Spring astrological weather…Mars, Sun, Uranus and Venus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn March 2013

astrological weather

The time leading up to spring has been an interesting one astrologically. There were times over the last month there it seemed like the whole sky was in Pisces!

Well OK not the whole sky, but on that new moon (on Monday the 11th) the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune, and Chiron were ALL in Pisces! Which kinda felt like the whole sky to me :).

 

If you felt spacey and less in touch with “reality” than you were used to, that could have been why. For me (Pisces that I am with Mercury in Pisces) it was kinda nice to have the world share some of my odd perspective hahahaha.

Since that new moon things have shifted a lot. Mars moved from Pisces (where it’s not its happiest) into its home sign of Aries (where it is very happy) it hasn’t been in Aries in two years so that is a big shift in energy.

Then Mercury stopped its retrograde motion on St. Patrick’s Day, and started going direct (yay) (it will still be in amorphous Pisces for a little while yet since being in retrograde moved it to the early degrees of Pisces.)

Spring Equinox

Now (as I am writing this) the sun moves into Aries on March 20th and starts the astrological year anew at the vernal equinox. So we add that player to the party; the next day March 21st, Venus gets all fiery as she also moves into Aries (think Aphrodite as Xena).

The energy of Venus in Aries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plus Uranus (remember good old Uranus planet of sudden abrupt changes and revolution) is already in Aries and will be for quite a while; and on the 21st Mars (planet of energy and war/warriors) and Uranus (sudden electric insight and revolution) are meeting up in that conjunction kind of dance. Alrighty then.

This means the Sun, Venus, Mars (and eventually Mercury but not for a while yet) are all in Aries and one by one they will conjunct the revolutionary and eccentric Uranus.

Mars Square Pluto

Next week on the 26th Mars squares Pluto (you haven’t forgotten about Pluto right?? No not the dog!! Pluto Lord of the underworld poster child for intensity, who evokes deep cellular and soul level changes and is representative of metamorphosis and our souls’ evolution. Right I didn’t think you’d forgotten Pluto.

This is all activating that Pluto/Uranus square that is going in and out of focus and is the background for social change that’s going on until 2015 (for a reminder and more backstory on the Pluto/Uranus transit you can read my blog post from September).

Pluto is in stern, structured and rule loving Capricorn. So that creates tension for leap before you look, “let’s get goooooooing” Mars in Aries.

But wait there’s more 😉

Order now and we’ll throw in a super special two for one Sun and Venus join that already happening square on March 31st.

Easter Sunday oh my…

Yes you heard right boys and girls…On March 31st (Easter for some) The Sun (our identity, our own personal self), Venus (what we love, find beautiful and compelling), and Uranus (lightning bolt out of left field to over throw the status quo and start the revolution) are square (ie angle of interest, maximum tension, contrast) Pluto in Capricorn.

Do what you can to breath through all this; remember you don’t need to change every single thing in your world before breakfast, and if something looks really good, take another breath and then move toward it. No need to chase something down blindly, let yourself be mindful even with all this Aries go go go energy and even though Uranus is saying “Rules?? who needs these stinking rules?” Pluto in Capricorn is holding the truth and consequences card (“instant Karma’s gonna get you”). Use the energy wisely, there is a lot here.

So this is a big big spring, lots starting lots being challenged lots changing. Both personally and globally.

When we now look back on the 60’s we can see the social changes in retrospect. 10-20 years from now this time we are living in will be most likely be seen in a similar fashion. Harder to see when you’re living right in it.

And I haven’t even begun to talk about Chiron in Pisces. That’s for another time.

blessings and aloha

Erika

 

 

Exact square Uranus and Pluto, September 2012 astrology.

Butterfly effect - Erika GinnisAt the end of this post you will find links to four 15 minute Youtube videos from Rick Levine (a fabulous astrologer) that gets recorded monthly back in my old home town area in the PNW. There is so much going on this month OMG!!

I am going to give a synopsis of the some aspects of the upcoming astrology he talks about for those of you who can’t watch the videos right now; but still want some insight. Please do check the videos out, these guys (normally they present together “Rick Levine and Jeff Jawer” but this month it is just Rick Levine) are two of my favorite astrologers and do such a great service by posting the hour long monthly astrology each month. I LOVE them.


September 2012

We are feeling the effects of the powerful Pluto/Uranus square. Uranus planet of revolution, shock, upheaval, lightning, electricity, squares Pluto; planet of transformation, metamorphosis, evolution, and intensity. This will occur 7 times up through 2015, and this month we have one of the exact aspects. This month is the second exact square on September 18th.

The outer planets (of which Pluto and Uranus are two) set up global social economic issues.

The square is the angle of maximum stress which then can bring forth maximum creativity to resolve that stress. These aspects with these specific planets create the framework for social transformation and social revolution.

Continue reading

Venus Retrograde October 8th 2010; By the Light of an old Flame.

"The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli 1485Here is yet another in my series of posts about astrology; and while this isn’t just an astrological blog, there have been so many interesting and powerful transits recently, I am just compelled to write about them; especially when people keep asking “what the heck is up??”.

So there are a few more things happening in the skies that are effecting us; Venus, Mars and then eventually Mercury once again. This will bring us to the end of the year.

I am not sure if I will talk much about the next Mercury retrograde period in this post since it’s a ways off, but just know that not too long after Venus goes back direct, Mercury will be set to go into retrograde in December so it’s been a “whole lotta retrogrades going on” this last few months.

So back to what I intended to write about!! Venus…

Venus is going…well I should say gone (by the time you read this) retrograde.

A little about retrograde.


All the planets show apparent retrograde motion at one time or another. I say apparent because they really don’t physically go backwards, it’s about how it looks to us.

They orbit the Sun as we do, and so when we observe them in the skies and chart their patterns during a year or two, we will see that they look like they are going forward for a time and then backwards for a time. Retrograde is when they move backwards from the point of view of the Earth (where we view them); therefore they go backwards through the astrological signs since we use the earth as the focal point of astrology. These movements are significant and have effects that can be felt and observed in our lives.

You might ask why in the world this would have any effect at all, since it is all an illusion. Good question! However there are as many answers to that  question as  there are people to answer it  🙂

My take on it is that “this” (meaning all of this loveliness we call the physical plane) is all actually an illusion in one manner or another (that screen you are viewing is really a whole lot of  points of light given instructions by a bunch of zeros and ones; and that chair you are sitting in is actually a bunch of  atoms and molecules made up of primarily empty space; at the outer edge of which are electron clouds whose position can only truly be called a “probability”) so I figure it’s all good and we can find usable truth in a lot of places. I personally find a lot in astrology, it’s a great language to talk about our collective consciousness and our larger energetic nature; it gives some good sign posts to watch pointing to tendencies and movement of energy so I am very happy working with it.


Ok back to planets…

Each planet has different aspects and qualities associated with them. Mercury retrograde gets a lot of air play because we are such a communications based society and so when Mercury (which is associated with communication among other things) goes into retrograde we can really feel it; plus it goes retrograde several times a year since it moves so fast in general (the winged messenger doncha know!).  Venus however moves much more slowly than our winged friend and so she only goes retrograde every 18 months or so, but when Venus is retrograde it lasts longer (about 6 weeks).

The planet Venus (Goddess of Love) is all about Love, romance, marriage and partnerships, aesthetics, beauty and fashion, money and wealth, feelings, emotions and relationships, female energy and interaction,  desire,  social attitudes and behavior. Venus symbolizes female relationships and social interactions in general. Where she is in our charts or in the heavens also influences our values, capacity for humor, and the pursuit of pleasure….plus hearts and flowers 🙂 (that last part I just threw in but I stand by it).

When Venus goes retrograde is can feel like everything has gone a little dull, people can feel they are less beautiful; it can be like looking out of a window that needs to be cleaned, everything looks a little grayer than normal.

People tend to get a bit more serious, and wonder where all the “fun” went. Well silly it’s cuz Venus our supreme party girl has left the building!! She isn’t really gone, she is just gone to take a powder for a few weeks, she is relaxing at a spa somewhere and so we are on our own more than normal to really cultivate our inner beauty and remember that our worth isn’t about external things at all… it’s, as they say, an inside job.

Venus retrograde changes our perception of what is valuable or what we desire. This is why people often suggest that it is NOT the time to redo your hair into a new style or color, or redecorate your house. The reason being that things that appear to us as “can’t live without” during this transit, will quickly move into the “re-gifting” pile once Venus is direct again (hmmm just in time for the holidays 🙂 ). It’s fine of course, to continue with things you started before this all came down; meaning you don’t have to wait if you have already picked out your new furniture, it’s just making the new decisions will be better served later.

It can be a great time to go antique buying or garage sale-ing AS LONG as you know the value. You can get great deals, since things may not appear as valuable during the transit, and so they don’t get scooped up. This is not the best time to look for property, unless again you really know the value. You might however get that loan you have been wanting if it’s been hard to do previously, since it’s all about perception; this transit shifts how things look, and how we perceive them.

Venus retrograde can be troublesome in some cases with relationships, and things tend to just go slower so try not to take stuff as personally if you can help it. Often we are forced to deal with deep feelings that have their origins in past events. However it can help resolve relationship issues that have been plaguing you in the past, it’s sometimes easier (with everyone so down to earth) to have those conversations that have been needed and perhaps even reconcile or resolve a troubled relationship, since folks aren’t nearly as distracted by pretty shiny things. This is the time to go back and take care of unfinished business; emotional, financial, relational.

Venus retrograde is notorious for people popping out of the woodwork that you haven’t seen or thought of in a long time. Past friends, and especially past loves figure high on the guest list of things revisited. I know last Venus retrograde I have 5 different people find me from 30 years ago and reconnect. Don’t be surprised if you have a lot of “blasts from the past” show up as friend requests on one or another social networking site!

It isn’t a great time to go get big ticket luxury items, and in fact many of us may feel the sense of not being able to afford those things, since Venus effects the feeling of desire and affluence. I have to remind myself that this is a transit, meaning it is temporary!

Venus will be going retrograde this time in Scorpio, which is a heads up for folks with strong Scorpio in their charts. It will be a time for deep inner reflection for all of us, since Scorpio is so much about depth, and this inner reflection will occur especially around the topics that are ruled by Venus. It is also advised for us to be mindful about potential feelings of jealousy since they might come up until Venus backs up into Libra around November 8th.

One other thing, is that Mars (planet symbolizing the masculine energy, Yang, warrior energy, sex, power) is in Scoprio and oh so close to being conjunct with Venus…ahhhh but no, not quite!! Just before the consummation of this conjunction Venus turns around and says ahhh nope, and goes retrograde. So it’s conjunction interruptus (bad I know couldn’t help it LOL), or maybe more like Tantra!  So this will draw out that energy for quite a while (spring I think) so Mars is adding a lot of power to this particular Venus Retrograde, plus there are a whole lot of amazing overtones due to the placement of these two planets.


I found an excellent article on that specifically and will include the link here. I really like what this astrologer had to say.

http://sasstrology.com/2010/10/the-venus-mars-conjunction-in-scorpio-and-gender-experimentation.html


For those of you who want the specifics of time and date here is the actual retrograde information.

Friday, October 8, 2010, Venus reaches her retrograde station at 13° Scorpio 14′, in preparation for a period of retrograde motion that will last until November 18, 2010, when she reaches her direct station at 27° Libra 40′.

Knowing about the astrological weather is as useful as knowing about any kind of environmental factor. It doesn’t have to determine your experience, but it can absolutely inform your experience. Now that we know that we are out in the field and see the big system moving in (can you tell I live on an island?) we can either get into the house in time to stay dry, grab a book and enjoy the show or we can set out our blanket and grab a thermos; let it rain stars and flowers on us, let the water soak us, run down our hair, fill our mouths and wash us clean. It’s still all about choice.

Blessings and aloha

Erika

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Mercury going retrograde…keep breathing

Just a quick note to remind you all that Mercury (planet of communication, technology, travel etc.) is going retrograde within a week. I have seen different times listed, but in Hawaii time zone it goes retrograde on the April 18th and direct on May 12th.

Regardless, we are definitely in the shadow of Mercury right now (oh so very much yes!).  I can feel it myself and I am having conversations with people (friends and clients both) who are already feeling it. This retrograde will be in Taurus the entire time, so there will be a lot of time to revisit ideas of support, security, finances, and also concepts of sensuality (Taurus is a very sensual sign!).

It’s a good idea to triple check forms, be even clearer than normal about communication, and allow more time for travel.

Mercury in retrograde is all about review, revisit, revise, renew, recreate (catching the “re” theme there?). It’s a great time to edit and see things you missed before. Retrograde periods can allow us an opportunity to catch up with ourselves (since going forward at our normal clip is usually not really possible);  to find out what we have missed internally in our mad dash for the finish line (whatever that means for us today). How do we feel? What needs to be heard,  to be said, to be redone?

It can be an exciting time and/or a challenging time, and it effects everyone differently. If you have Mercury retrograde in your own birth chart then it is usually a much easier experience. I look at retrogrades less fatalistically than I used to, and now I look for what I can do rather than what I can’t; this is an excellent time for meditation for example! I also try to be somewhat practical as well, and make sure things are backed up (blog, books, computers, ?) before it goes stationery retrograde.

Chaos can be incredibly creative,  so perhaps embracing the nonlinear experience of a Mercury retrograde, will allow us to visit places that we would have normally missed, and see things of value that were overlooked before.

Join me in remembering through all the changes, to just keep breathing!

Blessings and Aloha ~Erika