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Dear Friends,

I have been writing for more than two years about Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces.  Virgo and Pisces are mutable signs, which means they are adaptable and that they like to fix things.  Saturn wants us to learn the lessons we need in order to move forward in our evolution.  If we don’t learn the lessons of Saturn, then we don’t progress to the next level.  This is why some of the people we know seem always to make the same mistakes over and over… they never learn the lessons of Saturn.  Saturn in Virgo has been re-stocking our toolboxes, providing us with the tools we need in order to fix things so that we can move forward.  Issues with our health, with our routines, and with our work habits, as well as major changes in the economy, have all been challenges, or lessons, we needed to have in order to learn how to be adaptable.  These situations provided us with the opportunity to add tools to our toolbox, like a character in a video game acquiring powers to help him defeat the ogres at the next level.

On Thursday, October 29th, Saturn moved into the sign of Libra, a cardinal sign.  Cardinal signs mark the beginning of each new season, and the end of the previous season.  Cardinal signs remind us that we have a new set of ground rules upon which to base our actions, and cardinal signs are all about action and new beginnings.  Libra is the sign we most associate with relationships, the concept of finding balance, and the need to create harmony.  Saturn in Libra will create lessons, in the form of challenges, that will provide us the opportunity to use the tools we acquired from Saturn in Virgo in order to adapt to new modes of relating and balancing.  Lets face it, there hasn’t been much balance in our world lately: the housing market and economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the health care debate have all swung from one extreme to the other and back again.  These first few days of Saturn in Libra will deliver a condensed version of what we can expect to deal with over the next two years.  Saturn will stay in Libra until April 8, 2010 before retrograding back into Virgo one final time.  From April 8 through July 21, Saturn will spend his last few months in Virgo.  This will be our final chance to pick up the tools we have somehow missed over the past two years.   During this time, Saturn will oppose Uranus one final time in mutable signs before doing so again in the cardinal signs on July 26th.  It would be wise to pay attention this upcoming week, as we will all have experiences where we receive a sneak preview of where we will need to employ our tools in order to have better relationships and more harmony in our lives.  Just last night, Paul and I had our first heated argument in many weeks because I didn’t think before I spoke… a very cardinal mistake to make.  Believe me, I made a mental note to myself!  Looks like I’ll need to make sure I think before I speak over the next couple of years or I’ll be creating dis-harmony!  This is good information to have, and I am grateful that I had this experience so that I can take care to protect this most important relationship.  The test is whether or not I can maintain that focus… which is what Saturn in Virgo was all about:  doing what is necessary in order to adapt, whether we “want to” or not.

On Monday, Nov 2, the Moon will be full at 10′30″ Taurus.  A full Moon opposes the Sun, which will be at 10′30″ Scorpio.  The Taurus-Scorpio axis is concerned with value and control.  Venus rules Taurus, as well as Libra, so her aspects on this day will provide important information for us.  On the full Moon, Venus is at 23′28″ Libra trining Neptune.  Neptune represents illusion or deception, as well as inspiration, sometimes all three simultaneously.  A trine aspect represents an easy flow or exchange of energy.  This is not a clear message, but it does make it clear that we may not have an accurate picture of our finances or of our relationships, and that we may not be in control, even though we think we are.  We may be operating from a unrealistic point of view.  Saturn in Libra will certainly bring the opportunity to correct our perspectives, which may not be the most fun for those of us who consistently refuse to see the writing on the wall.  Mars is the traditional ruler of Scorpio, and at this full Moon, he is squaring a Sun-Mercury conjunction, as well as the Moon, from his position at 7′59″ Leo.  Normally, when Mars is in Leo, astrologers like to use phrases like “follow your heart,” but serious students of astrology also know that Mars is in his shadow, preparing for a unusually lengthy retrograde through this sign.  Mars retrograde is a time to circle the wagons and to protect what we have rather than forging ahead into new territory, so I believe that the square Mars is making to the three other personal planets is telling us that forging ahead and following our hearts with abandon may take us into territory that will drain our resources and create further emotional disharmony.  We should have been following our hearts for a while now, as this was the lesson from the Saturn-Neptune opposition of Oct 2005-September 2007.  This was a period in which we were challenged to bring substance and meaning to our lives so that when Saturn moved into Virgo opposing Uranus, we could weather the dissolution of our foundation because we were connected to something that had true meaning for us.  With Mars in Leo in his shadow, we should be honoring the value of the lessons we learned from 2005-2007 and protecting these lessons as a source of strength which will help us to endure the continued upheaval that we will experience as we teeter back and forth from one extreme to another as we surrender to the lessons of Saturn in Libra.

with love,

m

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Hello Everyone,

Sometimes we just cant see the trees because of the forest… Last week, I missed Mars conjuncting with the South Node, which took place this past Thursday and Friday.  The South Node is a lunar point associated with the past, old habits, and negative karma.  Mars is a trigger energy, which means that he activates energy that has been deposited at a certain point by another planet, or combination of planets.  Mars hitting the South Node has brought back feelings, emotional patterns, family issues (especially issues involving our mothers, as the  moon represents our emotional bonds with our moms), and our early childhood.  The South node represents the habits with which we are comfortable, but which do not necessarily bring us the best results.  South Node patterns feel comfortable, but comfortable and healthy do not always go hand in hand.  If we are having a difficult time, it would be a great idea to examine our current predicament through this lens and determine what patterns we are repeating, whether or not they can create growth and change in our lives, and whether or not we are acting responsibly with regards to our own health, both mental and physical.

Quite honestly, I am feeling very drained by this energy.  Brenda Brush describes the South Node as a suction point, and I certainly feel sucked into the past right now - a past I’d rather leave behind.  Mars represents our energy and drive, and I feel like all of that has been sucked right out of me, too.   Whatever is coming up for us, though, is something we need to understand and to release in order to move forward.  Life is meant to be lived in the present, not the past, nor the future.  Unfortunately, we are all guilty of dragging our past around with us like a big ball and chain - it is human nature.  It is also human nature, and the nature of the universe, for all things to grow and change.  It is hard to grow and change when we refuse to let the past stay in the past.  The coming week poses some very heavy and challenging energy, so please keep this in mind as we all continue to navigate the maze of our lives.

Saturday brings Mercury square to Pluto at 0′52″ Libra, with Venus to follow on Thursday.  Mercury represents the manner in which we process and communicate information, as well as our daily grind, our neighbors, and our siblings.  Venus represents our receptivity, as well as relationships and finances.  Squares represent challenges to our development.  Rising to the task and meeting the challenge with dignity will bring success, failing to do so will bring further difficulty.  Just like school, we take the same class over and over until we pass it.  Knowing where this degree is located in our charts will help us to understand the dynamics of this square.  Even without a chart, we have been feeling this energy build for a while now, so we should all have a good idea of what areas of our lives are requiring a transformation, as this is the demand of Pluto.  The proximity of Mercury and Venus to Saturn this week while these planets move into their respective squares with Pluto remind us that Saturn is approaching a third quarter square to Pluto on November 15th.  Mercury and Venus are marking for us now some issues we will be dealing with again, very soon.

Throughout this week, as it has for the past week, Saturn will be trine with the North Node.  The North Node is also a karmic location, pointing the way towards a brighter future, towards evolution, towards fulfillment.  The North Node is at roughly 26 degrees Capricorn, the Virgo decan of that sign, which brings an analytic quality to the sign of recognition and responsibility.  Saturn is in Virgo, asking us to build a healthy structure in order to support our continued growth.  Together, these two bodies are reminding us that the way to evolution and peace with these difficult situations is to understand that the past in the past.  We need to move forward in healthier ways, while learning what it means to be responsible and letting others do the same, all the while taking care of ourselves, since that is a responsibility we all share.

Good luck, be well, and take care of yourselves….

with love

m

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Dear Friends,

Normally, I like to be a model of Zen composure when I write my columns, objectively and wisely delineating the upcoming week for all of you, with perhaps a carefully chosen example of how the energy is affecting me personally, as an illustration of how this energy could manifest in our experience.  Unfortunately, that is not the case today!  I am HOT! as in mad, as in angry, as in incredulous….  Maybe you are, too?  Mercury has been dancing back and forth over over 21 degrees Virgo this past week, triggering the exact degree of the Saturn-Uranus opposition of February 9th, 2009, which was also a lunar eclipse!  These two planets are in a two year full phase cycle which started on November 4, 2008 at 19 Virgo, and includes four other oppositions at 21 (2.9.2009), 25 (9.15.2009), and 29 (4.26.2010) degrees Virgo, with the final opposition this phase being at 1 degree Libra on July 26, 2010.  Normally, we look to Mars to ignite these sensitive degrees, but “neutral” Mercury is certainly waking up some decidedly UN-neutral feelings for all of us this week.  The new Moon on September 18th promised us lot of change, lots of new information, lots of attention to detail, lots of everything, but it did not promise to direct it for us.  The directing is our job, and some of us are directing this energy, this surfeit of information and change, in a less than productive manner, making many of those around us the target of accusations, reactions, or denials.  How do we deal with these irrational people slinging fear and guilt, reprisal and denial in every direction?  The answer lies with Pluto in Capricorn and our understanding of what it means to be responsible.

We are responsible for the things we do, the decisions we make, and the way in which we communicate and react.  We are responsible for taking care of ourselves, and we are responsible for upholding our promises, assuming the promises we make are reasonable and withing our ability to execute.  We are NOT responsible for how others choose to react, how others choose to think or what others choose to believe, even if they seem to be “barking up the wrong tree.”  We are all free to make mistakes, reason poorly, believe untruths, and create drama.  Ultimately, we must all accept responsibility for the CONSEQUENCES of our actions, good or bad, responsible or not, intelligently informed or not, cruel or kind.  If we are responsible for creating a mess, then we are responsible for cleaning it up.  However, if you created a mess, it is not my responsibility to clean it up.  If I anger someone with my words, it is not your responsibility to play the peace-maker.  If we are targeted as the unlucky recipient of someone else’s poor judgment, lack of intelligence, or delusion (as I have been this week), then what can we do?  Let them take responsibility for their own actions.  Let them suffer the consequences for their irrational and unfair behavior.  What else is there?  I could beg and plead for forgiveness, but then again, I didn’t do anything!  Why would I make amends for something I did not do?  Why would you?  Do we need the approval of an irrational or manipulative friend/lover/coworker/family member so badly that we would accept responsibility for something we did not do just to be “forgiven?”  Yes, at some points in my life, I would have, because I was insecure and needed approval, but now I say, “You are nuts if you believe that about me!”  Yes, I hurt.  Yes, I am wounded that my friend would believe that I hacked and terrorized her email account as revenge because she put her own house numbers on her own mailbox (yes, seriously, that is the accusation!)  Does the accusation mean that I DID IT?  What?  Am I really even wasting my precious blog space on this topic?  Well, yes, because I want all of you who read my column to understand that you are not responsible for the foolishness that other people sling around in an effort to battle their own fears and delusions! Do not let them co-opt you into it, because they will, and it isn’t your fault or your responsibility!

Thanks for allowing me to vent!  Sometimes voicing our issues allows us to release them so that we can move forward.  What do you need to voice this week?

So moving on to the week ahead!

Basically, its more of the same.  There is a reason times are difficult for us right now.  The reason is because we still aren’t getting “it,” whatever “it” is.  Until we get it, we will continue find ourselves in situations, relationships, etc. which highlight the lesson(s) we are not learning.  The situations will be “tutoring” sessions, although they may feel more like torture sessions!  Believe me, its all about cutting ties to past patterns that don’t serve us and implementing new patterns in the place of the old and dysfunctional ones.  It is about learning boundaries and responsibility.  Some of us are co-dependent and we feel responsible for everything, no matter what!  Well, we are having a very difficult time right now, because someone or something is trying to drag us down, manipulate us into feeling responsible for the mess they have created all on their own.  As long as we allow them to do this, they will continue.  Enough is enough, already.  If things are good, then we are being successfully taking care of ourselves and letting others do the same.  This doesn’t mean that we cant be helpful or supportive, but it does mean that in the end, we must all learn, the wise and unwise alike, that we must lie in the beds we have made.

Saturday, October 4 will see the Moon full at 11 degrees 10 minutes of Aries.  Full Moons are a time when we receive feedback from the universe on the progress we are making with the assignments we have been given.  The sign Aries is all about identity, self-understanding, and promoting ourselves out into the world.  This full Moon will show us how well we are asserting ourselves, how well we have created a positive self-image for ourselves, and to what extent we have failed to do these things.  The ruler of this full Moon is Mars, who is at 23.5 degrees of Cancer at the full Moon.  Fiery and assertive Mars is not comfortable in timid, moody, protective Cancer.  Cancer is not an assertive sign unless it feels threatened, and then it is not only assertive, but down right ill-tempered and mean!  I have spent many days crabbing in the SC Lowcountry, and let me assure you, an angry blue crab in not an easy adversary!  On the other hand, Mars in Cancer also allows us to act with greater compassion and caring, assuming we are directing the energy, rather it directing us.  Let’s all use this energy to take care of ourselves!  Mars will be opposing the North Node in Capricorn, which will create tension between our urge to indulge our lower “crabby” nature (read: codependent) and the higher octave of allowing responsibility to lay at the feet of the proper party.  Sometimes we help people best by allowing them to reap the negative consequences they have sowed.  How will they ever learn, otherwise?

Also on this full Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn, all in Virgo, are all opposing Uranus, who continues to upgrade our operating systems whether we want it upgraded or not!  (No wonder Microsoft is releasing Windows 7 soon.. but not yet, they are still fine tuning… sounds familiar?)  Virgo is the sign most concerned with health, and with both Venus and Mercury having an extended chat together in this sign with Saturn, we are most certainly faced with situations where there is a clearly healthy choice, even though, as with healthy food, it may not be the choice we crave.  Mars trines Uranus, which will help to foster a choice which may be unusual for us, so if we always choose the pizza, then maybe today we can choose the kale, and that would be a good thing.  Of course, we may also choose to give in to the cravings for what is familiar, trading sustenance for empty calories, and the tutoring session will continue with more whining, complaining, headaches and difficulty.  The choice is always ours, even if it is difficult.

The best news from this full Moon will be the opportunity created by the Mystic triangle formed between the opposition of Mars and the North Node in sextile to the opposition from the Virgo stellium to Uranus.  Mystic triangles are openings we must search for, they are not going to impose themselves upon us like the Saturn-Uranus opposition has.  The mystic rectangle creates a space where we can work with the oppositions through the complimentary sextiles and trines that exist when two oppositions sextile each other.  It is not necessary to understand the geometry, but if we can allow our critical (and by critical I mean analytic, not petty) insights to direct our actions, if we can break out of our co-dependent boxes and allow the mess-makers in our lives the opportunity to take responsibility for their own actions (as opposed to cleaning up the mess so that they do not have to claim responsibility), then we may find that we create a space for ourselves to experience what life could be like if we could continue to be strong enough to make these changes part of our daily lives.  This will require strong determination and serious concentration our own issues, needs, and patterns without fearing the consequences from the outside world.  Taking care of ourselves is not selfish! There is no guarantee that leaving the mess for the mess-maker will create change for them, but then again, it isn’t about them, it is about us!  We need to give ourselves a chance, to liberate ourselves from low self-esteem and dependence on the feeling of being responsible for others in order to justify our own existence.  All we need to justify ourselves is a clear vision of our needs and of our talents, and how to use the latter in order to satisfy the former.  Once we do these two things, we can begin to share more of ourselves with the world around us, without becoming a pariah or martyr for the shortcomings of those we love.

Watch these dates, as there is sure to some further drama:

Tuesday, Oct 6:  Mercury (in a stellium with Venus and Saturn) conjuncts Saturn at 25 Virgo, the degree of the September 15th Saturn-Uranus opposition, drawing the tensions from that date into our relationships and requiring some communication about the issues.  The stellium also trines the North Node in Capricorn, requiring that responsibility be appropriately assigned where it belongs and that practical concerns should trump theory.

Wednesday and Thursday, Oct 7-8: Mars sextiles 25 Virgo, creating the drive for action with respect to Tuesday’s issues.  Remember: We are only responsible for taking care of ourselves and for cleaning up our own messes!  Be practical, reasonable, and fair.

Thursday, October 8: Air trine between the Moon in Gemini, Sun in Libra, and Jupiter in Aquarius creates a very chatty day and a desire to “work things out.”  Beware, working things out does not mean accepting responsibility for something that ISN’T our responsibility.   Besides, talk is cheap.  Action is where the money is at.  Are the people in our lives, especially those with whom we are having repeated difficulty, walking the walk or just blowing hot air?

Friday, October 9: Mercury at 29 Virgo foreshadows the Saturn-Uranus opposition of April 26, 2010.  This opposition occurs 2 days before the full Scorpio Moon, ruled by Mars, squaring the Sun, the Moon, and Mercury.  Confusion may be the word of the day, but Pluto is the co-ruler of this full Moon, reminding us that using some good sound rational and practical judgment, despite the contrary pull of our emotions, will bring about the transformation we so desperately need in order to feel more in control of our lives.

Hopefully, it did not take all week for you to read this update, but what can I say… there is a lot at stake and I want all of us to pass the test!

with love…

m

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY