The Astrology Blog 28 November 2022
All times in GMT
“Ye stars! which are the poetry of heaven!”
Lord Byron
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Lord_Byron
“Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity.”
T S Eliot
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Thomas_Stearns_Eliot
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Here’s your “at a glance” picture of the week –
Monday 28 November
- Mars 19 Gemini trine Saturn 19 Aquarius 17.57
- (Mars is retrograde, so this is the middle of a series of three)
Tuesday 29 November
- Mercury 19 Sagittarius opposite Mars 19 Gemini 20.31
Wednesday 30 November
- Mercury 19 Sagittarius sextile Saturn 19 Aquarius 04.19
Thursday 1 December
- Venus 18 Sagittarius opposite Mars 18 Gemini 05.29
Friday 2 December
- Mercury 22 Sagittarius square Neptune 22 Pisces 01.10
- Moon conjunct Jupiter 29 Pisces 02.46
- Venus 20 Sagittarius sextile Saturn 20 Aquarius 03.11
Sunday 4 December
- Neptune turns direct 22.39 Pisces 00.16
- Venus 22 Sagittarius square Neptune 22 Pisces 07.14
MARS TRINE SATURN – The long and winding road
With the relatively rare event of Mars being retrograde (happens once every two years) in Gemini, and Saturn having only recently switched from retrograde to direct in the fellow air sign of Aquarius, and therefore being very slow moving in recent weeks, this is an aspect that repeats three times. Here’s the sequence –
- 20 August – Mars entered Gemini
- 28 Sept – Mars reached 19 Gemini and made the first trine to Saturn 19 Aquarius
- 23 Oct – Saturn turned direct at 18 Aquarius
- 30 Oct – Mars turned retrograde at 25 Gemini
- 28 Nov – Mars travels back to make the second trine to Saturn, again at 19 Aquarius
- 12 Jan – Mars turns direct at 8 Gemini
- 7 March – Saturn changes sign and moves into next sign of Pisces
- 25 March – Mars changes sign and moves into next sign of Cancer
- 30 March – Mars and Saturn in their new signs (water) make the third and final trine at 2 Cancer/2 Pisces
This 7 months (instead of the usual two) of Mars’s meandering journey through Gemini is therefore also characterized by having Saturn as a travelling companion. In traditional astrology these two are not the best of double acts as Mars is known as the Lesser Malefic and Saturn as the Greater Malefic. So double trouble, but don’t be too alarmed, there are still good sides to both of these planets!
- Mars – is masculine and rules men, pursuit, lust and libido. Mars in a woman’s chart, regardless of sexual orientation, often describes the kind of partner she attracts or to whom she is attracted. He’s the god of war and symbolizes everything to do with how we go into action, and how we handle the cut and thrust of life. Psychologically he symbolizes all that is heated or hotheaded, such as anger, passion and pain.
- Saturn – also masculine and rules older men/those in authority, the grey suits, the bringer of solemnity, restriction, frustration, obstacles, boundaries, health issues, limitations and endings, ultimately death and bereavement. Events that take place under Saturn can be heavy or simply hard work. He rules career, duty, responsibility and the things we can’t get out of. His nature is realistic and serious, sometimes fearful, but he’s also associated with results that come through being effortful, hardworking, constructive and committed.
Check to see if any significant events happened on the dates mentioned so far in this list, especially if you have planets or Angles at or very close to the positions mentioned. You may see a relevant timeline to some event unfolding in your life. Often these long drawn out sequences can be a backdrop rather than an overnight sensation, such as meeting someone and getting to know them, trying out a new job, working through any situation that will eventually require choices and decisions. Remember that the Twins Gemini rules doubles or multiples.
It’s also worth remembering that Mars is retrograde in Mercury’s sign, so there’s a flavor of retrograde Mercury going on here too. A male friend who had planned to get to Thailand for December was let down by his mate, who changed his mind. Another friend stepped in, but now he has also pulled out for his own reasons. Mars (men) in Gemini (twos or more) retrograde (unraveling) …. When he said he was thinking of rescheduling the whole thing for February I said, good idea!!
It’s interesting too that the third and final Mars – Saturn trine at the end of next March happens in different signs, so when they’ve both moved on. With Mars the god of war so dominant this week, and indeed until at least January when he turns direct again, this made me think especially of Ukraine. I last wrote about the war and those involved back in March, and looking back to my notes then I see that Zelensky has his own huge midpoint event going on right now (Uranus Half Return – 28 May – 28 November – 17 March 2023, see more below) with a third and final date again in March. I find myself speculating that the March finales might bode well for the end of this war?
Here’s an excerpt from the 7th March blog, and the link to the whole blog on the website –
https://joannawatters.com/the-sun-neptune-conjunction-zelenskyys-horoscope-the-uranus-half-return/
His wife Olena Zelenska is born just two weeks after him on 6 February 1978. Can’t find a time of birth for her but the Sun and Venus have stayed close so she also has this conjunction, her husband’s is at 5 degrees, Olena has the Sun 17 Aquarius and Venus 21 Aquarius, opposite his Moon at 17 Leo.
Synastry between the Lights – the Sun and the Moon – is powerful by any aspect. Her Mercury is 3 Aquarius (conjunct his Sun/Venus, and Mercury is a key planet in synastry for indicating like mindedness) and she may also have the Moon in this sign, or in the previous sign of Capricorn.
TRANSITS
The fact that they are born only two weeks apart means that they’re sharing the same transits, two of which are major.
Taskmaster Saturn has a cycle of 29.5 years so spends roughly 2.5 years travelling through each sign and is currently two thirds of the way through Aquarius
- Saturn has just opposed his Moon 17.43 Leo (opposite sign to Aquarius, exact on 19th Feb) and conjuncted Olena’s Sun, is now at 19 Aquarius, will reach Olena’s Venus in the second half of March
- Saturn will get as far as 25 Aquarius and then turn retrograde 4 June
- Will turn direct again at 18.35 Aquarius 23 October, so that turning point is directly picking up their synastry of his Moon/her Sun & Venus
- This journey also means that Saturn will be picking up the exact opposition between Putin’s Pluto 22 Leo and Ukraine’s Moon 22 Aquarius, a three legged transit that won’t complete until next January
URANUS
The other big transit for the president and his wife is what is called the Uranus Half Return. Uranus has an 84 year orbit but you can’t just divide that in two –
From Be Your Own Astrologer –
As he makes his 84 year lap Uranus will eventually cross over all the other planets and Angles, but it is his halfway point that is especially important. For example, if natal Uranus is at 4 degrees of Libra then Uranus will have reached his halfway point when he arrives at 4 degrees of Aries. Note that Uranus is erratic in nature and also has an erratic orbit so this midpoint of his journey falls anywhere between the ages of 38 and 42.
This is called the Uranus Half Return, commonly referred to as the astrological midlife crisis. Some area of life is restructured, sometimes dramatically, and often this manifests as a claiming of something unlived up until this point, a sense of “if I don’t do it now I never will”. Divorces, marriages and “last chance” babies are incredibly common at this time.
The last time I talked about this astrological event was last June in relation to Matt Hancock’s horoscope – when he broke lockdown rules and was caught in a clinch with his aide Gina, photos splashed all over the media, he immediately got sacked and he left his wife for the other woman. That looks like a walk in the park now compared to what Zelenskyy and his family are now up against.
- Zelenskyy – Uranus 16.07 Scorpio in 6th House (where we locate the armed forces)
- Olena’s Uranus 16.19 Scorpio, virtually the same position as this planet moves slowly, but position in terms of House unknown without a time of birth
- Transiting Uranus currently in the opposite sign of Taurus will oppose his natal Uranus in Scorpio 28 May – 28 November – 17 March 2023
- There are always three dates for the Uranus Half Return as the retrograde phase lasts 5 months, so Uranus comes back again over any degree and then back for the third and final hit after turning direct
- Next turning points are Uranus turning retrograde 18.55 Taurus 24 August and turning direct again 14.56 Taurus 22 January 2023
So whatever way you look at things there are consequences reverberating into the beginning of next year. And remember that Uranus was exactly opposite Putin’s Venus when he gave the order to invade Ukraine.
In terms of other synastry note that the Descendant – the beginning to the 7th House of partnership – is also where we locate open enemies.
Zelenskyy | Putin | Ukraine |
Uranus 16 Scorpio | Venus 11 Scorpio opposite Jupiter 19 Taurus | Pluto 17 Scorpio |
Pluto 16 Libra | Sun 14 Libra conjunct Saturn 17 Libra | |
Moon 17 Leo | Pluto 22 Leo | Moon 22 Aquarius |
Asc/Desc 22 Gemini/Sagittarius
Jupiter 27 Gemini |
Mars 26 Sagittarius |
MERCURY – VENUS – not the end of the story
Last week we had the Mercury – Venus conjunction at 7 degrees Sagittarius on 21 November. These two planets are now starting to separate (move apart) and as they move forwards they both make the same sequence of aspects to three other planets, including the Mars and Saturn, with Mercury leading the way –
- Opposite Mars
- Sextile Saturn
- Square a SD (Stationary Direct) Neptune
Last week I commented that this conjunction isn’t as common as you might think, at the most happens three times a year. The last one was at the end of last year in Capricorn, and there’s only one next year, and then three in 2024 –
July 27, 2023
April 19, 2024
June 17, 2024
August 7, 2024
But I should’ve clocked that, as Mercury is not far off his next retrograde backwards loop (starts 29 December, great, just in time for New Year!), that means that Mercury will soon be slowing down rather than speeding on ahead.
All of this means that the slower moving Venus will catch up, instead of being left behind, and in fact the two meet up again on exactly the day that Mercury turns retrograde, 29 December, at 24 Capricorn.
As above, so below, look to see how a situation is punctuated by stops and starts, how something doesn’t go according to an original plan or how changes of mind/heart will have a role to play.
For now just note that the Mercury (communication) Venus (love) partnership is generally good news. It’s sweet talk, it’s poetic, and is a common feature in the horoscopes of those with beautiful or distinctive speaking or singing voices, or those who have a way with the written or spoken word, or those who have a sensitive understanding of the human mind. Here are a few examples –
Carl Jung, Celine Dion, Don Henley, Meghan Trainor, Paul Newman, Rudyard Kipling, George Michael, Maya Angelou, Melanie Griffith, Leona Lewis, Andrea Bocelli, Arthur Miller, T S Eliot
Many of these have orbs (how many degrees apart) of less than 3 degrees, some are almost exact. Don Henley (of The Eagles fame) has his conjunction in Cancer in the 11th House (groups) with an orb of just 16′ of arc (ie a quarter of a degree – back to school, how we measure space/time, there are 30 degrees of space in a sign, 60 minutes of space in each degree, as opposed to measurements of time which is 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds of time in each minute).
The smaller the orb, the more important the aspect, the more weight it carries. Find the smallest orb in your own horoscope, or in any horoscope, and you’ll find that it has a huge story to tell. Often it sums up the most important part of a life, even to the extent of feeling that it’s the reason for being here.
NEPTUNE STATIONARY DIRECT
Last week Jupiter turned direct (after being retrograde for 4 months) and now it’s Neptune’s turn (has been retrograde since 28 June). This means that both of these planets are marking huge turning points but will take a long time to pick up speed again, especially Neptune who has a cycle of 165 years.
Both Mercury and Venus link into Neptune this week, as noted above, so clock those dates for information that has a role to play in clearing the sea mists. One of the things that imaginative Neptune’s turning point can bring is clarity rather than confusion, and how anxiety can be eased or channeled into creative ventures.
In terms of lessons in handling anxiety, from which we all suffer to a lesser or greater degree, I’ll leave you with a Facebook post last week from my colleague Lynne Ewart –
” … it’s important to also take breathers to remind ourselves of the bigger picture, the overall plan, what actually matters, not setting too much store by little matters that can most likely be worked out. Try to chat face to face rather than over analyse messages, as Mercury’s building opposition to retrograding Mars, exact come Tuesday might see some leaping to (probably wrong) conclusions. Rise above and think the best, rather than imagine the worst.”
This touched a nerve for me, in a helpful way! And it was a reminder about how over reliant we can be on technology and how we need to tend to the lost art of discussion, to choose talking rather than messaging as our first line of connecting.
This might prove to be rather helpful next week when we have a Full Moon at 16 Gemini exactly conjunct that retrograde Mars, so things could get rather touchy or exciting, and I’ll be saying more about this next time,
Until then, with love from Greece
Joanna