Planets

Mars in Gemini: 2022-2023

art by Andrew Ferez

I wrote about Mars entering Gemini in last week’s update but this is a significant enough event that it deserves its own post. Mars entered Gemini on August 20, 2022 EDT and because of its retrograde cycle it will remain in Gemini until March 25, 2023. Mars is considered a malefic planet by astrologers in the various ancient traditions because of its connection with violence, but Mars is essential to physical and mental health as it inspires and motivates us to action. Mars helps us to identify our needs and desires and create a strategy for getting there. I like to say that without Mars we would have no reason to get up in the morning. Mars is a primary motivator.

The sign that Mars travels through describes the filter that Mars will operate through during that time. Mercury-ruled Gemini is the sign of thought and information – it hungers for knowledge and desires a wide variety of experiences in order to maximize understanding. For this reason, with Mars in Gemini there is the potential for more fluidity in discussion and this could apply to things like peace talks as well as to negotiations in our personal lives.

In Gemini, Mars can lose its focus – so many things become interesting and the creative power of Mars is weakened through the dispersal into multiple avenues of action. We may feel that we are spinning our wheels and getting little done, but the power of Mars in Gemini lies in its ability to open our minds to many different ideas and ways of thinking.

Mars was last retrograde in 2020-2022 and that time Mars was in its own sign of Aries, causing a lot of […]

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By |2022-08-22T07:50:01-04:00August 22nd, 2022|Mars, Planetary cycles|1 Comment
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Jupiter in Aries May 10: Forging a new direction

art by Catrin Welz Stein

The story of Jupiter.

The astrological meaning of Jupiter can be deduced from his position in Roman mythology and modern astronomy: As King of the Gods he was the highest ruler and presided over law and order as well as the fates of men and women. Noble in nature, he represents the search for the highest expression of human life.  As the One who fulfilled requests and wishes, Jupiter has come to be associated with good fortune and luck. As the largest of all of the planets, it symbolizes expansion of all things including expansion of human understanding. Jupiter is often called the “greater benefic,” (with Venus as the “lesser benefic”) and the bringer of good fortune. I tend to think that Jupiter’s association with good luck tends to be the result of the optimism and faith that Jupiter brings to the table, enhancing a positive outlook which itself will bring good fortune. 

Jupiter is a partner to Mercury in their rulership of the mutable (flexible and adaptable) signs: Jupiter rules Pisces and Sagittarius, and Mercury rules Virgo and Gemini. Under Mercury’s rulership of Virgo and Gemini we are working with the “small mind” – the personal viewpoints and opinions and ways to measure the world. Under Jupiter’s rulership of Pisces and Sagittarius we seek a broader perspective – that of the “higher mind” or “universal mind.”  We seek expansion and growth and tend to become unsatisfied with the status quo.

Because of its association with good fortune, Jupiter is considered a powerful ally in the chart and that is true to an extent, but Jupiter’s tendency to overdo everything can lead to trouble. And that brings us […]

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By |2022-04-28T07:39:43-04:00April 27th, 2022|Featured posts, Jupiter, Planetary cycles|1 Comment
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The meaning of Mercury in Virgo, August 11-August 30, 2021

artist unknown

Mercury is the fastest moving of the planets, and as the messenger god in Roman mythology he was the only one of all of the gods that was allowed into the Underworld, the domain of Pluto.  This is a lovely symbol for the way in which our mental understanding (Mercury) helps to facilitate our personal transformation through our experiences and provides us with a way to process the events in our life in a way that enhances our personal growth.  As Mercury travels through the signs it sheds new light on ways in which we can process events and feelings – all of the data that we encounter each day is converted through the mind into nutrition for the soul, just as the food we eat is converted into nutrition for the body.  And just like the food we eat, this nutrition can be either delicious and useful or seem to taste good and then make us feel bad.

Mercury leaves enthusiastic Leo today for more serious Virgo – one of the signs which it rules.  Mercury is at home in Virgo where this data processing of our experiences can be done efficiently and with purpose.  The element of air is concerned with matters of communication so Mercury is technically an air planet, but it is quite at home in this earth sign where a practical application of our ideas can be put to good use as we sort through puzzle of ideas and mental data which flow through the mind constantly, and assemble it into a cohesive picture in the pursuit of perfection.

We can use this time while Mercury is in Virgo to get organized and to learn or study as it may be easier […]

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By |2021-08-11T07:39:44-04:00August 11th, 2021|Mercury, Planetary news this week|3 Comments
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7.15.21 – Chiron stations retrograde and we learn to let go

art by Ximena Vasquez

Chiron’s orbit tells an interesting story – most of the time this little planetoid with comet-like properties sandwiches itself between the last of the personal planets, Saturn, and the first of the transpersonal planets, Uranus.  This is significant because in facilitating the healing of psycho-emotional and spiritual wounds that keep us stuck, it assists in the process of transformation. Most of us have developed good coping strategies to deal with any lingering emotional pain, but under Chiron’s tutelage we have to face these areas of trauma and ultimately release them.  This isn’t comfortable, but it is exhilarating as we let go of all that stuck energy!

Today Chiron turns retrograde – not an unusual event since Chiron, like the outer planets, is retrograde approximately half the year.  When Chiron is retrograde its influence is more personal – it’s like having a teacher move into your home.  The process of evolution can be accelerated if your personal chart is being activated by Chiron (any planets between 10-20 degrees of the cardinal signs Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn are affected right now by Chiron).  The key to getting the most out of Chiron events is to learn to relax around the heart, feel the energy of emotion, and leave the story behind. ❤️

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By |2021-07-15T07:46:02-04:00July 15th, 2021|Chiron, Planetary news this week|0 Comments
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6.17.21 – The meaning of stationary Jupiter

Other than the big loud square from Saturn to Uranus that we’ve all been talking about – the one that is making it difficult to find our footing (Saturn) as we face the hard facts of change (Uranus) – the planets are relatively quiet this week. We have a Virgo Moon today making gentle aspects and not causing too much trouble, and an awkward quincunx from the Sun (Self) to Pluto (intense transformation) that could evoke a sense of needing to find an answer that never arrives.

Meanwhile, big happy Jupiter is making a station in the sky as it prepares to turn retrograde on Sunday June 20th.  Jupiter turns retrograde every year or so and when it does it encourages us to look back over our dreams and wishes for success and abundance in our lives and re-evaluate whether they are really in harmony with our soul’s purpose.  As with any retrograde period, sometimes it feels as though we aren’t able to move forward as quickly as we would like and Mercury is retrograde too, of course.  But these periods of looking back are a crucial part of our personal growth and help us to fine tune our goals and our vision for how we want our life to become. ❤️

 

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By |2021-06-16T19:22:32-04:00June 17th, 2021|Jupiter, Planetary news this week|2 Comments