An Intense New Moon – Part II
We all know that life is full of strange contradictions, a kaleidoscope of patterns weaving in and out of our lives and the mysterious sense that for every moment of clarity there will also be an equal number of moments of uncertainty and mystery. The New Moon that occurred on November 16 is certainly an example of this. On one hand, we have the first Sun-Moon cycle that contains the newly formed aspect between Saturn and Pluto, which is a contractive, consolidating set of energies. But on the other hand, the Sun/Moon conjunction squares a tightening conjunction between Jupiter and Neptune. Well, sure enough, the stock market went up this week, despite the forces that would defy that mov

An Intense New Moon
As the New Moon begins its monthly cycle of new beginnings (it occurred yesterday at 11:14am PST at 24 degrees of Scorpio), we also have the testy transit of Saturn square Pluto making its first actual pass. One of the best ways to understand the nature of a transit such as this is to look at the major stories in the news at this time for these indicate the outer form of an inner process that begins to tell the emerging story of the transit itself. The way these stories will play out in the next year may tell us a lot about the meaning of this difficult transit. It seems to me that there are 4 major stories which will likely expand in importance in the collective consciousness of

Wishing for Clarity
There are times when we know what we need to do. We see that things are clear and apparent. We may not like what we know we have to do, but at least we know we have to do it. The time period we are in right now is not even close to being like that. There are several reasons for it astrologically, but the chief culprit is the opposing nature of two very strong transits which are actually getting stronger each day. So, don’t be surprised if confusion and uncertainty continue operating for some time. The first transit of interest is Jupiter moving toward its conjunction with Neptune on December 21, 2009. This will be its last conjunction and has lasted for the last 7 months or so.

Saturn Enters Libra and Encounters Pluto!
With Saturn entering Libra today, it’s a good time to begin the discussion of what this means along with the square it will make to Pluto. Saturn entered Libra at 10:09am PDST on October 29th. Although this will not end Saturn’s influence in Virgo (Saturn does return to Virgo for one more little visit from April 8, 2010 – July 22, 2010), it does begin a very new cycle that will have many sub-cycles within it. Saturn in Libra operates well as it is considered to be in “exaltation” while in that sign. The reason for this is that Libra and Saturn represent principles of justice, true fairness and an as objective as possible examination of any issues of importance. It also seeks to

Jupiter Turns Direct – Let’s Get Even Happier
I guess the title gives away my teeny weenie bias about the present Jupiter transit. I have a pretty strong Jupiter in my chart (it’s in Sagittarius conjunct my Ascendant) so I know a lot about the tendency for Jupiter to go to the side of excess and over optimism. During its dance with Neptune, though, we have seen the DOW balloon from around 6,500 to nearly 10,000, which mystifies some as unemployment figures have risen steadily throughout the same time period. Also, consumers and businesses are still finding it difficult to get loans as banks are holding onto ‘their’ money so they can be sure to remain stable just in case things worsen. Is that what they are anticipating? So, wh