The Astrology Blog – 23 February 2015
All times stated are in GMT
Be Your Own Astrologer – Unlock the Secrets of the Signs and Planets is the title of my new book and also of the workshop in London on Saturday 11 April. The venue has now been booked for this event and you’ll find further details after the blog. If you’d like to receive more information about this workshop just reply to this newsletter or start a new email joannaw@otenet.gr with London workshop, please add me to the mailing list – in the Subject box.
What’s happening this week?
Mercury is now shaking off restraints and, as I wrote last week, astrological messages work on the principle of “as above, so below”, so look out for things picking up speed in your own life. I liked the image that a friend gave me this week, that during the period of Mercury being retrograde life felt like a river dammed up with logs, but now those logs have shifted and everything is flowing again and increasingly quickly.
Breaking news over here is that Easy Jet is coming to Lefkada! Scheduled flights into our local airport of Preveza start mid May. This is fantastic news as the island has been crying out for a budget airline for several years, to combat the ridiculously expensive charter flight tickets. To give you an idea a return that would normally cost between 400 to 1,000 pounds is currently advertised with Easy Jet at 200/300 pounds. This is a huge bonus for the villa industry – ie for those tourists who don’t need packages – as there is now an affordable way of flying out a family or a group.
Mercury is back in the news at the end of the week but, for the first half of this week, Saturn is the major player. So in spite of Mercury’s general trend of onwards and upwards there are other scenarios of the slow or difficult kind to deal with first.
Saturn is the last of the so called personal planets as, before the discovery of the modern planets of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, he represented the end of our known solar system for us earthlings – which resonates with his symbolism of boundaries, endings and all things related to time and age. What else is Saturn about, and especially now that he is in Sagittarius, a Jupiter ruled sign? Here’s an excerpt from my new book –
Saturn’s main principle is contraction – the opposite to Jupiter’s expansion. If Jupiter is “yes”, Saturn is “no”. He is the bringer of solemnity, restriction, obstacles, boundaries and endings, ultimately death. Saturn is the enemy of the “Lights” of life, the Sun and Moon, being in detriment in their signs of dignity, Cancer and Leo. He rules authority, career, duty and responsibility. His nature is pessimistic, realistic and serious.
Saturn in Jupiter’s masculine sign (Sagittarius) presents the conflict of two opposing forces or beliefs. Saturn’s nature is to restrict, Jupiter’s is to learn and liberate, so here we find the serious philosopher, philanthropist or freedom campaigner. Che Guevara, Bruce Kent (CND) and Abraham Lincoln all represent the battle for the sanctity of human life in their own way.
Studying the horoscopes of those with a particular planet in a particular sign is a great way to learn more about any combination that interests you, or which is current. Saturn in Sagittarius (where he is now) seems to indicate a very important time for human rights issues generally. At a more personal level the above description signals the kind of things to expect, so this week doesn’t get off to the easiest of starts as Saturn’s first roadblock comes in the shape of a square (inharmonious) to the Sun –
Monday Sun square Saturn (13.57)
Both the Sun and the Moon are known as the Lights in traditional astrology (Sun, light of the day and Moon, light of the night) and Saturn is an enemy to both. Saturn is in detriment in Leo (the Sun’s sign) and also in Cancer (the Moon’s sign). The Sun is the life force so this aspect is the “slow down” sign, so guard against burnout and don’t push yourself beyond your bodily limitations. In fact, don’t try to force anything that is stuck. If you come slap up against a barrier of any kind it is there for a reason. With authority issues you will definitely have to think outside of the box. Similarly don’t be surprised if you just feel down. Those Monday morning blues will hit hard for some. “Square pegs in round holes” comes to mind. Or it may be that the week will just get off to a slow or boring start.
Relationship issues are high on the agenda as both Venus and Mars also move into this picture –
Tuesday Venus trine Saturn (14.59)
Thursday Mars trine Saturn (03.10)
The harmonious trine aspect happens when planets align in the same element (exactly 120 degrees apart), in this case the element of fire as both Venus and Mars are now in the early degrees of Aries. Think “being in your element”. In this respect the trine bodes well for putting all love issues into a clear framework and onto a firmer footing. These aspects augur well for new love in particular, there’s a sense of starting as you mean to go on or knowing that you will be with this person for a very long time.
However, Saturn can be a taskmaster even under positive aspects, and for some there will be questions around being with the right/wrong person, or being in love with someone who is unavailable or who has to make major changes in their own lives first. These aspects can therefore be paradoxical – feeling passionate and single minded (Venus and Mars in Aries) about someone but having to play the waiting game (Saturn).
It’s worth noting the other struggle between Venus and Mars that is ongoing while they are in Aries, leader of the zodiacal pack, sign of the ego and strong personal identity. This is Mars’ sign of dignity – one of the signs that he rules and he is therefore at home – but it’s one of Venus’ sign of detriment. In psychological terms this makes sense as masculine Mars is the god of war, ruling our sense of drive, purpose and how we fight for what we want. Egotism and awesome self belief are helpful ingredients. On the other hand feminine Venus is goddess of love, ruling our relating skills, and can come unstuck in “me first” Aries. So it’s a good time for a health check on the give and take ratio in your relationship.
Back to Saturn, in the physical body he rules the bones, knees and teeth. If you need to book appointments with your dentist or osteopath now is the time to do so. I have major dental appointments starting first thing tomorrow which, obviously, I’m not looking forward to in the slightest but at least I know the problems will be fixed. The endurance test will be worth it! For all health issues these Saturn contacts are also great for any kind of self discipline or for finding the right expert to help you.
In total contrast to the rest of the week the Saturn contacts are followed by a major Neptune aspect –
Thursday Sun conjunct Neptune (04.56)
Neptune is incredibly slow moving (his orbit around the zodiac takes 176 years) so the Sun catches up with him only once a year. At the moment Neptune is on the long slow journey through his own sign of Pisces and this conjunction takes place at 7 degrees of this sign. This aspect will therefore be especially significant for you if you have planets or angles at 7 degrees, especially of Pisces or the opposite sign of Virgo. Here’s the usual link to check the signs and degrees of your natal planets –
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/birth-chart-calculator.html
Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, and rules the boundless watery realms of our emotional and spiritual worlds. It’s a great aspect if you’re falling in love – fusion and the urge to merge – or if you’re embarking upon any creative project. As the Sun’s role is to illuminate listen very closely to your inner voice and value your instincts. This is a chance to make a dream come true and it’s a good time to remember that many wondrous things start with the power of the imagination.
As with all the outer planets, however, there’s always a flip side! Look out for plumbing or water related problems, and be extra careful with any kind of medication. Neptune rules drugs, and also alcohol. Neptune can signal times when we feel swamped by our emotions – the whole gamut from love to grief – so look out for anyone who’s drowning their sorrows or be mindful if you’re drowning your own, such as making sure that you’re in a safe place and with those who’ll look after you!
But here’s a lovely alcohol showing of the Sun – Neptune union, the gift of some lovely wine from my dear friend Ingrid in Cape Town to celebrate the publication of my book. She couldn’t send it to Greece – too complicated, including the need for a liquor license – so she’s sending it to London where I’ll be at the beginning of April and I know that she’ll be placing the order this week. Looking forward to sharing that with my good friends Paul and Vincent, especially as Paul is one of the people to whom the book is dedicated, so that all feels very satisfying.
There’s one more difficult aspect at the end of the week –
Friday Jupiter quinqunx Pluto (23.33)
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, ne’er the twain shall meet 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.
Once this is out of the way the rest of the weekend is much lighter and livelier as Mercury takes over again, starting with –
Sunday Mercury sextile Uranus (15.56)
This is an important aspect as it’s the last of a series. You may remember that the same thing happened last week with the Mercury – Saturn aspects, and I posted –
Mercury has a role to play in this scenario, not only because he is picking up speed again but also because he makes the third and final aspect to Saturn on Thursday. The other two sextiles happened on 5 January and 5 February. If these dates coincide with any ongoing matter in your life then you can now expect resolution. This is the stuff of final decisions and closure of all kinds. Similarly, any matter that has been slowly taking shape can now be finalized and put into action.
Fittingly last Thursday was the day that I finally received my author copies of my book after a courier fiasco that created several frustrating days of delay – my books were finally tracked to a tiny post office in a village at the top of a neighboring mountain! But from being commissioned to writing a book, to putting in all that work, time and effort, to the moment of holding the finished product in my hands was the perfect last link in a Mercury – Saturn chain. However, this episode just goes to show that even by good aspect Saturn can still signal delays and timing issues.
We now reach the end of the Mercury – Uranus sequence –
• First sextile exact on 14 January
• Mercury then turned retrograde a week later and travelled back to repeat the aspect on 28 January
• Mercury then turned direct 11 February and now makes this third and final sextile
Again, these dates may bracket a specific development, or you may simply arrive at a finale moment that has its roots further back in time. Serious Saturn is about closure and resolution, but the nature of Uranus is, in many ways, the exact opposite.
Uranus is the rebel, the innovator and the bringer of surprises or shocks. He has the unexpected or spontaneity factor. Combined with Mercury, winged messenger of the gods, this applies to news, decisions and all things that come under the communication and travel umbrella. Whereas Saturn slows things down, Uranus can speed things up, sometimes in head spinning ways. After the somewhat complicated feel of the rest of the week this feels like a breath of fresh air.
For me this aspect will coincide with finding out about the local flight summer schedule so that I can then work out my connections for flying to the UK at the beginning of April. Then I can actually book all my flights. So look out for the last piece of a jigsaw or follow your gut instincts. This feels very much like a dose of early spring fever and the need for change, movement and “something different” is likely to be very strong. As much as I love Lefkada there is always some point in the winter – usually February – when I start to suffer from island fever and I’m really looking forward to my trip away!
Mercury is the mind planet so something that you’ve been pondering for a long time is now ready to move out of thought mode and into action mode. Snap decisions are in the mix, especially those that you can’t explain rationally but you “just know” that it’s the right thing to do. This is underlined by Mercury’s other aspect that follows just a few hours later –
Sunday Mercury opposite Jupiter (21.16)
This is the classic “big idea” aspect. It might be something over the top, or something that at first feels overly ambitious or too expensive, but you’ll want to do it anyway. This is definitely an aspect of “where there’s a will there’s a way”. As Jupiter is headed for a major alliance with Uranus at the beginning of next week, which I’ll be talking about next time, it taps into the restlessness and readiness for change theme already on the bubble. So no matter what difficulties life may throw at you this week there’s every reason to stay optimistic, and to let the unexpected do its work.
Until next week,
With love from Greece
Joanna