Lunar Eclipse: Get Ready for the Most Restless Full Moon of 2011!

As we wend our way through the final week of spring, hold on to your hats -- this is going to be the most restless Full Moon of the year, as it falls in the zodiac's most restless signs (Sun in Gemini, Moon in Sagittarius) and also occurs on a Lunar Eclipse. The Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse is exact tomorrow (Wed. 6/15) at 4:14 p.m. EDT, but the energy has been building ever since late last night. I experienced typical Full Moon insomnia when I should've been in the Land of Nod, and have also been unusually productive in terms of writing (an activity I unfortunately cannot devote too much time to on weekdays).

This is a make-or-break point in the lunar cycle: look back to two weeks ago, when we had the Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Gemini. Have you been busy building or repairing lines of communication with those people who are important in your everyday world? If you can honestly say yes, then you will begin reaping the benefits during this Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse. If you have been "too busy" or out to lunch, then tomorrow may force the issue in a most unsubtle way.

This lunation encourages reading, writing, learning, teaching, lecturing, traveling, multitasking, and athletics requiring agility and strength. It does not lend itself to relaxation, meditation, empathy (indeed, you may have a hard time understanding and coping with your own feelings, let alone the emotional states of others), or agreeing to form any commitments that last longer than a day or two.

If you are familiar with your own natal chart, check which of your houses are involved in this Full Moon / Lunar Eclipse and you can see which areas of your life will be particularly affected, with the Gemini-Sagittarius overlay as explained above.

To give one example, this lunation falls across an angle in my chart -- exactly conjunct my Midheaven and IC (i.e., 10th-house cusp and 4th-house cusp). Therefore, I can expect to deal both with home issues (with the Moon placed at the 4th) and my public persona and career (with the Sun at the 10th). I am already feeling the effects of the Sun approaching my Midheaven, as I have been more visible at work this week via extra hours, and have also been preparing to give a featured reading performance (my first since last November). I do hope that once the Moon enters my
4th house, I will literally be able to spend more time at home!

Second Thoughts? Welcome to Mercury Retrograde.

Mercury turned Retrograde on Labor Day, which makes me really glad I'm not starting school or a new job right now.

Mercury will be Retrograde in Libra and Virgo until September 29, so for the love of whatever god you do or do not believe in, don't sign anything--don't commit to anything you can't easily get out of--expect heavy second thoughts regarding relationships until September 18, and then second thoughts regarding your job, your health, your diet, any writing you might be engaged in, and any service-oriented activities until the 29th.

The Sun signs most affected by this particular Mercury Rx transit will be Gemini, Libra, and Virgo. Gemini and Virgo are ruled by Mercury and thus are that much more attuned to the quicksilver planet's energy than other signs; Libra will also get mired in the muck this time because Mercury is Rx in Libra until the 18th, when it slips back into Virgo. Virgo natives will be most strongly affected between the
18th and the 29th, but at least the 18th also brings the New Moon in Virgo, which should give some much-needed "starting over" energy to a sign that will need it more than the rest of the zodiac.

No matter what sign you happen to be born under, the next three weeks are an excellent time to reflect, retreat, and take stock of the events of August for the purpose of deciding whether or not you want them to continue into the fall.

In the meantime, don't be surprised when the check doesn't arrive in the mail, the phone doesn't ring, and everyone around you seems to be elsewhere.

Post Solar Eclipse Reflections

It's been a busy-in-a-good way July for this Cancerian astrologer, as I might've predicted with not one, but two New Moons in my sign. Some reflections on the past 6 weeks:

I have entered into one of the most fun getting-to-know-yous imaginable with a certain Gemini, whose intelligent duality energizes and intrigues me and who, as a double bonus, has Mars and Venus in my Sun sign of Cancer, as well as Mercury in Taurus exactly sextile my Mars-Mercury conjunction.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I attended my first-ever Burning Man-type festival, PEX (Philadelphia Experiment) on a defunct summer camp in Maryland, after missing the Memorial Day festival in Delaware due to a bad case of tonsillitis. Held on the approaching Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in humanitarian, reform-minded Aquarius, PEX was, for me, about an expansion (Jupiter) of fun (more Jupiter), old and new friends (yet more Jupiter), creativity, dreaminess, water in the form of a swimming pool, and Felliniesque costumes (Neptune City). With Chiron also conjunct Jupiter and Neptune, I felt a healing energy emitting from an unconventional group of people (Aquarius) who make these festivals possible. I no longer cry for the fact that I had not even been conceived at the time of Woodstock. The message of the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction: "The Age of Aquarius is far from dead!"

The day after returning to my "real life" in NY, my Moon progressed into earthy, sensual Taurus. In the past 3 weeks, I have noticed that my appetite for just about everything has increased, also that I have become a bit of a bull in the china shop who doesn't know its own strength (at least I haven't broken anything of value). Because that progressed Moon is approaching a trine to my natal Venus and transiting Pluto, I am trying to appreciate and fully live in this magical window of time while realizing that nothing either very good or very bad lasts forever.

Turning 39 was not nearly as traumatic as turning 29; I still look young for my age, and feel in a much more grounded, stable place, although I still worry over my lack of savings; at least in my work I am doing what I care about, feel more confident socially and sexually, and hope that with my progressed Moon in an earth sign that I shall also figure out how to improve my financial situation.

July still has a few days left, and as we approach the First Quarter Moon in sexy, intense Scorpio, I anticipate that this month shall go out with a bang....

Mercury Retrograde Musings

I promised this wouldn't be a traditional horoscope blog, and it isn't, but thought I'd mention that Mercury Retrograde is a particular pain in the ass to the two signs that are ruled by this planet: Gemini and Virgo. Also, if you were born with either of these signs rising, get ready to get all bollixed up. And let us widen the net even further to include all those who were born with any of the inner planets besides the Sun (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) in Gemini and Virgo.

To be sure, that's a lot of people, but this theory fits when you consider that "Mercury must be Retrograde" is the one astrologese phrase that lots of people who don't speak it get the gist of. When it takes you an hour to get someplace that normally takes half that time, or you can't remember which witch is which, or you can't pin down anyone in terms of making definite plans, including yourself . . . well, Mercury must be Retrograde.   

Other planets turn Retrograde all the time--in fact, as of this writing, Saturn is still Rx (it will turn Direct on Sunday 5/17) and Pluto is Rx till mid-September--so what is the big deal about this li'l pipsqueak planet, anyway? Here's what: Mercury is the planet that governs communication, both written (Virgo) and spoken (Gemini), as well as messengers, postal/UPS/ FedEx workers, siblings, neighbors, your neighborhood, grade school, and short-distance travel (think commuting or a stroll). In other words, Mercury covers myriad things that comprise everyday life. You may shun love or money (Venus issues), or avoid taking direct action or getting angry (Mars issues), but even if you are a total shut-in, monk, wimp, or crackpot, you probably can't avoid Mercury issues for long, including trying to figure out where the hell you put your keys that you clearly remember placing on the coffee table just two minutes ago. That's right, Mercury also rules keys.

Decisions made during a Mercury Rx period are often unmade a few or more weeks later; purchased items may not satisfy, or work, or fit. So if you can delay, it might be a wise idea not to commit to anything major, sign any contracts, or buy anything other than essentials till Mercury turns Direct, which will be at 9:22 p.m. EDT on 5/30.

Mercury Rx does have its beneficial side: you may be thinking more about the past, and such reflections may help you figure out solutions to problems that have bugged you for a long time. Someone or something from your past may pop up during this transit, as well. Depending on who or what it is, such a visitation could be either amazingly wonderful, unbelievably bad, a mixed bag, or whatever-neutral. However you react, just don't shoot the messenger.