The Astrology Blog 31 May 2021
All times in BST
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
“Focus on the solution, not on the problem.”
Jim Rohn – 17 Sept 1930 – 5 Dec 2009, American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker
MOON – JUPITER CONJUNCTION
I like writing that this is a week that gets better as it goes on but the truth is that this one looks rather like the opposite. We’ve now got a retrograde Mercury as the backdrop for the next three weeks, more on that to come, but we’re also travelling towards the second Mercury – Neptune square at the weekend that this time is coinciding with the heavy handed Mars – Pluto opposition (approx every two years).
This rather indicates that the more difficult or stressful matters going on in our lives are likely to escalate or demand more of our time and attention at the end of the week. On the way though there are some definite high spots, starting with the Moon – Jupiter conjunction –
Tuesday 1 June
- Moon conjunct Jupiter 1 Pisces 13.05
I don’t always mention this monthly event but this one is definitely worth noting as it’s the first one to happen since Jupiter moved into his own sign of Pisces a couple of weeks ago. Jupiter is the Greater Benefic, bringer of joviality, bounty and opportunity, Pisces is a water sign linked to sensitivity, romance, empathy, artistic talents and boundlessness, so this union is packed with potential for all kinds of goodies, everything from having fun to finding the person who can help you.
We’ll get two more Moon – Jupiter conjunctions in this sign, but both with a retrograde Jupiter, ie before sliding back into Aquarius. After that then this meeting therefore won’t happen again until the New Year. Here’s the full sequence, which is especially worth noting if you have planets or Angles at or close to 1 Pisces – or the other mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius –
- 13 May – Jupiter moved from Aquarius to Pisces
- 1 June – Moon conjunct Jupiter 1 Pisces
- 20 June – Jupiter will turn retrograde at 2 Pisces
- 28 June – Moon conjunct retrograde Jupiter 2 Pisces
- 26 July – Moon conjunct retrograde Jupiter 0 Pisces
- 28 July – Jupiter slides back into Aquarius
- 18 October – Jupiter will turn direct at 22 Aquarius
- 29 December – Jupiter will enter Pisces for the second time
- 6 January 2022 – Moon conjunct Jupiter 1 Pisces
Jupiter is absolutely brilliant at sowing seeds and is definitely a future orientated power, so think and plan ahead, even for or especially for the things that could reach fruition in the New Year. Pay close attention to your visions for the future and clock the influential person who comes into your life or who’s playing a major role at this time.
VENUS NEW CYCLE
Venus is finishing her annual journey through flighty Gemini, making no other aspects along the way, and her new cycle starts when she enters the water sign of Cancer and aligns harmoniously with Jupiter –
Wednesday 2 June
- Venus ingress Cancer 14.20
Friday 4 June
- Venus 1 Cancer trine Jupiter 1 Pisces 00.04
Any Venus – Jupiter combinations are good news as these are the two “benefics” of the heavens – they’re good for us and link us to love, luck and happiness. Financial benefits are in the mix too as Venus rules money. Note that the alignment is exact just as we tip into Friday so it’s “applying” – at its strongest – during the week but especially throughout Thursday, which in turn is Jupiter’s day of the week. Venus rules Fridays.
Bit of astrological trivia for you is that nearly all of the French names for days of the week give us their links to the planets –
- Monday = Lundi – lunar/Moon
- Tuesday = Mardi – Mars
- Wednesday = Mercredi – Mercury
- Thursday = Jeudi – Jove/Jupiter
- Friday = Vendredi – Venus
- Saturday = Samedi – Saturn
- Sunday = Dimanche – Sun
So anything that relates to enjoying the easing of lockdown measures (Jupiter rules liberation as well) gets a huge tick, such as planning a night out or making a bid for work related moves and projects. But more importantly just clock what naturally evolves midweek in terms of what or who is making your life better. Note also that Jupiter’s main themes in addition to any kind of opportunity are long distance travel – hurray – the law, education and publishing.
THE TOUGHER STUFF
The Sun is nearly halfway through Gemini and now aligns with Saturn who is currently “stuck” at 13 Aquarius, a fellow air sign, having only just recently turned retrograde at that degree (23 May) –
Thursday 3 June
- Sun 13 Gemini trine Saturn 13 Aquarius 20.07
Sun – Saturn combinations are tough as the Sun is dignified in Leo, Saturn’s sign of detriment, and Saturn is dignified in Aquarius, the Sun’s sign of detriment. In other words where one is strong the other is weak and it’s a mismatch. These aspects are key moments though in discovering or resolving health issues, for recognising and accepting limitations or for establishing any kind or order on chaos, a theme that is also extremely common with a newly retrograde Mercury, and especially as this time the turning point leads to the second square with Neptune (confusion, deception) AND coincides with the Mars – Pluto clash –
Saturday 5 June
- Mercury (retrograde) 23 Gemini square Neptune 23 Pisces 20.05
- Mars 26 Cancer opposite Pluto 26 Capricorn 20.41
It’s always interesting to see what news breaks as Mercury turns retrograde and one of the lead stories on Sunday morning was Boris Johnson’s marriage to Carrie Symonds. The wedding took place at 2pm on Saturday, less than 10 hours before Mercury’s exact turning point late Saturday night, and was all planned in top secret, a major hallmark of Mercury switching to retrograde motion.
In textbook Gemini fashion, and with his Sun also conjunct Venus in this sign, Boris has a multiplicity theme in his personal life as this is his third marriage, with plenty of affairs scattered along the way, some of which produced children and not all of these have been acknowledged. On his Wikipedia page the heading of “Children” says “at least 6”, which says it all. I could make all kinds of extra comments here about role models but frankly, why bother?
Before the pandemic I had never fully appreciated just how vitally important sound leadership really is. The other big news on Mercury’s turning point was the reporting of the protests across Brazil, calling Bolsonaro to account for his appalling handling – or lack of it – of the Covid crisis. He has repeatedly failed to respond to offers of millions of vaccines, the people of Brazil are accusing him of genocide and calling for his impeachment. The tide has finally publicly turned against him –
The high number of cases has brought the country’s health system to the verge of collapse. The far-right leader has consistently opposed lockdown measures, arguing that the damage to the economy would be worse than the effects of the coronavirus itself. He has also told Brazilians to “stop whining” about the situation.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57294415
The looming Mars – Pluto opposition falls across Bolsonaro’s Asc/Desc horizon of 23 Cancer – Capricorn. Mars is action, the military, protests – Pluto is power and control. Mercury has turned conjunct his Part of Fortune in his 11th House, where we locate the collective and society at large. I hope he’s in as much trouble as this suggests.
Otherwise at a universal level the Mars – Pluto is not great for your Saturday night out! Pluto as I’m so fond of saying is the creator of black holes and the word “transformation” so beloved by astrology textbooks is a far cry from the real Plutonic experiences – endings first, gradual change and adjustment second. So look out for cancellations, avoid any kind of risk taking and if you get bad vibes off someone then don’t ignore your instincts. Family or property issues are also likely to be a major headache.
RETROGRADE MERCURY
I’ve come to think that one of the main purposes of retrograde Mercury is to point us towards solution finding. It’s so easy to freak out and run around in small circles when everything starts going wrong, and too easy to give up on goals and dreams when the stuff of daily life seems designed to drain away all your energy and available time.
Back to the quotes at the top of the blog I confess that I’ve never read any books by Jim Rohn but there are plenty of them, and I’m definitely attracted to his titles of Leading an Inspired Life (1996) and The Day that Turns Your Life Around (2003). I was spoiled for choice when choosing his quotes and here are a few more than seem especially important as Mercury starts to unravel us –
- Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
- Either you run the day, or the day runs you.
- Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.
So hold onto the things that make up your own routine, especially the things that you know work for you, and this will help you to find and keep your footholds – in theory! I’ll finish with the usual retro Mercury checklist which may also help your coping strategies as we prepare for the Solar Eclipse also in Gemini next week,
Until then, with love from Greece
Joanna
YOUR RETROGRADE MERCURY SURVIVAL KIT
Regardless of what is going on in the world, here’s a reminder of the usual checklist of the kind of themes to look out for when Mercury (planet of communication, information and travel) is retrograde. Many of these themes will be even more obvious than usual, some you may already be experiencing and others may yet unfold during the next three weeks –
- Top theme with Mercury retrograde in his own sign of chatty Gemini, sign of communication in all its guises, is to be careful in your use of social media. Avoid posting anything too personal or getting involved in any kind of angry debates. Also check privacy settings.
- Guard against trying to construct situations or distressing yourself with regard to anything beyond your control. Forcing any kind of round pegs into square holes won’t be worth the effort and could cost you dearly
- Adopt the mantra of one day at a time … going too far ahead creates anxiety, especially with problems which have no clear or immediate answers
- Know that there are things you don’t know – yet
- Try to operate by “re” words – review, revise, research, reappraise, rethink, repair, redress the balance and so on. Also remember rest and relaxation, give the brain some time off and try not to put yourself under unnecessary pressure
- Expect cancellations or rescheduling of appointments or personal arrangements
- Buy yourself time wherever needed – keep options open
- 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
- Write things down and double check everything – forgetfulness, being distracted, inattention etc can be a troublesome theme
- Back up all your computer work
- Don’t delete any documents – you may need them at a later date
- Getting back to ideas on the back burner
- Getting back in touch with those who’ve been neglected or important to you in the past – let them know how much they matter
- 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 any mode of transport under a retro Mercury
- Plan any journey with extra care, don’t trust to luck, don’t travel unless you have to and make sure tickets are covered on your insurance
- Kill your speed when driving – allow extra time for getting there slowly but safely
- Take extra care with form filling/signing on dotted lines – paperwork and admin of all kinds are a minefield
- Decide to ease the pain or cool the resentment. Write the letter you can’t send or you’ll never send – whether it’s to someone you’ve lost or to someone you want to strangle it’s great therapy
- Turning this the other way around you can also write a letter to yourself from someone you’ve lost – which is even greater therapy. I’ve done this in the past, from my twin Sue, and it was unbelievably powerful
- Stop trying to fix others – just focus on yourself. Changes starts with us, and within us, from the inside out, not the other way around
- Assume nothing. 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 …
- Reserve the right to change your mind/keep an open mind. As you start to see something from a different angle the truth, reality or logistics will evolve in a way that you couldn’t possibly have planned or expected
- KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOUR
Thank you Joanna. I think I have unsubscribes to your weekly blog by error but have applied again. You are a breath of fresh air and I look forward to your blog every Monday. I would dearly love to come out for one of your courses but I won’t fly. Best Wishes Brenda.