The Astrology Blog 2 September 2019
To do Lists, Ticking Clocks and Knowing Yourself
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is a proverb. It means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring. The exact origins of the phrase remain unclear, though it was recorded as early as 1659.”
– Wikipedia
There are very definite patterns unfolding at the moment as the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars are all now travelling through the earth sign of Virgo. As some move faster than others they’re all playing catch up with each other, so there’s a series of conjunctions happening which are like hotspots in the bigger picture.
One of these has already happened, the others are stacking up, the middle three being exact this week –
- Venus conjunct Mars 4 Virgo – 24 August
- Sun conjunct Mars 10 Virgo – 2 September
- Mercury conjunct Mars 10 Virgo – 3 September
- Sun conjunct Mercury 11 Virgo – 4 September
- Mercury conjunct Venus 28 Virgo – 13 September
The bigger picture is that, because these four fast moving planets are all travelling through the same sign, they all in turn make the same series of aspects to the slower moving planets. Here’s the sequence –
- Trine Uranus in Taurus
- Trine Saturn in Capricorn
- Square Jupiter in Sagittarius
- Opposite Neptune in Pisces
- Trine Pluto in Capricorn
Trines are harmonious, squares are conflict or excessive, oppositions are challenging. In other words, this is a real mixed bag and all adds up to a very busy and hopefully very productive week, but not without its demands or need for problem solving.
- Mercury, currently the fastest moving, made the trine to Uranus yesterday (Sunday) and then completes the whole sequence through the coming week, finishing in the early hours of next Monday morning.
- Venus is now completing her sequence with the last three of these aspects falling this week.
- The Sun will make the last two aspects on the list next week.
- Mars will get as far as making the trine to Saturn at the very end of this week, again in the early hours of next Monday morning, and will eventually finish the sequence on 19 September, which is in fact the day before Saturn turns direct again (at 14 Capricorn), having been retrograde for the last four months.
So this all has the feel of a journey with a definite destination, culminating with Saturn’s turning point for the better. Whatever the key issues are in your life right now you will probably sense or even know for sure that there’s a lot of ground to cover, or a lot of people involved, a more than the usual amount of negotiating or decision making to come or a myriad of side issues that all somehow have to be factored in.
But if life has become boring then you couldn’t choose a better time for getting yourself back into circulation or networking of any kind. If you want to make major life changes then the conditions are perfect, but try not to go into overwhelm. Decide what to do first, then take it one thing at a time, one day at a time, sometimes we have to do things one hour or even minute at a time, such as recovering from any kind of trauma. But the march of a million miles always starts with the first step.
Here’s the whole sequence for this week – spinning plates comes to mind!!
Monday 2 September
- Sun conjunct Mars 10 Virgo 11.44 BST
- Venus 15 Virgo square Jupiter 15 Sagittarius 17.27
Tuesday 3 September
- Mercury conjunct Mars 10 Virgo 16.41 BST
Wednesday 4 September
- Sun conjunct Mercury 11 Virgo 02.41
- Venus 17 Virgo opposite Neptune 17 Pisces 12.26
Thursday 5 September
- Mercury 14 Virgo trine Saturn 13.38 BST
Friday 6 September
- Mercury 15 Virgo square Jupiter 15 Sagittarius 08.12 BST
- Moon conjunct Jupiter 15 Sagittarius 08.21 BST
- Sun 14 Virgo trine Saturn 14 Capricorn 22.57 BST
Saturday 7 September
- Venus 21 Virgo trine Pluto 21 Capricorn 04.45 BST
- Mercury 17 Virgo opposite Neptune 08.20 BST
Sunday 8 September
- Sun 15 Virgo square Jupiter 15 Sagittarius 16.28 BST
Monday 9 September
- Mercury 21 Virgo trine Pluto 04.08 BST
- Mars 14 Virgo trine Saturn 14 Capricorn 05.15
As Mercury the mind and communication planet is the busiest of the lot this week then look out for Mercurial issues forcing their way to the head of the queue. This runs the whole gamut from a great social life, hearing from many people or getting in touch with others, new information, important conversations, dealing with touchy subjects and arguments, new insights, dealing with admin or paperwork that has possibly piled up, dealing afresh with anything that you’ve neglected. Wherever you’ve taken your eye off the ball now is the time to find out exactly where it’s bounced to and retrieve it.
Bear in mind that Virgo themes will also be of paramount importance. This adds up mostly to being thorough and paying extra attention to detail. Whatever matters to you needs work and effort to come good, try not to leave anything to chance, but there is always a fine line to be observed too, the one that divides your work ethic and the tendency to get obsessive, so watch out for that trap of all work and no play. For a feel of the Virgo hallmarks here’s an excerpt from Be Your Own Astrologer –
Many people naturally associate Mercury, planet of language and the mind, with his better known masculine sign, communicative livewire Gemini. Virgo is Mercury’s feminine sign which is expressed through brain power of a more subtle and exacting kind. Virgo’s primary task is to evaluate and analyze. Information, feelings and decisions are all fed through some kind of mental sieve, separating fact from fiction and isolating essential details.
Virgo has a dutiful streak a mile wide and is aligned to service, everything from the armed forces serving their country to trades people serving the general public. This is also the sign of skills and crafts, reflecting the Virgo unparalleled talent for precision and keen eye for detail. They adopt the policy that, if something is worth doing, then it is worth doing faultlessly, or not at all. They have self discipline, a strong work ethic and can easily become workaholics, especially as they find it pretty much impossible to delegate. Who else could they trust to do a task to their own staggeringly high standards? Other people’s inefficiency or slapdash attitude can drive them nuts but they do have to learn when “good enough” is acceptable rather than continually striving for perfection.
However, job satisfaction lies in continually honing their expertise, and in approaching every task with patience and painstaking exactitude. This often springs from being afraid to make mistakes, which are as a result rare and never repeated. Thorough and systematic this sign rules administrative work of all kinds but a Virgo will excel in any job that demands accuracy.
Work, money, family, love, health … there’s nothing new under the sun in terms of the main concerns of the human condition, as this week’s quote above shows – we’re still using proverbs that are hundreds of years old! But this next couple of weeks has the makings of a recipe that combines all these ingredients and possibly even more. With this prospect of overload it’s definitely a time for prioritizing and for recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses, but in a non egotistical or non judgmental way. So identify what you’re good at, be confident and self assured in those areas, and wherever you find yourself out of your area of expertise, then simply acknowledge it. “I can’t do this, but I know someone who can” will prove to be an extremely helpful mantra. We can’t be everywhere or do everything.
Identifying where we’re being overly dutiful or taking on too much responsibility is always a tough one, especially where loved ones are concerned, but again look out for that fine line. If someone invests a lot of time and energy in trying to control you it should be obvious, and getting a bit more analytical towards the issues will be helpful. If you find yourself being controlling then stop and ask yourself why? Control issues are usually fear based. For example, the controlling partner is usually terrified that their other half is going to leave them! The irony is that controlling tactics usually have the opposite effect, they create distance and resentment, the opposite to intimacy.
I would say that one of the truths on the top of my list of the things I’ve learned through years and years of doing readings is that trying to “fix” other people – partners, children, parents, whoever – never works. Sometimes this is because we’re unconsciously projecting our own stuff onto others, so the only thing that ever does work is fixing ourselves. If you’re looking for love then start by finding that love inside of yourself first before you look for it outside of yourself, in the shape of another person.
Astrologically it’s also important this week to note especially what unfolds for you at the times when the aspects are involving Saturn. As this planet is now “stationing” – ie seeming to be at a virtual standstill in readiness for switching direction in a couple of weeks time – then whatever is now built on carefully prepared ground stands an excellent chance of thriving and surviving long term. The positive side to Saturn is longevity, seriousness, respect, recognition and commitment. Saturn rules our career and status in the world so for many this will be a significant turning point, whether it’s taking up a new job or whether it’s ditching one that you dislike or which can take you no further.
There’s also a big strand of realism running through the weave and as we head for this turning point there’s a sense of discovering how things “really” are, whether it’s our own feelings, how we feel about someone else or vice versa, or how a new job, ambition, project or situation is going to take shape. How we “imagined” what someone else felt or thought, or how we expected a matter to be resolved, could easily be turned upside down. If anyone has been moving the goalposts, Saturn will put them back again. And it’s also time to recognize a dead end when you see one.
Above all Saturn is Lord of time. Saturn’s turnaround reminds us that the clock is ticking, time is the one thing that we can never get back, so think about the things you’re planning to do “one day” and think about how you can make that more immediate.
until next week, love from Greece
Joanna
You can now find me on Instagram on #greekastrologytarot