Neptune Rx - Dispelling Delusion

Neptune Retrograde takes place from June 13 to November 19, 2016, which means we're in for more than five months' worth of getting real.  Neptune is the dreamy planet that, at its best, makes us see beyond the tangible world and explore spirituality, faith and fantasy. The dark side of Neptune is that its love of illusion can inspire us to escape to alternate realities we’ve created for ourselves - delusions. Neptune can encourage us to live in denial. We all have specific fears we don’t want to deal with, such as nagging financial issues or a difficult romantic relationship. Chances are, Neptune is behind any excuses you invent to support the idea that everything is fine. When Neptune is retrograde, however, it's much more difficult to ignore the truth. Neptune’s dreamy edge usually allows us to gloss over unpleasant truths (like credit card balances or red flags in our relationships), its move backward gives us the opposite: a harsh wake-up call. It is essential that we do something about the problems that we pick up on while Neptune is retrograde because they can worsen when Neptune goes direct. This transit provokes you to make big changes in your life and here is why that is a good thing: 1. You no longer ignore things like bad relationships or being in debt. 2. You have the ability to stop dreaming and starting doing. 3. You are able to figure out what's real and what's fantasy. 4. You can think more clearly and plan more carefully for the future. 5. You will re-evaluate what's truly important to you. Below are the general horoscopes for each sign. For more personalized information, contact me.

Aries – 12th House of the Subconscious - Here is your chance to dive deep and rise to the surface of your subconscious with that most highly valued prize: the truth. Pay close attention to the neuroses that occupy your thinking now, and be bold in seizing the opportunity for healing that comes with smoking them out. Avoid indulging in mind-altering substances. Be honest with yourself and embrace clarity as a tool for lasting personal development.

Taurus – 11th House of Social Networking - Choose not to ignore your paranoia about issues affecting any area of your life where group dynamics rule. Demand to know the details of the political dealings you rightly sense are going on behind the scenes. Then, think not what your friends can do for you, but what you can do for your friends. Fall into compassion and fire up your humanitarian efforts. Meditate on the germ of a revolutionary idea, and watch it flourish.

Gemini – 10th House of Career and Public Standing - Duties or responsibilities you’ve been avoiding can no longer be ignored. It’s time to take the reins and begin to steer your ship into deeper waters, however intimidating this might feel. Don’t be afraid to tap into your inner ball-breaker. Act “as if” you’re the boss. When the limelight beckons, don’t hide away in the shadows. Get real about the sacrifices you need to make if you want your career to take off the way you envision.

Cancer – 9th House of Wisdom - Come out of your cave and give in to your wanderlust. A spiritual awakening could be in store for you when you open your mind and put paid to fears you can now see are completely unfounded. Dive into your studies in the University of Life and embark on a vision quest or spiritual pilgrimage. To achieve enlightenment, deal only in what you know in your soul to be the truth and demand the same of others.

Leo - 8th House of Sex and Shared Resources - Like a butterfly, you are on a journey of transformation and rebirth. But now you’re being asked to come clean about wherever wallowing in your comfort zone is stunting your personal growth. Escape into obsession and control will only compound your sense of being stuck. Ignore your intuition at your peril, and pick up creative projects with your typical gusto. A mystery about an inheritance or money owed could also be resolved.

Virgo – 7th House of Marriage and Partnerships - Expect a breakthrough as deep-seated fractures in your closest relationships come up for air and healing. Embrace situations that show your creative and business collaborators’ true colors, and resolve to accept what you see. Give in to the notion of compromise. See past your ego for ways for justice to be served. Accept that the skeletons in your closet could actually be good PR.

Libra – 6th House of Work, Health and Service - Any flaws in your logic will be exposed now, so arm yourself with a backup plan. Details you’d prefer to gloss over will demand your attention. Tackling mundane-seeming tasks could actually lead to the breakthroughs you’ve been looking for. Knuckle down. Your health and well being is at risk if you continue to delude yourself about your diet. Be ready to redraft a creative project to perfection.

Scorpio – 5th House of Creativity and Fun - A clandestine affair or flirtation could come to light, or maybe you’ll be asked to play your hand in matters of the heart. Your secret vice won’t stay a secret for long. A creative project you’re personally invested in could come to fruition now, and this fertile creative phase could also see your parental urges kick in. Be wary of situations that allow you to escape into over-indulgence. A hidden talent for the performing arts could also be revealed.

Sagittarius – 4th House of Home and Family - Expect the unexpected from a family situation, as whatever’s been going on behind the scenes is unveiled. Family therapy could prove especially insightful. In all other areas, embark on a Dream Quest to get to the heart of the matter and let your subconscious be your guide. Now examine your daily habits. What nourishes you and what is holding you back will be clearer now.

Capricorn – 3rd House of Communication - Be ruthless in speaking the truth. Allow yourself to hear the same in what others are saying. A hidden affinity with writing or speaking may come to light, embrace opportunities to explore this. Allow your logical mind to be infiltrated by your intuition. Journal about your dreams. A sibling’s or neighbor’s secret may be revealed.

Aquarius – 2nd House of Material Possessions - Get real about your finances and banish your credit cards to the back drawer. No more hiding your head in the sand and spending beyond your means, especially if shopping is a means of escape for you. Ask yourself; who am I without my luxuries and creature comforts? A creative way to add to your income may be unlocked. Look out for it, leave no stone un-turned. Then act.

Pisces – 1st House of Self  -You’ll see past what’s in the mirror and view body image issues for what they really are: nothing but a figment of your insecurities. Now is the time for honest self-observation. Get real as you analyze your actions. In what ways do you allow your emotions to sabotage your personal vitality? Clean up your act. Insist on clarity of self-expression, no lying to yourself or your inner child.

May 2016 - Time to Reflect

As May begins, there are five planets trekking through a retrograde cycle: communicator Mercury, forceful Mars, expansive Jupiter (although Jupiter will turn direct on May 9^th), structured Saturn and transformative Pluto. Despite their poor reputations for disruption and chaos which is not without merit, Retrogrades are also an important time to slow down, step back and correct course. Are you on the best possible path or are you just charging ahead blindly? The Universe is giving us a grace period to sort that all out.

For the next few months, we need to be clear on who we are, what we are doing, where we are going and start practicing it. These 4 months are our gift to learn how to be our true authentic selves.  Here is a short overview of the energy you can experience from each planet:

1. Mars causes feeling of “I want to move forward but I can’t”. It is a fast moving planet and hates slowness but we are forced to re-evaluate how we react and our actions so we can be a more aligned path with our authentic self.

2. Saturn wants us to take slow, steady steps with lots of time for reflection. We learn to look at our beliefs, thoughts, movement, action in life and business. Are you trying to do too much, are you glossing over things and are you not walking your talk.

3. Jupiter asks us to look at how we want to expand our lives and make sure we are being true to who we are. How can you love and honor yourself more?

4. Pluto challenges our beliefs, perceptions, our inner selves and shadow side. It wants us to really dig deep and clear out things that no longer serve.

5. Mercury wants us to look at everything about communication, contacts, technology, appliances and vehicles. What need to be repaired, redone or fixed? Are all your “I’s” dotted and “T’s” crossed.

It is a beautiful gift if we choose to see it that way. Our energy and time is precious. Do the groundwork now. Build your foundation and shine authentically.

Each planet affects a different part of your chart. I can provide you with a road map to help you see what you need to work on and to watch out for during the next few challenging months. If you want a retrograde astrology chart, please click here.

Mercury Rx in Taurus

 

April 28 to May 22, 2016

Oh, Mercury retrograde, here you are again arriving on our collective thresholds in all your chaotic glory.  During your stay you are going to ask us (whether we like it or not) to re-evaluate, re-tool and re-vamp our lives (whether we like it or not). Then, as quickly as you appear, you disappear again, leaving us reeling, but with better insight into ourselves.  The key to surviving this period is really rather simple - go with it.  Mercury is giving you a do-over, a take two, a mulligan.  Take advantage - don’t squander the opportunity.

While Mercury is backpedaling in earthy Taurus, we'll all have a sobering opportunity to revise our plans about the material side of life. Perhaps your budget needs an overhaul. Or, it's possible that you need to reconsider how you're using your talents in order to earn money. Whatever the details, you have an opportunity to re-calibrate your approach to finances and strengthen your mental self-worth muscles in the process.You may be persuaded to let go of things and possessions you've been holding and hoarding. Perhaps you can recycle by donating your old possessions. Mercury retrograde in Taurus brings stubborn blockages connected with new ideas, powers of concentration and putting ideas into a practical format. Access to the most direct route to your goals is likely to be blocked by breakdowns in communication and unwillingness to compromise. All areas of communication are affected. Methods and motivation for learning, communication and transportation are subject to difficulties under this aspect.

So along with the customary Do’s and Don’ts of backing up your data, not signing any contracts (unless it was started pre-retrograde) and double-checking your appointments, here are 5 tips to help you cope during this time.

• Be sure not to take things too personally. People will often say offensive things they didn’t mean around this time, because their thinking is clouded and their communication skills are on pause.

• Finally finish those lingering tasks. Home improvement projects? Wardrobe re-organization? This is an excellent time to complete those things and file them away forever.

• Allow Mercury to nudge you in unusual directions. Look at what the universe is trying to show you. What can you learn from this situation? This is a fantastic time to re-examine, accept and move on.

• Mercury retrograde encourages us to tie up loose ends. Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. It’s time to move on, and if you can’t forget, do your best to forgive.

• Mercury retrograde favors rewriting, revising or editing any documents. Why not put that energy to good use and rework your résumé or personal mission statement? You could spice up your blog’s bio page or make some long overdue changes to your business plans.

Mars/Pluto Rx - Transforming our Souls

Mars begins its retrograde period on April 17th in Sagittarius, backtracks into Scorpio on May 27th and remains there until it turns direct on June 29th. Following the retrograde cycle, Mars will exit Scorpio and enter Sagittarius on August 2nd. It is particularly noteworthy that Pluto begins its retrograde period on April 18th, less than 24 hours after Mars.

When Mars begins retrograde in Sagittarius, intuition sends a stronger signal and prompts a tough questioning and soul-searching period. Mars retrograde in Sagittarius serves to curtail that which has run rampant or wild or has grown out of proportion. What looked like opportunity can prove to be out of reach, a liability, lost, or non-existent.  What had seemed so clear, so justified, can become indistinct, confused and irrelevant. At the same time, this necessitates the intake of more diversified information and experience. It can prompt or force consciousness to open up to more varied ideas, concepts and opinions. We are now in the position to re-assess our current projects, our approach to getting what we want, and our desire nature. There can be passive-aggressive behavior during this cycle. We may be instigating problems or arguments rather than dealing with issues directly. When Mars enters into Scorpio at the end of May, you will find this to intensify our soul-searching introspection. Here, the soul is consciously and deliberately choosing to confront, examine and question itself. Instincts are now in a state of deeper questioning. Mars retrograde in Scorpio seeks to merge self and soul more consciously and completely.

Adding to our desire to get to the heart of us, Pluto turns retrograde from the 18th to September 26th, and we feel pressured to eliminate and release the old, outdated and obsolete in our lives. We are urged to let go of attitudes, thinking or communication patterns and rigid emotions and undertake an internal form of house cleaning. It is a good time to research into our own Souls in order to determine exactly what we do or do not need. Pluto's backward shift makes us reflective and forces us to look inward. Like its namesake, the planet Pluto rules over the shadow side of everything and everyone. When Pluto goes retrograde, it forces us to focus on our own personal shadow sides, specifically, the unpleasant parts of our personalities that we may not really like. Two big themes that Pluto likes to highlight are power and desire. With Pluto retrograde, we'll have to get honest with ourselves about how much we're motivated by a need for recognition, money and authority. This is a period of personal reckoning and once we see the traits in ourselves that we dislike, we can work to improve them. Pluto retrograde sheds light on the darker corners of our experiences. In this way we can grow, which highlights Pluto's key role in our lives - transformation.