Journeying through the relationships and impersonal encounters we find ourselves in this week can teach us innumerable lessons about who we are and who we are in the process of becoming. The jagged pills of realizing we may not be all that we thought we were can challenge us to reflect upon the choices we made that led us up to this day. And while it’s just like any other day that has ever been, it is not. The planets and stars have shifted, the winds are blowing from a different direction, and the tide is higher than before. We are seeking the summits of the most majestic mountains that live deep within us. May we all drink in the medicine of the goats that lead the way.
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Venus in Leo square Jupiter in Taurus
Moon conjunct South Node in Libra
Moon in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn
What we hold near and dear, and how we express our love and appreciation for those things, is a point of contemplation today. The credibility of those values— whether in the sphere of our relationships or in the sphere of the stage upon which we stand to declare them to our audience—can face scrutiny, even if we have conviction about their morality and validity. But there is divine beauty and majesty in being fearlessly grounded in our truth, so honoring that and having the wherewithal to honor the same in others should be exercised freely today.
Carrying that into the inevitable reflecting tendencies of a Libra Moon can help us yield more graciously to the whims of others, as long as we don’t sacrifice our individuality in the process. Often, Libra’s influence subdues its own pursuits for those of others in the name of peace and harmony, destabilizing the authentic harmony of respecting and accepting each other’s personal truths.
As evening sets in, we shift into the challenges arising from such sacrifices we may have made in the past. Challenges that reveal the limitations inherent in such behavior. What have we lost as a result of cowering to the heavy hands of others? How have we learned to nurture our convictions and grow more courageous from our misgivings?
Monday, September 18, 2023
Moon in Scorpio trine Saturn in Pisces
Moon in Scorpio sextile Mercury in Virgo
For much of this year, we have been studying and reflecting upon our spiritual maturity, perhaps noticing lapses in our devotion or connection to our divinity, maybe feeling like the groundwork we had spent a long time developing and sustaining has more or less crumbled into disarray. These experiences help remind us that all things must pass away and new improved groundwork must be laid to accommodate a greater capacity for the expansion of our consciousness. This is the process inherent in Saturn’s tenure through Pisces (through 2025-26).
With this in mind, we can allow ourselves the time and dedication to cultivate a greater capacity for what lies ahead in the long run. We can feel today as though the limitations that prevent us from reaching the deeper reaches of our psyches may not be quite so limited. We get by with a little help from our friend Mercury in its domicile Virgo, ascertaining methods with which we can fathom those reaches and gain a clearer vision of how to lay a valuable foundation upon which they can flourish over the coming years.
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Sun in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces
Moon in Scorpio opposite Jupiter in Taurus
Moon in Scorpio square Venus in Leo
Moon in Scorpio opposite Uranus in Taurus
Mars in Libra quincunx Jupiter in Taurus
With such a medley of aspects influencing our day today, especially Sun opposing Neptune, we should consider fleshing out any outstanding issues we have been neglecting. Being proactive in our efforts to keep our lives functioning as optimally as possible helps quell any creeping unconscious temptations to further neglect what helps keep us afloat, if you will. Though we are facing the challenges of the disfunction-function polarity today, erring on the side of effort to function will pay off handsomely.
There is also a tendency for stubborn adherence to the ways in which we perceive the value of our sensual and sexual natures. While this can be a sensitive topic, even between partners, there lies the importance of addressing our perceptions: to reveal our truths, transcend dogmas, and advance our intimacy in order to create a safer and more expansive space to explore the exciting realms of physical, emotional, and spiritual affection and devotion.
As we mosey through life picking up on subtle differences between ourselves and others, we question the validity and value of our take on everything from sexuality to attire to spirituality to vices to politics and everything in between. This Libran trait pervades all of us, and as we wrestle with how much we choose to care about all of it, there will always be something we feel we are lacking. We must take heart that most everything we feel we lack is inconsequential to the unnamable quintessence of our spirit. May we drop our conditioned weaknesses to authenticate our beauty.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Moon in Scorpio trine Neptune in Pisces and square Pluto in Capricorn
Moon in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces
Moon’s repetitive close aspects to Neptune and Pluto every few days helps us integrate and process their zoomed out influences of spiritual immersion or disillusionment, and limiting or transformative achievement, respectively. These potentials have existed for eons, though they are at play in our lives currently in ways that help determine our attitude towards our destiny. Do we get caught in webs we later recognize as lies? Do we not believe we have the skills or wherewithal to manifest significant achievement? Attitude alters our destiny.
In the same vein, the progression of our inspiration to acquire more knowledge and understanding about whatever it is we find ourselves interested in can sometimes take a back seat to mundane and heinous tasks and responsibilities. While this can happen on a daily basis, sometimes we must face this bucket of ice water in our face with acceptance, grace, and laughter. The shock can release the hold our delusions had on us and inspire us to seek once again.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Sun in Virgo trine Pluto in Capricorn
Moon in Sagittarius square Mercury in Virgo
Moon in Sagittarius trine Venus in Leo and Chiron in Aries
Today’s influential harmonies of fire and earth help ground our passions so they have space and time to flourish and thrive. The latency is low so the vibes can flow between the innermost and outermost celestial bodies of our solar system today, allowing for clear and present strides to be made in our efforts toward achievement and success. We can feel as though we know exactly what it is we need to do to get to where we are going.
Though we do face potential tension between our expansive aspirations and tangible functionality, this can spur an advanced compromise between them, thus ensuring optimum growth and grounded sensibility. And with the open and harmonious Grand Trine in fire signs between Moon, Venus, and Chiron, there is sure to be inspiration, creativity, and passionate progress on our roads of romance and resources. We must be gentle and kind, however, to quiet the temper evident in this powerful elemental force. Wounds may still be raw, so we should carry our salve and bandages for those in need.
Friday, September 22, 2023
Moon in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces
Moon in Sagittarius square Sun in Virgo
Tensions between our dogma and our nirvana manifest as cracks within our psyche. And though that is how the light gets in, it is also how we confuse one with the other more often than not. Today can be a sacred day, despite some tension, to delve headlong into the authenticity of our approach to awakening. The dregs of dogmatic distractions can cloud and taint the clarity of our glass of life, prolonging our delusions with anything from messianic complexes to distorted, conditioned depressions of despair. Today’s tension can shake us out of it all and enlighten us as does the perfect koan at the perfect time.
As we watch the First Quarter Moon rise in the east this afternoon (EDT), we can notice its 90° angle to Sun high in the sky. These angles act as test to see how we are coming along with our New Moon intensions. And these luminaries are indeed in tension, perhaps staring each other down to see through any lack of authenticity or commitment to those goals we set last week. Where do we go from here? How far along have we come? Is there anywhere to really go? Of course there is! We are setting the controls for the heart of the Sun every month! We seek to shine as bright as we can all through our lives. May we shine and shine in deed and in tension.
Saturday, September 23, 2023
*Sun ingresses Libra*
Moon in Capricorn trine Mercury in Virgo
Moon in Capricorn trine Jupiter in Taurus
Moon in Capricorn square Mars in Libra
When Sun ingresses Libra we are encouraged to embrace the similarities and differences between ourselves and others. This can take a turn for the worst if we are not open to accepting the fact that none of us are the same as anyone else. Nor should we be. There is enormous beauty and expansive opportunity for conscious evolution due to this inevitability. The reason why Venus rules Libra is precisely because, in its greatest display, we find love and harmony between ourselves and others, despite contrasting differences. It teaches us to respect and learn from others and to lay down our egos for the sake of the magic of harmony and peace.
Ah, the goats of ambition surround us and jump to and fro today, teaching us how to seek the peaks of our inner mountain ranges. The body and mind strive to coalesce into some version of ourselves we have sought to manifest all these years. What greatness we are all becoming! Yet, how far have we already come? How far have we yet to go? Is it all worth the hullabaloo? When it comes to designing and arranging our daily routines and practices into methods that generate a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction, it is most certainly worth all the hullabaloo in the world.
We have all seen or experienced what avalanches can metaphorically do to a person’s life. We climb the ladder, make great strides to get to where we wanted to be, only to be tossed down into near or certain oblivion. Watching this can be terrifying, and living it can be downright etched trauma in the otherwise clear windows of our souls. While Taoist philosophies and pious monastic practices can enlighten us and bring us closer to Great Spirit, they can also disillusion us into isolation and lonely despair.
May we honor the gift of the relationships we have with ourselves and others so that we can recognize the value of making the effort to do what it takes to make our lives functional, pleasant, and filled with the wonderment of mystery and magic all around us. It is not worth our time to toil in foolish squabbles with others if they do not offer the space and empathy to compassionately understand us and help to reconcile our plight with their own. We must stand firm in our commitment to thrive as individuals!
This is certainly a week to kick our generators into top gear to get to where we hope to be. Petty toiling in negligible matters does not help us focus on what needs to be rebuilt. Our connection to our sacred serenity must be accompanied by right action and the intentional pursuit of accomplishing a highly functional and manageable life. We would do well to take heed of the lessons available from loved ones and strangers, as well as from the whims of synchronicity that weave their way in and out of our days this week. “Believe it implicitly, love is tranquility. If you don’t know that then nothing is known.” – Robert Hunter.