markspringle.com

Dear Friends,

Let me start this week’s column by saying to each and every one of you: “Good luck. Be clear about your thoughts and feelings, and make wise choices for yourselves,” because it is going to be one heck of a week! I talked a great deal about Mercury last week, and about Mars the week before. Mercury rules our thoughts and Mars brings our thoughts to form through action. Often, there is a disparity between what we think and what we do. When our thoughts and actions do not mirror each other, we set ourselves up for difficult experiences because the people in our lives, or on the street, cannot read our minds, but they can see our actions. We evaluate people based on their actions, not their thoughts. If a person’s actions don’t reflect their thoughts, then the person may not understand why people react to them the way they do. People’s reactions to us act like a mirror, reflecting back to us what we have sent out. If we are mean and grumpy, we are more likely to encounter mean and grumpy people. If we are nice and polite, we are more likely to meet nice, polite people. Don’t believe me? Go out right now and be pleasant to someone. Now, go be mean to someone. Notice anything?

Two weeks ago, I discussed how Mars can trigger the sensitive points of the zodiac. A point may be sensitive because of something unique to an individual’s chart, or the point may be sensitive because it is the degree of an eclipse, or a significant degree in the relation of two or more planets. Whatever the case may be, Mars will trigger events around these sensitive points when he contacts them because he is the planet of action. Wherever Mars is traveling through our horoscope, we are impelled to act. Mercury was the featured planet in last week’s column. Wherever Mercury is in our charts is where we are inclined to think, communicate, or process something.

We call Mercury and Mars “personal planets” because they affect each of us in a very particular way. They both move quickly compared to the larger, slower outer planets like Jupiter and Neptune. For this reason, the influence of Mars and Mercury is more personal, or individual, and the influence of the outer planets tends to be more generational in the birthchart. In our natal charts, the placement of Mars and Mercury and their relationship to the rest of the chart tell us a good deal about how that person may communicate, and how forceful, driven, or timid they may be. I have Mars rising, or you can say that Mars is on my Ascendant. This placement indicates a very active or restless person who might bore easily when not stimulated. Guilty! My natal Mercury is located at the mid-heaven of my chart. The mid-heaven is the highest point in a chart, and if there is something placed there, then we can expect that it is visible to everyone. Mercury at the mid-heaven would indicate someone who talks a lot, or someone who is known for their communications. Guilty, again!

As Mars and Mercury move through each degree of the heavens, they call our attention to the places they visit. These places always have a directlink in our natal charts, and these associations can be weak or strong depending on the individual’s astrological DNA. We are entering a week where Mercury and Mars will be visiting the same points at the same time, or within a day or two of each other. This doesn’t occur very often, so when it does, we need to pay attention, because these very personal planets are going to create some very personal experiences for all of us. Mars wont be far, if at all, behind Mercury, so we will not have much time to process something before we are compelled to act upon it. This is not a situation most conducive to careful, strategic action.

Before we examine the mechanics of the situation, I would like to discuss how important it is for each of us to understand the link between our thoughts and our actions. Our thoughts can create our actions, but our actions do not always reflect our thoughts - this is the definition of “insincere.” If we think, “I am hungry,” then we might eat something. The thought of being hungry leads us to the action of eating. If we think that we do not want to go to the store, we will avoid the store. Our thought leads us to an action, but the action is one of avoidance. This is similar to the argument that choosing not to act is still a choice, still an action. It is an action of negation. By choosing not to, we act to negate the first choice. Sometimes, however, we act in a way that is not consistent with what we want. For instance, I thought I might be gay when I was younger, and I wanted to act upon it, to “come out.” However, I had so much fear about this action, that I even though my thoughts said YES, my actions said NO. This created a huge problem for me, because my thoughts and my actions were not in sync. My Mars was saying Yes, but my Mercury was saying NO. This is almost like having a split personality, because the personal planets are split over how to handle a situation.

Our peers react to us according to our actions, but when our actions don’t reflect our thoughts, their reactions don’t resonate with us, and we have a less than satisfactory experience of our relationships. Our relationships begin to disappoint us or to anger us because we want to discuss the things we think about, but since we are denying these things, we spend our time creating and reacting to things which aren’t real for us. When we are fighting within ourselves to reconcile a conflict between Mars and Mercury, we are not able to live our lives fully, because there is always a disconnect between what we want, and how we act. In this situation, we are often motivated by the fear of not being accepted by our peers for our thoughts, so we perform false actions which we hope will bring us the recognition or results we wish to have. Unfortunately for us, the people around us cannot read our minds, so all they have is our actions, which come across as insincere. This insincerity is mirrored back to us, and the cycle perpetuates itself over and over again.

This is what happened with me when I stayed in the closet for years beyond the age when many of my other fellow closet-dwellers came out. My Chiron happens to be in the 2nd house of values, and I could not reconcile my perceived values (illusions) with my gay-ness (sincerity). I say perceived values because my real values accepted gay-ness, but the values I was trying, falsely, to live up to, did not. Imagine how uncomfortable I was when people wanted to introduce me to a new woman in their office who was “perfect” for me! Imagine how guilty and fearful I felt when I had to make excuses for why I couldn’t stay out later when we all met for dinner. Imagine how lonely I was even when I was surrounded by my well-intentioned, but ultimately off the mark (a Freudian pun, for sure!), friends. Again, this is because I was afraid of not being accepted, so I chose to turn my back on my own values in the hope that my peers would accept me. Neptune conjuncts my Sun, the Sun being the strongest indication of personal identification on the chart, so we can say that I deluded myself about who I was in order to support the false image (illusion) I needed for myself in order to feel accepted - my unresolved natal Chiron a work.

Understanding this point will be important this week because both Mercury and Mars will be keeping company with two of the most difficult energies in the zodiac this week: Chiron and Neptune. Chiron is our deepest emotional wound, but also the source of our greatest strength once we embrace the lesson implied in the wound. Neptune is a very tricky planet, offering illusions to inspire, but all too often the illusion becomes a lie that we cling to because it helps us to perpetuate the lies we have been living. Neptune can also represent a very conscious decision to avoid reality through escapism, whether through drugs, alcohol, food, sex, or video games. If we are not aware of where we fool ourselves or where we are vulnerable because of Chiron’s influence, it is very easy for us to allow Mars to overpower Mercury and create false actions that don’t represent our true thoughts.  We are afraid to express our true thoughts, so our wounds and illusions are the basis for our actions, since we cannot overcome them to create a sincere experience.

The problem with this situation is that it simply doesn’t work. My wounds and my delusions conspired against me, forcing me to build a wall of pain and illusion between what I wanted to be in my head and what I allowed myself to do in my life. Lucky for me, this intolerable situation finally broke down and I was able to bring what was inside of me out into the world through action, and I have been so much happier ever since. That is not to say that I don’t have problems now. I am always noticing how my default Chiron-influence wants me to please others at the cost of misrepresenting my true self. Even my love of astrology was affected for many years because I was afraid that my peers would reject me for embracing such a “flaky” art. Everyday, I am reminded that I must make specific efforts to reconcile my thoughts and my actions. Now, I can see that when I embrace all of me and share it with the world in a sincere and loving way, that the world accepts me, even if a few people here and there do not. We all know that we cant please everybody, but some of us try anyway, to our own detriment.

We all have a Chiron and Neptune somewhere in our charts, and we all have areas of our lives where we are wounded, perhaps so deeply that we cannot bring ourselves to examine the roots of the injury, much less the nexus of the cure. Neptune is a constant force in our loves, creating illusions that may serve us for a short period, but which we must eventually reconcile with the reality of our lives if we are to be happy and fulfilled. Next week will be the week where see how far we have come in this respect.

Mars and Mercury will conjunct on Saturday, Feb 28th and spend the next 3-4 days sitting together, trying to get their stories straight. Mars will want to act on every thought that Mercury reveals, so it will be very important to make sure that our thoughts reflect the truth of our being. If they do not, we run the risk of creating insincerity, which will then be the karma we reap. Not good. The first major test will occur on Saturday as well, as Venus in Aries (ruled my Mars) will sextile Jupiter. Jupiter makes everything he touches bigger, but Venus is not comfortable in Aries because Mars requires too much force from her in this sign. Venus rules what we attract, and since Venus is in Aries, we may not attract as much as we pursue. If we are pursuing something that is not in line with our true nature, then we may find that Jupiter will blow the situation up and the results could be largely unpleasant. On the other hand, if we are clear about who we are and what we want, Jupiter could make this Venus connection a real time for us to develop more confidence and embrace our talents.

This will lead us to Monday, when Mercury will conjunct the degree of the most recent lunar eclipse of Feb 9th. This eclipse was concerned with our more rational mind reasserting control over the more emotional side of our natures which were triggered on the solar eclipse of Jan 26th. Whatever we were wrestling with as these energies overtook each other, we will be called to act upon it today, or very soon. It will be important for us to be clear about our thoughts on these issues, so that when we are called to act, we can act with sincerity.

On Tuesday, Mercury will connect with Chiron, and we will have the opportunity to think about, process, or communicate our emotional needs, issues, or troubles. This could clearly be a scary place for us, especially if we are still so wounded that we cannot acknowledge the source of the wounding. In order to heal, the first step is to acknowledge. Perhaps this is the day we can finally acknowledge our wounds. If we are past this initial acknowledgement, then we must try to discern the next step in our progress. So many planets are in Aquarius right now, sitting with Chiron, that we should employ the Aquarius ideals of innovation and freedom to help us make the next step.

By Wednesday, Mercury will have moved on to Neptune, bringing our minds to bear on where we are inspired, or where we are deceived, and even where we are deceiving ourselves. Which of these directions we choose will have much to do with how well we are inspired or deceived. Neptune’s ultimate goal is healing and a redemption, but in order for this to take place, we must acknowledge our deceptions and wounds. This could be a break-through day, as well, as Neptune in Aquarius is more concerned with freedom and innovation than with deception. Ultimately, we must choose the perspective we are to experience, and for this reason, it will be important for us to communicate with ourselves clearly and honestly. The phrase “character creates destiny” comes to mind here.

On this same day, Mars will step up to Chiron, the planet Mercury just visited the day before. We will want to act upon what has come up for us, but since Chiron can be such a difficult, painful place to visit, we run the risk of not making the best choices. Of course, our thoughts will be stirred by Neptune on this day, so we might not have the mental clarity to make good choices and act accordingly. Again, courage in the form of honesty and sincerity will be required for us to make the right choices to say and do the things that are right for us.

Just as Mercury leaves Neptune, Mars will follow him and by Saturday, March 7th, Mars will conjunct Neptune, bringing into form through action what Mercury was able to negotiate earlier in the week. We may have a few days to lick our wounds, but by Saturday, we will be called to act again. This could be another break through day, or it could be the day that we create a bigger mess for ourselves, as we choose to follow the deceptions which we falsely believe shield us from the harsh and painful truths that Chiron has asked us to face.

We all have a Chiron and Neptune somewhere in our charts, and we all have areas of our lives where we are wounded, perhaps so deeply that we cannot bring ourselves to examine the roots of the injury, much less the nexus of the cure. Neptune is a constant force in our loves, creating illusions that may serve us for a short period, but which we must eventually reconcile with the reality of our lives if we are to be happy and fulfilled. These issues will all be stirred up for this week, either on a conscious or unconscious level. Hope and optimism can be found in the sign of Aquarius, however, because Aquarius is the innovator searching for freedom and expansion through healing and greater understanding. Mercury in Aquarius will be looking for this greater understanding, and Mars will be right there to help expand, but the healing is up to each of us on a personal level, so lets open ourselves up to the opportunity to heal and to grow by accepting and acknowledging our wounds, failures, and shortcomings so that we can expand, grow, and be the happiest, free-est, and most perfect beings we can be!

Please join me Friday, Feb 27th at 7pm at the Miami Life Center for my free lecture on Astrology and Consciousness!

Be well and good luck!

mark

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Dear Friends,

There is never enough time to talk about all of the various messages we could find in the sky if wanted to look for them. Everyday, the Moon moves through the entire zodiac once, bringing any number of opportunities for grand trines, t-squares, kites, wedges, and a number of other very important astrological transits to occur for some, but not for others. This fleeting Moon can open up an experience in one person’s life while not making the slightest difference in another person’s, even if they were born on the same day: each one of us has a unique horoscope, just like we all have unique DNA.

Another fast moving planet is Mercury, who can complete one trip around the Sun in just 88 days! Mercury is commonly called the planet of communications, but he also rules the way we process information, as well as the information itself. Mercury also rules anything we do an a daily basis: commutes, email, errands, the gym, homework, etc. Whatever is habitual and repeated in our lives is the domain of Mercury. Because of this, astrologers always like to know what Mercury is doing. His influence will be felt by most of us in our daily lives to a greater or lesser degree depending on our own personal astrological DNA. Of course, even if Mercury’s movements are not so important today in one person’s horoscope, he could affect the horoscope of someone else with whom that person must work or play. Believe me when I say that we are all affected by Mercury! Mercury rules our day-to-day existence, and like most things we see daily, we can easily begin to take Mercury for granted. Mercury moves swiftly and he always wants to expand our understanding…the problem is that our minds usually don’t work as fast as Mercury moves. We often don’t “get the message” until Mercury has already delivered 4 others.

Mercury also rules two signs of the zodiac, Gemini and Virgo. Whichever houses in our horoscope contain Gemini and Virgo, Mercury rules the matters governed by that house. For the coming week, Mercury is in the sign of Aquarius, along with 4 other planets, if we can agree to call Chiron a planet (he is actually an asteroid or a comet, but let’s not quibble). Mercury in Gemini is acquisitive - he just wants information, the more the better. In Gemini, Mercury does not discriminate. In Virgo, Mercury wants to apply the information he gathered in Gemini by making it useful or applicable.   In Aquarius, Mercury is inventive and innovative, but not especially practical.

Mercury has been dancing with Jupiter for 2 months now, and the final song is about to play. The first time these two planes met for this cycle was on Dec 31st, 2008 at 29 degrees Capricorn. Interestingly enough, the time before that was on Dec 20th, 2007 at 0 degrees Capricorn. Capricorn has to do with the structure and authority in our lives. For the entire year of 2008, Mercury was asking us to think about how we structure our lives, how we hold onto or give away our authority to be who we are, and what methods we use to communicate with the world around us. In this year, Mercury was able to cycle through the entire zodiac, adding insight from his travels through each of the twelve signs. By the end of the year, he was back, fully informed by the other twelve signs, at the final degree of Capricorn, ready to start a new cycle with Jupiter where the development of the Capricorn issues of structure and authority were ready to be carried forward, expansive and optimistic, into the brave new world of Aquarius where we find ourselves today.

On Dec 31st, Mercury joined Jupiter, the planet of expansion and optimism. This cosmic embrace was a chance to acknowledge that an entire year of Mercury’s movement had been dedicated to the development of the Capricorn quality of the Mercury processes: our communications, our perspectives, our daily routines, commutes, etc. We had an entire year to gather and apply information on how well we were using our Mercurial talents to sustain and to support us. From here, Mercury and Jupiter both moved forward into Aquarius, bringing the focus of our Mercurial powers on our groups, and innovation in our society. Aquarius is the cosmic innovator, although not always practical. For this reason, we had a previous year of Mercury expanding through the entire zodiac, beginning and ending in practical Capricorn, so that by the time he made it to Aquarius, he would possess the Capricorn practicality to supplement the innovation of Aquarius.

From this meeting, Mercury moved up to 7 degrees Aquarius before he went retrograde and met Jupiter a second time at 3 degrees Aquarius on Jan 18th, 2009.  When Mercury is retrograde, we are getting a second chance to do something right or learn a lesson we have missed. This meeting was perhaps a time when some obstacle presented itself to our expansive understanding. It may have been that we forgot to be practical concerning whatever issues were coming up for us, or perhaps we had not yet opened up the innovation latent in our processor. Mercury continued to retrograde into Capricorn, reminding us that innovation must be practical if it is to be useful.

On Tues, Feb 24th, Mercury will meet Jupiter again at 11 degrees Aquarius, ending the dance and putting a period at the end of the sentence they have been writing together. All of us need some innovation in our routines and in our perspectives, but this innovation must be realistic if it is to be of any lasting service to us. This, I believe, has been the lesson of this Mercury/Jupiter cycle. We must use common sense coupled with innovation as a path to follow towards the goal of becoming more fulfilled and more uniquely ourselves. This should be very easy for most of us to do, as Mars will reach 17 degrees Aquarius on Friday, re-energizing the sensitive point of the solar eclipse that occurred there on Feb 6, 2008. If you have the time, it would be worthwhile to look at the short excerpt from the column I wrote for that week here.

On this same day, we have a new Moon at 6 degrees Pisces. A new Moon is a great time to set our intentions and to sow the seeds we want to see grow during the lunation. Pisces is the sign of the zodiac concerned with our nocturnal dreams and healing. On Feb 9th, we had a lunar eclipse at 21 degrees Leo (the sign concerned with our dreams for ourselves), opposing the conjunction of the Sun, Chiron, and Neptune, bringing up our wounds from our emotional past so that they could be seen, acknowledged, and healed. We are still in the healing process, and this new Moon in Pisces will bring that healing quickly along if we can integrate dance steps of the Mercury/Jupiter lesson. By now, we should have an idea of what works for us and what does not: Just because something works for one person, does not mean it will work for another. If this were the case, we would not be unique. We should embrace what works for us, and leave the rest well enough alone. We must be positive, innovative, and practical all at the same. If we can maintain this focus through this lunation, a whole lot of healing will be going on!

On that note, I’d like to invite all of you to Kennedy Park in Coconut Grove this Saturday Feb 21st, 2009 at 9:30a for my Free Yoga Miami debut! I’ll be using my healing adjustments to help students perfect their asanas. I would like to thank Luana Hervier for the invitation to participate in this great opportunity for people to practice for free in one of Miami’s most beautiful waterfront parks with some of Miami’s best yoga teachers! I’ll be doing a special presentation combining astrology and yoga at Free Yoga Miami on March 21st, 2009. I hope to see you there! More information will be released as the date approaches.

Good luck, and happy healing!

mark

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Dear Friends,

It seems to me that there is so much happening right now that it is hard to keep up! Inside my head and outside in the word around me, opportunities, new ideas, and new challenges are making their presence felt. This past Monday, we had a full Moon lunar eclipse at 21 Leo which opposed the Sun conjunct Chiron and Neptune at 21 Aquarius. Aquarius is the sign concerned with innovation, humanitarian concerns, and advancement. Chiron is the wounded healer of the zodiac and Neptune is also a cosmic healer. The Sun acts as a big battery which charges whatever area or bodies he contacts. The Sun is supercharging a huge dose of healing energy for us right now and the full Moon in Leo on Feb 9th allowed us to see where we need to engage with ourselves on a deep level in order to bring about this healing.

On Feb 14th, Mercury will enter Aquarius, joining 4 planets plus Chiron, making the total number of planetary bodies in that sign 6! Mercury in Aquarius will challenge us to think in a more detached and rational manner about our own healing and self-expression. If Oprah can do it, why cant I? Oprah started from very humble beginnings, but she had faith in herself and a strong desire to create a better life not only for herself, but for her audience. This is the key to her success, I believe. She has always wanted to affect her audience in a very positive manner. Her path hasn’t been just about satisfying herself, but about elevating the experience of as many people as she can. With big dreams comes big success! There is a huge amount of energy concentrated in Aquarius, the sign of the zodiac most concerned with advancement and innovation on a humanitarian level, especially with the Sun supercharging this sign and the attendants planets. Chiron and Neptune still carry the charge they received from the direct opposition to the lunar eclipse and this energy is telling us that we must look closely at our heart centers and evaluate how happy we are with what we find. Leo rules creative self-expression and can include everything from sex, to singing and dancing and painting, to the groups we form, and the children we create! We express ourselves though the things we create. I express myself through this column, a vehicle I created. This axis of Leo/Aquarius energy highlighting Chiron and Neptune is giving us the energy we need in order to express ourselves and heal the wounds that have prevented us from doing this in the past. How did I overcome my deeply rooted insecurities - by sharing them with my audience and learning to accept their positive feedback as a measure of my own worth. When I challenge myself by sharing what I thought no one would want to hear, I begin to see the value in my creation as others appreciated it. This led to the development of self-confidence. Nothing has given me more self-confidence than the kind words my readers and clients share with me.

21 Leo is the Aries decant of Leo, which brings a more assertive, initiative quality to Leo, the sign of integrity, honesty, and romance. Aries energy is impulsive and encourages action. Aries is ruled by Mars and Mars is currently traveling through Aquarius, setting off fireworks left behind at the sensitive degrees of the 2008-2009 Leo/Aquarius eclipses. This past Thursday, Feb 12th, Mars hit 6 Aquarius, which moved us to act upon the issues that came up for us on the solar eclipse of Jan 26th at 6 Aquarius. This Monday, Feb 16th, Mars at 9 Aquarius will detonate by opposition the energy point of 9 Leo, where we had a solar eclipse on Aug 1, 2008. (Here is a link to that event column if you want to refresh your memory on what this eclipse was all about.)

By Tuesday, Mars will conjunct Jupiter, bringing in a fresh dose of expansive optimism to our efforts. We need this because we are in state of change, or flux, right now, and it is easy to get discouraged by the sheer multitude of information we are processing right now. We are, after all, only human and we can only take in so much at once before we become tired or overwhelmed. Luckily, Jupiter brings hope and optimism to decisive Mars, and our actions will serve as the efficient cause for more positive experiences to come, especially if we are willing to expand and develop the Leo area of our lives. We are in a period of re-inventing our lives right now. Perhaps we have been living large, beyond our means, or perhaps we have been hiding in a closet, afraid to allow the potential of our lives to develop. Either we have been “acting out” as a way to hide our wounds from the rest of the world in a defensive show of bravado - like the grade school bully, or we have been hiding from the world, afraid that any exposure would rub our wounds even more raw - like the bully’s favorite target. Well, now is the time to HEAL these wounds and re-invent ourselves in the image we have always dreamed for ourselves. Neptune rules dreams and inspiration! He is still sitting with Chiron, and together they are asking us to trust that spark of unique being at the core of our heart which says “I can be unique, whole, and happy!”

On Wed, Feb 18, the Sun will move into Pisces, the sign of the zodiac where we hide from ourselves. This will add even more urgency to our healing, as the things we do not want to acknowledge will be lit up and exposed. Let’s not let this exposure force us deeper into denial! Whatever it is that pains us, we can heal it now, but first it must be exposed! We cannot fix a problem, or quit an addiction, if we do not admit that the problem or addiction exists. Whatever it is, no matter how fearful we may be, now is an amazing time to be healed! What benefit is there in NOT healing yourself. Why would we wait to become whole if we could be whole right now? On Friday, Mercury will come out of his shadow, and the final shoe will drop. Mercury was retrograde for the eclipse of Jan 26, but on Feb 20, he will regain his position at 6 Aquarius, the degree of the eclipse! We will have another a-ha! moment and perhaps this will finally be the day that we drop our resistance to a more authentic and more fulfilled life.

My fingers are crossed for each and every one of you!

Please consider sharing this column with your friends. There are so many people who look in all of the wrong places for inspiration - maybe you did too, once…. Perhaps a nudge in the right direction is all they need!

Much love to all!

mark

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Hello All,

Eclipses can be tricky things to explicate, often because they plant seeds that are later stimulated to grow. An eclipse plants a seed of change at a particular point in the zodiac, and another planet comes along later and activates this seed. Of the 9 eclipses in 2008 and 2009, 6 of these have or will occur in either Aquarius or Leo. These signs oppose each other on the horoscope wheel, and as such, they represent polarizations of the same plane. Imagine two children on a see-saw. They are at opposite ends of the board, and their movements affect each other: one goes up, the other goes down. We can also visualize the yin-yang principle or Newton’s third law of motion. The entire modality of astrology is based upon this type of polar relationship. My goal as a professional astrologer is to assist people in finding the balance of their unique polarities so that they can express themselves freely and experience the world around them fully.

On Jan 26th, we had a solar eclipse at 6 degrees Aquarius. When a solar eclipse happens, the Moon blocks the Sun’s ray from the Earth, and we have a more subjective relationship to ourselves and our environment because the Moon, ruling the subconscious, blocks the rational energy symbolized by the Sun. At the solar eclipse, the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, and our subconsciousness is energized by the forces of the Sun. We can expect moodiness, the (re)appearance of old habits or thought patterns, and a general heightened emotionality to have an unusually strong hold over us when this happens. This Monday, Feb 9 we will experience a lunar eclipse at 21 degrees Leo. A lunar eclipse happens when the rays of the Sun are blocked from the Moon by the Earth. We can think of this as our reason asserting itself over the heightened emotional state ushered in by the previous solar eclipse. The energy of the solar eclipse will give way to a more rational, self-serving, and empowering experience of how we can best take care of ourselves. This experience is being played out in the Aquarius/Leo plane of our charts, and any areas that are linked to these areas through planet or aspect.

Aquarius governs the manner in which our conscious mind asserts itself and the social groups with which we associate. Leo rules matters of the heart, or the things about which we feel passionately. Obviously, these two areas are related: we often create (Leo) or belong to (Aquarius) groups which facilitate our general enjoyment of or further education about these passions.  I am passionate about yoga and astrology, and I belong to several social groups whose members also enjoy these disciplines. This axis of energy is important to us as individuals because we must declare our passions publicly in order to belong to a group. Many of us have passions which we are not willing to declare publicly. I have mentioned before that I kept my interest in astrology a “secret” for 15 years because I thought no one would take me seriously. My refusal to declare in this Leo area of my life directly affected the opposing Aquarius area. Because I did not declare my passion for astrology, I could not belong to a group which valued astrology. I built a wall around myself which kept me from finding the things we all, as humans, want and need: passion, fulfillment, acceptance, happiness. By not declaring my interests, I was actually denying my self.

We all know how difficult it is to fear being singled out, ridiculed, or denied acceptance. My problem, and perhaps the problem I share with many others, is that I was looking for acceptance - and validation - in all the wrong places.  First and foremost, we must accept and validate ourselves. How can we expect others to appreciate us if we cannot appreciate ourselves? This is no easy task, but it is necessary if we are to enjoy the experiences of happiness and fulfillment. How can we be fulfilled if we cannot even admit to the passions which make us feel special, whole, vital, and alive? There have been many movies about the girl who wanted to play soccer, the boy who wanted to dance ballet, the woman who wanted to box. Although our passions are sometimes unconventional, there is a risk of losing ourselves if we cannot claim and pursue them.

I have noticed that the solar eclipse of Jan 26th has ushered in whispery ghosts from my past asking me to look inside my former self-created prison. I have denied this ghost and refused to listen, mainly out of fear that I would recapitulate into a state I didn’t want to visit again. It is a nuanced, subtle tide which asks me to remember how things used to be… Well, I do remember, and I reject those experiences, but their very familiarity seduces me into half succumbing before I grab myself and run. Interestingly enough, many people from my teenage years, thanks to Facebook, have resurfaced in my life over the past weeks, not meaning me any harm, but reminding me of how unhappy I was as a teenager. I wanted so desperately to find people who would appreciate me for who I really was, not for the teenager I pretended to be, but where was I to find them? How could I be myself and declare my passions when I was so sure I would be ridiculed - or worse - because of them? There is no doubt that the teenage years are difficult.

Sometimes we must be reminded of where we started in order to assess how far we have traveled. I am no longer a teenager in rural South Carolina, and my experience as that lonely and frightened teen does not need to dictate my actions as an adult, but I cannot deny that it informs my relationship with myself even now. I am not quite ready to let go of that piece of myself who was an outsider in preppy drag - a radically different person from my peers. The lunar eclipse on Monday will, I hope, ease the hold of this tide and reinstate my more rational, self-supportive and self-accepting persona. The Sabian keyword for 21 degrees Leo is ACCENTUATION. At its most positive, this degree is about “creative self-mobilization,” and at its most negative refers to ” unnecessary bondage to externals.” The lesson here is to embrace that which makes us feel alive and present. Mobilization refers to our ability to consolidate our inner experience so that we can project it out into the world. We have mouths, and arms, and feet to take us out into the world so that we can interact, share, and appreciate the unique gifts each of us possesses. We were not meant to live life between our ears, or in a self-imposed prison.

The classical ruler of Aquarius is Saturn, the modern ruler is Uranus. Leo is ruled by the Sun, who is currently in Aquarius, opposing Leo. This highlights another polarity which has us in its grips. Saturn rules structure, order, tradition, and the status quo. We need these things so that we can get things done. If everyone did everything differently from everyone else, there would be very little that was ever accomplished. We would spend all of our time trying to understand what everyone else is doing. Having standards allows us all to participate in the game of life on an equal footing. However, when the status quo doesn’t change to meet the needs of the changing times, it can actually begin to retard the very growth it was meant to support. This is why the energy of Uranus is so important. Uranus challenges the status quo and destroys structures which are too rigid to allow for change and the resulting growth that change can bring. If Uranus is allowed to exert its powers unchecked by Saturn, a free for all would result and once again there would be no support structures upon which to mold our experience. Saturn and Uranus are opposing each other through July 2010. The eclipses of 2008 and 2009 which are ruled by Aquarius or which oppose Aquarius in Leo are adding further fuel to the fire as the old and the new negotiate what will stay and what will go.

Luckily for us, Saturn is in mutual reception with Mercury, the planet of communication and understanding, for this eclipse. Mutual reception is a harmonious relationship where two planets occupy the sign ruled by the other. In this case, Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn and current home of Mercury, is in Mercury’s home sign of Virgo. This architecture creates a great working relationship between these two planets. Capricorn is a practical, active, hard-working and loyal energy. Virgo is a very detail-oriented and adaptive energy. Working together, these two planets will help us to understand where we need to establish boundaries for our own understanding - or to tear down boundaries that no longer serve us. (Saturn is, after all, still opposing Uranus.) Where does my frightened teenager end and my enlightened adult begin? The devil is always in the details, and detail-oriented Saturn in Virgo loves to set boundaries and establish structures. Mercury in Capricorn is a determined, practical energy who will certainly understand how to assess the situation so that adaptive Saturn in Virgo can make a plan for our continued progress towards a freer, richer, and more fulfilling experience of what it means to be … me.

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Dear Friends,

Its finally here! Mercury will go direct Sunday, Feb 1st and whatever situation has had us going around in circles is now ready to be resolved. It may take a little more time for us to adjust our perspectives and routines in order for the resolution to become organic, but by now we all have the information we need in order to move forward. Mercury will clear its shadow (astro-speak for the day when the planet, once in direct motion, passes the degree at which it began is retrograde motion) on Feb 20th and whatever drama we have faced during this retrograde period will be over, one way or another.

On Monday Feb 2, the first quarter Moon will be at 14 degrees Taurus and Venus will move in to the sign of Aries. Aries is the most active sign of the zodiac and a first quarter Moon demands action.   Taurus is the sign of value and the keyword from the Sabian symbols for this degree is EMERGENCE. It refers, in its most positive light, to the “integrity of selfhood through its absoluteness of attention to its own business of continuing to be,” or its more negative manifestation as a “hopeless self-diffusion” by worrying over the sheer variety of experiences from which to choose. The message here is that we must each choose our own path, and that the best path, the most positive use of the energies we receive or produce, is the path which leads us to the most complete experience of who we are. If we waste time and energy by worrying about whether or not we could be someone else, we are not committed to the process of becoming who we are, but rather fearful of not becoming someone else. This creates a situation where we are not really anyone because we are always afraid to choose. This is a manifestation of the “grass is always greener” syndrome. We dream about being Madonna, or Barack Obama, or Bill Gates, and while we dream, we lose sight of who we really are. We try to be someone or something we are not, and in the process we lose ourselves completely.

Venus rules the attractive principle as it operates in our lives. We attract people and situations in our lives in order to have mirrors which reflect the truth of our own experience back to us. If we identify as weak-willed, then we will attract forceful people who mirror back to us our weakness. If we identify as talented, we attract admirers who see our talent and reinforce our conception of self as “talented.” If we are not clear who we are, then we attract people who are not clear, either. With Venus entering Aries on the same day as the first quarter Moon, we will have the opportunity take definitive steps towards becoming who we are and attracting people who and situations which will allow us to create ourselves in this vision. Monday will be a great day to make a commitment to be authentic and allow our uniqueness to shine. As we claim this emergent authenticity for ourselves, we will attract the things we need in order to nurture and develop our continued emergence as the singular and beautiful creation we are.

On Wednesday Feb 3, Mars will enter Aquarius. This event will be similar to the lighting of the fuse of a long string of firecrackers. Mars calls into action the latent energy stored in any degree of the zodiac through conjunction or opposition. These Mars contacts will trigger or precipitate the latent energy of these special degrees into action or movement. The energy of the most recent solar eclipse on Jan 26th will be triggered when Mars hits 6 degrees of Aquarius on Feb 12th. Mars will oppose the eclipse degree of the solar eclipse this past Aug 1st on Feb 16th. On the 27th, Mars will activate the solar eclipse of 2.6.08 which was at 17 degrees Aquarius. This was the first eclipse in Aquarius for this cycle, and the eclipse which ushered in all of the change we are experiencing in our lives and in our society because Aquarius is concerned with the human condition and human society more than any other sign. On this coming Feb 9th, we will experience a lunar eclipse at 21 degrees Leo, which I will explicate for you next week, but Mars will oppose this degree on March 3rd. Each of these days will be significant for all of us, to greater or lesser extents, depending on where these degrees fall in our own natal charts. Even if we are not affected on a personal level, we can expect important events to unfold on these days which will affect our society, and by extension, us. We should mark these days on our calendars and make sure that the energy we create on these days is positive and supportive of our long range goals of lasting personal fulfillment.

Thursday Feb 5th will see two very important events coincide. First, Saturn will retrograde back to the second of three direct contacts with Uranus at 20 degrees of the Virgo/Pisces polarity. This opposition was last perfect on Nov 4th, the day our country elected to welcome change and freedom from the ineffective traditions of the previous administration. Saturn represents tradition and structure, Uranus represents change and freedom. We are in the middle of this cycle, as these two planets will meet again one final time on September 15th before finally ending their dance. By then, whatever changes are to have taken place will be complete. We will have freedom from what was holding us back and we will have created new structures which are more in line with our goals and needs. For this week, however, pay attention to what comes up on Thursday. There will be an immense amount of very good information available to us that day. The only question will be whether or not we are paying enough attention to hear it.

The other big event on this day will be Venus in Aries squaring Pluto in Capricorn. A square is a time when we presented with a challenge which demands action. The action we take is the litmus test as to whether or not we successfully meet the challenge. If we do not meet the challenge successfully, we will face the same challenge again. If we are successful, we will be advanced to the next level of experience where we will once again be tested. In this manner, consciousness develops. This is the law of karma at work in our lives. As I mentioned before, Venus is in Aries, awakening our ability to attract that which we need or the things we want. The big question is whether or not the things we want are really the things we need. This brings us back to the beginning of the column: are we allowing our true nature to emerge or are we denying our true nature by seeking that which is outside of and separate from us? Capricorn can be practical, hard-working, and economical, or she can be domineering, judgmental, and overly ambitious. Capricorn is the sign of big business and the economy and Pluto is the planet of transformation which must destroy in order to rebuild. We can certainly see the effects of Pluto in Capricorn as the entire global economy is restructured and may of the traditional assumptions about how business works are destroyed. I would expect some major economic news to come to light on this day.

Each of us is currently transforming and restructuring the Capricorn area of our lives. The Aries areas of our charts are the areas most energized by Venus this week and through June 5th. Venus will turn retrograde on March 6th and square Pluto a second time on April 3rd. Venus will turn direct on April 17 and square Pluto a final time on May 3rd, when Pluto will be retrograde. Depending on the choices we make with respect to the things we attract, the energy Venus brings through attraction to the Capricorn areas of our lives will determine whether or not our experience of this transformation is good or bad. If we are not emerging authentically, then we will identify more with the aspect of having something in our lives be destroyed. This will be true for us because what we will experience is the destruction of the false illusions we are using as the foundation of our lives. If we are nurturing our emergence as authentic, then we will experience the thrill of transformation as we watch our new selves emerge from the cocoons of our former selves.

Nothing is set in stone, and we always have the choice to be active in our own growth or to be passive and resist the offers of the universe to expand. Not choosing is, of course, a choice. Happiness and prosperity, love and acceptance, fulfillment and contentment are all within our grasp as long as we recognize that we must each emerge according to the truth of who we are.

Be well and be happy!

mark

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY