The Astrology Blog 24 January 2022
All times in GMT
“It’s the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It’s the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live …
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring, becomes the rose.”
From the song The Rose, written by Amanda McBroom, recorded by 143 artists since Bette Midler released it 1979
THE CAT SANCTUARY – UPDATE
While Venus has been retrograde I’ve been running a fundraiser for our struggling cat sanctuary. This is the last week then for a mention but the great news is that readers of this blog have now raised 668 Euros, hugely welcome funds for all the costs involved -including food, bedding, warmth (we’re forecast to hit minus 6 this week), meds, spaying and neutering. Evie Soldatos again sends her heartfelt thanks.
You can click on the link below any time to see how the fund is doing or make a donation. A Fiver Feeds a Feline for a Fortnight. Minimum donation is 1 Euro. It all counts, it all adds up, so don’t be shy and you can donate anonymously if you prefer! If 32 readers gave a Euro each we’d get to 700 Euros which would be a brilliant goal for the end of the campaign in this mailing –
https://gogetfunding.com/?p=7429131
Here’s Bill the mascot kitten, unrecognisable from the scrap of three weeks ago. Still having treatment for the eye, but the vet says he won’t lose it 🙂
RETROGRADE VENUS & MERCURY
When these two personal planets are retrograde they carry universal symbolism and the messages are important for all of us –
- Mercury is retrograde 3 times a year (so every 4 months) for 3 weeks at a time
- Venus is retrograde approx once every 18 months for 6 weeks at a time
- Retrograde – themes of secrecy, the unknown, things going the wrong way, reversing, unraveling, and all the “re” words you can think of like redoing, reviewing, rethinking, revoking, regretting, rescheduling and so on
- Direct – the turning point in resolving and solution finding, things get moving again in the right direction, the arrival of new faces or information that enable decision making and turnarounds of all kinds
If you have natal planets or Angles at or very close to the same degrees as the turning points (when a planet turns retrograde and then direct again) these sequences will be especially relevant for a life event of your own.
It’s important to remember that this time around both of these retrograde journeys are also crucially linked to a series of three conjunctions with Pluto, god of the underworld, who is associated with control and power, or themes of endings/death/rebirth. Matters that are now coming unstuck cannot continue in their current shape, they have to be ditched or reworked from scratch. Pluto is god of things like cancellations and wipeouts, and is total and uncompromising in his actions.
Here are the full sequences and the dates for your diary, some we’ve had and some are yet to come –
Venus arrived in Capricorn 5 November 2021 –
- 11 December Venus conjunct Pluto 25 Capricorn – 1st time
- 19 December Venus turned retrograde 26 Capricorn
- 25 December Venus conjunct Pluto 25 Capricorn – 2nd time
- 29 January Venus turns direct 11 Capricorn
- 3 March Venus conjunct Pluto 27 Capricorn – 3rd and final time
- Venus leaves Capricorn and enters next sign of Aquarius 6 March 2022
- So Venus will end up being in Capricorn for 4 months, four times longer than usual for a journey though one sign
Mercury arrived in Capricorn 13 December 2021 –
- 30 December Mercury conjunct Pluto 25 Capricorn – 1st time
- 2 January Mercury entered Aquarius
- 14 January Mercury turned retrograde 10 Aquarius
- 29 January Mercury conjunct Pluto 26 Capricorn – 2nd time
- 4 February Mercury turns direct 24 Capricorn
- 11 February Mercury conjunct Pluto 27 Capricorn – 3rd and final time
- 14 February Mercury leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius for the second time, but this time will keep on moving
- 24 February Mercury reaches 10 Aquarius, the degree at which he originally turned retrograde, which signifies that he’s back up to full speed – this is the “out of shadow” moment, clock information and the moment
Sometimes with Mercury’s retrograde periods it’s often the last of the three weeks that packs a punch. Just when you’re thinking, oh well that one wasn’t so bad, something comes out of left field and throws a spanner in the works, anything that reminds us that Mercury is wearing his Trickster’s hat instead of his Magician’s one.
Venus is now in the last of her six weeks retrograde journey and that same theme is noticeable, almost certainly heavily underlined by the fact that Mercury is retrograde at the same time. As I wrote last week, this double whammy is not as common as you might think and the last time they were both retrograde at the same time was 1999. The underlining stuff is also of course heavily compounded by the series of conjunctions with Pluto as detailed above.
Two big stories in the news for women (Venus) having to change their plans (Mercury) in connection to Venusian events (love, music, enjoyment) are New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern who has just announced the reinstating of strict rules because of an outbreak of the Omicron variant.
In her trademark assertive but understated way she immediately placed the entire country under the highest level of Covid restrictions and added that this included cancelling her own wedding. No special dispensation for her then, she wouldn’t dream of it. Her main comment was, “such is life” and she clearly stated that this was nothing compared to what so many thousands of others had endured. Listen and learn Bojo.
Frustratingly no time of birth for Jacinda but we can look at a noon chart for her, which means taking midday to find the position of the planets by sign and degree. These will all be pretty much accurate except for the Moon, who travels 12 degrees a day, so can be up to 6 degrees each way from the noon position. The Angles of the chart (starting with the Ascendant or the Rising Sign) can only be established through the time of birth –
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Jacinda_Ardern
Jacinda’s Capricorn Moon has just got to be in the Venus retrograde zone, and she made her announcements as retrograde Mercury transited opposite her Sun at 3 Leo for the second time. The third and final time will be 18 Feb, which may well be when she announces the rescheduling of her wedding and/or the lifting of these latest restrictions.
The other woman in a relevant headline is Adele, who was forced to postpone her entire Las Vegas residency but made the announcement only 24 hours before the opening night –
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Adele_(singer)
“I’m so sorry, but my show ain’t ready,” the star told fans in a tearful update on Instagram. “Half my team have Covid and it’s been impossible to finish the show,” she said, adding that “delivery delays” had also played havoc with her plans.
Oops. She must’ve been praying that she could pull it off but ended up, disastrously, taking it to the wire, devastating news for the thousands of ticket holders, many of whom had already travelled to get there, incurring huge travel and hotel costs. Venus rules money!
She’s now rescheduling and it will all come together. Neptune is so often strongly placed in the charts of brilliant artists and Venus will turn direct at 11 Capricorn, conjunct Adele’s 7th House Neptune at 10 Capricorn, which in turn is trine (harmonious) her fabulous Sun – Jupiter conjunction in Taurus.
Moral of the story? For big events use “Elective Astrology” – choosing auspicious dates, when the planets are happily aligned and reflecting favourable conditions. Can you imagine if Jacinda or Adele had consulted an astrologer – should I get married/start my residency at Las Vegas while Mercury is retrograde? Er, no, probably not one of your better ideas, something will almost certainly go wrong. While Venus is retrograde as well? No, NO! While they’re both slugging it out with Pluto? No, no, NO!! Are you mad?
PRINCE ANDREW
Last week I wrote about the retrograde theme of things coming back to haunt us. Think back to the car crash interview that was aired on 16 November 2019. Andrew was in the middle of a long Neptune transit over his natal Mercury in Pisces (Neptune’s sign), a combination that speaks of everything on the scale from confusion to outright deception) that drags on for a long time.
There are always three dates in these big transits as the slower moving planet retrogrades and comes back again. In this case the transit was exact 1 April – 16 September 2019 – 2 February 2020.
At the time of the interview a retrograde Mercury was locked into repeating aspects not just with one planet but with three – Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. The triple threat. The middle aspects fell mid November, just 3 days before the interview, and in the blog after the event I wrote –
“It remains to be seen if Prince Andrew will be taken up on his assertion that he would allow himself to be legally questioned if necessary. Note that his synastry with Epstein is also on this degree as Epstein had a Venus – Mars conjunction at 16 Pisces. But if there were ever an example of how a disaster could have been if not avoided then at least mitigated had an astrologer been consulted, this is it. Can you imagine – um, should I go on national TV and try to defend myself to the whole world about sexual allegations while Mercury is retrograde in Scorpio, sign of sex, power and mystery?”
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Venus isn’t making any aspects (links) to the other planets this week, so she’s on a steady path for now as she “stations” – appearing to stand still in the heavens as she ends the backwards loop. This translates into Venus being “stuck” at 11 degrees Capricorn from today for the next two weeks, after which she’ll start to pick up speed again. This makes me think that Jacinda Ardern’s Moon is very close to this degree as she’ll need at least the next two weeks to assess the new NZ Covid situation.
Retrograde Mercury however is one of the lead players this week – here’s the full picture –
Monday 24 January
- Mars ingress Capricorn 12.54
Tuesday 25 January
- Retrograde Mercury 0 Aquarius semi-sextile Mars 0 Capricorn 12.47
- Sun 5 Aquarius semi-sextile Jupiter 5 Pisces 19.33
Wednesday 26 January
- Retrograde Mercury slides back into Capricorn 03.06
Saturday 29 January
- Mercury conjunct Pluto 2nd time 26 Capricorn 04.21
- Venus turns direct 11 Capricorn 08.47
Sunday 30 January
- Sun 10 Aquarius square Uranus 10 Taurus
So the week starts with Mars arriving in Capricorn, his sign of exaltation. Other planets may struggle in Saturn’s sign but for action man Mars it’s roll up your sleeves time, make a plan, start a project, set your goals and get down to work. So far so good, but Mars then immediately runs into retrograde Mercury coming the other way.
It’s by a minor aspect, the half sextile being formed when planets are exactly one sign apart, but it’s importance is indicated by the fact that it happens at 0 degrees, that “back to the drawing board” theme. So it’s a glitch, a hiccup, an argument, especially in the shape of that moment when you realize that you’ve got to go back to square one and look at your original plan/intention and so on. Anything that got brushed under the carpet or underestimated is likely to reappear, especially as Mercury is heading for that second and middle union with Pluto at the weekend.
Helpfully though at the beginning of the week this Mercury – Mars combination also coincides with the same minor aspect between the Sun and Jupiter. This is fortuitous and at least a sliver of the silver lining, especially in connection to Jupiter’s top concerns of the law, justice, education and travel.
At a more universal level Jupiter signals luck or opportunity, those who are good to us and for us, anything that helps us not to make the same mistake twice. If you think that you’re on the road right now to anything that you might regret then stop and have a big rethink and don’t hesitate to enlist the people you know can help you if you just ask.
VENUS TURNS DIRECT
So the end of the week looks like this, and we can see that the moment that Venus turns direct is flanked by two other events – that crucial second meeting of Mercury – Pluto and then the Sun squaring up to whacky and game changing Uranus –
Saturday 29 January
- Mercury conjunct Pluto 2nd time 26 Capricorn 04.21
- Venus turns direct 11 Capricorn 08.47
Sunday 30 January
- Sun 10 Aquarius square Uranus 10 Taurus 19.33
There are definite contradictions here so you may find that one thread of your life takes a turn for the better (Venus) while another creates a headache that you could really do without. Look out for a link between unfolding events now and what happened when Mercury made the first link to Pluto at the end of last year.
For some though these components will all be part of the same issue, such as arriving at an inevitable (Pluto) decision (Mercury) in connection to your love life, social life or financial concerns (Venus). Not everyone will be happy with you but top prize for a message from retrograde Venus in Capricorn (Saturn’s sign of limitations or common sense) came from a student of mine who last week posted these words on Facebook. She said they were from a wise man and when I asked her who that was she said, my brother!
“The only people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who were benefitting from you having none.”
So Venus turning around and getting back on track ticks a lot of boxes at a universal level, such as recognizing whatever in your life is anti-Venusian – eg not enough fun, love or money, spending too much time feeling unhappy or insecure, putting up with unacceptable behavior in your personal or working life, being treated in a way that you would never treat another person, and so on.
Venus turning around in Capricorn underlines the Saturn related issues, such as it’s time to stop making excuses for someone who actually needs to grow up and start accepting some personal responsibility in a situation, to stop having expectations of someone that they clearly can’t or don’t want to give, to get out of a soul destroying job that you do just for the money, to stop doing anything that depresses you, stresses you or creates resentment. This is actually a very constructive and practical turning point. Identify your time and money bandits.
When Mercury turned retrograde this coincided with identifying my top time bandit – Facebook. I’d been uncomfortably aware for a while of hearing myself say far too often that I never seem to have any free time. It’s unbelievable how much time can slide by reading everyone’s posts and making comments, mostly absorbing and enjoyable, great when you’ve got nothing else to do but for me a robber of prime time concentration and creativity that I need for work. So am getting into the habit of checking first thing in the morning and then evenings, but not having the page open on my desktop for the rest of the day. It’s working. It’s a big distraction out of the way.
VENUS & THE LOVE STUFF
Any relationship that’s already in a nosedive and which has clearly had its day is now on its way out. Don’t cling to any wreckage.
Any relationship that is getting off the starting blocks or which is now passing important tests, or showing clear signs of being serious and in for the long haul, is on its way in.
Capricorn/Saturn language nearly always includes the word “should” somewhere along the line. I think we all recognize that we have a duty to those we love, especially in times of need, and the greater the love the more willingly that duty is given. But this is very different from saying that love is a duty. Being unhappy and feeling that you “should” stay, or “should” do anything in particular, is burdensome. It’s definitely not love. Love is not a duty in itself, love is a feeling, love is loving behavior.
Confused? What isn’t always stressed enough about dysfunctional relationships is just how confusing they can be. Start by looking at the pattern. The occasional dispute is normal. But if friction regularly and continuously peaks you will probably recognize this time line – there’s building tension, a scene, an explosion, and then a making up, often at the 11th hour. Everything is okay for a while, even idyllic, you’re euphoric, but then the cycle starts again, you’re demolished. It’s stuck on repeat. This is abuse. If this is your situation read up on what psychotherapy identifies as co dependency.
Use healthy relationships as your benchmark. Just this weekend I had dinner with two close friends, they’ve been married for 40 years. They’re easy to be with, there’s no friction or tension. They can interrupt each other or finish each other’s sentences, they can comfortably express different points of view, they often have different priorities but one is never controlled by the other, only supported, yet it’s clear that decisions are made with the other’s interests always at heart. It’s like watching a well oiled mechanism at work!
Remember the pattern that Venus makes? Venus’ five retrograde periods within every 8 years creates a five-pointed star or rose pattern in her eight-year journey. Here’s the visual again as created by Melanie Reinhart and the link to the animation –
Earth Venus Tango round the Sun. (Just hit the play arrow if it doesn’t start right away.)
And that’s why I chose the song The Rose for this week’s quote,
Wishing you brave and healthy love decisions, and remember that it’s Mercury’s turn to go direct next week,
Until next week, with extra love from Greece
Joanna
