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Dear Friends,

On Dec 31st, we had a Lunar Eclipse at 10 Cancer which was followed by a Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn.  Taken together, these eclipses are pointing the way towards a brighter future.  For both eclipses, the Sun was in Capricorn, reminding us that the more positive qualities of the Capricorn archetype will be useful guides in our advancement.  These qualities include patience, diligence, strength, and loyalty.  The Lunar Eclipse asked us to release aspects of the past that were holding us back and preventing us from engaging our inner Capricorn.  The Solar Eclipse was an invitation to embrace this inner Capricorn, to allow the very best of the our Capricorn natures to integrate and direct us in the coming months.

As an Earth sign, Capricorn is practical.  Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, currently in Libra and squaring Pluto, also in Capricorn.  This brings a need for balance and the requirement to take responsibility for our situations, especially those whose nexus was in late 1982, when the current cycle between Saturn and Pluto began.  Looking back to what was developing in our lives in late 1982 could help shine some very revealing light on our present day situations.  Balance is achieved by correcting a force with an equal and opposite force, so the further off track we may have been, the harsher the corrective balancing energy may be.  Balance and “easy” or “gentle” are not synonymous, so beware of thinking that because Saturn is in Libra that things should be somehow “easy.”  As a matter of fact, Saturn is still in opposition to Uranus and will be through the summer of 2010, and there hasn’t been anything easy about this opposition since it started in late 2008.

Solar eclipses are new moons, a good time to set intentions, and they have a power which lasts for a year or more.  25 degrees of Capricorn has a Virgoan flavor, so the co-ruler of the Solar Eclipse, along with Saturn, was Mercury, who was stationary direct conjunct Pluto for the eclipse.    With each of the rulers of the eclipses having a direct Pluto connection, we can bet there was nothing gentle or easy about them!  Pluto demands getting to the bottom of things, no matter what!  Mercury stationing and conjunct Pluto at the Solar Eclipse was making some hard truths evident.  There will be no wiggle room as we must accept this deep reality about our situation and learn how to move forward in a very patient and diligent way, all the while paying attention to the details!  Every good Virgo knows that the devil is in the details.

Venus was heavily involved in both eclipse as well, conjuncting the Sun at both eclipses, while her cosmic counterpart Mars was retrograde in Leo.  When Mars is retrograde, he allows Venus to be the stronger of the pair.  Venus is the principle of attraction that operates in the universe, kind of like magnetism.  Venus in Capricorn, especially at the Solar Eclipse, was asking us to be practical and cautious and to adjust our needs and desires on a very basic level.  Venus in Capricorn is not extravagant or luxurious.  She is somewhat business-like and understands that, for the time being, practical concerns take precedence over more frivolous matters.

This sets the stage for our entire year to come!  No matter what happens or where we go from here, we must remember that our stage is set.  Venus and the Sun have moved into Aquarius where, once again, Venus is cool and detached, more concerned with concepts and ideals over the mundane realities of life.  They will travel together through the first week of February, but as the Sun follows Venus, we approach the Leo Full Moon on January 30th (EST).  A full moon is a time to realize and to release.  The full moon energy is a combination of the light of the Sun being reflected off of the shadow of the Moon.  The Sun in Aquarius brings to mind the higher qualities of Aquarius: humanitarian pursuit of the common good and making room for the individual within the group.  The Moon is Leo shows us where we need to look for the purest forms of Self-Expression without the Leo shadows of ego or pretense.  Understanding the need to integrate our deepest and most spiritual yearnings within the larger social framework of our lives will be the result of this check up.

Mars will be retrograde conjunct the Full Moon, giving us the strength to express our subconscious desires for Self-Expression.  Because Mars is retrograde, Venus will be the leader of the two.  Venus will be in the Gemini decanate of Aquarius, bringing a fact finding quality to the reserved but social planet of love and money.  Furthermore, there may be a need for communicating our needs and desires with others in order to gain the information we need to feel safe and secure about moving ahead.  This is further supported by Mercury’s continued daily approach to the North Node on Feb 2.  Mercury joining the North Node in Capricorn will symbolize a time when we will have received the message of the Full Moon and find that practical way to take responsibility for processing and communication what needs to be processed and communicated.

Some of us may want to act, to propel our egos onto a stage where we can release what we have been holding, but now may not be the time for overt action.  The real action that needs to happen right now is between our ears and in our hearts.  With Jupiter newly in Pisces, direct the need to act towards charity and activism rather than more ego-centered action.  Doing so will buy the time we need to gather and process information, and it will also honor the humanitarian influence of Aquarius.  We are still in the beginning stages of a very deep and meaningful change, and acting out of discomfort or frustration could set us back more than it moves us forward.  Mars is the action planet, and he will be retrograde until March 10, while the Sun wont be in an action-oriented sign until he enters Aries, the sign ruled by Mars, until March 21st.  In the meantime, we should be taking account of what is really important to us, what we need in order to feel safe expressing our true Selves, making a plan for success, and listening twice as much as we speak so that when the time comes to act, we can do so with confidence and effect.

I would like to thank all of you who read my column for your support and to let you know how dear you are to me.  Last week, I did a poor job of explaining the Venus synodic cycle and its phases.  I also inadvertently mentioned the upcoming Leo Full Moon as a Lunar Eclipse, which it is not.  I’d like to blame Mercury Retrograde for these shortcomings, but in reality, they were were my mistakes, plain and simple.  I don’t think my message was off track because of these mistakes, but in the name of taking responsibility for my actions, I wanted to acknowledge these mistakes to you.

Being practical and grounded, “keeping it real,” will be a very important thing to do for this entire year.  Saturn will be opposing Uranus twice more before then end of July, and the second time in late July will involve a Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, cardinal (action) signs, and the Pluto square.  Whatever we thought about 2009, by the end of 2010, we wont even remember 2009!  Being practical, diligent, loyal, and grounded as these events unfold will be our best protection against the sling and arrows of outrageous fortune.

with love

m

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Dear Friends,

How are you feeling as you sit to read this?  On New Year’s Eve, we had a Lunar Eclipse at 10 Cancer.  This eclipse required that we release something from our past that was preventing us from moving ahead in a responsible, sensible, and pragmatic manner.  Just this week, Saturn stationed and is now slowly moving backwards through the heavens, giving us time to integrate the lesson of his first ten weeks in Libra.  Whenever a planet moves into a new sign, there is a shift of planetary energy into a new mode of expression.  Saturn was in Virgo from September 2007 to October 2009 and the emphasis was on work, health, and service.  In October 2009, Saturn moved into Libra, bringing the focus of its energies to Libra-ruled areas like relationships, balance, and harmony.   We have all had a pop quiz these past ten weeks to see how we are in our relationships.  Now that Saturn is retrograde, we have some time to ponder the results of our quiz and to make the adjustments necessary in order to move forward with more balance.

The Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn on January 15th brought the need to incorporate the Capricorn qualities of restraint, practicality, dependability, patience, and authority to our emotional nature.  We are just completing a year of massive changes socially, economically, and politically, and perhaps even personally.  Part of this process of change has been fueled by the need to evolve from past habits that, although at one time useful, do not serve us well now.  The Lunar Eclipse on December 31 put a definitive stamp on that need.  If we are to grow successfully and happily into our futures, we must accept that some our past must be released to make room for the new.  Letting go of the past is difficult, often because we are so used to the patterns of our pasts that without them we feel adrift, lost, and unconnected.  Well, maybe we are, but that isn’t bad, and sometimes we must accept a certain level of discomfort if we are to grow.  Remember those “growing pains’ we had as children and teenagers?   Well, just because our physical bodies stop growing, does not mean that our emotional and spiritual bodies stop.  The Solar Eclipse is pointing out to us that now is not the time to be sentimental, scared, or dependent.  We must use our more practical and earthy qualities to see us through this time of apparent turmoil.  Panicking during a crisis is not the answer to surviving it.

On this same day, Mercury Retrograde in Capricorn is stationing as it conjuncts Pluto.  Mercury represents our minds and our ability to process and share information.  In Capricorn, Mercury is very practical, systematic, and patient.  Normally quick and fleeting, Mercury in Capricorn is slower and methodical.  Pluto brings intensity to any situation and cuts straight to the core of the matter.  Again, the message for us is to be focused on the REAL issues, the core of the matter, and to address them with the gravity they deserve.  Superficial or careless attention to the issues facing us will only make them worse.

Both of these eclipses involved a Sun-Venus conjunction in Capricorn.  This cycle started in late March 2009 with Venus retrograde in Aries.  This was a time when we should have been doing a personal makeover, shifting our desires to be more in line with what we need, creating the possibility for receiving more from ourselves and our experiences.  Now, we are in the “accepting” responsibility phase of the cycle.  Whatever we did or didn’t do, we are now being called to take responsibility for it, even as we are called upon to release the worn out expressions of our pasts.  While Venus was conjuncting these two eclipses, Mars, the rules or Aries, was retrograde, making Venus the more powerful planet.  Venus rules Libra and Taurus, and as such has dominion over relationships, finances, and creativity.  Finding practical ways to implement these themes into our release of the past and focused engagement with our future will surely bring good results.

The higher octave of Venus is Jupiter.  Where Venus works on a personal level, Jupiter works on a social level.  Jupiter expands our experience.  On Sunday, January 17th, Jupiter will move into Pisces, a sign which it rules.  Pisces is the sign we associated with spirituality, sacrifice, and selfless devotion.  Jupiter is very happy in its own sign, and we will see people being more generous and more focused on expanding their spiritual connectedness.  This is great news, because the world could use some of this healing, selfless energy right now.  It is interesting to me how we are already seeing this outpouring of kindness and generosity with regards to the tragedy in Haiti.  The response to this natural disaster seems more swift and more coordinated than responses to other natural disasters in the recent past.  We CAN learn from our mistakes.

Venus herself will move into Aquarius on Monday, January 18th.  Aquarius is the sign we associate with humanitarian ideals: it is the great Red Cross of the zodiac.  Although Venus looses some of her personal charm in this sign because of the “big picture” view of Aquarius, energetically, it distills the larger message of Jupiter in Pisces down so that it can be consumed on a personal level.  We may see people behaving in more humanitarian or altruistic ways during this period, and since Venus rules money, we can also expect people to open their wallets for the causes in which they believe.

The lunation begun by the Solar Eclipse of January 15th will come to a head with the Full Moon at 10 degrees 14 minutes Leo on January 30th (EST) which will be conjunct Mars retrograde,  giving us the strength to express our needs.  Mercury will be retrograde only in Earth signs this year, and this makes the call for practical and common sense approaches to our lives very clear.  Now is the time to be practical, loyal, patient, determined, and realistic: these are all qualities of Earth signs.  Authority, structure, and common sense should be the guidelines we use to make decisions and to direct our thoughts and our actions.  Saturn and Uranus are still in opposition, and Jupiter will enter this equation once he moves into Aries,  expanding the upheaval we associate with Uranus at 1 degree of Aries, a very significant degree of Aries.  The summer has some big surprises in store, so get a jump on things and start being PRACTICAL.

with love

m

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY

Dear Friends,

I am always interested in the way cycles play out.  Astrology is the study of cycles: astrologers study the cycles of the planets and the cycles of human development.  There is a correlation between the two, without doubt.  We can understand the development of human cycles more easily with the aide of planetary cycles because the planetary cycles are mathematical, and therefore we can anticipate them.  Once we know what to look for, it becomes easy to see it.

A good example of this would be the Neptune, Chiron, and Jupiter triple conjunction in Aquarius over the past year.  Aquarius rules the Internet, as well as networking, and we have seen an unprecedented increase in the use of and reliance upon social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter over this past year.  Of course, Chiron can be the wound or the healing of a wound, so all that glitters is not gold.  For some, the reliance upon social networking sites may actually increase feelings of isolation and loneliness because the Internet is no substitute for real face to face interaction.  On the other hand, I am sure there are withdrawn people who have become more open and more connected from using these tools, as well.  Twice this past week from different sources, I have heard Sartre quoted as saying, “Freedom is what you do with what has been given to you.”  Yes, this is the basis for astrology, as I practice it. Astrology is a better tool when used descriptively, rather than predicatively.  We all have a certain astrological DNA with which we are born, but we can certainly overcome the “negative” aspects through our own use of our own gifts, and we all have them.  This is the message of the movie “Precious,” as well as the example that many high profile people present.  Obama, Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, and a host of others have had very difficult beginnings in life and made it to the top.  Of course, there are plenty of people who had superior DNA who have ended up at the bottom of the heap, too.  Our intentions, along with the choices we make, direct our happiness.

The year began with a Lunar Eclipse at 10 Cancer, describing the need to release the past.  The immediate past has been dominated by not only the triple conjunction in Aquarius, but the Saturn and Uranus opposition.  Saturn represents the structure we need to support our growth, and Uranus represents the need to innovate.  Of course, Pluto is in Capricorn, which is ruled by Saturn, and Pluto makes deeps changes that result in evolutionary progress.  This past year has been a time when the need for stability and structure has been competing with the need for upgrades to the system.  Well, we are near the end of this phase.  Beginning the New Year with the Lunar Eclipse in Cancer signaled that now is the appropriate time to release the past, both recent and distant.  How can we move forward and encourage growth when we are stuck in the past, clinging to what no longer exists.

On January 15, we will have a North Nodal Solar Eclipse at 25 Capricorn.  North Nodal eclipses look to the future and mark a time when we need to focus on what is in front of us.  For the two week period between these eclipses, both Mars and Mercury are retrograde.  Retrograde planets give us time to work out the math of our lives.  They give us a second chance to learn a lesson or to do some inner work so that we can move forward successfully in the outer world once the planets are direct.  The Lunar Eclipse asked for a release of the past, the retrograde planets give us time to “do the math” on that request, and then the Solar Eclipse comes to usher in the future, free from the drag of a past that doesn’t serve us any more.  It is so poetic to me, and so powerful.  By now, we all know what we need to do, the question is: Will we do it?  This is why I started the column with that quote from Sartre.  We are free to make powerful changes for ourselves, but will we?  This is the “rub” to which Shakespeare refers in “Hamlet.”  Lucky for us, Saturn will be retrograde.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, so we look to Saturn for a message about how to proceed bravely into this new world unfettered by the dross of the past.  On Wednesday, January 13, just 2 days before the Eclipse, Saturn will station retrograde.  Saturn is the schoolmaster, often stern, but when he is retrograde, he is more like a patient tutor.  He knows we will need more time to get secure with the new foundation we are supposed to be laying for ourselves.  Too much freedom all at once can be terrifying, so Saturn is allowing us time complete the releasing process while simultaneously integrating the new structure on a deeper level before requiring more hard work from us once Saturn re-enters Libra with a square to Uranus in Aries on July 26.

Also sitting with the Eclipse is Venus.  Venus rules beauty, balance, money, and relationships.  Venus is the receptive, open principle of love, whereas Mars is the assertive, selfish principle.  Mars is retrograde in Leo through March 10th, working on deeper interior levels to activate the heart and to make sure that what we release and what we create during this period is real and true for us.  If it is not, then we haven’t learned the lesson of Saturn in Virgo and the drama of the past two and one half years will have been wasted.  Since Mars is retrograde, he is taking a backseat to Venus, which allows the principles of love and beauty to direct the transformation into the future.  This is great news!  The only person we are fighting is our Self!  Once we can learn to honor our needs and desires free from the past and with an eye to a bright future, we can begin to experience the abundance of the universe.

While Saturn is retrograde, he will opposes Uranus in Pisces once more on April 26th to finish stocking up our tools boxes and to finish off whatever loose ends are still nagging us from the past.  By the time he approaches the cardinal opposition on July 26, we will be ready to begin with the new, second phase of the Saturn-Uranus cycle for the next 22 or so years, living happier, more fulfilled lives and teaching what we have learned along the way.

Solar Eclipses are New Moons with a longer shelf life.  This New Moon sets the tone for the entire year.  This is a year of new beginnings whose success will be based upon our ability to break out of the old patterns of the past which have kept us emotionally chained to situations which, in reality, ended long ago.   The times, they are a changin‘, and so must we.  No need to feel guilty about or weighed down by the past.  Release it all and allow the seed that is pulsing with life deep inside of you to put out roots and grow.  Life is for living.

with love

m

MOORE TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WEEK’S ASTROLOGY