Lessons Archives - Astrology readings and writings by Lynn Hayes

New video: Astrology basics for beginners

I created a little video, hopefully the first in a series, to help non-astrologers to understand more about the astrological updates that I post here and which you will find elsewhere. I hope you will find it useful! I plan to product more instructional videos so please let me know in the comments what kind of content you’d like to see. (These videos will not have transcriptions like the ones I post on Mondays, but there are instructions here on how to turn on captions and transcriptions within the video.)

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By Lynn Hayes|2020-09-05T10:28:18-04:00September 5th, 2020|Lessons|2 Comments

Questions about “cusps” and birth signs

[A portion of this article is taken from earlier posts.] The idea that a person was born on the “cusp” originates from Sun Sign astrology. Your sign as you know it is actually the sign that the Sun was in at the time you were born. If you pick up a book or newspaper horoscope about your Sun sign, or as some publications call it, your star sign (if you see a publication that refers to star signs, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction), it will refer to a range of dates for your sign. This stems from the fact that the Sun doesn’t move from one sign into another on the same date each year and these publications have no way to calculate the exact position of the Sun in your chart.

Approximate dates of Sun Signs

For example, in this diagram Aries is said to begin on March 21st, but this year the Sun entered Aries on March 20th.

A question I was asked: “I am looking to understand the “CUSP” between a Virgo and a Libra? After reading [horoscopes for] both for several months, I am finding myself more inclined to be or leaning towards Libra. Can you give me any insight that might point me towards my true sign?”

This individual was born at 29 degrees 17 minutes Virgo. If you were born in the last four or five degrees of one sign, the qualities of the next sign begin bleeding through. He is moving away from the characteristics of Virgo, the previous sign, and his focus is more on the next which is Libra. Mercury in […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2022-09-01T14:39:22-04:00May 15th, 2017|Astrology, Lessons|5 Comments

Top ten things to know about Mars in Capricorn!

Photo by Bacher Photography

Mars often gets a bad rap because it represents the more sordid side of the personality: desires of all kinds, anger, rage. Mars is named after the god of war, after all! But Mars also represents inspiration, motivation, the ability to set good boundaries and defend ourselves. Mars requires action and we generally only see its negative qualities when that action is stifled for some reason. Mars isn’t necessarily destructive, nor does it necessarily inspire rage in the heart of humans. But Mars needs an outlet in order to perform efficiently, and the planet that Mars travels through tells us the best way to channel Mars energy at that time.

Mars just entered the sign of Capricorn, the sign that teaches us to master the material world, and will remain there until December 4th The symbol of Capricorn is the mountain goat, scaling great heights with courage and tenacity. Capricorn loves structure and business – it follows the rules of society and is patient and disciplined in order to achieve its goals Mars is said to be exalted in Capricorn because the potential wild energy of Mars is most effective when channeled through the order of Capricorn.

Each sign acts as a correction for the previous sign, so as Mars enters Capricorn it is leaving the sign of Sagittarius where it dislikes boundaries and rules. The transition to a more structured environment may be somewhat challenging but will pay off in the long run. While Mars is in Capricorn it will eventually set off the Uranus/Pluto square, creating abundant conflict and destruction anywhere there is stagnation that requires a new approach.

Here are ten things to know about the journey of […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2014-10-26T11:32:26-04:00October 26th, 2014|Lessons, Planetary cycles|2 Comments

Retrogrades: A discussion for June 2014

As I was writing the Planetary Illuminations report for June (coming soon to an inbox near you if you are on my mailing list!!) I found that the discussion about retrogrades was substantial enough to deserve its own post.

Astrologically is not always astronomically correct because we observe the motion of the planets from our perspective here on earth. From here, the planets sometimes appear to change direction and move backwards instead of forwards, and we call this “retrograde motion.”

As June begins, Saturn and Pluto are already retrograde, and during the month of June Mercury will turn retrograde on the 7th, followed by Neptune turning retrograde on the 9th, and Chiron will turn retrograde on the 20th. By that time we will have five retrograde planets, which will tend to cause events to slow down and make it more difficult to move forwards.

If you think about a car making a U-turn you will get a sense of how the planet works when it prepares to change direction: Its motion slows down and then comes to a standstill as it makes the actual reversal. When the planet starts to slow down its influence intensifies, especially if that planet is currently affecting planets in our own birthchart, and the energy of that planet becomes hard to ignore. If it is Saturn, things feel heavy and we feel a great responsibility. If it is Neptune, we may feel confused and lethargic but also crave music and meditation.

Once a planet turns retrograde, our attention is pulled back to the past. Retrogrades provide us with an opportunity to revisit areas of our life that require further examination or revision.

The planet Mercury governs communication and learning, as well as other things involving the […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2014-06-01T09:21:10-04:00June 1st, 2014|Lessons|12 Comments

Astrology lesson: The effect of planetary cycles

A client asked this question so I thought it might be a good thing to cover in this column: Do planetary cycles like the Uranus/Pluto square (see the sidebar) affect everyone the same?

I used this example to explain how planetary cycles work: When it’s raining in your community, rain pours down on everyone. But everyone is affected differently. Some people love being out in the rain and they may be dancing in the streets. Some people hate to get wet, and they will stay indoors or cover themselves with rain gear. Some people get depressed in the dark days, and they will retreat into their sadness until the Sun returns.

A planetary cycle or movement, whether a huge cycle such as the Uranus/Pluto square that is going on now (see the sidebar) or a tiny little lunar event that may last an hour or two, will affect all of us to one degree or another. If the planetary cycle is near the same degree as a planet in our chart so that it hits us directly, it will have a stronger and more personal impact.

If the planetary cycle is near the same degree as a sensitive point or system in our chart it has the strongest affect of all, stimulating that sensitive point and necessitating some sort of change to bring relief and ultimately, growth and evolution.

For more information and guidance during planetary cycles, you may want to read my article on Transits and Transformation.

Thank you for attending today’s lesson!

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By Lynn Hayes|2013-12-07T06:32:58-05:00December 7th, 2013|Featured posts, Lessons, Planetary cycles|0 Comments