of whether we champion these beliefs or not. With the ninth being the superior trine to the first house, one may suggest that part of our reason of being is supported by this desire to respond to these beliefs in some way. The desire to find things to believe in and justify them through previous experiences and wisdom makes me associate the relationship between the 1st, 5th, and 9th houses as the “hero’s journey.”

Considering what’s been said of Jupiter and the Sun thus far, it may be important to see how these energies relate to the 9th house. I think both of these planets can fit well with this phase of the hero’s journey. However, I am of the school of thought that the ninth house is more solar in nature. Think about it! The Sun not only represents the soul, but does get associated with fatherly figures, gods, and organized institutions that are meant to preserve the values these figures want to create. I would argue that legends have their place in the 9th house, and the immortalization of certain attributes or certain figures is a process that takes place in the 9th house. The Sun was here before humans and all the other organisms came into being, and will probably outlast us following our inevitable extinction. Furthermore, the Sun has a gradual and consistent motion from our perspective here on Earth, which serves as something that supports the idea of travel. In fact, a lot of myths tied to seasons describe annual changes in the Sun’s movements. Therefore, a lot of significations we tie to Jupiter around adventuring and journeying can actually be tied to the Sun.

That being said, I do respect the associations that people make between Jupiter and the 9th house. After all, Jupiter does get associated with people who tend to act as the spokespeople for the divine or the ones responsible for transmitting the knowledge of our predecessors. Scholars and clergy-folk are very much avatars of the 9th house. Whether we agree with them or not, they do arm us with information that can help us formulate an idea of what the world is and how we should show up in it. Furthermore, there is an expansive quality to Jupiter that allows for further exploration and expansion. It’s the planet we come to before we hit the Great Wall that is Saturn, the boundary of what is visible. I think Jupiter can speak a lot to our ability to push up against the boundaries or constraints of what is knowable or what we are capable of experiencing, and how that guides our actions. This is the basis of faith, I think. Perhaps in having a little faith as we try to make our way through this chaotic world, we take important risks that reveal flashes of that inner flame that moves each one of us.

I’m having fun thinking about the symbolism shared between planets, and I plan on doing more of these thought exercises here in my newsletter. I hope this inspires you to think about how to make the most of this Jupiter cazimi in Aries. If you want more insight into how these planets affect you on a personal level, book a consultation with me! A friendly reminder that all Pisces Saturn folks can get 30% off of one reading of their choice, and if you want access to this discount code, email me. Lastly, prices will be going up after May 5th, so consider booking your sessions as soon as possible before this increase.

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The planet of transformation and destruction made its grand entrance into Aquarius on Thursday, suggesting that the world is in for some more maladies of a different flavor. As I’m writing this, protests are underway in France to prevent Macron’s government from raising the retirement age for pension reform. Here in Canada, the government is crisis mode since the intelligence agency keeps leaking information suggesting that the Liberal government may have benefitted from Chinese interference in the last two elections. North Korea is raising eyebrows with its testing of new militarized technology with nuclear capabilities. Lastly, some in the US await the arrest and indictment of former president Donald Trump in a hush money case. Between the political unrest and the acceleration of the interest in AI and all things digital (especially currency), the preview of what is to come during Pluto in Aquarius is becoming clearer by the day. In this newsletter, I hope to provide some food for thought about what Pluto in Aquarius might be as a transit.

Critical Mass

Before we even touch the concepts of AI and political upheaval with a ten foot pole, I think it’s important to assess how the meanings of Aquarius the sign an Pluto the planet will come together. Since we are talking about a fixed air sign, and the preferred domicile of Saturn in both Western and Vedic astrology — it is critical to get to the fundamental core of what these symbols mean. Sorry to the modernists, but Uranus will not be mentioned in this article, except to highlight the relationship to Cronus (Saturn). If three years of Saturn in tropical Aquarius did not teach anyone what ideological rigidity means, then surely Pluto’s 20 year transit here will.

To understand Aquarius and the things it represents, it is key to understand the element, the planet that rules the sign, the planet(s) that may be debilitated in the sign, and the modality of the sign. Like the other air signs Gemini and Libra, Aquarius is one of the only signs that is said to be human rather than bestial (I am ignoring the first half of Sagittarius for convenience, pls don’t come at me). Air signs are often associated with the capacity of speech, thought, and reason — which will discuss at length later in this newsletter. Air is hot and moist, and while it doesn’t change the nature of the substances it interacts with, it is able to stir them into action or move them in some way. I know a lot of people versed in the modern rulerships struggle to understand Aquarius as being Saturnian, but I think the juxtaposition of a less tangible element and a planet with connotations of solidity speaks to the “quirkiness” of the sign. However, the symbolism of Saturn as an undifferentiated other or someone at the margins is very fitting for the Aquarian archetype. Furthermore, Saturn does get associated with the collective masses, which are in opposition to the monarchs— i.e. the luminaries. It’s no surprise that the Sun is exiled here! I find that an adage to think about the Sun’s debility here is the phrase, “if everyone is special, then how is that unique?” There is an uncomfortable truth in this statement, but what Aquarius suns may fail to realize is that projecting some sort of identity is still worth doing, even if everyone is trying to participate in such an act. Finally, Saturn has connotations of time— not just the past but also the future. Where Saturn in Capricorn may look to the past to inspire new foundations to build, Aquarius looks to the future in order to stabilize things of the present that have potential. Therefore, it’s not hard to get to future-oriented rebel looking at the sign through this lense.

When looking at the planet, Pluto, we think about transformation. This dwarf planet and its movements are associated with making small things seem large and reducing massive things into something miniscule. This planet is also associated with some difficult “d” words— death, destruction, decay. You get the idea! When Pluto transits a sign or makes significant aspects to other planets, it has the tendency to bring about disaster or decay for the purpose of forcing transformation. It exposes the rot in a particular domain of life or with respect to key archetypal themes so that changes can be made on a deep cellular level. What happens to things that fail to withstand this pressure to change? They die. The last 15 years of Pluto in Capricorn has done quite the job exposing the rot within structures of authority and how they are shaped to abuse power— most notably financial institutions. Aside from the syncretism with the underworld god, Hades, the planet is named after the Roman god associated with wealth. Since crops and other commodities come from under the ground, it’s obvious that Pluto rules commodities as well— especially hidden things that are worth a lot. Therefore, it’s interesting that we started Pluto in Capricorn with the Great Recession of 2008 and we seem to be ending the transit with more bank failures and questions about the global financial systems as they stand. It remains to be seen whether the banks will receive the same government bailout that they did last time (since Pluto is not in Capricorn, my guess is no).

Though Pluto will only spend a few months in Aquarius this year, between now and 2044, we get to experience a breakdown of themes in society associated with Aquarius. Social structures seem to be the thing we are coming after next. Whether you are an insider or an outsider, Saturn can speak to social stratification, and Saturn in Aquarius will force us to confront these things. As technology advances, it creates efficiencies that may benefit some at the expense of others. Here, we are forced to confront the utility of the categories we use to make sense of our roles in society based on the spread of technologies that can serve as “equalizers.” We need to revisit key principles and assumptions which govern how we organize ourselves, and eliminate those which will prevent us from maintaining social order.

(r)Evolution of Thought

One key feature of Pluto in Aquarius will likely be the reformation of the fundamental principles by which we understand the nature of reality, what it’s composed of, and how it’s organized. This is especially applicable when it comes to how we understand social interactions, especially those involving power. I find it relevant to invoke the mythology of the Titans and their overthrow of their parents. I’ve been thinking of this myth since having the privilege of hearing Sam Reynolds talk about the Astrology of Policing for the Association of Young Astrologers (PS - join the organization today if you want access to the talk), since it makes the archetype of Aquarius quite clear! Basically, Ouranos (Uranus), father of the gods was overthrown by Cronus (Saturn) and the Titans were established as the new seat of power within the pantheon. Not only this but Cronus and his siblings castrated their father upon ascending to power. However, to avoid the same fate, Cronus eats his children to prevent being usurped by his own offspring—which proved to be in vain. I think this myth makes clear that Aquarius is not necessarily about innovation for the sake of constant change, but the establishment of a new status quo. Pluto here is only going to enhance the themes of old regimes being replaced and overthrown by new ones.

The seeds of revolution are often born out of changes in ideology and thought. As a result, the locus of power shifts and becomes less centralized. Astrologer Angela Cornish does a great job of outlining major historical shifts of loci of power in this article. She goes through some major shifts that took place during the last three iterations of Pluto in Aquarius. In 1533, Henry the VIII gets excommunicated from the Catholic Church due to his desire to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn instead. This split would lead to the formation of the Anglican church, and represents a major turning point for growing protestant sentiment that was already taking hold in much of Western Europe. This marked a shift away from the papacy in influencing the affairs of different monarchies within the West. In the era of 1778-1798, the American Revolution that was largely in progress inspired a wave of revolutions in France and throughout adjacent colonies in response to perceived overreaches by monarchist regimes. This move led to the idealization of republican democracy as the ideal form of government, as opposed to rule by an imperial monarch in some places (perhaps Pluto in Pisces can speak to the imperial power of the British Empire). We can go back even earlier and see that even the “Great Schism” between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches in 1054 occurred under Pluto in Aquarius, reflecting the political and philosophical differences between the different branches of the Christian faith.

Considering the events of the past, I think that we are likely moving towards more of a multipolar world, and away from one centralized form of power or authority. For a long time, American hegemony was the order under which the world operated. By extension, the European Union and NATO were also major forces that seemed to dictate the global agenda. However, China and some other nations are forming the newly minted BRICS alliance, which may prove to be a formidable competitor when it comes to defining global interests.

Technological advancement as an obstacle to progress

Since Saturn and Mercury (Mercury does not exalt here, but has triplicity dignity and a nice decan here) do well in the sign Aquarius, it’s no surprise that the sign gets associated with technological innovation. However, there is this seemingly innate assumption that technological advancement serves the purpose of bringing about progress. While technology (Mercury) pushes us past the constraints of reality (Saturn), it does tend to create new problems while solving old ones (more Saturn). I would argue that this becomes especially apparent when Pluto transits the air signs, but most notably the sign of Aquarius.

One example of technological progress creating new problems to solve is the invention of the cotton gin in 1794. This invention made the processing of cotton much more efficient, and while this cemented cotton as a major commodity of the American South, it further entrenched the region in its dependence on enslaved Africans as a source of labor. This stands in contradiction to moves by colonial powers of France and Britain, which moved to abolish slavery in 1792 and 1794, respectively. The ethos of the times was generally centered on recognizing the power of individuals and an emancipation from certain structures of authority, however, this sowed the seeds for future problems to be faced by the US and other colonies within the Americas in dealing with the legacy of slavery. So while the technology was economically beneficial, it maintained the oppression and othering of a group of people, and against the ethos that the land was prevailing upon (supposedly, but that’s a dialogue for another time).

The co-presence of Neptune and Uranus in Aquarius in the late 90s and the aughts was associated with the spread of the internet and the digital age, and served as the great equalizer of sorts. This is because information has become increasingly accessible to large masses of people, rather than tucked away for privileged groups to access. While this has also allowed more people to be interconnected and be aware of things happening outside of their local sphere, there has been extensive documentation on the ways in which social media has contributed to the decline of mental health amongst youth. While this trend seemed to worsen during Neptune’s movement into Pisces, it can be argued that the floodgates were opened during the movement of the other two outer planets in Aquarius. Not to mention that the age of social media has enhanced the amount of digital surveillance that governments and corporations have been able to develop for means of social control and to make profits off of regular people. Pluto coming to these degrees over 25 years later is going to provide a stress test to redefine how this structure can integrate within our social frameworks. TikTok is the newest player in the social media sphere, and politicians and experts in psychology have expressed concerns about the effects constant exposure to this platform may be having on the social and emotional development of young people. With TikTok also coming under fire for geopolitical reasons, it is possible that a culmination of factors may lead to the demise of this app, and by extension the attempts by Western governments to be more overtly heavy-handed in their regulation over the internet and Big Tech.

While everyone seems to be keen to hop on the AI craze to generate anything from essays, to editing media, I feel that not enough people are discussing the potential downsides to accelerating our use of this new technology. There are a plethora of problems that could arise from this expansion of AI. To name a few - the obsolescence of laborers in many industries, major disinformation campaigns to influence politics, and issues with ownership over creative and intellectual property. Neptune in Pisces happening in parallel is already creating problems in the form of disinformation campaigns that threaten social cohesion (this is a huge problem of Saturn-Neptune hard aspects, and we are under this influence with Saturn being in Pisces). Now that these deepfakes have become more enhanced, we run the risk of exacerbating these issues. On twitter the other day, there was a funny but alarmingly realistic picture of Donald Trump’s arrest circulating on the web. More concerning are the reports that AI is being used to create fake pornographic images of women, which has the potential to ruin people’s lives.

What does it mean to be human?

At the core of how these shifts in thought and technology is a key question that we will be forced to reckon with — what humanity is and why is it important to identify with the concept? No matter how you slice this pie, this transit may be associated with an existential crisis for humanity and how it assigns the locus of power to decide its fate. Pluto in Aquarius can be associated with the desire to distribute agency across larger masses of people, rather than allowing it to remain in the hands of a few people.

As uncomfortable as the topic might be for people, I feel like the emancipation of colonies from their imperial overlords taking place around the same time that people were pushing for the abolition of slavery are worth examining deeper. On the one hand, giving more people the right to self-determination propped up many democracies that are still (barely) functional today. On the other hand, the hypocrisy of denying whole groups of people agency is one failed realization of this transit that we are forced to reckon with today. As an American, I think often of how the document that is worshipped and hailed as the thing that protects the rights and freedoms of all of us is actually used on a regular basis to deny people their rights, depending on who is entrusted to interpret it. Throughout the history of America, people like myself (woman, racialized, etc.) were routinely excluded from the definition of “human” to keep power within the locus of a specific set of people. I do think that some themes of the times will force us to revisit these past failings and the lasting effects they continue to have.

I think the advent of AI is also forcing people to think about their relationship to their labor, since many of us in the global north especially have transitioned to service based economies. Humans have long held themselves as separate from the rest of the animal kingdom due to the capacity for intellect, language, and complex social structures. Additionally, capitalism has forced people to see their value in terms of their productivity and capacity to perform labor. If a man made structure can outperform humans in some of the tasks that made them unique and “of value” to the social structures they have created, then what does it really mean to be human? What is the purpose of being a human in society beyond the capacity to use intellect and language for the purpose of endless production and consumption? Perhaps we will spend the next 20 years trying to answer these questions, and maybe the answers we come up with will push us to fight for social structures that reflect this.

If you enjoyed reading about the thematic elements of Pluto in Aquarius, please consider booking a session with me! I would love help you navigate the themes of these turbulent times as they apply to your life. Also, if you are a fellow Saturn in Pisces like myself, I am treating you to 30% off one reading of your choice between now and December of 2025. Please email me for access to the discount code.

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Our almost 6 year stretch of overpowered Saturn is coming to an end. On March 7th, the Greater Malefic leads the charge in planetary shifts and heads for Pisces. This period is quite important to me since it marks the beginning of my 1st house Saturn Return. However, I do think this is a significant turning point for a lot of us. We are leaving behind the austerity of Saturn in domicile in favor of a Saturn answering to Jupiter. Interestingly, we also get to experience Saturn co-present with Neptune, something we have not experienced since the early 1990s. I had the privilege of discussing Saturn in Pisces with Dan Waites over at the World Astrology Report, if you want a general mundane overview. In this newsletter, I want to explore three different stages of Saturn in Pisces. My reasoning is that there are three decans of Pisces, and during Saturn’s time here Jupiter will move through three different signs.

Act I: A Quest for Treasure.

Mar 7th 2023 to Mar 1st 2024

The first year of this transit, Saturn will spend all of its time in its own decan in Pisces. I find the transition between the final decan of Aquarius and the first decan of Pisces to be especially emblematic of the times. Saturn’s final gifts to is from Aquarius may involve the detachment from difficult situations to take stock of what is essential. You may need to strip yourself down to the core and only continue engaging with people, places, and experiences that can sustain a baseline of normalcy or comfort. Because once Saturn switches into Pisces, you may realize that you need to leave something behind. You might have put all your resources into something, or tried to hold onto a situation to extract as much as you can from it. However, you may quickly begin to realize that these systems and ideals that you have chained yourself to have become devoid of meaning and lack purpose. This is the point where the water bearer must empty their jug, so that the jug can become useful again later.

This movement into Pisces kicks off the decanic journey through the sign, which I like to describe as the struggle to achieve true belonging. If Pisces is to be thought of as the last sign, then it makes sense that we shed our egos and any false pretenses about individuality in favor of liberation from these constructs that generate a lot of suffering and even loneliness in life. Here, people surrender to the divine or the forces of nature (whatever your preference is), realizing that perhaps they are not in the driver’s seat. Instead, they are merely vessels through which meaning is channeled and certain principles and cycles end up playing out. In order to realize this, one must abandon the things they are emotionally attached to in order to go deeper. This is the blessing and curse of Pisces I. At best, there is this gravitation towards finding deeper meanings in everything. At worst, it can have you escaping into worlds you will never reach, or running away from your problems by picking up and going (guilty as charged!).

Although the first two months of this transit are ruled by Jupiter in Aries, Saturn will actually be answering to a Jupiter in Taurus for the majority of this arc. Following the quick pivot to a new direction, Jupiter’s tenure in Taurus may allow us to stabilize whatever parts of our lives are governed by Taurus. Generally speaking, we want to maximize comfort and consolidate resources that we can reliably derive pleasure from. After a difficult three years of Saturn-Uranus action bringing about permanent changes, perhaps we can be rewarded for finding new sources of comfort to rely on. However, in the attempt to create new standards of comfort, perhaps the valuation of certain objects may be inflated.

On a mundane level, Taurus does get associated with commodities. Our attempts to find new stable commodities to assign value to may leave us feeling unmoored. Perhaps, Uranus being co-present with Jupiter for this period will really force us to make a hard pivot when it comes to the collective standards around sources of value. I wanted to refrain from straying too far into mundane astrology, but think of the discourse around the need to move away from fiat currency that has been floating around lately. While the cryptocurrency boom of 2020 generated a new multimillionaire class overnight, 2022 was a brutal year for the digital currency market. However, crypto could make a resurgence during the Jupiter-Uranus co-presence in Taurus, probably as a result of markets such as China reopening its doors to the trading of cryptocurrency.

With Jupiter ruling Saturn in Pisces, this reform of our baselines around assigning value to things and deciding what is worth acquiring may provide opportunities to venture into uncharted territory. I often think about the connotations of Saturn and labor. With these changes in tastes and cultural norms around what is valuable, perhaps our relationship to labor will also change. While Saturn in Aquarius gave us a masterclass in a need to reform our structures around connecting to one another as we perform our duties, Saturn in Pisces might not be as keen on maintaining such levels of distance. While productivity may be higher for those privileged to work remotely or flexibly, the desire to unite people behind shared purpose may be diluted through a computer screen or a phone call. While some organizations may strong-arm their employees and associates to return to the office to participate in the illusion of life before the pandemic, others may embrace new structures that may boost morale. It’s possible that workers may be positioned to make more demands about protecting their spaces, especially as metrics for comfort and the amount of effort required to achieve a certain level of that will shift. While the sextile between Saturn and Jupiter during this phase may promise new opportunities to cultivate stability or work-life balance, there may not be enough tension to enact such changes.

Act II: Lost at Sea.

Mar 1st 2024 to Feb 23rd 2025

The real drama of Saturn in Pisces kicks off in March 2024, when Saturn finally makes it to the middle decan. After embarking on the journey into uncharted territory, we typically enter the chapter where we encounter things that can fill the void inside and replace that which was left behind. I often view this decan and associated narratives in terms of serendipitous discovery. In the Pisces decans episode of the Fixed Astrology Podcast, Pao and I discussed the resonance between this decan and the story about Jesus turning water into wine. There is an element here of taking something little and making miracles to provide sustenance for others.

However, Austin Coppock does mention that malefics in this decan can disrupt this sense of discovery and exchange. Since Saturn will also inch closer to a conjunction with Neptune by this stage of the transit, it is possible that doubts may be cast on the feasibility of such solutions. To add insult to injury, we get our only Saturn-Mars conjunction in Pisces in this decan. On a mundane level, Mars-Saturn conjunctions point to the types of crises that we may experience within a 2-year period. The 2020 Saturn-Mars conjunction coincided with the closure of borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns which forced us to take most activities online, which is on brand for the themes of Aquarius. Perhaps we can look at the nature of the sign, and the term ruler of the conjunction to provide additional context for the plagues this particular conjunction will bring. Interestingly, the conjunction takes place in Jupiter’s sign, Jupiter’s bound, and Jupiter’s decan! Since Jupiter has connotations of knowledge, wealth, morals, and alliances, I would not be surprised if there were challenges related to our ability to that trade alliances will hold up or that we can rely on the wisdom of a spiritual advisor or scholar. It does not help that Mars is also ruling the Great American Eclipse of 2024, but that is beyond the scope of this post.

This particular phase is also more stressful because Jupiter will move into Gemini on May 26th, 2024. Jupiter, arbiter of morality, rewards, and honors is exiled in the signs of Mercury. The diametric opposition between the Jovial and Mercurial will be on grand display during this phase. Mercury is more concerned with breaking things into smaller parts, while Jupiter wants to synthesize things and incorporate them into a larger framework. A plight of Jupiter in exile is the inability to focus on cohesive narratives due to hyperfocus on the facts and details. With Jupiter being a planet of faith and also morals, there is potential for the use of anecdotes and figures out of context in ways that make it hard to believe in things or their value. Perhaps there is a fixation on identifying exceptions to the rule in order to justify certain narratives, morals, and belief systems.

With Saturn in the superior square and applying pressure to its lord for adequate support, it’s easy to see how frustrations can play out archetypically. Saturn can be thought of as a trainee or apprentice tasked with giving form to something formless without clear guidelines. Jupiter in exile becomes the unreliable guru or authority figure, providing guidance based on information taken out of context and focusing on very specific scenarios that do not generalize to the types of complex problems that Saturn is tasked with handling. Furthermore, it does not help that Saturn as a planet is concerned with orthodoxy and needs to do things in the “correct” way. When you have a mentor suggesting that everything is relative, how is it possible to begin creating boundaries so that people and systems can operate effectively? As a result, people may fall out of favor with certain belief systems and metrics of assigning cultural and monetary significance to things. However, Jupiter does have triplicity dignity in Gemini, suggesting that people may become easily swayed by unreliable narrators displaying high level information without nuance or context. While the suggestions or beliefs may be popular or touted by some, the things shared may not necessarily be true. Alternatively, this configuration may force people to rightfully confront the ways in which cherished values and beliefs do not hold up to logical scrutiny.

Not only is Saturn answering to an exiled Jupiter, but this is the opening Saturn-Jupiter square after the Grand Conjunction of 2020. Being the last of the two visible planets, Saturn and Jupiter historically served as markers of time. Each conjunction of the greater malefic and benefic marks a 20 year period of global events with particular themes. The opening square can be thought of as the first test of the ability for this new era to take hold. Saturn always has the superior position during this phase since Jupiter moves more quickly through the zodiac. In Postcolonial Astrology, Alice Sparkly Kat depicts the ways in which Saturn can have connotations of an idealized golden age we have strayed from. Therefore, it seems likely that we would expect some resistance or reactionary response to the expansion that Jupiter is trying to create. Saturn answering to an ill-dignified Jupiter sets us up for an interesting dynamic because there are two key ways this could play out. Perhaps people may want to cling to this old way of being out of resistance to new information about the hypocrisy of their beliefs. Or people may be driven to build structures based on unreliable information taken out of its original context.

Act III: The Last Frontier.

Feb 23rd 2025 to May 25th 2025 & Sep 1st 2025 to Feb 13th 2026

The last act of Saturn’s travels through Pisces is going to be one for the books. This period is interrupted by a brief intermezzo where Saturn and Neptune make their conjunction in Aries. Regardless, this transit has a major quality of finality to it. The imagery and archetypes of all the final decans of mutable signs carry connotations of major endings, which pave the way for new beginnings to take their place. During this arc of the greater malefic’s journey through Pisces, we reach the point where we will need to make a key sacrifice in order to achieve some kind of “happy ending.” With Saturn being a planet of obstacles, I would imagine that this may require some major loss that can force people to come together out of necessity.

This particular stretch of the transit is interesting because Saturn will be in close proximity to Rahu (the north node), which enters Pisces on January 29th, 2025. Per the Vedic astrological tradition, Rahu and Saturn are said to share some similarities. This is likely because both are associated with the sign Aquarius, have connotations of being concerned with the collective and abstract things, and because both planets can bring about difficulty. Therefore, the qualities of Saturn will be enhanced during this period. The thing to remember about Rahu is that it is a head without its body— meaning it has a strong hunger for things but may struggle to understand when satiety has happened. We may find ourselves longing for structures and systems that we can give ourselves to, but perhaps we may go to extremes to make this happen. Since this conjunction occurs in the last decan of Pisces, perhaps we may reach a point of no return. Rahu and Saturn conjoin on April 7th, 2025, following each of their conjunctions to a retrograde Venus in Pisces. While Venus is in her exaltation and doing her best to represent the highest forms of love, beauty, and interconnectedness between people, her retrogradation and proximity to malefics (including a trine to Mars in Cancer) corrupts the experience. Venus will actually station direct pretty close to Saturn and Rahu, and she will immediately conjoin each of them again over a two week period. There is an element of forcing people to adhere to these ideals in such a way that may leave us wondering, “do the ends always justify the means?”

Following the intermission involving that Neptune-Saturn conjunction in Aries, Saturn returns to Pisces on September 1st to provide us with an encore (Neptune won’t rejoin the party until early November). This phase is interesting because by this stage, Jupiter is exalted in Cancer. The greater malefic and benefic will be mutually applying to a trine with one another for a couple of months in the fall. When Jupiter first enters Cancer in June, Saturn will have been in Aries preparing to conjoin Neptune. While Jupiter will not have any say over the affairs over that fallen Saturn, it’s possible that the need to forgo limits and boundaries to initiate will serve the purpose of tearing down structures in favor of ones that actually promote a greater sense of care. Jupiter provides that fallen Saturn with the moral backing and perhaps even financial support to achieve this mass overhaul. Neptune, the dissolver of structures is also aiding and abetting Saturn in these goals of systemic overhaul.

When Saturn returns to Pisces to form a trine aspect to Jupiter, there are connotations of rebuilding and perhaps even reconciliation following a decisive action taken under the Saturn-Neptune configuration. One of the last major configurations Saturn has to another planet before leaving Pisces for good in early 2026 is the trine to Jupiter in Cancer, which stations retrograde not long after perfecting, which leads me to believe that this attempt to regroup and perhaps redistribute resources in a way that benefits more people will inform our experience of the highest expression of Jupiter. Saturn coming back to Pisces to make amends with a reformed Jupiter may allow us to make peace with any decisions we made to implement new structures and leave old ones behind, even if we had to strong arm others into going along for the ride.

I am hopeful that this reflection on potential themes of Saturn in Pisces will really inspire each of you to see the strength into surrendering to the unknown. Sometimes to find what really matters we need to embrace the idea that we are beholden to forces beyond our control. However, the best way to endure these things may involve collective efforts. This might require acceptance that the actions of few can have consequences for many, and contributing to structures and systems of connecting with others with this principle in mind. If you want more guidance on how this shift may affect you, please consider booking a session with me!

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Happy belated Valentine’s Day! After reviewing my content plan and taking a break from writing after going through a major life change, I have decided to resume blogging about planetary archetypes we will be experiencing by transit soon. We are under the influence of the much anticipated Venus-Neptune conjunction in Pisces, tropically and sidereally (finally, something we can all agree on!). I am compelled to write about this configuration since many people consider Neptune to be the “higher octave” of Venus. In this post, I hope to explain why this is not the case while also sharing the overlapping significations between the two planets.

Venus - Beholder of Beauty

There is nothing that I enjoy more than singing the praises of the planet of beauty. Let’s not forget that I am a still a Taurus, despite my brash and uncouth Aries Venus (at least she’s in her decan)! No matter what astrological framework you are using, the significations of this planet are quite consistent. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and shares a lot of syncretism with the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. The topics of beauty, love, and pleasure are evoked by the mythos of these goddesses. Indeed, Vettius Valens assigns the topics to the lesser benefic and assigns various topics such as “cheerfulness, friendship, companionship, the acquisition of property, the purchase of ornaments, agreements on favorable terms, marriages, pure trades, fine voices, a taste for music, sweet singing, beauty, painting, mixing of colors both in embroidery, dyeing, and unguent making.” These depictions of Venus and her domains are a major reason why I often tell clients that Venus is more representative of physical pleasures, as well as individual sources of value.

To better understand the astrological symbolism of Venus, I find it very helpful to contrast Venus with other bright objects in the sky, such as the Sun and Jupiter. Venus is the brightest object in the night sky other than the Full Moon. Unlike the light of the Sun, the light of Venus does not obscure the sight of other objects in close proximity. In the Taurus Episode of the Astrology Podcast, I made a contrast between the signs Taurus and Leo, which are fixed signs ruled by bright objects. I often joke that the Sun is a malefic (hey, some people agree) because while it provides the energy that allows life on our planet to survive, staring into it is not something you can do without damaging your eyes. Additionally, planets that are close to the Sun are not visible because they are blocked out by its bright rays. The light of Venus is enticing rather than threatening. So I am not surprised that this planet gets associated with beauty and desire! When you see Venus in the night sky or just before dawn, she captures your attention much like an attractive stranger you are starstruck by.

Like Venus, Jupiter is a sight to behold in the night sky. However, these planets are like night and day when it comes to the types of good things that they tend to signify. If you think about it, Jupiter and Venus represent the highest virtues and values of the diurnal and nocturnal sects, respectively. In her love letter to Venus, Anak Rabanál skillfully contrasts the difference between the greater and lesser benefic in terms of their ideas of “goodness.” Venus is a nocturnal planet and is the closest celestial body to Earth aside from the Moon. As a result, she represents the more individualized and sensate forms of good. Jupiter is a diurnal planet and has greater proximity from the concerns of the physical realm. Therefore, Jupiter represents more of these abstract values of the “greater good”. Too often, people forget that Jupiter is a moral and often religious planet. In contrasting the two benefics, I think of the fact that Venus and Jupiter are said to be inimical to one another in the Vedic tradition. Venus is more concerned with the pursuit of desires (kama) and the cultivation of materials (artha), as seen in its governance over Air and Earth signs, respectively. Meanwhile, Jupiter is more concerned with performing the right actions (dharma) and pushing us towards liberation from the struggle that is life (moksha)— which reflects its governance over fire and water signs, respectively.

Lastly, it is worth pointing out that Venus is the only planet with strong essential dignities across all three modalities. It’s almost as if the highest forms of personal pleasure and pleasant exchanges can take on many forms, and this is an often overlooked superpower of the lesser benefic. In cardinal, airy, Libra, Venus exerts her influence over facilitating pleasant exchanges by seeking to create consensus amongst different people. Along with co-conspirator Saturn, Venus is able to set concrete standards for what is considered beautiful, worth indulging in, and more importantly, what is socially acceptable. Meanwhile, Venus in her preferred home of Taurus allows us to cultivate that which naturally appeals to us. Through shared natural affinities are we able to form unbreakable bonds with others. Additionally, Venus in her exaltation in Pisces allows us to experience love and pleasure in its most ideal form. In allowing our egos to dissolve and recognizing the euphoria that comes from being interconnected with others, we come closer to the divine. Interestingly, Venus does not have any dignity beyond her term placement in each of the fire signs. With fire being the element closest to divinity and coming from more of an egoic place, it makes sense that Venus would have difficulty achieving her objectives here. When someone is too focused on tendering that internal divine spark, perhaps it is hard to really be tethered to the surrounding world and the other people who are also inhabiting it.

Neptune - Of Dreams… and Nightmares

For those of you have been following my journey through astrology, you will understand my long-standing beef with Neptune. As a Pisces rising, I always struggled with the idea that such an elusive and unreliable planet would rule my chart. Once I started seeing Pisces through a Jovial lens, that Pisces rising started to make a lot more sense in how it depicts me as a person. Regardless of my eternal saltiness towards the planetary body associated with gods of the ocean, there is an undeniable affinity between Piscean and Neptunian archetypes. I just think the flattening of Neptune = Pisces prevents us from really appreciating the societal and cultural influences this planet corresponds to, and how that shows up in our individual lives.

Since Neptune is a modern planet, who better to quote than legendary modern astrologer Dane Rudhyar?! I find his depictions of Neptune and everything it represents to be quite evocative. In his work New Mansions for New Men, Rudhyar describes Neptune in this way:

But Neptune is not only an end. It is not only the acid that dissolves all walls and partitions built by Saturn at the dawn of individualized life, the glamor that covers up all defined and clear-cut outlines with a golden and iridescent mist, the lure of freedom which makes one forget duty and roots, caution and morality for the sake of coruscating mirages. It is not only the death of the individual stream into the collective sea, that disappearance of the earth-cultured and soil-loving peasant into the vast metropolitan mob of office and factory workers.

I really love what he does in this quote, throughout the rest of the section on Neptune, and in all of his chapters on the outer planets, because it contrasts Saturn and the outer planets very well. Saturn represents structure and the constraints that hold society as we know it together. I would argue that the outer planets are the invisible, or even divine forces that challenge our attempts to create order. Neptune represents the stage where structure begins to dissolve, and the promise of something more liberating and supportive can come through. Too bad for everyone that only Pluto is on the other side of that mirage (i.e. collapse and destruction, which give way for rebirth).

The dissolving effect of Neptune plays very nicely with the oceanic and meandering vibes of Pisces. Perhaps this conflation with Pisces, where Venus exalts, is the reason that we think of Neptune as the higher octave of Venus. Interestingly, astrologers have remarked on the relationship between Neptune and film, which is an artform in itself. Venus rules the domain of the arts generally, but Neptunian elements such as film, dreams, and even complex world building seen in novels and games are taking us to another plane of existence. Furthermore, Neptune has an “anesthetic” quality, which can alleviate the experience of pain or separateness. Given that Venus exalts in the sign that follows Saturn’s domiciles, it would make sense that people want to surrender to something larger to feel good.

However, I would argue that Neptune has more in common with Jupiter as a concept. There are a lot of spiritual connotations of Neptune which play nicely with the spiritualism inherent to Jupiter’s functions as a planet. Furthermore, Rudhyar often talks about the effects that Neptune has in terms of its ability to bring people closer to Nirvana-like states or at least transcendent states. This is very much attuned with the Jovial principles of liberation. Pisces has a lot of oceanic metaphors ascribed to it, and the act of traversing the seas was like going to another realm for ancient peoples. Now, we just shoot billionaires into space. Jupiter is often associated with longer distance travels, and its rulership of Pisces has connotations of uncharted territory. Lastly, Jupiter and Neptune speak to collective ideals. However, Neptune may speak to the extreme elation or disillusionment that comes from adhering to them. I think heavily about the ways in which Neptune in Pisces has contributed to the dissolving of the individual spirit, which Dan Waites provides an insightful breakdown of in his most recent newsletter. The rise of social media platforms has flattened the sense of self, not in the way where we are liberated from the need to have an identity. Instead, social media has warped people’s sense of self by reminding them how far they are from certain societal ideals of success, beauty, and happiness.

Of Songbirds, Sex Symbols, Star-crossed Lovers, and Scandals

In trying to understand the essence of this configuration, I have drawn on chart examples of people who have hard aspects between Venus and Neptune. This isn’t to say that people with trines or sextiles (or whatever aspects you’d like) don’t also embody some of these traits. However, I find that the nature of hard aspects really forces them to show up externally in very pronounced ways since the energies are trying to compete with each other for influence. Since Neptune is an outer planet, people with these configurations are shaping some key cultural themes and events, especially when they are hit by major transits to their Neptune and Venus. As you can expect with these archetypes, there were some interesting positive and negative manifestations of this configuration.

It’s no surprise that some of the most beloved crooners are those with hard aspects between Venus and Neptune. Lata Mangeshkar, often called “the Nightingale of India” was one of the most influential Indian playback singers, and you may recognize her voice in many Hindi films across different generations. Ella Fitzgerald was dubbed “First Lady of Song,” and was one of the most popular jazz vocalists for over five decades.

I would also argue that Venus-Neptune contacts tend to show up in the charts of sex symbols, or people who are known for their beauty and sexuality. When you think of old-Hollywood glamour, of course you think of Sophia Loren, who has a Venus-Neptune conjunction in Virgo. Many of her notable roles involve portrayals of sexually liberated women, a stark contrast to the normative roles promoted for women in the 1950s. Another set of women I think of are Kim Kardashian and Pamela Anderson, two women often known for their embracing their sexuality and appearance. In the case of the latter two, I think heavily about their influence on various cosmetic procedures. Pamela Anderson was a fan favorite on the show Baywatch, and for much of the late 90s and the aughts she was the blueprint for breast augmentation procedures. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian popularized the Brazilian-Butt Lift (BBL) amongst ethnic groups that didn’t originally value a large backside when it came to beauty standards. In the case of Ms. Kardashian, her rise to prominence is intimately tied with the rise of Instagram, which really blew up when Neptune ingressed into Pisces. Despite being a beauty standard, she is often criticized for the commercialization of body dysmorphia so that women and girls spend money on various products and procedures that may go out of style (see a lot of the recent discourse on the “end of the BBL era”).

Venus-Neptune aspects often show up for people involved in complicated or even scandalous relationships. This configuration may lead people to believe that a person they are so infatuated with is their soulmate if not someone they just need to pursue relations with, regardless of whether it is appropriate to do so (as a Venus-square-Neptune person, I have been there). What’s uncanny is that William Shakespeare, who often wrote of “star-crossed” romances, also owns a Venus-Neptune conjunction in his Gemini 12th house. For those of you who have had the chance to read or listen to Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, you will quickly learn that King Charles III was quite fond of Shakespeare. King Charles also has a Venus-Neptune conjunction in his chart, and is very much a prime example of being involved in his fair share of romantic scandal or tragedy. His affair partner turned consort, Camilla Parker-Bowles, also owns a square between Venus and Neptune. Both were having their Neptune square when the affair between them was exposed to the media, and this was devastating to Princess Diana. It’s unfortunate that it took the passing of his ex-wife and time for the now King to marry the person he actually wanted to be with.

Speaking of scandals, let’s not forget about the drama that happened surrounding Bill Clinton and his leverage of his position to pursue and conceal his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Bill Clinton (unsurprisingly) owns a Venus-Neptune conjunction on his ascendant! The affair and the political fallout of his actions also took place while Neptune was wrapping up its journey through Capricorn. I’m hoping that these examples of the pitfalls of chasing desires serve as useful examples for how the Neptune square transit may teach us a lesson when it comes to Venus-Neptune aspects.

Venus & Neptune in Pisces - Phantoms of Desire

Now that we have taken a tour of the archetypal meanings of these two celestial bodies, I think we can dive into some key themes of this transit! This week, our laughter loving queen conjoins the conjuror of illusions in the sign of her exaltation. While Venus in Pisces typically echoes the highest forms of love and pleasure that can connect the physical realm to that of the divine, Neptune may be casting shadows and illusions that prevent us from seeing things clearly.

This conjunction is taking place in the third decan of Pisces, which Austin Coppock refers to as “A Bowl of Blood.” I know this seems gory for a sign that often gets painted as the delusional, idealistic, dreamer. However, as someone whose first house is Pisces, I find the description to be quite apt. The decanic journey through Pisces is one of sacrifice to find greater meaning. If Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, it represents the process of unlearning what it means to be an individual so that the former individual can rejoin the collective. It is in the last decan of Pisces where we look at all that was sacrificed to achieve the happy ending—and we all know that every happy ending is simply allowing us to start something new. This decan is very Martial in nature, but Mars in the water signs tends to have a more defensive rather than offensive quality. In thinking of the way Mars colors this part of the zodiac, I think of the quote “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” A lot of pacts or agreements are made involving the consumption of blood, literally or figuratively. You are giving part of yourself or receiving part of someone else as a sign that you are being initiated into something larger.

The beautiful part of this last decan of Pisces is that it is the decan that houses Venus’ exaltation degree. This is where the highest form of Venus is made manifest. I know that Jupiter and Venus can be antithetical in some ways, but it is in Pisces where Venusian principles of union blend well with the quest for truth and connectedness that Jupiter can represent. In surrendering to the idea that we are not just individuals here to experience life, but parts of the universe trying to relate to one another so that the universe can experience itself, we achieve the desire for union. It’s no wonder why people often fixate on finding their romantic partner or being desirable so that someone will want them. While Venus in Pisces is definitely romantic, there is a recognition that love is not just positive feelings but cultivated through sacrifice and surrendering. I do not want to suggest that love here is unconditional, but the love represented by Venus near her exaltation is one that comes close to being without limits or conditions.

Neptune’s influence on Venus in this decan may complicate this narrative though. Since it typically has the effect of obscuring the senses, it can be challenging to discern what represents this ideal form of love or the chasing of ghosts that represent this feeling. While Neptune can show us some ideals around what connection should look like between people, it is possible that fixation on such a high ideal can lead to disillusionment. This conjunction is happening in a mutable sign, after all. I like to joke that mutable signs like to cycle back to things until they are ready to transition into something new. Venus-Neptune can sometimes look like repeating relational dynamics because you still haven’t grieved the loss of a relationship that you really wanted. It can look like mistrust of the partner that gives you everything you ever wanted because of an inability to see that you are capable of love. Sometimes it looks like realizing that even though you love someone, you have to walk away from them so that you both can be your best selves. It’s hard to tell what the correct course of action is when the circumstances are unclear. This is the last time that Venus in Pisces will conjoin Neptune without Saturn’s influence, so it might be wise to just sit with these visions and revisit them next year.

Regardless of whether you have a positive relationship with Venus-Neptune aspects, I hope this treatment of them at least inspires you to find beauty in the highs and lows of the human experience. Sometimes, it is worthwhile to lean into ambiguity and confusion to get a better sense of the ideal forms of pleasure or connection that we are seeking. If you want to explore how configurations like these play out in your life, please consider booking a consultation below! Consider this blog post my late Valentine’s Day gift to you.

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I was inspired to wax lyrical on this topic because of my previous post, The False Dichotomy Between Psychoanalysis and Prediction. I am also especially excited about this topic because Mercury and the Moon have a lot more functional similarities than most people would like to believe. My exploration of the different schools of astrology revealed that some of the conflation of Mercury with the third house may explain the association of the planet with communication, siblings, and neighbors. However, in learning that the planetary joy of the Moon could account for these things it made me want to do a deep dive into the two fastest moving planets and their relationship to our capacity for thought and sharing those thoughts with others.

Mercury, The Mentalist.

Mercury, planet closely aligned with the messenger god Hermes, is the first thing that we often think of our minds. In spite of also being animals, what sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is for a more complex capacity for developing language. Due to its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is often likened to a scribe or a page to the monarch, who relays important decrees to the masses. While the Sun is our intellect or the ideals that we hold, Mercury speaks to our ability to put those ideals into language and disseminate them to others. I would argue that Mercury, and to a lesser extent Venus, are the only planets that are not severely harmed by combustion. Both of these planets speak to strategies by which we can assert that which we take pride in and hope to identify with someday. Those who have Mercury co-present with the Sun in the same sign actually have the greatest capacity for communicating in a way that aligns well with their highest self. In fact, this configuration is called Budha-Aditya Yoga in the Vedic system, and is considered an auspicious combination for outwardly displaying your intelligence and benefitting from this materially as a result.

It’s no wonder that Vettius Valens writes that Mercury symbolizes people who occupy a diverse range of occupations such as “sculptors, doctors, secretaries, legal advisors, orators, philosophers, architects, musicians, prophets, diviners, augurs, dream interpreters, braiders, weavers, systematic physicians, [and] those in charge of war and strategy.” Furthermore, looking at the length at which Valens spends describing Mercury, it is clear that this planet does involve the capacity to take intelligence and apply it in some meaningful way.

Here, it is helpful to invoke the fact that Mercury is said to rejoice in the first house. For a deeper dive into this topic and an introduction to the planetary joys in general, I recommend listening to the Mercury episode of the Fixed Astrology Podcast! In this episode we discuss the unique position of this planetary joy in that it is the only angular house where a planet rejoices. The first house is one of two houses that is both above and below the horizon, speaking to the duality between the body and the soul. Mercury is associated with deities that have the capacity for travelling between the spirit realm and material realms— carrying messages and goods from one realm to the other. It makes sense then that Mercury would rejoice in a house that describes the struggle of being an intangible entity confined to a body that is forced to have a material experience. In using our mental faculties to manipulate the material realm in a way that is evocative of the divine spark that lies within each of us, we are embodying the Mercurial principle of versatility.

Moon, Mother of the Mind.

In last week’s blog, I ventured into the role that the Moon plays in serving as the gateway to the psyche. It’s helpful to see the parallels between the big three and the layers of consciousness. This would make the ascendant the Ego, the Sun the Superego, and leave the Moon as the factor that closely mirrors the Id. Unlike Mercury, which I would argue acts as the Ego due to its associations with the first house, the moon represents a more shadowy layer of conscience that colors our responses to the world around us. In the “Ages of Man” scheme, the Moon is said to describe the first four years of life. During this stage, infants and toddlers are not only under the care of a maternal figure, but achieving developmental milestones that will impact their ability to navigate their inner and outer world as they grow.

Whether discussing early development through the lense of neuroscience and psychology or using an astrological lense, it is clear that the care one receives in these early years can affect social and cognitive development. Children learn language but also how to model appropriate behaviors from the people they encounter on a frequent basis. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Sahl ibn Bishr dedicates many lines of text to describing how the Moon and its condition can speak to the upbringing of the individual and the impact that has on their temperament. While the Moon in the Western astrological condition does have more bodily connotations and describes how our innate constitution can affect our life experiences, the context in which the Moon lies can map out how early life experience can play a hand in shaping our mental landscape. This means that the Moon speaks to the ways “nature” and “nurture” helps us develop our psyche.

The Third House - Mercurial or Lunar?

For those of you who favor the natural house associations, which draws parallels between Mercury and the topics of the third house, I have news for you! The meanings of the third house actually have little to do with Mercury in spite of the resonance with the topic. That being said? I will make concessions here, because the association can be useful. Since Gemini would be the third sign, it corresponds to the third house. Twins are co-borns, which are siblings! Undeniable logic there. With the third house also speaking to education, close friends, and short journeys, it makes sense that we would want to attribute these things to Gemini and Mercury. Indeed Valens, Porphyry, and other authors often attribute brotherhood to the planet Mercury.

However, there is compelling evidence that non-angular houses gained a lot of their significations from the planetary joys. In the Hellenistic astrological tradition, the Moon rejoices in the Third House, which is referred to as the place of Goddess. Due to her association with messengers and wandering, this house gets those significations as well. The short distances travelled by the Moon are meant to contrast the long steady journey of the Sun, which has its joy in the 9th house. Furthermore, the cyclical nature of the Moon aligns better with the “daily routines” signification of the 3rd house that gets applied in more modern contexts. The practical or applied knowledge depictions of the 3rd in contrast to the 9th house also parallels nicely with Abu Ma’shar’s description of the Moon and her significations. If the significations of the Third House derive from the Moon, why is there resonance with Mercury? The Egyptian God, Thoth is a Lunar deity who gets associated with sciences, scribes, mathematics, and sacred texts. Thoth was later syncretized with the messenger god, Hermes, which may partially explain this overlap in significations between the two planets.

Constellations of Familiarity - Gemini & Cancer

One way to settle this dispute over ownership of mental faculties and communication is to see the connections between the signs Gemini and Cancer. Not only are these signs neighbors, but they have a special relationship in the Western astrological tradition. The concept of antiscia is a valuable one, because it highlights the relationship signs have to each other across solstice points and equinox points. Signs that are equidistant from the solstice points are said to be in antiscia with one another. They are said to operate as if they were forming a conjunction in shadow, because they share the same proportions of darkness and light. I think viewing them as sharing traits that mirror each other is more of a helpful way to think about this relationship.

Many moons ago, I noted some traits shared by signs having antiscia to one another. In the case of Gemini and Cancer, I suggested that both are concerned with the principle of familiarity in some way. Gemini achieves familiarity by gathering information. Cancer achieves familiarity by seeking out certain emotional patterns no matter what context. The signs opposite to Gemini and Cancer are Sagittarius and Capricorn, respectively. Sagittarius and Capricorn are not only antiscia to one another, but carry connotations of distance and foreignness due to the fact that they are ruled by planets that can signify distance or foreignness in some way. Compared to Jupiter and Saturn, the Moon and Mercury move a lot quicker, and are a lot more reflective of the transient nature of the human experience.

Therefore, through the ownership of signs that carry these connotations of familiarity, it would make sense that Mercury and the Moon could describe things in our immediate surroundings that influence our thoughts. This portion of the zodiac may be concerned with creating controlled conditions that can allow us to discover new ways of being. Reinforcing this idea is the theme behind the middle decan of Cancer, which Austin Coppock calls “A Walled Garden.” This decan is ruled by Mercury in the Chaldean system, while ruled by Mars in the Triplicity system. Themes of cultivating safe spaces to exchange ideas is embedded into the symbolism here. The mind can be thought of like a “walled garden,” where we attempt to share internal experiences with other entities that will never fully be able to understand the totality of it. This slice of the zodiac serves as the clearest indicator that there is room for Mercury and the Moon to speak to our internal world and our attempts to interface with everything outside of it.

I consider the consultation room to be a safe space where the delicate topic of fate can be discussed in a constructive way. If you enjoyed this deep dive into the parallels between two of the fastest moving planets in the sky as much as I did, you may also enjoy exploring how these themes may show up in different parts of your life. You can book a consultation with me at the link below if this is really speaking to you. For 2023, I will be taking all clients, and not just those by referral!

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Happy New Year! This post is two days late, in true Mercury retrograde fashion. However, with the Mercury cazimi perfecting and rising in my location at the time of this post launching? Sometimes, the timing chooses you! I also I know I am a month late in responding to some spicy takes on astro-twitter involving the idea that “traditional” (read: prediction-focused) astrology is somehow dangerous for newcomers to astrology, because it takes the focus away the individual and fails to give them tools to navigate their lives. Ever since I made the switch to older forms of Western astrologies five years ago and started learning Vedic two years ago, this schism between prediction and psychoanalysis in astrology has come up in some form. After practicing with clients and dipping my toes into different traditions of astrology, I have concluded that the idea that older forms of astrology were devoid of psychology that could be empowering to the individual is actually bullshit. In fact, I want to argue that psychoanalyzing through placements in a chart is a form of prediction in itself because you are making assumptions about what someone’s character is and how they respond to certain situations based on the archetypal language that is astrology.

Whether you are a Hellenistic, Vedic, Medieval, Renaissance, or Evolutionary astrologer, all of these frameworks provide language for discussing the person’s psychology and how that informs how they move through the world. The only difference between more modern astrologies and those practicing reconstructions of traditional forms of astrology is that the latter is able to see the star map as the context in which a person is experiencing life. What I mean is that the chart is not only reflective of a person’s mental framework, but the chart describes other people and situations that a person encounters. These other people, situations, and experiences do shape a person’s psychology and I think that these other forms of astrology can help us paint a better picture of the context surrounding a person and their psychological landscape!

The Ascendant - Your Avatar

When people first get into astrology, the ascendant is often described as a “mask” that you wear. This is not entirely accurate, even though the luminaries do tend to describe deeper facets of identity and a person’s psychological makeup. A lot of spiritual frameworks or cosmologies share parallels with the idea of The Matrix, which can be likened to moving through a simulated world with a character of sorts. Let’s assume that our experiences are like a video game or constructed reality where we have a character, or an avatar. This is what the ascendant represents. It describes your appearance, temperament, likes, dislikes, and your overall approach to navigating the world. This is the house of the chart that is arguably the most representative of the person in question.

Therefore, the chart ruler and its position, will provide the first clues to the kind of person that someone is. The sign placement would describe the temperament of the individual. The house placement describes the topics that the individual tends to be concerned with. The essential dignity describes the agency a person has and how authentic a person can be to their nature, and whether they are empowered or disempowered by circumstance. Meanwhile, accidental dignity describes how location can provide opportunities to do something, regardless of if a planet is comfortable doing what it wants to do. This language is very useful in describing someone’s experience in the world.

Aside from looking at these pieces, I find that analyzing the narratives of the decan of the zodiac or the Nakshatra of the ascendant (if you are into Vedic Astrology like I am, but please use your sidereal chart if you will do so) are especially helpful because they provide a narrative that can describe the focus of your meatsuit as it moves through this world! This imagery and these narratives can describe the kinds of situations that the person gravitates towards and certain features of their mental landscape.

The Moon - Gateway to the Psyche

The biggest argument against the lack of psychology in older forms of astrology is the role that the Moon has been shown to play throughout the history of astrologies everywhere! This luminary speaks to the primal drives and urges that consciously and unconsciously color our perspectives on life. I think the association between the Moon and the High Priestess is pretty apt, because not only are spiritual workings often timed through the Moon, but the rhythms of life seem to be heavily correlated with her movements! Though older forms of Western astrology focus mainly on the bodily significations of the Moon, Vedic astrology explicitly makes the connection between the Moon and the mind. The Chandra Lagna chart (i.e. make the moon the 1st house and read the birth chart) can tell you a lot about someone’s temperament and mental and emotional landscape. Your birth nakshatra (moon sign) can actually tell you a lot about the narratives you end up playing out in life as a result of these deep seated emotional drives.

Though the Moon in the Western astrological tradition has more bodily symbolism, it can say things about temperament. According to Sahl ibn Bishr, the Moon’s house placement, sign placement, ruler, and it’s term lord can say things about the character of a person. Furthermore, there are all sorts of delineations for describing personality traits by looking at aspects to the Moon. How fitting that this luminary which goes through cycles of waxing and waning similar to our own life trajectories can speak to these instinctual drives that influence the experiences, places, and people that we tend to seek out! I hope to outline more of the role that the Moon plays in speaking to one’s inner workings in next week’s blog post, and contrasting it with Mercury.

The Sun & Lot of Spirit - Your Personal “God”

As much as it pains me to say, Sun-sign focused, pop-astrology was onto something when it focused on marketing stereotypes based on Sun signs! The Sun speaks to that divine spark within all of us. Even if you are not particularly spiritual or religious, I think this description of what the Sun does in our chart is apt. There is some drive within each of us that motivates us to get up in the morning and something that we center our lives on embodying and identifying with to varying degrees. However, unlike the Moon, the Sun represents that aspect of ourselves that we strive to embody as we progress in life. Yes, it’s associated with the “ego,” but I think the Sun is actually the superego if we want to go Freudian or Jungian. In the Vedic system, the Surya Lagna chart (make the Sun the 1st house) can describe your soul purpose and all the things that may be helping or hindering you in achieving it.

The association between the Sun and spirit or a higher ideal is also found throughout the Western astrological tradition. The Sun is described as “all-seeing” and “nature’s fire and intelligent light,” by Vettius Valens— carrying that connotation of being the prime mover that gives life to things. The Sun, like the rest of the Traditional Seven, is associated with one of the Hermetic Lots. How fitting that the Lot of Spirit, aka Daimon (your spirit guide or guardian) is also the Lot of the Sun! In his 2020 NORWAC lecture, Sam Reynolds does a beautiful job of contextualizing the Lot of Spirit beyond its connotations for career related developments. He explicitly describes it as “what one worships” in this life. It’s helpful to look to the Lot and its house placement, sign placement, and ruler to get key insights into what may be a priority to you in this life.

While these are some examples of how more predictive forms of astrology can be useful tools for psychoanalyzing a person, this is not an exhaustive list! However, I do not think it is useful to bore you all to death with the details of finding the master of the nativity or the almuten of your chart. Beyond calculating which planet plays a dominant role in your mindset, you can also assess temperament in Western and Vedic astrology using various methods. Furthermore, you can explore the Arudha Lagna in Vedic Astrology to get a sense of how a person is perceived by others in a material sense, which is an interesting perspective on understanding who a person is and how they operate. Regardless, I hope these musings can offset some of the concerns that people have about making delineations for people outside of the modern, psychological astrological framework. No matter which methods you favor, there are interesting ways to understand yourself and others! If this post has inspired you to think more about how astrology can serve as a tool to foster personal development and you would like timing advice to match, consider booking a consultation with me.

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Tuesday marked the tropical re-entry of the greater benefic into Mars’ sign, Aries. Since Aries is thought of as the great initiator of the zodiac, this movement marks a new beginning in terms of our relationship to expansion, hope, alliances, and beliefs. Therefore, Pisces transits can sometimes be characterized as great endings where we are dissolved into a greater structure. Between October 28th and December 20th, Jupiter re-entered its home, allowing us to tie up loose ends in the Piscean parts of our lives. This final decan of Pisces carries many connotations of sacrifice for a greater good or indulgence in the illusion of merging with something else. Jupiter’s regress and direct station in this portion of Pisces may have facilitated the liberation from certain emotional burdens that prevent us from aligning with something more collectively meaningful. Surrendering to the fact that every epic tale has a grand ending will allow us to close certain chapters in our lives as we move forward.

Jupiter’s movement from the final decan of Pisces to the first decan of Aries can thus be thought of as a rebirth of hope and faith. Maybe a last minute helping hand saves you from peril at the last minute, giving you the freedom you need to move forward to start afresh. They don’t call this first decan of Aries “The Axe” or “Lord of Dominion” for nothing! This is an archetype I really enjoyed riffing about during the Aries Decans episode of the Fixed Astrology Podcast. Sometimes to begin again you need to burn down decaying structures to provide the nutrients to grow something new. Perhaps you need to venture into uncharted territory to set up new opportunities for growth. Since Jupiter also has its bounds in these first few degrees of Aries, you may find that this is an appropriate time to take a leap of faith to do something differently. Jupiter will likely represent the freedom to make these audacious choices, which you will work through until Jupiter comes back to this part of the zodiac in 12 years time. Think back to the false starts you got between May and October. Perhaps you will have the freedom to solve any problems or truly initiate something in the Aries-influenced parts of your lives, and this will have broad consequences for the Sagittarian and Piscean areas of your life as well, since Jupiter rules those domains.

I find the dignity change between Pisces and Aries for Jupiter to be interesting to think about. Jupiter is the domicile lord for Pisces, while Jupiter is the primary triplicity lord for fire signs during the night. For those of you on astro-twitter during Jupiter’s initial cruise through Pisces, there were lots of complaints about the ability of this planet to deliver while at home! I think people forget that with domicile dignity, there is a responsibility that comes with that sort of authority. Triplicity dignity is one of friendship, and is very much akin to having a lot of friends or social support, regardless of your level of influence. So while Jupiter in Aries does not have authority to influence things, its agenda is well supported while in Aries. Jupiter lacks this sort of influence in Pisces, which is probably why people turned their noses up at the more subtle and less self-focused blessings that Jupiter had to offer during its time in Pisces. While Jupiter is a planet of wealth, honors, and expansion, it is also a very spiritual and meaning-driven planet. Regardless of the astrology you practice, it is a planet that does encourage surrender to to a higher purpose so that you can receive blessings of all sorts.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day.

Jupiter’s ingress into Aries comes just days before the December solstice, which is huge because it is the dispositor of the Sun in tropical Sagittarius. Prior to the ingress, the Sun — who is empowered by virtue of having triplicity in Sagittarius and transiting its own decan— was being received by an empowered ruler, and they were connecting via a square aspect. With the Sun in the decan of Sagittarius associated with the deposing of kings and making of legends, the demands it makes of Jupiter from the superior square could be thought of like an authority demanding recognition from a figure with moral and cultural authority. Or quite literally, a monarch demanding benediction from a holy or wise person as justification for their (often destructive) actions. Interestingly, in these last days of Sagittarius season, we are inching closer towards the peak of imbalance between light and dark. However, before the Sun can complete the square, Jupiter loses its authority to provide the Sun with that recognition or crowning that it seeks. Jupiter’s reset of goals may have rendered the seemingly impossible task that we have put our hearts and souls into seemingly useless, since rewards are to be derived from some new venture.

Following the solstice on December 21st, the Sun connects with Jupiter once it enters the first decan of Capricorn. This decan, which is a Jupiter-ruled one in the Chaldean system, has a quality of surveying new terrain to hopefully build new structures on top of. Since the Jovial archetype is antithetical to Capricorn’s principles of ascension through hardship, being on the cusp of receiving a seemingly great reward only to have the rug snatched from you last minute can be a jarring experience. Interestingly, all these planets are answering to Saturn, who is leaving us parting gifts as it progresses towards the Pisces ingress in March. Rather than lamenting potentials that are closed off to you, these energies are sending a clear message to take what you can get and start fresh in places and situation where you are unrestrained by past fears or emotional baggage. Rather than waiting for January 1st to make some resolutions for moving forward in 2023, it might be wise to ride this wave of pioneering spirit to set certain things in motion.

The Crown of Success.

Much of the fanfare of this transit comes through after Jupiter clears its shadow around Valentine’s Day, and it will begin moving into the second decan of Aries. I find that it is helpful to conceptualize the decans of Aries and the associated minor arcana in tarot as the struggle to assert one’s will on their surroundings. In the first decan, we clear out an untamed place to begin our work. In the second decan, we step into the power vacuum and put our best feet forward in hopes of attract a following. In the third decan, perhaps we finally get that following and realize that symbolic gestures can sometimes be enough to keep people invested in this endeavor— as transient and hollow as they seem.

On March 2nd, Venus makes her annual conjunction to Jupiter. While both Venus and Jupiter generally are associated with prosperity and value, a glance at Valens’ Anthology quickly reveals the differences between the two benefics and provide insight into what their conjunctions tend to bring. Venus generally represents personal values and desire, facilitation of 1 to 1 relationships, and material abundance. Meanwhile, Jupiter generally represents more abstract and collective forms of value, friendships, alliances, trusts with large amounts of money, and spiritual and moral ideals. Of the two of them together, Valens says this:

Jupiter and Venus are good, in harmony, productive of rank and profits, bringing new acquisitions, gifts, adornments, control over slaves, rulerships, the begetting of children, high priesthoods, preeminence among the masses, honors of garlands and gold crowns. These stars make men who are worthy of statues and images, but they also make them subject to ups and downs with respect to marriages and children.

This meeting of the lesser and greater benefic takes place in Aries II, suggesting that both benefics will be helping certain figures in their quest to claim sovereignty in some area of their lives. The attempt to align personal pleasures with collective hopes may encourage people to throw their support behind an individual who embodies this balance of the personal with the social. With Venus struggling in Aries due to her detriment in the sign, perhaps some coaxing from Jupiter (who is empowered with triplicity dignity) may provide temporary concessions to an insatiable desire for personal pleasures and intense relationships. Since Jupiter also has connotations of justice (I know all of you “Libra = Venus = fairness” stans may find this hard to believe, but Jupiter is the arbiter of Justice. Not Venus!), and Venus in her detriment in Aries might be lusting for revenge, there may be a vindication of sorts that Jupiter is able to bring in these matters. On a personal level, this conjunction may signal the end of a longstanding conflict between you and another party where some major action takes place in your favor. However, if Venus is the aggressor trying to defend herself from further exploitation at the hands of a more influential figure, it is quite possible that you may be humbled in the court of public opinion.

We can also look at previous iterations of these conjunctions to suss out what some key manifestations will be. The last Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Aries was in 2011. In the days leading up to the conjunction, Queen Elizabeth II became the second longest reigning English monarch, the Brazilian Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the New Democratic Party in Canada ousted the Liberal Party from the role of the official opposition for for the first time, and then President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden— which was thought to be a symbolic turning point in the “War on Terror”. The last Jupiter-Venus conjunctions in Aries II took place in May 1987 and February 1964. In 1987, the Loughgall ambush takes place in Northern Ireland, frontrunner for the Democratic Presidential Nomination Gary Hart drops out of the race due to the discovery of an extramarital affair, and Margaret Thatcher called a general election that she would go on to win with a slightly smaller margin. In 1964, not only does Muhammad Ali become heavyweight boxing champion of the world, but sheds his given name (Cassius Clay) due to the association with a man who was a slave owner in spite of his role as an abolitionist. The themes of this configuration are clear: there may be the crowning of unlikely leaders, along with the narrow survival of others. Symbolic victories may come through the elevation of some prominent figures, or through the figurative or literal annihilation of others.

League of Legends.

The final act of Jupiter’s 5 month sprint through Aries comes to us as we transition out of Aries season into Taurus season. First, we get a Jupiter cazimi on the 11th of April, followed by our first solar eclipse in Aries eight days later. It’s pretty uncanny that Jupiter is relevant for both configurations, because the final decan of Aries is one that Jupiter owns/co-rules if you use the triplicity scheme for the decans. This is one of the decans that Austin Coppock suggests has “big propagandist energy.” Here, the power of symbols is favored over direct action even if it feels like these symbolic gestures are lacking in impact. While the Jovial and Venusian energies of this decan are similar to the themes outlined in the previous section, they build on a lot of the themes of the previous decan. Uniting people behind allies during battles for sovereignty. Cementing of heroes and legends. Narratives around overcoming seem especially relevant. Symbolic destruction or elevation of unlikely hero or underdog is also possible.

Looking back at history is very useful to see the themes. Some of the astrology of 1940 very similar in this regard, with a solar eclipse occurring within a week of the Jupiter cazimi in this decan. It was during this period that Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, and the monarch of Norway had to encourage the people to throw their moral and material support behind Great Britain. In the hockey world, the New York Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup, a title that would evade them for 54 years. We can also blame this configuration for some iconic cinema! The original Rocky film was inspired by Chuck Wepner’s stunning defeat of Muhammad Ali in March 1975.

As I was struggling to articulate the overall vibe of Jupiter’s time in Aries, a discussion with a friend of mine about so called “great men” of history made me curious about the natal chart of Charlemagne. As fate would have it, one of the suggested birth dates for him had a Sun-Venus conjunction in the middle decan of Aries, with Jupiter in Aries as well! He is known for uniting large swaths of Western Europe and facilitating intellectual and spiritual activity amongst the Roman Catholics. It has been suggested that one of the keys to success in his conquests was through this facilitation of learning, and the encouragement of translation of various religious and secular texts into local vernaculars. With Jupiter also being a planet representing legends and narratives of great cultural influence, I really do feel that some of these events might allow some of us to play key parts in narratives that will become relevant to the generations that will follow us. Whether you cement your name in world history for your deeds or misdeeds, or you become a legendary figure within your family or your communities— Jupiter in Aries invites us to claim our role in these narratives.

As someone who is extremely jovial in nature, I hope that anyone who comes across this article feels empowered to push for their new beginning in life during these next 5 months. Fortune favors the bold! If you are looking for specific insight on how this configuration and others may affect you in the coming months, please consider booking a consultation with me!

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Happy Moon in Libra! Due to the heavy associations between the sign of Libra and relating to other people, what a great time to talk about relationships and astrology. The great thing about astrology is that there are several means to assess the role that other people are playing in you life. First and foremost, it is crucial to look at your own chart to see key themes in your relationships to other people. Rooting other charts and techniques within your own chart will allow you to get more personalized nuance when it comes to how other people and their placements affect your ability to connect with them.

When you are done looking at the terrain of relationships from the perspective of your own natal chart, you can now apply three different techniques to get more insight about your relationships. These techniques are synastry, midpoint composite charts, and Davison Relationship Charts. Synastry is merely an overlay of the charts of multiple people to see how their planets aspect one another. Midpoint composite charts and Davison Relationship Charts are composite style charts that average the placements or the birth data to generate a chart that describes the relationship in some way. For more information and opinions on these different methods, check out this blog post I co-authored with astrologer Anna DunLany for the Association of Young Astrologers.

I am a huge proponent of the Davison Relationship Chart because it is a chart that exists in time and space. Therefore, you can have retrogrades and eclipses come to life in these charts, and really color the focus of relationships. Unlike the midpoint composite, which generates a perfect average of placements, Davison Relationship Charts are not necessarily perfect averages of both parties and their placements. This fact can add rich interpretive nuance, especially when the chart seems to be strongly reminiscent of one person’s natal chart and not the other. I cover some of this in the first installment of workshops on the Davison Chart and its uses, which I have been teaching with the help of Anak Rabanal, The Practical Astrologer.

More than anything, I really love how understanding the Davison Chart as an entity can speak to the lessons you might need to learn in your relationships, and how you can understand what relationships need to be functional. Just as your natal chart can describe strengths to hone and weaknesses to remediate, Davisons can too! This may have you wondering, “What is the theme of a Davison Chart? And how can I use this to enhance my relationships?”

Just like the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant can provide substantial insight into a natal chart, I believe that looking at these things can help you understand your Davison with someone as well. However, I feel that the chart ruler provides the meat and potatoes of understanding the focus of your relationship and maybe the reasons for a relationship being born. Moving into 2023, I hope to do a deep dive into chart examples of different planets acting as chart rulers of the Davison. For the purposes of prediction in this series, I will be leaning heavily on the use of the traditional seven planets, since outer planets move much too slow to be of substantial use in describing relationships.

Other potential contenders for giving planets the potential to define your relationship with someone:

• Planets ruling a stellium or having key placements fall in signs ruled by a particular planet.

• Planets ruling the lots of Fortune or Spirit — these describe the material circumstances drawing you to someone, but also the spiritual/goal directed undercurrents motivating a relationship.

• A planet on an angle/in an angular house - especially in the 1st or 10th. This rule is not useful if you have stelliums in either place. This becomes especially relevant if you have retrograde planets angular, because it ties a relationship to that planetary cycle.

• Final Dispositor of the chart - this is not a common phenomenon, but sometimes the dispositor trees will take influence back to one planet, even if it is not doing anything major.

If you find that many of these factors, along with the placement of the Sun/Moon/Rising and their rulers converge on a particular planet and its influence? Congrats! You have identified a planet that contributes to the signature of your relationship.

I am wrapping up the preparation for the second installment of this workshop series on the Davison Chart, to provide people with the language to understand how a planetary influence drives their relationships. This workshop will also be a nice refresher for talking about the building blocks of birth charts, but to describe an entity involving two people. We are hoping to make this accessible to enthusiasts of astrology but also those who practice relationship astrology. If you are compelled to go on this journey of using astrology to enhance your relationships in a meaningful way, please follow the link below to purchase a recording:

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I cannot wait to share insights with you all in this series! See you next month when I get to wax lyrical on Davison Charts with heavy Lunar influence.

On December 7th/8th Mars makes its opposition to the Sun, marking the halfway point of the Mars retrograde cycle. Mars will be the furthest it can get the Sun during this period, providing a stunning visual of Mars in the night sky from sundown to sunrise. The opposition can be thought of as a key turning point with respect to the events and lessons of the retrograde, which center on all things related to the mutable, air, and Mercury-ruled sign and the area it influences in our individual lives.

Thus far, Mars has brought about acute crises, conflicts, or acts of ingenuity we engage in may force us to deal with our relationship to exchanges of information, transport, or communication. Mars’ dissective qualities are enhanced by virtue of its presence in one of Mercury’s signs, since Mercury does like to break larger structures or ideas into smaller parts. Since Gemini represents the airy, diurnal side of Mercury, we will have been dealing with more abstract forms of dissection and division. We have also been seeing rush to develop new platforms and technologies for communication and transportation, as well as an increased demand to engage with these things. Look at how the implosion of Twitter has led advertisers and content creators to pull out of the platform in favor of other means of engaging with their target audiences. Furthermore, there may be disputes over the ways in which we engage with each other (think social media)! With respect to transportation, rail workers in the US are threatening to go on strike, which could have some intense consequences for the transport of goods within the country.

Since Mars is in one of Mercury’s signs (tropically), it can be useful to think about Mercury’s condition to assess what may be driving Mars to act. I find it quite telling that the Mars retrograde reaches its crescendo as Mercury ingresses into a new sign. This is key because Mercury is also experiencing a dignity change, leaving its exile in jovial Sagittarius to explore the saturnian expanse that is Capricorn. Mercury will also eventually turn retrograde in Capricorn, suggesting that Mars’ direct station in January will be influenced by the position of Mercury in this cardinal, earthy, Saturn-ruled sign. With Mercury moving away from a more faith or conviction-based form of exchanging ideas towards an approach that favors careful deliberation over facts and auditing of existing structures— Mars may begin to process the choices to be made in a more methodical manner. Since Mercury and Mars cannot see each other by Ptolemaic aspect, it may be hard to integrate the auditing and surveying of Capricorn Mercury with the need to think on one’s feet brought about my Mars in Gemini. Capricorn and Gemini do have contra-antiscia to one another, which can function like an opposition in shadow. Therefore the goals of Mars and Mercury are contradicting each other in some way, and this period may involve a struggle to balance both objectives.

Beyond looking at the position of Mercury, it can be helpful to consider other aspects that Mars is making, as well as the decanic symbolism of Mars’ placement to understand what this turning point in the retrograde cycle can bring. This Sun-Mars opposition has some special features that may strongly emphasize the need to take inventory of your choices before deciding on a course of action. Making hardcore decisions can be saved for Mars’ direct station on January 12th/13th.

Moon & Mars

This Sun-Mars opposition is special because it happens to coincide with a Full Moon. Full Moons are also the result of an opposition with the Sun, and it is when the Moon is at its brightest during its cycle. The waxing and waning of the Moon’s light each month is often likened to the stages of a plant’s growth and development. It is at this stage where things start to bloom. Being the closest celestial body to the earth and having a life cycle that mirrors the stages of various life forms on earth also makes it representative of people and bodies. In fact, the Moon represents the people and their needs, feelings, and concerns in mundane astrology. It seems clear that people and their collective action will be central to the nature of this configuration.

The Moon and Mars have an interesting relationship with one another, regardless of the astrological system that you look at. In Hellenistic Astrology, both are members of the nocturnal sect. The Moon setting the agenda and themes for the goals of the nocturnal, and Mars representing the necessary evils that enforce that agenda. Both are planets of appetite, with the Moon representing needs for sustenance, and Mars relating to craving, desire, and lust for that which is scarce or lacking. Though I will generally talk about the tropical zodiac and use terms from Western astrological traditions, I do find that my studies of Vedic Astrology do provide a wider range of understanding planetary energies. When the Moon and Mars come together by conjunction or aspect in the Vedic system, they form Chandra-Mangal Yoga, a combination that is said to bestow wealth:

“When Mangala bonds with Chandra, a financial dhanayoga is formed that motivates the native to pursue their security [Chandra] via energetic dynamic competition [Mangala].” - Barbara Pijan

The appetite for a specific outcome brings about a competitive energy motivating people to strive for excellence, perhaps at the expense of harmonious relationships. Ironically, the rest days for the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup are on these days — perhaps for good reason! The matches taking place prior to the lunation determine the teams that go on to the quarterfinals, so it should be a spectacle regardless.

Something worth mentioning is that the Moon is also occulting Mars— temporarily blocking the sight of the red wandering star. This feels symbolic of a need to conceal or tone down any desire for bold or aggressive action. Best case scenario of this could be a period of honing inner strength to push for a desired outcome— connecting with an internal fire that is not visible to others and often hard to access. Worst case scenario may involve the concealment of plans to cause harm to others, if not the contamination or destruction of things that provide many people with sustenance or security— in a quest to acquire something greater. Though the action or desire may seem small, the consequences of acting it out may be large.

A Moon Besieged

The next aspect the Moon makes following its conjunction with Mars and opposition to the Sun is a trine with Saturn. Despite the soft aspect from Saturn, the Moon will technically be besieged since it is flanked by aspects from malefics within 7 degrees on either side. However, the trine aspect from Saturn makes the experience of besiegement less of a pressure cooker situation. The swift motion of the Moon relative to other planets puts it in a position to “translate” light between the planets it is flanked by— suggesting that the Moon in this configuration is playing an important role in facilitating the relationship between a desire for decisive action and a need to honor existing boundaries or obligations.

Mars and Saturn already perfected their trine on the 28th of November. The Moon being caught between these planets will reignite some of the themes that came up during this trine. Of note, some protests against “Zero Covid” policies kicked off in China around the time of the trine between the lesser and greater malefics. Similarly, some nursing staff staged a historic strike in the UK and Amazon workers across the globe also stated walkouts following Black Friday. It is very clear that this trine relates to the necessary disruption of action to revisit the need for rules and obligations. The social contract to comply with government orders or provide labor only works when everyone is playing their part, and on a personal level this might look more like pausing something before you can move forward. It is possible that the Full Moon acting as a trigger may involve a collective, emotionally-charged endeavor which may double down on the need to slow down activity before moving forward.

Gemini Decan II - Moral Dilemmas*

Finally, it is helpful to contextualize the meaning of the Sun-Mars opposition by looking at the decan of the zodiac that Mars happens to be in. Mars’ backwards progression through the decans of Gemini has provided us with a masterclass in what I like to call “the curse of knowing.” For those of you who are familiar with Austin Coppock’s conceptualization of the decans, along with the Golden Dawn associations between astrology and tarot, you will laugh when I call the progression of the decans of Gemini as the curse of knowing. This particular journey is interesting because it depicts the stages being presented with information that potentially challenges your framework. Can you accept that there is something more to what you have already established? Can they co-exist, or can they both be true at different times? These are the questions that we will need to explore fully before Mars enters Cancer in the spring, where we will be challenged to establish a new response to potential threats to our emotional comfort and security. 

The Sun-Mars opposition and concurrent Full Moon reside in the second decan of Gemini, which Austin calls “The Hermaphrodite.” This is a decan ruled by Mars in the Chaldean decan system, and Venus in the triplicity system. He characterizes this decan in terms of the tremendous range that planets here can operate under. However, with dualities and multiplicities comes the struggle to be everything all at once. This decan is associated with the Nine of Swords in the minor arcana of tarot. In her book 36 Secrets, T. Susan Chang describes the mental anguish captured in the imagery associated with this card and decan. When we explored this decan and the people who embody it through their placements during the Gemini Decans Episode of the Fixed Astrology Podcast, the emphasis on moral dilemmas was pretty apt for the chart examples we were able to cover. There was also an element of performance where it seems like people will be positioned to wear many hats or masks, and they may feel torn up inside for not being able to honor all facets of the self at all times.

Given the hunger to strive for a particular outcome at all costs, it is possible that in taking these actions, both major actors in facilitating global events and individuals just living their own lives are forced to question who they are performing these actions for. With some of the energies of protest and disruption to our means of exchanging ideas and goods with one another, perhaps some key questions about the actions committed to and the authenticity behind these gestures will need to be examined. Maybe people will need to make decisions that negatively impact some groups while temporarily benefiting others. Alternatively, it could involve making decisions that you are not fully comfortable with that may require you to mask or camouflage certain facets of yourself. Even if you do take a stand for something important and double down on the necessary inaction you committed to during the Saturn-Mars trine, you might question whether you did the right things or if you went far enough.

For Siderealists - Taurus Decan III

Speaking of duality, what better way to honor these issues than to provide an alternative lens to view this configuration with?! Though the main analysis centers on tropical positions of planets, it can be helpful to consider what is going on sidereally if that is your preference. At times in this newsletter, I’ll probably wax lyrical on concepts relevant for systems of astrology that use the sidereal zodiac. Honestly, I find that looking at the decanic placement in the sidereal zodiac can also be constructive and accurate.

Most ayanamsha would place the Full Moon and Sun-Mars opposition in the third decan of sidereal Taurus. Austin Coppock refers to this decan as “A String of Prayer Beads” and T. Susan Chang calls this one “Fail Better.” Both depictions of this decan involve our relationship to failure or disappointments beyond our control. How does one respond to the elements when they threaten the sense of stability that took ages to cultivate? Sidereally, with the Moon in her exaltation and Mars in detriment (if you use the dignity scheme from Western astrologies) it seems like a time for people to rally together to take pre-emptive steps to prevent some crisis (Mars) from befalling them again. The energy of this feels very much like a game of “poke the bear.”

Furthermore, Austin suggests that this decan very much has “insurance policy” energy, suggesting that the people (Moon) are positioned to cash out on something following a crisis (Mars). The people are very empowered to get what’s theirs in this situation, especially if they had a special trump card to pull out in case a rainy day such as this one eventually came along! Perhaps if you were struggling to make something work in an area of life, the loss of something brings a windfall.

Mars’ opposition to the Sun is both a visual and symbolic spectacle that can hopefully inspire a sense of awe but a desire for bold action. When looking up at the sky in early December, it may be helpful to meditate on important dualities you hold within you and what the struggle to honor those facets can look like. If this post has inspired you to think more deeply about how turning points in planetary cycles can affect you personally, please consider booking a consultation with me!

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