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Scorpio Super Full Moon – Breaking of the dam

Taurus and Scorpio could be called “the give and take axis.” It’s here we’re confronted with what we’re holding onto and what we’re releasing. Taurus asserts into physical manifestation, produces results and seeks containment for consistency, while Scorpio rules the other end of the life cycle, taking compost and the deceased down into the unseen for death and renewal. This axis is no playground for the faint of heart. It’s intense and persistent.

This Full Moon is Super for a few reasons. A Super Moon occurs when the Moon is physically closer to Earth in its orbit, so we both see and feel it more intensely. This particular Full Moon is called the Pink Moon due to the flowers that bloom this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. Check out this Pink Moon design by Felix Felgo!

Pink Moon by Felix Felgo

Embedded in this Full Moon is an unpredictable, wild card energy. Since April 2018, Uranus has been plodding through Taurus, slowly destabilising our relationship to security, finances, resources and the planet. What we once relied upon is now being eroded and any weaknesses and vulnerabilities are being exposed. Change is the nemesis of the fixed signs, and right now it’s the only reliable constant we have. Tonight, Uranus fuses with the Sun as part of the light projected onto the Moon; the usual steadiness of Taurus and Scorpio is jolted into erratic bursts of fits and starts, wrapped up in the juxtaposition of deep feelings and emotional detachment.

Throughout 2021, Saturn is adding extra pressure to Uranus. We’re experiencing this as tension between old and new, restriction and freedom, in-person and online connections, to name a few. This is all being amplified under this Full Moon suggesting that something has to give. Where resistance is strong, the force of change is stronger. We’re moving out of old, stable patterns into an unknown new.

The Moon, while bright in fullness, struggles in Scorpio, as does Mars in Cancer who is hosting the Moon overnight. The Moon and Mars mutually receiving each other is not as fortuitous as it might seem. Neither are well equipped to deal with the, dare I say, dyke giving way that usually holds space for the moody, emotional waters that flood through grief. Pluto stationing retrograde only adds powerful potency to that which is unearthed and released from the emotional depths.

There’s a cracking open occurring under this Moon. Plans to let go are often wrapped up in a sentiment of readiness and voluntary release, but the light of this Moon will shine with piercing exactness on where we are kidding ourselves and what needs cleansing. It’s not the sweet smelling roses of Taurus Season past. It’s the thorns that pierce and activate the emotional trenches, and the tension of division that will reveal where we are stuck and resistant, in a tedious rut of sameness.

Taurus season offers renewal. It opens us up to what can flower from compost, what can be reborn after loss. To reap its rewards, however, we need to persevere through the challenges and move with the changes. Any disconnection we have with the Earth is reflective of the disconnection within ourselves. This scattered, sharp and restless Full Moon energy is rewiring us, making sure we’re plugged in to the right places for realignment. Any fears and emotional resentments lying below the surface will release as the dam breaks because we can no longer hold on to anything that is holding us back.

Felix Felgo is a self-taught artist based in Tiohtià:ke / Montreal, Canada. You can see more of their work on Instagram and Behance , or b-line to this amazing work aptly titled “I have painted you a tomb.”

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Helen Back and the twice yearly Sun square Pluto

Life in the 2020’s sometimes feels like being squeezed through the eye of a needle. The blessing in it is that we are forced to shed what we can no longer carry. There is so much letting go right now that the recuperation time in between is shorter, catching up is no longer possible & ‘normal’ is simply acknowledging the chaos. It’s a lot. It’s been a lot for a while now.

What death & the fragility of life has shown me is that time doesn’t stop, especially when you really want it to. Life continues to assert itself, even through death.

We’ve just moved through the twice yearly Sun square Pluto cosmic chrysalis & through it have been offered an opportunity to purge. Did you move through something in the last couple of days? Was it kinda intense? Maybe something stirred in the slumbers of your unconscious to be dealt with, or a light bulb needed changing 😉. The Illumination of the Sun can expose what Pluto keeps hidden, so don’t brush the tension off with irritation. Dig in. However you release, now is a good time to offer that to yourself.

2020’s feel like we’re going to hell n back

There is SO MUCH flying around in the collective right now that it’s important we can listen to & trust ourselves, & support each other in making the best choices for ourselves. When we purge from the place of Pluto we’re more equipped for personal power. So, let go & power up!

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Happy pandemic anniversary

Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic under the 2020 Virgo Full Moon

It was under the Virgo Full Moon last year that Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic. We are all 1 year old since the day the whole world changed…& what a shit show of a year it was!

Last year’s Virgo Full Moon was tightly bound to Neptune, blurring any sense of safety, clarity & ability to control the spread of the virus. It depleted our stores in more ways than one, & showed us just how far we are from living the ideals we imagine.

This year is a different beast, not without its own challenges. This Full Moon however is giving us another shot at dreaming the new future into existence. Virgo loves to organise, purify & release, & the liminality of this time favours acts of ritual & preparation. Set something new in motion & let it go.

The Moon is moving away from a trine with Uranus, through the eclipse portal & into a grand trine with Pluto & Mars, all before it reaches Libra! Whatever this watery, mutable Moon brought is only going to gain traction, or reach combustion!

The Pisces-Virgo axis reminds us of the delicate balance between control & leaning in to the flow of trust. How much control do you really have? Trying to force things can sometimes clog the pipes, so do the work set if free & step back. Easy right?! Said no Virgo ever.

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Mercury Rx through fixed signs sparks the intergenerational dynamic

On this day as Mercury stations direct to resume forward motion again, the cyclical nature of life is reinforced. Capitalism encourages us to be in a constant state of Summer, mass producing shit we don’t need, posting just to keep up with an algorithm, fuelled by an inferiority complex that the next person will do it if we don’t. It’s a lie.

Mercury retrograde through the fixed signs activates intergenerational dynamics

In the spirit of acknowledging the cyclical rhythm of life and its events, I’ve been watching Mercury Rx through fixed signs. It seems to activate the tensions between Boomers and Millennials who both have a major portion of those populations with Pluto in fixed signs Leo and Scorpio. The phrase “OK Boomer” has been around for a while, but it only really took off in November, 2019 when Mercury traced its way back through Scorpio, activating the generational ties that bind. I wrote a lot about it at the time and the theory still sticks. Embedded in this Mercury Rx cycle we are emerging from is the tense Saturn-Uranus square that is also occurring across fixed signs.

There’s a LOT of change transpiring right now, and fixed signs don’t like to be hurried. As we evolve together into a new era it will require conscious effort cross-generationally to offer enough space to grow and deliver information in a way that can be received. Generating our (air) ideologies in these social media platforms has the potential to homogenise critical thinking and create fear in asking questions. Language is one of the main vehicles of this new era and while it’s currently being funnelled through the harsh critique of Saturn we also have the Jupiterian opportunity to learn and grow, and not hide our bigotry behind the notion of free speech.

It’s tense right now. There’s no escaping that. The old guard is being challenged and it’s coming down. That applies to everyone, however old or young. Saturn and Uranus always bring the possibility of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, therefore, it’s each of our responsibility to check where we hold resistance to change. If this Aquarius era is a group effort and no one is left behind, nurturing our shared humanity is surely worth developing over consumption and competition.

Read the full article here:

Millenials, Gen X and Boomers all cohabitate in Scorpio
Millenials, Gen X and Boomers all cohabitate in Scorpio
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I’m not a cat

As Saturn & Uranus battle it out, the old guard is being challenged by the new front, illuminating limits & points of resistance.

Can we thank Mercury for adding Merc Perk Gold like this to the mix at a much needed time?




* I’M NOT A CAT!
* I CAN…I CAN SEE THAT.

CAN YOU THO!?

Boomer tech fails will never get old!

For context: the cat is a Lawyer at a virtual hearing regarding contraband – his younger assistant was using the computer before the hearing & had the cat filter activated, but not deactivated before the hearing.
Video source: daily.com

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Schitt’s Creek – Part 1, 2 & 3

Schitt’s Creek came of age in 2020 after its release in 2015. Since today, January 13th, 2021, is Schitt’s Creek’s 6th birthday, I wanted to offer something back as a thank you birthday present for a show that buoyed many of us through difficult times.

Read all THREE PARTS with the links below:

In Part 1 of this three part series, I take a deep dive into the astrology of 2020. I explore the treacherous terrain of the Saturn – Pluto cycle that cast a long shadow over the year.

In Part 2 I unpack, layer by layer, how the astrology of both Dan and Eugene Levy is reiterated through a daisy chain of astrological connections, linking Levy family patterns to Schitt’s Creek and the unforgettable year that was 2020.

In Part 3 I look at the astrology of Schitt’s Creek and how it suggests it was destined to be the healing balm we didn’t know we needed. The connections from beginning to end are uncanny.

So, pull up a booth at the Cafe Tropical in Schitt’s Creek and think of this as a read through the oversized menu where you get to feast on all the astrology behind Schitt’s Creek being as great as it was.

And if you like it, please share the love around!

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Schitt’s Creek: the Saturn-Pluto antidote

Schitt’s Creek came of age in 2020 after its release in 2015. Since today, January 13th, 2021, is Schitt’s Creek’s 6th birthday, I wanted to offer something back as a thank you birthday present for a show that buoyed many of us through difficult times.

Read all THREE PARTS with the links below:

In Part 1 of this three part series, I take a deep dive into the astrology of 2020. I explore the treacherous terrain of the Saturn – Pluto cycle that cast a long shadow over the year.

In Part 2 I unpack, layer by layer, how the astrology of both Dan and Eugene Levy is reiterated through a daisy chain of astrological connections, linking Levy family patterns to Schitt’s Creek and the unforgettable year that was 2020.

In Part 3 I look at the astrology of Schitt’s Creek and how it suggests it was destined to be the healing balm we didn’t know we needed. The connections from beginning to end are uncanny.

So, pull up a booth at the Cafe Tropical in Schitt’s Creek and think of this as a read through the oversized menu where you get to feast on all the astrology behind Schitt’s Creek being as great as it was.

And if you like it, please share the love around!

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Schitt’s Creek: One must champion oneself and say, I am ready for this!

Schitt’s Creek fans and air conditioners,

I’ve been busy researching the astrology of Schitt’s Creek and it blew my mind! It turns out that the Saturn-Pluto conjunction we suffered this time last year was already interwoven into the lives of Dan and Eugene Levy…and eventually came out through Schitt’s Creek as the healing balm we didn’t know we needed.

If you love Schitt’s Creek (how can you not?) and knowing the astrology behind people and cultural events, I have something for you very, very soon.

But let’s not count our poultry before it’s incubated…just fold in the cheese and watch this space. One must champion oneself and say, I am ready for this!

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Mars in Aries: a trigger warning, a red flag, the razor’s edge.

This 6 month journey of Mars retrograding through Aries has been hot, tense, exhilarating and at times exhausting. Throughout the year Mars stirred the Capricorn pot, waltzed with Venus in and out of their respective retrograde cycles, and played in the Aries sandbox with Chiron, resulting in sand in the eyes and a lot of tears.

Aries being the first sign of the zodiac is associated with Spring and new beginnings. It initiates, takes charge and persists. Spring may produce vibrant, colourful flowers and a renewed energy, but that is due to persevering through, and surviving, the harshness of Winter.

Mars, at home in this sign, takes this fight for survival to another level. Since June we’ve heard the battle cry coming from protests in the street, we’ve become familiar with the tiny virus that can run though our veins and either take a life or steer it on a whole new course, and we’ve had to confront the hostility in our fellow humans when base level safety and security is challenged.

With Chiron (the Wounded Healer) also in Aries, it has been a hot and tender journey in addressing what was once an underlying survival instinct, reserved for running from that lion thousands of years ago, to now producing cortisol like it’s toilet paper in a pandemic. Mars in Aries showed us precisely where we’re running on all cylinders and potentially burning out. Without stopping to regroup, our adrenals suffer the burden of the constant chase and leave us depleted and lacking vitality. Modern day life has down-time filled with scrolling and analysis, never really allowing the body or mind space to fully reset.

Mars burns, it stings. It’s hot and dry. When backed into a corner it can attack and retaliate, inflicting harm and inciting violence. If the wounds of Mars are left untreated they don’t heal, they bleed out. These past 6 months have taught us a lot about where we are wounded and what hasn’t healed. It pushed us to question our own responsibility for healing and repair. It was also a call to action for the the Pluto in Libra generation: how do we mediate when injustice is so apparent? How do we instil equity as an act, not just a concept?

As the Moon moved through Aries each month, carrying light from Chiron to Mars, it illuminated how that which was once a point of safety in a trigger warning (an opportunity to leave and take care), can easily be turned around to pull the trigger on who, or whatever, activates the unhealed in us. The desire for blood and projecting what is raw and painful are signs of Mars being out of balance. This expression, “trigger warning,” is violent in itself when you think of American culture and its stand off between guns and personal freedom. The rest of the world watches this as a theatrical show about shooting yourself in the foot.

Mars in Aries is sharp. It can maintain single pointed focus and be exact in its execution. Mars moving retrograde, as it did through September to November, derails the precision it’s known for and prompts us to reassess our target. What are we aiming for? Where are we missing the mark? If a trigger initiates a process or reaction, Mars in Aries allowed us to see very precisely where we have marched into a battle that could have been better approached with an intention for healing. But that’s not what Mars does, it asserts and pushes, so we’ll likely see some reassessment of actions taken during this transit to rectify and recalibrate.

We’ve lived through Saturn at the 29th degree of Capricorn and it was no party. We have in our recent memory the experience of the coldest, most extreme version of what Saturn can dish out (see previous 29* post). Now in Aquarius, and having recently initiated us into a new Air era, we will no doubt come to understand mental health in new ways, and be forced to look at the invisible realms of inherited trauma. The old “head down, forge on” mentality of the past never offered time or space to unpack trauma. If it wasn’t impacting you physically it didn’t exist, so it has been passed down the line, continually unaddressed.

This final degree in Aries can be hard on the adrenals. Any planet at 29 degrees is tired, even Mars. It’s been a long journey and to be honest, who isn’t exhausted from 2020? This doesn’t feel like a new year, it just feels like 2020 with a twist of Aquarius.

Mars finally moves into Taurus today, though it’s a sign it struggles in. Taurus doesn’t allow Mars to rush ahead and act without considering consequences. Taurus prefers deliberate action that produces results and offers sustenance. While it won’t be a cosy fire side feast without sparks (Uranus in Taurus / squaring Saturn), it will be a shift in gears that offers time for replenishment and nourishment.

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Dec 14, 2020 Eclipse

Eclipses are somewhat like a family dinner when the extended family is invited. It’s a rare occurrence and you’re never sure how it’s going to end. There’s the older generation of Grandparents who hold the stories, the uncle who’s notoriously offensive, who you wouldn’t interact with if you weren’t related, and the distant cousin who lives far away but you’re excited to see because, as distant as the threads are between you, there’s kinship. You’re all connected but the space, distance and age gaps mean you’re all quite different.

Eclipses are part of larger families, too. Each eclipse is as eclectic and different as your own family members, only coming together at rare intervals. Eclipses repeat only every 18 years, which is a considerable chunk of time between drinks. That tells us a few things, but mainly that we can’t expect the same thing with each eclipse that we experience in one calendar year (which can be anywhere from 3-5). They are all radically different and incomparable, likely more different than similar.

Saros Cycle: 4 South. Photo by Brian Downey on Kokatha Land, December 4, 2002

This eclipse today last occurred on Dec 4, 2002 with its line of totality running across Australia. Above is a photo of it taken by my friend Brian Downey. A few of us decided to head into the desert to avoid the “eclipse parties” on the eastern and southern coasts. I completed my last Naturopathy exam, jumped a train from Melbourne to Adelaide where Brian, myself and 2 friends from the UK drove into the desert to sleep on Kokatha Land of the Kokatha Mula, in the line of totality.

The Australian desert is arid and unforgiving. As baron as it appears though, it’s teeming with life. Everything that exists is prey for something else. It’s a contradictory landscape in that the sparseness and lack of distractions make it a confronting place.

At the moment of totality everything changed. Life retreated. The desert fell completely silent and became as dark as night. The life giving Sun was blotted from view by the Queen of the Night, or as some traditional text would say, the Sun was preyed upon by the Moon and consumed. It was the third eclipse I had witnessed, but was unlike anything I had ever before, or since, experienced. As is said about eclipses on the South Node, something washed through me, like a cleansing release.

Chart of the 2002 Total Solar Eclipse through the line of totality. – Dru Ish

Older astrology texts speak of eclipses as bad omens that nothing should be initiated under. This theory suggests that anyone born under an eclipse is also ‘cursed’ and I personally can’t follow nor perpetuate that logic. A phenomenon like no other? Yes, absolutely. Powerful? Without a doubt. But a bad omen, or a negative association, suggests that the Cosmos is inherently malefic, which is a debate beyond the scope of this post. We also have to take into consideration the time and culture that astrological texts were written to understand the context.

Eclipses have personalities and we each have charts that either do or don’t receive them well. They are also encompassed in the transits of the current day, as well as having their own birth chart. There’s a lot at play.

If your Sun, Moon or an angle (Ascendant, Descendant, IC, MC) is within 3 degrees of the eclipse it has the greatest potential to impact you. But if those points aren’t activated, it’s like being dragged along to that family dinner and witnessing the family dynamics by sitting in the corner, simply observing. Nothing is directed at you personally.

Chart of the Total Solar Eclipse Saros 4 North through the line of totality. – Dru Ish

For everyone, this eclipse will take place in one of the houses in your chart. For approximately 18 months, eclipses occur across a polarity axis of sign and element. For example, the current eclipses are occurring in Air sign Gemini and Fire sign Sagittarius from June 2020 – Nov 2021. After that, the eclipses will occur in Earth sign Taurus and Water sign Scorpio, and repeat on and on in the same pattern. In this, we can know which areas of life are personally impacted and activated throughout that time, no matter the placements of our Sun, Moon and angles.

Today, under this eclipse in expansive Sagittarius, two books I ordered a while back arrived. I’m excited to get into them both. They are Queer Magic by Tomás Prower and Imaginary Borders by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez – both fitting for these eclipse energies.

Queer Magic by Tomás Prower and Imaginary Borders by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.

The truth is (Sag style) this social media world keeps us addicted to a state of perpetual chasing, where life is presented as daily doses of peak experiences and high highs. Unattainable, it has the potential to leave people in a constant state of FOMO and depleting self worth. Winter is never trying to be Summer. If you’re really honest with yourself, this eclipse may in fact slide by you without impact, and that’s totally fine. The next one in May or June 2021, however, may knock you off your feet.

Eclipses are like portals where a lot of energy comes through. Sagittarius is always seeking to expand, understand and grow beyond, so instead of forcing the energy, try being open to listening to this distant relative and see if it’s a welcome guest or one that you’re grateful you don’t have to see until 18 years later.