The Astrology Blog 7 September
All times posted in BST
I seem to have been talking about retrograde Venus forever, so it’s uplifting to start this week’s blog with the reminder that this beautiful planet has just turned direct again. As I posted last week –
Sunday 6 September Venus Stationary Direct at 15 degrees of Leo (09.30)
Note firstly that Venus is “stuck” at 15 degrees of Leo as she switches from retrograde motion back to direct motion. Think of this as a plane coming in to land – it can’t just drop out of the sky, it has to slow down to make its descent and then take off again. So Venus is now at her slowest but will start picking up speed again after the weekend. If you have planets at or close to 15 degrees of Leo – or the opposite sign of Aquarius – this event will be especially significant for you but at a universal level the love, pleasure and money planet getting back to business is Good News for everyone.
Here’s the usual link for checking the sign and position of your natal planets which, btw, is the most clicked on link every week which is why I now always make a point of including it:
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/birth-chart-calculator.html
If you see the initials SD next to any planet in a horoscope this stands for Stationary Direct (SR stands for Stationary Retrograde) and a planet’s “stations” are considered to be especially important. A personal planet (ie excluding Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) would be considered to be stationing for a period of about a week, ie two to three days either side of the exact date marking the change of direction. As above, so below, these days capture the turning points in our lives.
Venus’ station has been especially poignant for my family, and Sue has given the thumbs up to sharing the story. As some of you know Sue is my twin sister, but what you probably don’t know is that we were born over four hours apart (poor mother, esp as she didn’t know she was having twins in the first place…). This means that we have different rising signs and that our Moons are two degrees apart. With Venus stationing exactly on Sue’s Moon of 15 degrees of luxurious and generous Leo we’ve had an amazing showing of giving her daughter, my niece, the holiday of a lifetime here in Greece. Nobody deserves some special time out more. She has her own four year old twins, one with special needs, and she’s doing a stupendous job single handedly. The astrology is reflected in the twins’ chart too – born within one minute of each other by C-section – as they were born on a Sun – Venus conjunction in Leo, only 8’ of arc apart. Any planet conjunct the Sun to within 17’ of arc (ie just over a quarter of a degree) is said to cazimi – rendered super powerful by being “in the heart of the Sun”. In every horoscope we can locate not just “what’s what” but also “who’s who” and in the twins’ horoscope Venus is the significator for their mother. So this blog is for you Victoria!
The “who’s who” part of astrological craft is the theme for this week’s course here in Greece, which is called Synastry – the Astrology of Relationships. As I write this blog my ten students are winging their way to Nidri, all flights on time, and I can’t wait for the reunion of my dream team who, all bar one, have been here several times before.
As Venus gets underway on her new journey here’s the checklist again for the kind of things you can expect to experience when Venus turns direct – an event that happens only once every 19 months –
• Love issues of all kinds get resolved, or start moving in the right direction
• Broken romance can be mended if your heart is in it as much as the other person’s (Leo rules the heart)
• A parting of the ways for relationships that are beyond repair – it’s quitting time for any unhealthy or destructive liaison
• Finding reserves of courage you didn’t know you had
• Learning that happiness and good self esteem work hand in hand
• Renewed confidence and a stronger sense of self, rather than being symbiotic, is a shot in the arm for healthy love
• A special someone comes into your life, especially a lover, a new girlfriend, a capable woman or someone who can help your child
• Good news, your own or for a woman you care about
• We get back to doing what gives us pleasure
• We get back together with those we love and enjoy – reunions!
• We find answers to heath and well being issues
• Major money decisions or investments get the green light
• Creative projects or special events of all kinds also get a big tick
• New jobs, especially those connected to a genuine passion, reveal or enhance our vocational talents and aspirations
What else is happening this week?
Mars is also travelling through the fire sign of Leo –
Tuesday Mars trine Uranus (20.54)
This aspect happens with Mars at 19 degrees of Leo and Uranus at 19 degrees of Aries. As Mars is the other “love planet” (Venus and Mars were conjunct each other last week) this continues the theme of love issues untangling themselves and moving on. Mars loves speed and Uranus loves immediacy, especially being in Aries the first sign of the zodiac, as well as being the planet of surprises and revolution. Uranus also groups – social or educational – and favors joining forces with likeminded people or doing “something different”.
Mars spearheads campaigns and Uranus is also the collective, so it would be an omission not to mention the tragedy of the now iconic little Alan Kurdi. If ever a single death made so much impact, it is his. The desperate plight of thousands of migrants fleeing their devastated countries has now come home in a new way to everyone in Europe and around the world, as the message rings out loud and clear that this is not a matter of people trying to seek a better life but about running for their lives. We have only to imagine our own home and town in ruins around us to get some inkling of what that must be like. Uranus rules all organizations connected to society at large and human rights, such as Amnesty International, and here’s the link if you want to read more or make a donation –
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/08/time-for-europe-to-end-the-refugee-shame/
Mars is god of war, and therefore the planet of action. He favors doing things. However the other key player moving into the picture in a big way is Mercury, the mind planet, and it has to be said that he’s now signaling what can only be described as some kind of logistical nightmare as he squares up to Pluto, planet of loss, endings and death/rebirth –
Wednesday Mercury square Pluto (20.24)
This is an important aspect because it will repeat twice more over the next couple of months, on 24 September and 22 October, all with Mercury at 13 degrees of Libra and Pluto at 13 degrees of Capricorn. This is because Mercury is getting ready to turn retrograde next week, Thursday 17th, and will therefore be going backwards and forwards until the second week of October. As I said last week, Mercury at full speed can whizz through one sign in two weeks, but when he’s in slow mode the journey can elongate to two months. Given that retrograde Mercury is all communication/thought/mind issues working in reverse or meandering form, and that the sign of Libra is known for fairness and cooperation but also for deliberating and procrastination, it would seem as if making any kind of plan or decision will be one enormous tall order.
So, start by being aware that nothing is set in stone and that changes of mind, or the conflicting wishes of others involved in your plans and projects, are very real possibilities. It could be hugely beneficial to start practicing a lot more open mindedness, openness to change and receptivity to different ways of doing things. How we do, or don’t, communicate is also likely to be under scrutiny in one way or another. Pay close attention too to the Librans in your life. Decision making for them could go from painful to agonizing! But for all of us this Mercury in Libra backdrop will be bringing all sorts of twists and turns – patience and cooperation will be paramount as we work our way carefully towards definite decisions and resolutions.
Back to this week’s challenging aspect to Pluto, pay close attention to unfolding events midweek for clues as to how this particular cycle will be playing out for you. Note anything that smacks of retrograde Mercury (eg things unraveling, matters taking a turn or others taking up a position that you couldn’t have anticipated) and prepare for getting “back to the drawing board”. Pluto loves to wipe the slate clean, or even strip us right back to absolute basics, sometimes to the point of despair. When you find yourself asking where do I go from here, you can pretty much bet that Pluto is chucking his weight around, so many matters will need plan B, careful handling and the negotiating skills of a top diplomat. Again, look to the Librans in your life, this time for lessons – they’re naturals at handling difficult stuff with non confrontational language and a charming smile. They’d rather crawl over broken glass than give offence.
The out with the old and in with the new theme is underlined this coming weekend as the New Moon is also a Solar Eclipse –
Sunday New Moon/Solar Eclipse at 20 degrees of Virgo (07.42)
As I’ve commented before, some astrologers refer to eclipses as power points, others as omens of disempowerment. Either way, they tend to play a role in revealing new pictures. A shadow is thrown but lifts again and some changes may be linked to bringing things out of hiding. Triangular setups, such as affairs or being in competition in business, are also highly sensitized yet again as eclipses are about the intricate relationship between the three bodies of the Sun, Moon and Earth. Someone is inevitably overshadowed while another emerges in a new light. New relationships starting at this time may be characterized by the complications of one or both extricating themselves from previous ties. Eclipses hunt in pairs, so we’ll have the Lunar Eclipse in two weeks time, so in spite of Venus having turned direct there is still a lot of sensitive ground to cover throughout the rest of this month.
Until next week,
With love from Greece
Joanna