The Moon is in Aquarius this morning, where it conjoined Pluto yesterday morning – and I don’t know about you, but for me, it definitely brought up opportunities to face some of my shadows.
Embracing play in Gemini Season
And Pluto will be getting plenty more action this week, as the Sun moves into airy Gemini tomorrow around midday Pacific Time. When it does, it’ll make a sextile to Neptune in Aries as well as a trine to Pluto which will last pretty much through the whole week.
Gemini is a Mercury-ruled sign that is all about the exchange of ideas and information – and it’s a very playful sign too, that marks the transition between Spring and Summer. So even though Pluto and Neptune might be bringing up some big fears or illusions this week, I want to encourage us all to embrace the idea of PLAY as much as possible. Playfulness is creative – it helps us look at things in new ways, and to experiment with what we might be able to achieve. It’s a great week to ask ourselves if we can let go enough to play with new ways of being, even when the stakes seem high.
Mars and Venus teaching us about the value of anger
On Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll have Venus in independent Aries making an exact trine to Mars in Leo. Venus in Aries can be impulsive and angry, defending its right to what it desires and needs. Mars in Leo wants to use its fire for noble causes and to earn others’ regard. A lot of us are uncomfortable with anger – and it’s especially hard for us to get mad at the people we love. But anger is an important signal that a boundary is being crossed, or that something isn’t right for us, and it’s an emotion we all need to be able to acknowledge and safely express. So as Mars and Venus connect this week, I think one of the themes we can ponder is, how can anger be a sign of self-love? And how can we creatively come up with ways to express it and frame it so that it does that work of effectively defending what needs to be defended?
Mercury conjoining Uranus and Algol, the “Medusa” star
Late in the week, we’ll have Mercury working towards a conjunction with Uranus in Taurus, which will go exact on Saturday. This conjunction will take place right around the same degree as an important star called Algol – which is closely linked to the mythical figure of Medusa. For women especially, this degree of the zodiac symbolizes bravely, and even violently, standing up for those who have been hurt. With Mercury there at the same degree, the anger we’re learning to channel with our Mars-Venus connection could also be expressed verbally, or, with Taurus in the mix, through art or other material means.
Saturn + Neptune in Aries: what does it take to be a hero?
That’s all a lot to think about, but we’re not done. The biggest transit of the week will happen later on Saturday, around 8:30pm Pacific Time, when Saturn, planet of time, boundaries, rules, structure, and endurance, leaves Pisces and moves into Aries for the first time since 1996.
Here on the podcast I’ve always described Saturn in Pisces as our “big rock under the ocean” – and we’ve spent many astro-meditations connecting with that energy. Saturn will retrograde back for one last stint in Pisces this Fall – so we’ll be visiting that rock a few more times – but starting this weekend, we’re going to get a taste of what this planet’s energy will be like in a totally new environment.
Saturn in Aries is in what is called “fall” – it’s opposite to Saturn’s sign of exaltation, which is Libra. So we can expect this Aries Saturn to be more palpable and more intense than it was in Pisces, as it deals with being in a place where it doesn’t feel welcome. Aries is a sign that wants to leap ahead with no strings attached. It doesn’t like being held back, or stopping for too long to ponder what’s happening. Saturn on the other hand is all about holding back, thinking it through, planning ahead, and sticking to its long term commitments.
The imagery I’m going to introduce for Saturn in Aries is this: imagine you’re forging ahead into a dark, unknown place. In your hand you’ve got a torch, something that symbolizes that fiery spark of Aries. And it’s urging you to explore the dark, to move something in your life forward. And yet around your shoulders is a cloak made of chain mail. It’s protective but it also makes your progress slow and arduous. These next three years of Saturn in Aries are going to be all about building up the strength to go on this journey while we wear that armor.
Added to this is Neptune, which is also in the first degrees of Aries right now. So as soon as Saturn moves in, we’re basically getting a conjunction of these two energies, and because both these planets move very slowly, it’s going to last pretty much through the whole summer.
Neptune in Aries is all about the archetype of the hero. That can be a good thing that pushes us to break through our inhibitions and also motivates us to help others, but, as I always say with Neptune, these feelings can be illusions too.
All this means that the underlying energy for the next three or four months is going to have a lot to do with the themes of independence and responsibility.
This week’s theme: “find your inner flame”
So the theme for this week is, “find your inner flame.” Whether it’s the flickering flame of playfulness, the spark of anger that means you are standing up for yourself, or the torch that lights up the new path that you need to forge, this week is all about connecting with that fire.
Listen to this week’s episode and hear the astro-meditation!
