The Astrology Blog – 30 March to 19 April 2015
I’m off to the UK on Thursday and won’t be posting again until 20 April. I’ll be sending a separate mailing before I go about Summer School courses and bookings.
There’s a lot of astrology to cover for while I’m away – should be a very interesting trip! – so this blog follows a slightly different format, giving you a more concise but hopefully clear outline of the unfolding astrological picture over the next three weeks.
Soul and Spirit magazine Annual Awards 2015
Firstly just to remind everyone about these awards. This part is just to nominate but you don’t have to choose something for everything. Sorry for the confusion that several people have flagged up. The form is designed so that you can’t leave blanks – but all you have to do is write N/A alongside the topics for which you’re not nominating.
A big thank you to those who have already nominated me. If you want to give me a shout I’m looking for nominations for:
• Be Your Own Astrologer – book
• The Greek Island Summer School – retreat
• The weekly blog
• Astrologer
• Author
Here’s the link:
http://www.soulandspiritmagazine.com/awards/
Be Your Own Astrologer workshop Hampstead Saturday 11 April
The 20 places are booked so this workshop is now full, along with all appointments for private consultations.
• If you would like to be contacted in the event of any cancellations just reply to this blog with Cancellation place on the workshop please OR Cancellation place for a consultation please. After Thursday of this week please email Sally Kirkman, sally@sallykirkman.com
• I already have a list on the go for the next event – date to be decided – but again if you’d like to be contacted about this directly reply to the blog with Information for future workshops please
What’s happening over the next three weeks?
All times stated are now in BST
New cycles are in the making and this week starts with two planets changing sign –
Tuesday 31 March
• Mercury ingress Aries (02.45)
• Mars ingress Taurus (17.28)
The Mercury change of sign is a bit like another spring equinox. Any planet at 0 degrees of any sign is powerful, but 0 degrees of Aries marks the beginning of the zodiac and symbolises all that is newly born, unfettered and unspoiled. This is like The Fool in the 78 cards of the Tarot – the very first card, not numbered 1 but numbered 0, the totally clean slate and fresh page, pointing to the adventuresof life lying in wait and with a sense that anything could happen.
Mercury is communication, Aries is cardinal fire – like a laser beam. In my book I write about Mercury in Aries:
If you want to get the vibe of Mercury in speed freak Mars’ sign then look no further than Anita Renfroe. She’s born on a New Moon in Aries (so Sun and Moon in Aries) as well as having Mercury in this sign. She condenses everything a mother would say into less than three minutes and belts it out to the tune of William Tell. It made her a U Tube sensation.
So why not start the day with a laugh and watch her in action!
Not only is Mercury now in the dynamic fire sign of Aries he is also very fast moving and forms a stack of aspects before changing sign again mid April, most of which coincide with other major aspects, and the sequence kicks off in the middle of this week –
Thursday 2 April
• Mercury trine Saturn (13.22)
• Sun trine Jupiter (18.21)
Monday 6 April
• Mercury trine Jupiter (14.27)
• Sun conjunct Uranus (15.09) preceded by Sunday 5 April Sun square Pluto (16.06)
Wednesday 8 April
• Mercury square Pluto (01.06)
• Mercury conjunct Uranus (13.21)
• And the big event – Jupiter turns direct at 12 degrees of Leo (17.58)
Friday 10 April
• Sun conjunct Mercury (05.01)
As above, so below. This adds up to a lot of things happening very quickly, packing in lots of extra activities, seeing a lot of people, talking nonstop or finally unleashing a plan of action or making decisions that are either spontaneous or which have been a long time coming. It’s time to think in straight lines and get to the point, to choose action over deliberation, and to get things done with no messing around. The hallmark of this whole series of aspects is immediacy and being a self starter.
You can learn a lot about the signs by considering the polarities – their opposite signs. Aries (the individual) opposes Libra (partnership). This opposition is currently highly sensitized as we prepare for this week’s Full Moon in Libra (ie the Sun in Aries opposite the Moon in Libra) which is also a partial Lunar Eclipse:
Saturday 4 April Partial Lunar Eclipse at 14 degrees of Libra (13.07)
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, also feature as eclipses are about the intricate relationship between the three bodies of the Sun, Moon and Earth. Someone may be overshadowed while another emerges in a new light.
To add, in traditional astrology the Sun and the Moon are called The Lights – the Sun being the light of the day (Lord of the day) and the Moon being the light of the night (Lady of the Night). In the physical body they rule the eyes. The Sun rules the right eye in a man and the left eye in a woman, and the Moon vice versa. This underlines the theme of vision. What is it that you haven’t seen (known about or understood) until now? How does this change your landscape?
This Lunar Eclipse plays into the big Uranus/Pluto square – now separating – as the Sun immediately then squares Pluto and conjuncts Uranus. So this feels like one last big kick in any situation that has been disintegrating. For anyone who’s going through a relationship breakup this is a crucial time but also potentially very positive, and I don’t mean that to sound like a glib cliché. The upside to being single will kick in – you can do everything your own way for a start off – but you’ll also discover “me” again. Conversely, new relationships starting at this time are turbo charged – even though there is a possible backdrop of one or both extricating themselves from previous ties – but the journey from Aries to Libra is in some sense the journey from “me” to “we”. This Aries time of year is when we start afresh, learn about individuation and separate from all that is no longer nourishing us.
Jupiter is now Stationary Direct
Mercury’s and the Sun’s aspects to Jupiter are especially important as Jupiter himself is getting ready to turn direct, an event that happens only once every thirteen months. This puts Jupiter issues at the top of the list – liberation, travel, education, legal resolutions, doing what is best, finding your path of good fortune and realizing that there’s more to the world than your own back yard. Whatever makes your life bigger and better ticks all the right boxes. If you have planets or angles at or close to 12 degrees of Leo – or the other fire signs of Aries and Sagittarius – this event will mark a major turning point for the better, even if this is not immediately noticeable. Here’s the usual link for checking the signs and degrees of your natal planets –
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/birth-chart-calculator.html
Trust that seeds are being sown and that you are being turned in a new direction, a journey that will gather speed in the coming weeks. Note this date in your diary as you may well look back on it as the beginning of something special or a new chapter in your life that set you on the path to fulfillment or prosperity. Jupiter is the past master at silver linings. He’s also the king of the gods and ruler of thunderbolts! So he’s big, bold and noisy at the best of times, and turning around in flamboyant fiery Leo is like seeing Jupiter at his most dramatic. I always remember my lovely Leo friend Mary who passed away so tragically young last year, saying “I can chuck my toys out of the pram better than anyone!” So if you’ve been caught up in any situation that has demanded too much self restraint, and you now want to chuck some toys out of your own pram, go right ahead. If life has been all work and no play, now’s the time to start turning that around and reclaim the fun factor. Whatever needs to burst forth, let it.
Mars’ change of sign is also very punchy. Mars moving into Taurus, one of his signs of detriment, is the image of the bull who is peaceable until provoked, latent anger and the “bull-y”. His more positive side though is the ability to soldier on, with stubborn perseverance, or the “I’ll prove you wrong” kind of determination. He’s taking something of a back seat for a while as his first aspect doesn’t happen until the end of next week –
Sunday 12 April Mars sextile Neptune (18.24)
A harmonious aspect to Neptune at peace in his own sign of Pisces bodes well for the difficult side to this Mars being channeled in a more gentle way, but nevertheless feels quite emotional. Mars is pain in all its guises, physical and emotional, so don’t take risks and look out for the friend who needs to cry on your shoulder – or choose your most empathic friend if you need to do the same. Also look out for matters that are characterized by a conflict between the practical/financial and emotional/spiritual and try to find the middle ground.
Mercury Continued
As noted earlier Mercury is currently at full speed, and whizzes through Aries from 31 March to 14 April. He then moves through Taurus just as quickly –
Tuesday 14 April Mercury ingress Taurus (23.53)
Just to look even further ahead for a minute note that Mercury will move into the next sign of Gemini on 1 May and then start slowing down to turn retrograde again in the middle of May. So the speedy journeys through Aries starting now, and then through Taurus starting in two weeks time, signal a month of huge potential in terms of getting things done and keeping things moving in the right direction.
In some respects Mercury in Aries is the initiating phase – Mercury in Taurus (fixed earth) is the consolidating phase. Get it started – then make it stick. In other words, be a finisher-completer. The phase of being fired up paves the way to Mars’ next aspect, which happens at the end of the three week period that we’re now looking at –
Saturday 18 April Mars square Jupiter (01.30)
This coincides with a New Moon in Aries, one of Mars’s signs, later in the same day –
Saturday 18 April New Moon at 28 degrees of Aries (19.58)
So, the events unfolding between this week’s Lunar Eclipse in Libra and this New Moon in Aries two weeks later will be extremely important and decisive in terms of shaping anything that is transitional – moving from the old to the new.
A new Venus cycle
The last word goes to Venu
s who changes sign at the end of next week –
Saturday 11 April Venus ingress Gemini (16.30)
The love planet in the sign of mutable air is lively, playful and inventive. However, her first two aspects are challenging and more likely to repress these characteristics –
• Wednesday 15 April Venus opposite Saturn (05.26)
• Sunday 19 April Venus square Neptune (11.31)
Look out for themes of choices. Gemini is the sign of The Twins and is often characterized by duality. Venus’ domain is primarily love and relationships, so again these aspects are part of the story of the transition of leaving one relationship for another, or it can signal meeting someone who is still involved. Look out for “it’s complicated” love scenarios. The same applies to working partnerships but essentially it’s the difficulties encountered at this time that will have a significant say in how things are going to pan out.
This whole three week period is action packed and for many it’s going to be something of a rollercoaster, but with the backdrop of Jupiter turning direct the big message is about getting the most out of life – and the best. Everything reaches its turning point eventually and now is the time to recognize and seize your opportunities. May Jupiter light up your path of good fortune,
With love from Greece
Joanna