The Astrology Blog – 18 May 2015
I am away in the UK for family reasons until 24 May – so I may be slow to respond to course or workshop bookings, but I will answer as soon as I can – thank you for your patience!
A huge thank you to Judy Hall and the wonderful group of students who attended The Crystal Zodiac course last week – the mixture of returning and new students was perfect and you really were a dream team. We were also blessed with fabulous weather.
The next Greek Island Summer School course is Discovering Astrology on 8 June – suitable for beginners and refreshers. We cover a lot of material – from Sun signs to taking your first steps in predictive work – but there’s lots of free time too for sun, fun and group meals in the evenings. Reply to this newsletter to reserve a place or if you have any questions. You’ll find a link to the website at the end of this blog.
What’s happening this week?
All times stated in BST
The big event is that Mercury is now stationary retrograde – literally on the point of turning from forwards to reverse –
Tuesday Mercury switches to retrograde (02.50) at 13 degrees of Sagittarius
This phenomenon, when Mercury appears to be moving backwards through the heavens, occurs three times a year for three weeks at a time. Traditional astrology gives primarily “problems with communication and transport” – which has been proved right to me over and over throughout the years. Mercury is the winged messenger of the gods but also the trickster, and everything that comes under the huge umbrella of communication is fair play to the mind planet in mischief mode!
If you have natal planets at or close to 13 degrees of Sagittarius – or the opposite sign of Gemini – then Mercury’s turnaround is likely to be especially significant for you. Here’s the usual link for checking the signs and degrees of your natal planets and angles –
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/birth-chart-calculator.html
I would never choose to travel under a retrograde Mercury but as this one happens opposite my natal Venus it turns out that I do have to travel and for a sad reason, my father’s funeral in the UK. I’m off first thing this morning (Sunday) so apologies for the fact that this is a “mini blog” just to cover the main events for the coming week.
Regular readers will be familiar with my retrograde Mercury survival check list, which are the main points to bear in mind –
• Try to operate by “re” words – review, revise, research, reappraise, rethink and so on
• Write things down – forgetfulness, being distracted, inattention etc can be a troublesome theme
• Getting back to ideas on the back burner
• Getting back in touch
• Rest and relaxation, give the brain some time off
• Keep options open
• Assume nothing, double check everything
• When in doubt, check it out – second hand opinions are a dead cert for getting hold of the wrong end of the stick – and don’t believe everything you hear
• Keep a close watch on all belongings – especially keys or anything linked to communication such as phones, laptops, tablets, cameras etc and don’t even think about buying new ones for the time being
• The same for cars – never buy a car under a retro Mercury
• Plan any journey with extra care and don’t trust to luck
• Take extra care with form filling/signing on dotted lines
• Back up all your computer work
• No matter how certain a situation might seem there is a good chance that it will morph into something else over the next couple of weeks – the “x” factor is at work
The other key aspects of the week are –
Thursday 21 May Sun ingress Gemini (09.46)
Saturday 23 May Sun opposite Saturn (02.36)
This is a rerun of the aspect that happened when Mercury and then Mars recently entered Gemini. With Saturn in the early degrees of Sagittarius any planet entering Gemini will almost immediately make the opposition to Saturn (and then the square to Neptune) before picking up positive aspects to Jupiter and Uranus at a later date (in this case, the Sun and Mars will make these aspects first week of June).
In other words, there’s a lot of conflict and struggle to face before getting through to the other side! Don’t expect everything to drop into place by itself, you’ll need to be both patient and persevering, but at the same time be selective about where you need to focus your time and energy. You can’t be all things to all people and you can’t be in two places at the same time. Divided opinions continue to abound but, as I said last week, beware arguments and ultimatums. Anything that smacks of “ne’er the twain shall meet” is probably best left well alone.
Thursday also brings the third and final difficult aspect between Jupiter and Pluto – the first two being 5 September 2014 and 27 February 2015 –
Thursday 21 May Jupiter quinqunx Pluto (12.18)
As I’ve said before this is an awkward name, awkward aspect – formed when planets are exactly 150 degrees or five signs apart – and it signals blind spots, misalliances, impossible to resolve disputes, hidden issues and a higher risk of illness or accidents. As this quinqunx is being formed between two major planets it ranks higher on the importance list and it’s wise to avoid any kind of risk taking. In this sense this aspect underlines the retrograde Mercury and Sun – Saturn message of being extra cautious rather than headstrong. Look before you leap, in every sense. Note that Jupiter, amongst other things, rules the law. If you’re out of your depth in any situation and need advice then go to a top professional.
It’s certainly not easy astrology this week as Venus is also in trouble –
Friday 22 May Venus opposite Pluto (02.55)
The planet of love – and money! – opposite the planet of absence, loss and black holes is another huge warning bell. You will read about Pluto being the planet of transformation – from good comes bad etc – but there is far too great a tendency to glamorize this planet. Pluto by opposition in particular has a ruthless and uncompromising quality and it’s vital to hold onto your own authority and not give your power away. In other words, stand up for yourself and be extra firm and clear in all your personal and business deals and negotiations.
I’m going to give the final word to this amazing man – because in spite of extreme difficulties, such as the astrological picture indicates for this week, the strength of the human spirit can be unbelievably awesome. Reading about this man and listening to him being interviewed on the BBC was my most inspirational moment of the week –
Artist Sargy Mann has been blind for the last 25 years, but is a prodigious painter whose works now sell for up to 50,000 pounds:
“I had to sort of reinvent painting for myself – it seems sort of more or less impossible but if you’re just determined to keep going you don’t need to give up. Because if your subject is your own experience then as long as you’re having an experience you’ve got a subject – and that has turned out to be true even into total blindness.”
Until next week,
With love from Greece
Joanna