8 September 2014 – Joan Rivers and Neptune, a sensitive Full Moon and Mars on the move

The Astrology Blog – w/b 8 September 2014

All times stated are in BST.

NO MORE EMAIL PROBLEM!!
Last week I wrote This week’s first event is Mercury changing sign, moving into Libra on Tuesday (ingress exact at 6.39). Will this be the big moment? Mercury in Libra – sign of partnership – feels very promising for reconnecting with “the others” out there in email land. It’s also a great placing for asking for help with any matter that you can’t tackle alone.

This worked right on cue as friend aka saint Helen (who sorts out so much stuff as she knows the Greek systems inside out) stepped in, went the extra mile to get it all sorted and I am back on joannaw@otenet.gr

If you have sent an email to that address in the last two weeks it is somewhere in cyberspace never to be seen again. The backup email address is still working fine joannawatters1@hotmail.com as are messages on Facebook. Thanks!

GREEK ISLAND SUMMER SCHOOL

My group for the Astrology & Tarot week are all safely here and it’s wonderful to greet returning students and meet two new ones.

The last course of this season is PREDICTIVE ASTROLOGY in two weeks time, starting on 22 September. You don’t have to be an advanced student to do this course as we will revise the symbolism of signs/planets and the basic principles of chart interpretation as we go along. This is a very exciting part of astrological craft and if you want to find out more, for this year or next, just drop me a line on the above email address or text me a landline number on 0030 6976 296085 and I will call you back.
JOAN RIVERS & NEPTUNE

The world has said goodbye to Joan Rivers (b 8 June 1933), the definitive Gemini, multi talented Mercury ruled sign of communication. Her life story makes extraordinary reading and her autobiographies are entitled Enter Talking and Still Talking. As well as being the talkers of the zodiac Geminis are also the “puer eternus”, the eternal youth, and tend to look younger than their years, naturally or through artifice. Joan made fun of her own extensive plastic surgery. Their approach is light and playful, often irreverent, and they usually have a childlike enthusiasm for anything that sounds like it could be fun.

All parts of the body are ruled by a sign/planet. The throat and the neck are ruled by Venus/Taurus but everything connected to the voice and how we speak/what we say is ruled by Gemini/Mercury. Joan died as a result of complications during surgery on her vocal chords (Mercury).

She has an official birth time of 02.00am which gives her an Ascendant (or rising sign which is determined purely by the time of birth, the point that marks the beginning of any horoscope which is why time is so important to an astrologer) of just under 4 degrees of Aries. The fact that the birth time is given as an exact hour usually indicates that it’s an approximation. If she were born just 10 minutes earlier the Ascendant would still have been in the late degrees of Pisces. This would give Jupiter as traditional ruler of the chart and Neptune as co-ruler (ie the 2 planets that rule Pisces between them).

I personally think that this makes sense astrologically for various reasons but primarily because Joan was in the middle of a major Neptune event. With a cycle of 176 years none of us can ever experience a Neptune Return (a Return being when a planet comes full cycle and returns to its original position as found in the birth chart, eg the Sun’s cycle is a year and our birthday is our Solar Return, many happy returns of the day).

With Neptune the Half Return happens in our 80’s. Joan’s natal Neptune is 7.30 Virgo and her Neptune Half Return started when Neptune reached 7.30 of the opposite sign of Pisces at the end of May. Neptune was moving very slowly and turned retrograde in June at 7.35 Pisces. Her surgery was done under a Sun – Neptune opposition. In her natal chart Neptune in Virgo (Neptune’s sign of detriment) is in the 6th House (health) and rules anesthesia. It is reported that her autopsy was inconclusive but the astrology would suggest that tragically the complications during surgery that led to cardiac arrest would be linked to the anesthesia. Yesterday she had the big glamourous (Neptune) Hollywood send off that she had wanted.
What’s happening this week?

Monday – Sun quinqunx Uranus (09.48)
Look out for unexpected conflict between health/work/duty issues and the opinions/role/needs of an individual, yours or someone else’s. With this aspect sensitive matters spin around a “blind spot” so make a point of checking your facts and figures, and note that it’s always the thing that you didn’t expect that catches you out. So it may not be the start to the week that you had planned but roll with the changes.

Tuesday Full Moon at 16 Pisces (02.30), Wednesday Venus in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces (11.52)

With the Full Moon exact in the early hours of Tuesday morning then look out for the symbolism on Monday as it’s the “applying” 24 hours – as an aspect is coming to exactitude – that is generally the time it shows. Full Moons are always sensitive times but this one is extra so being in one of the water signs. Pisces is Neptune’s sign (Poseidon, god of the sea) and I will be out with my group on Monday night and am planning a special beach venue so we can watch the moonrise over the water in all her glory. Should be absolutely stunning and seems the best way to honor a Pisces Full Moon, to be by water, especially the sea. Am wondering what stories we’ll be exchanging around the dinner table as the wine and conversation flows!

The Pisces theme is underlined by the fact that Venus (love, women, pleasures, money) will oppose Neptune the day after the Full Moon. Venus is now in her sign of fall in Virgo. As I was explaining last week this is a “picky” Venus: Virgo belongs to Mercury, planet of the mind whose job it is to pick things apart in the goal of understanding. Venus’ job is love and pleasure but she sometimes forgets that when travelling through analytical Virgo… this Venus is sensitive and doesn’t want to be hurt. This Venus over thinks things and consequently takes things slowly. Venus in Virgo tends to look for the perfect love, which of course doesn’t exist. Love needs acceptance, not a critical ticker tape running constantly in the back of our minds.

Love issues of all kinds are likely to be highly sensitized around this Full Moon so tread carefully and in particular look at where you may be idealizing. Venus – Neptune contacts are notorious for infatuation or unrealistic expectations. Also I have noticed many times that astrology can be very literal. Look out for a Pisces or Virgo girlfriend in difficulties!

Late Tuesday Mercury square Pluto (23.39), Wednesday Mercury sextile Jupiter (19.38) and Mercury opposite Uranus on Saturday (09.17)

The Uranus – Pluto square is not exact at the moment – we have two more exact squares to come, in December and then the last one in March of next year – but they currently have an orb of only 3 degrees (ie Pluto at 11 Capricorn, Uranus at 15 Aries). This means that the faster moving planets aspect them both in a matter of days. It’s always a tricky picture when Mercury plays into patterns being made by the outer planets. Note that Mercury is currently travelling through Libra, sign of partnership, so best advice is to make sure that you listen very closely to the others with whom you are in close contact, either personally or professionally, so that you hear things that you might otherwise miss. These contacts are also notorious for arguments, difficult news or decisions, setbacks or plans having to be cancelled or rearranged. Keep your schedule – and your attitude! – as flexible as possible.

The Mercury – Jupiter contact in the middle of the picture is a blessing – there is another strand of the tapestry that relates to quite the opposite picture, such as good news, easy negotiations or being with those who are good for you or generous to you in some way. Mercury (writing) sextile (harmonious aspect) Jupiter (publishing) is a wonderful picture for me as, with only 2 or 3 pages to finish, the writing of the new book is virtually done and I’ll be finishing that off on Wednesday.
Thursday – Sun sextile Saturn (16.05)

The Virgo Sun in good aspect to Saturn in Scorpio is great for closure, of any kind. It doesn’t matter whether it’s wrapping up jobs, doing the things you’ve been putting off (Saturn is lord of time) or getting out of the wrong relationship. In any relationship that has been causing strife this is your chance to put things on a healthier footing. Don’t be afraid to state your grievances but be specific. Virgo likes to deal with the facts, straight and simple, no drama. Virgo is also the sign of crafts and skills so to do a job well may need some rigorous attention to detail.

Finally, on Saturday evening – Mars ingress Sagittarius (22.58)

Mars has been travelling through his own sign of Scorpio since the end of July but now moves on into the next sign of Sagittarius. This is not one of Mars’s recognized signs of dignity but generally Mars as the planet of action is happy in the fire signs. The only danger with Mars in Sag – sign of Mutable fire as opposed to Cardinal fire (Aries) or Fixed fire (Leo) is that it can spread itself too thin. Often this Mars has a rush of energy and enthusiasm but is not always brilliant at the finisher/completer role. However, it’s a placing of great optimism and signals freedom, an adventurous spirit, an open mind, a love of the truth and a love of life. Clock anyone you meet on Saturday night or over the rest of the weekend as Mars gets into his stride in this big thinking sign, they could make life very interesting or maybe they’ll have things to teach you. Listen out for new opportunities of any kind too but especially those linked to travel and higher education. Mars in Sagittarius is ultimately a seeker and, wherever you need a bigger picture perspective, he will point the way towards those wider horizons.