Astrology by Tara's Blue Moon Forecast!

Blue Moon
March 31, 2018
8:36am, Washington, DC

Greetings Sky Watchers!

Welcome back for our second full blue Moon of 2018. A Blue Moon is unusual because it only happens once every 2.5 years; having two in less than two months is incredibly rare!

At the time of the full Moon, the sign of Taurus will be on the ascendant, and the Sun will be at 10 Aries while the Moon is at 10 Libra.

The chart has Taurus rising, so Venus rules the chart. The rising sign is the “face” of the chart, and also represents the natural defensive reaction. Taurus is a fixed earth sign that desires consistency, dependability, loyalty, comfort, and beauty. Taurus enjoys the finer things in life as well as the attention that goes along with it. When it doesn’t get what it wants, the bull digs in its heels and acting stubbornly.

Venus is in the 12th house with a house stellium of three other planets. With Venus in the twelfth house, in its dignity of Taurus, it speaks of having a big heart but being let down. You may feel unappreciated or not find the love you desire.

The 12th house is the heaviest in this chart, and as such, it is a central focus of this chart. The twelfth house represents what transforms our unconscious mind, and what we must release.

When we look at the full Moon, we see five planets involved in a T-square aspect. As astrologers, when we look at a T-square, we see three-quarters of a grand square. It’s much like a three-legged table—unstable and putting undue stress on one leg. The best way to stabilize it is to prop up the fourth corner. We do the same in astrology; while we can’t create stability where it doesn’t exist, we can pay attention to the energy where the fourth leg should be to help create balance.

For this particular T-square configuration, we have the Sun conjunct Mercury in the twelfth house opposing the Moon in the 6th house. The full Moon opposition squares the Mars-Saturn conjunction in the 9th house. 

All of the planets involved in the t-square are in cardinal signs occupying naturally mutable houses. Cardinal signs want to act and initiate change, but the mutable house prefers transition and change. This creates a power dynamic where the cardinal signs may not be able to function on all cylinders as they normally would. 

At the time of the full Moon, the fourth leg of the grand square is located in Cancer in the 3rd house. It turns the focus to our emotional well-being; Cancer, in particular, is the most emotional sign with attachments to family. The third house is tied to our siblings and cousins as well as our way of thinking. With the absence of planetary energy at this focal point, it could point us towards a weakness in our lives that may need some attention.

The Sun-Mercury conjunction in the 12th house calls our attention to our hiding spots. It’s possible that we need to sequester ourselves away for some long overdue rest. Or this could mean that we have been hesitant to express ourselves for fear of the reactions it may cause.

With the Moon in Libra, an air sign, we are emotionally tuned in to our thoughts and ideas. The Moon is in the 6th house of daily tasks and routine. With the Moon opposite the Sun in an air sign, this indicates a need for balance. You could be having thoughts of productivity and new ideas for stimulation, but with Mercury and the Sun in the 12th house, you may be hesitant to share your ideas at the moment.

Teeing off the square is the malefic conjunction in the ninth house. With Mars and Saturn working together in Capricorn, our passions and our boundaries are going to be rigid and directed toward goal accomplishment. With the malefics sitting in a mutable house of expansion, they may not operate to their full capacity. When you compound all of this with the Mercury retrograde, there is a higher probability of misunderstandings.

As always, full Moons require adjustment and self-awareness. This Blue Moon is no different. With a cardinal T-square occupying mutable houses and Mercury retrograde, be prepared for our desired outcomes to change quickly. The keywords to this full Moon are adaptability and emotional self-control.

Thanks for tuning in, Sky Watchers! See you in a few weeks.

Blessings,

Tara

-->

Saturn's Mercury Retrograde Blog

Dear Readers,

I greet you on this lovely Saturn's day. 

As you are no doubt aware, you have not seen a blog from John in some time. As I understand it, he's been exceptionally lazy and on vacation for at least part of the time, though I can't possibly accept that as an excuse.

Thankfully for John, he has exceptional guest bloggers like Tara and Ren who do seem to understand the value of hard work. I'm ashamed on their behalf for our blogger's sloth of late.  

What I don't understand is how a person who feels my influence as keenly as he does isn't working constantly to better himself, but I digress.

The Sun has asked me nicely to come on and present some information about Mercury's upcoming retrograde. I find this continual focus on Mercury's thrice-yearly deviation from his natural progression to be somewhat annoying and explained this very fact to the Sun. To his credit, he listened and then told me I was the only truly responsible planet and then ordered me to do it. So here I am. 

Mercury has taken his leave of us--again--and so it is now up to you to find things to blame on him. Some of the most common occurrences during his business trips include:

• Communication problems of all kinds, both between people, between machines or networks, or both;
• Events that are scheduled, and then changed or canceled at a moment's notice;
• Technology problems of every stripe; and
• A lack of ability to see things that are painfully obvious.

John's most recent example happened several days ago when he was signed up to do a local psychic fair. The forecast was for rain changing to snow in the afternoon prior to the evening event. John followed up with the event organizers and was told the event would go on in spite of the weather. 

So John, fulfilling his duty and being a man of his word, went over, prepared to...ummm, do whatever it is a psychic does. Sounds more like Neptune nonsense, if you ask me. 

Of course, once he arrived there, an hour later he received two emails...one that said the event was occurring, and a later one that said the event was canceled. So John got in his car and headed home, wasting precious resources because Mercury couldn't perform. 

The point I'm trying to make, dear readers, is that Mercury is an unreliable planet on the best of days, but while he's out and about you need to be especially careful. To wit:

• While I'm not a technology fan since none of you can put down those hand-held computers you love so much I would suggest postponing any maintenance or upgrade on any of them at this time. 

• Also, please use caution when exercising your normally fervent consumer urges by not purchasing technology or big-ticket items, like cars or homes, during this time. 

• Finally, this is not a good time to have conversations that are of particular import. These should also be held once Mercury has not only returned to direct motion but has finished his shadow.

One final word of caution: I expect some of these conditions to persist as far as early Sun in Taurus. Consider yourself warned. 

Having successfully fulfilled my obligation to the Sun, I will now retire. I have no idea when John will actually return, but when he does, I hope you will chastise him severely for his incredible laziness and lack of purpose. 

Very truly yours,

Saturn

Astrology by Tara's New Moon Forecast

Apologies for the delay, good people! :)

New Moon
Saturday March 17 2018
9:11am, Washington, DC

Greetings Sky Watchers,

Today we will be discussing the Pisces New Moon. The new Moon is when the Sun and Moon meet by the exact degree of a sign. It’s the only time during a lunar cycle when they the same degree of the same sign. 

When we discuss the age of a planet or satellite, we always speak in terms of solar contact symbolizing a rebirth. Metaphysically, it’s the time of the month in a moon cycle in which we focus on new projects and ideas that we desire to grow.

At the time of the New moon Taurus will be on the ascendant, which gives Venus rulership of the chart. Taurus rising encourages stability and comfort.

When you look at this New Moon chart the first thing one may notice is the shocking vacancy within houses one through six. The personal houses are untenanted by planets. This does NOT lessen their importance; however, it does add focus to the houses that are heavily occupied with planets.

In this new moon chart, the 12th house is the most populated house. The twelfth house is one of great misunderstanding and is often feared. It’s the house of our subconscious mind, the personal secrets we keep, our past life connections, our intuitions, artistic abilities, and where we convalesce and recover. 

Another way to look at is that the 12th house is right before sunrise, or the horizon of the ascendant, like the morning mist before daybreak; the Sun does not clearly shine on all things but casts shadows which causes us to pause and reflect. The same is with the twelfth house; it will ask us to pause and reflect on ourselves. It is where our souls connect with the ethereal waters of creation. It represents what our soul carried over before being born.

Pisces, the mutable water sign, is the natural ruler of the twelfth house, and is ruled by Jupiter (classical) or Neptune (modern). All water signs are feminine and represent our emotions. Pisces is known for being unclear, as the waters of Pisces obscure our ability to separate facts from reason.

The Sun. Moon, Venus, Mercury and Uranus all occupy the 12t house. The New Moon conjunction s taking place in Pisces, but the sign of Aries is intercepted—completely encased—within the twelfth house, holding the remaining three planets within it. 

Within the 12th house, the Moon and Sun bathe together in the metaphysical waters of Pisces and united in wanting to connect. Together their energy drives the house, receiving abundant energy from their trine with Jupiter in the 7th house of relationships. This connection could mean that we suddenly want to share our feelings with others.

The sign of Aries represents the self and it expresses the motto “I Am”. Within the sign of self we have Venus (love) and Mercury (communication) conjunct and wanting to passionately speak their truth, yet they are blocked by the Aries interception. Intercepted signs create energy blocks, and planets in an intercepted sign may feel out of sorts or uncomfortable. This is like having to walk through a room until you find the right doorway.

In this case, Mercury, planet of communication, is paired up with Venus, the planet of love, but can’t find his way out to express what he truly wants to say. This could lead to misunderstandings because we aren’t communicating effectively. The Mercury retrograde storm— the storm is Mercury slowing down before going retrograde—only exaggerates miscommunication. 

When we throw Mars, planet of war, trining Uranus, the planet of abrupt change and revolution, into the situation,  we’re much more likely to explode if we aren’t mindful of our approach toward the situation and the people involved.

Be mindful that there is a lot of passion behind our words and they may not be understood in the manner you had hoped.

Thanks as always, Sky Watchers! See you again on the full moon!

Blessings,

Tara

-->

Ren's Day: Father-Daughter Day?

[Ren walks quickly up to a set of pine double doors and knocks rapidly.]

Mars: I’m comin', I’m comin'. Don’t get your panties in a twist!

[The double doors burst open to reveal a giant, red-haired mountain of a man.]

Mars: REN!!!!!

[The giant red mountain’s face erupted in a smile so bright it could blind you.]

Ren: MARS!

Mars: Get your sorry ass in here! I’ve had the floors waxed twice for your visit.

Ren: The floors, waxed?

[Mars steps aside and motions for Ren to come inside. The double doors opened to reveal a full school gymnasium. Wooden floors gleam from wall to wall, with a shiny red gladiator embossed in the middle.]

Ren: This is your office?

Mars: Of course! What did you expect, a room with a desk and a lamp or like a filing cabinet or some shit?

Ren: No, this is very you, in fact I should have guessed it would look something like this.

[Mars’ laughter booms through the gym]

Mars: So, are you ready for our ‘meeting’?

Ren: Actually, I was hoping we could reschedule. I’ve got a lot going on right now and no time to do any of it.

Mars: Bullshit! Tell me what the fuck could be so important that I, of all planets, don’t get to see you. I’ve already waited two weeks!

Ren: Well, I’ve got bills, and more bills just keep getting added to my pile. The job I have to pay for said bills? Well that ship is sinking and I am terrified I won’t be able to find a new one. Also the fact that I’ll be 25 next month and I still live at home with my parents and I don’t have career or any fucking idea what I’m supposed to do with my life. OH! And I had a panic attack on the way here.

[Ren lets out a long breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding in.]

Mars: Well it seems like my meeting might actually be what you need right now.

Ren: How so?

Mars: Well, I’ve enlisted the help of ten college bros to play a little game of dodgeball against us. That’s right, against us!

Ren: Oh, they don’t stand a chance.

[Both Mars and Ren let out an almost evil sounding laugh.]

Mars: LET THE SACRIFICES ENTER AND MEET THEIR END!

[One by one, ten college aged dudes dressed in various styles entered the gym and took their places on the other side of the red line. Smiles were plastered on their faces when they realized the ten of them were going up against a man and what looked like a little green haired girl.]

Mars: Any final words?

[No one answered. Mars blows the whistle and all hell breaks loose: Rubber balls flying and smacking bare flesh and sweaty clothing. One after the other, the college dudes fall, hard on their asses and faces alike until only Ren and Mars are standing, panting from the exertion.]

Mars: So?

Ren: Better.

Mars: Wonderful! So, should I text Lady Moon and have her set up your next meeting?

Ren: Yeah, maybe I’ll be in a better place to talk next week.

Mars: Well you know where to find me if you need to blow off steam, or perhaps spill some blood?

Ren: I love the way you think.

Astrology by Tara's Full Moon Forecast

Full Moon
March 1, 2018
7:51 pm
Washington DC

This month, we will get to see another blue Moon—the second full Moon in one calendar month.

The Moon will be at 11 Virgo in the 12th house, and the Sun will be at 11 Pisces in the 6th house. At the time of the Full Moon, Libra is rising, which makes the planet Venus the chart ruler. She adds a sense of balance, beauty, and kindness to this full Moon.

One of the first things to point out is that the signs Virgo and Pisces are occupying each other’s natural houses. Virgo is the natural ruler of the 6th house and occupies the 12th in this chart, while the natural ruler of the 12th house, Pisces, is located in the 6th house.

With four planets in Pisces in the 6th house—the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Neptune—it’s got the most activity of any chart location. The 6th house rules our daily tasks, our jobs, our routines, service to others, and our health. With a heavy 6th house, part of the full Moon focus is on 6th house matters.

The moon in Virgo, is a very analytical placement for the Moon, often referred to as the mother-in law-Moon due to its nagging nature. When the Moon is in Virgo, the emotional self is often very dissatisfied and overly attentive to the finest detail and losing the big picture in the process. With the Moon in the 12th house during this lunation, it can cause the mind to over analyze things that must be felt and not necessarily mentally processed.

The Sun and Neptune are conjunct in the 6th house and both oppose the Moon in the 12th house. Neptune rules Pisces and exchanges his energy with both the Sun and Moon. Neptune adds an emotional and spiritual component to this full Moon, affecting how we view others and ourselves.

Chart ruler Venus and Mercury are also conjunct in the 6th house. Venus is exalted in Pisces and Mercury is accidentally dignified by house, creating a powerful unit. All of these planets in Pisces add a dreamlike quality to how the planets express their energy. This could mean that we are doing a lot for others and ourselves with the highest good intended. Unfortunately, with such a heavy emphasis on self-sacrifice and service to others, it’s easy to overdo and overextend. Everything sounds grand, but realistically it can take a toll on you.

Venus and Mercury are aspecting to two other key planets, namely Jupiter and Mars. During the Full Moon Mars will be square the Venus/Mercury Conjunction in Sagittarius. Although this square is wide, the tension between Mars and two of our personal planets highlights the need to exhibit care in our daily lives. With Venus square Mars there is a thin line between love and hate.

With Mercury squaring Mars, one must remember words cannot be taken back once spoken. It’s best to err on the side of caution and think things through before acting or speaking about anything that makes us angry. This is especially true since Mars is also aspected to Uranus in Aries in the 7th house; it’s possible that our behavior could impact our interpersonal relationships.

Lastly we have Jupiter in the 2nd house in Scorpio. Jupiter is trine the Mercury /Venus conjunction. Jupiter is the ancient ruler of Pisces, and Venus is the natural ruler of the 2nd house. In this case this two benefics are exchanging energy; however, their placement in the 2nd and 6th houses ask us to pause before acting. Jupiter expands everything and Venus indulges. The 2nd house is about moveable possessions, our finances, and our comforts. Mixed with the 6th house matters of daily routines and health, it’s easy to see where the presence of Venus and Jupiter in both houses and in water signs could encourage “retail therapy”. With Jupiter trine Mercury, there is also a danger of overpromising and not delivering. Remember that you are only as good as your word.

The big message behind this month’s full moon is service over self-sacrifice: Where do you draw the line? Remember that it’s essential to find a balance in your life between caring for others and yourself. Also, don’t allow yourself to dilute what you’re capable of doing.

Thanks for tuning in, Sky Watchers! See you next lunation!