Amelia’s Blog

Planetary influences this week

“In order to know the right turns we have to know the wrong ones.” Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I live in the downtown area of a small New England town a stone’s throw from the elementary school and playground. There is a little girl – I think she is in the second grade-who lives nearby. She has strawberry blonde hair and freckles. In astrology this coloring can be associated with a strong Mars influence in the chart – for instance Aries rising or Mars on the Ascendant,
The little girl spends most of her free time outdoors and is very agile and athletic ( other Mars qualities.) She is often running, climbing and swinging at the school playground, riding her bike or scooter. She is very independent and tough in her own way.
Yesterday though when I walked by her house she was outside standing close to her mother. Her mother explained that she had been to the nurse at school because she had run into the side of the picnic table and bumped her eye. Her mother went on to say that the neighbor’s child had also been to the nurse that day as the result of an accident.
This is a good story to keep in mind as we head into this week. The influence of Mars is strong and in conjunction with the influence of other planets, can lead to impulsiveness. There is also a tendency towards confusion and distraction – which can contribute to an accident prone time.
It is wise to make an effort to remain calm, be patient, exercise caution and stay out of confrontation. If you are negotiating it is wise to anticipate the potential need to go back and redo the deal in the future.
Mercury will station direct October 10 which will lead to more clarity and a better time for dynamic action.
Amelia Shea advises clients on a broad range of issues:  family, relationship and transition as well as life path and career. She can be reached at 603 654 1043, amelia.shea@comcast.net and ameliashea.com. Her readings start at $30 and can be done by phone, email and in phone. Times mentioned are based on EDT

Juno. Lillith and Relationships

“The world will change less in accordance with man’s determinations than with woman’s divinations.” Claude Bragdon
Two asteroids are featured prominently during Sunday’s eclipse – Lillith and Juno.
Lillith is the asteroid which governs the repressed feminine and Juno – the asteroid of commitment. Juno also represents where we can feel trapped in our lives or in relationships.
Both asteroids are conjunct the Sun at the time of the Lunar Eclipse.
Venus is trine Uranus during the eclipse which is an aspect  which can be very freeing and can bring about breakthroughs and events which can alter the limitations in the way you think about love, relationships, pleasure and abundance. These perceptions and events can have a surprising and unexpected quality and can accelerate personal evolution.
These aspects apply to both men and women and to their inner feminine and the way that it gets expressed in the outside world.
The Sabian symbols associated with Juno and Lillith during the eclipse are : ” A group of young people sit in spiritual communion around a campfire” and ” A person teaching true inner knowledge of the new world to their students.”

Lunar Eclipse in Aries

“There is a Providence that brought us here and gave us to each other at this time. In and through us, a greater tapestry of creativity is being woven.” John O’Donahue
It is a busy week in the skies with the Autumn Equinox – when the Sun enters the sign of Libra – on Wed 9/23, Mars moves into Virgo on Thursday and Pluto stations direct on Friday. The activity culminates with a Lunar Eclipse Sunday at 4 Aries at 10:50 pm EDT.
This eclipse is very much about relationships and specifically the evolution of relationships in our personal lives and in the world.  It is a time when relationship imbalances can be seen more clearly. It is a good time to look at relationships that are important to you and make a commitment to focus on similarities and move forward in a way that is open and authentic. Be aware of unexpected opportunities that may arise as the result of this process.
With the influence of Pluto and Jupiter it is possible to draw in new relationships – romantic and otherwise- that benefit who you are at this time and can be helpful to you in creating more mastery in your life and more abundance. With Mercury retrograde old relationships may resurface as well as past life contacts.
The Sabian symbol associated with the Eclipse degree is, “A white triangle is seen; it has golden wings.”

This Week’s Astrology

“You can’t embrace the new paradigm until you let go of the old.”Marilyn Ferguson
There is a great deal of planetary activity this week – as the Moon transits through the sign of Libra setting off the Uranus/Pluto square and we head towards Thursday when Mercury stations retrograde in alignment with the Uranus/Pluto square and Saturn enters Sagittarius.
This Mercury retrograde period (through the 10th of October) is a good time to review any changes in your life that you are trying to make that require transformation on a deeper level – perhaps involving the ways that you customarily think or feel. It is a good time to look at how you use your mental powers – are you steady and strong or do you lose focus by becoming overwhelmed or discouraged? And if so what improvements do you need to make you need to make to support yourself through those times and create more equilibrium?
Mercury will station at 15 degrees of Libra- also making it a good time to review partnership issues and how to improve collaboration with others.
Inspiration and guidance are available this week if you can stay out of the fray. It is a week when events can move quickly and there can be surprises and unexpected occurrences. Best to not jump to conclusions.
It bodes well to provide extra down time for meditation and to integrate information.

Solar Eclipse in Virgo

“Healing is a journey deep within oneself – a search for the soul, the essence of the self. It seeks to balance the inner and outer worlds, to connect and to integrate. Healing is the reuniting of the body, mind and spirit.” Diane Mariechild
There is a powerful New Moon Solar Eclipse in at 20 degrees of Virgo this Sunday at 2:41 am EDT. New Moon Eclipses usher in a new time of change and are a powerful time for setting intentions.
With the Sun and Moon in Virgo it bodes well to look at mental patterning and how it affects your daily routine. If there are ways that you would like to adjust the way you customarily spend time in your daily routines, look to the mental patterns – the customary assumptions – behind them. It is here where the changes initially need to be made.
This Eclipse is opposite Chiron – the asteroid of the Wounded Healer. A strong Chiron influence is about healing fragmentation or fragmented parts of the self. With Chiron in Pisces there is support for bringing a new or restored sense of wholeness by integrating energies from the higher self. It bodes well to seek guidance through meditation,  visualization and creative endeavors this weekend.
Eclipses are evolutionary doorways and can have a long term influence. This particular eclipse is an excellent time to align yourself more closely with what you see as your personal destiny and to develop a new awareness of the mental blocks that need to be moved out of the way in order to evolve in that direction.

Mercury Retrograde and Saturn

It is in the doing with awareness that the learning comes.” William Horwood
Saturn’s transit through the late degrees of Scorpio has been a challenging time for many people with the fixed signs – Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo and Taurus – placed prominently in their charts. There has been an increased likelihood that unresolved emotional issues – previously thought to have been resolved – could bubble up to the surface once again potentially creating a stormy time.
Saturn’s entry into Sagittarius on September 17 may feel like a relief as it signals an end to the retrograde cycle which began in mid June. The key is related to developing a new awareness.
Mars and Venus are in Leo now -one of the fixed signs – it bodes well under this influence to see how issues of projection and self esteem may be creating smokescreens or may be blocking personal evolution.
Mercury will station retrograde on the 17th as well – look to the two days before the Mercury station and the two days after for perceptions or guidance that may come representing a culmination of information.
The Sabian symbol for Mercury’s retrograde station is, “After the storms of winter a boat landing stands in need of reconstruction.”

Venus Stations Direct

“We have no art. We simply do everything as beautifully as we can.” Balinese saying.
Venus will station direct on the 6th of September at 14 degrees of Leo. This retrograde period (since late July) has provided excellent timing to mull over any changes or improvements you would like to make in regards to pleasure, abundance, financial well being, personal aesthetics and generally increasing the beauty and love in your life. As Venus stations on the 6th it bodes well to end the mulling over period and make concrete intentions supported by action.
Also this month Mercury stations retrograde on the 17th, there are two eclipses and Saturn will move into Sagittarius once again.

Saturday’s Full Moon

“Strengthening the imagination does not have the purpose of merely expanding consciousness beyond ordinary perception and thought. Rather, such strengthening is intimately connected with our earthly world and with becoming ever more vividly alive.” Robert Sardello
The moon waxes Full Saturday at 6 degrees of Pisces at 2:35 PM EDT. Use the expansive, mystical energy at play this weekend to open the doors of perception wide and imagine what is possible. It bodes well to allow extra down time for musing, creative visualization and meditation. Be open to inspiration and guidance from body, mind and spirit.
This Moon falls on the Pisces/Virgo axis. Pisces, the sign ruled by the mystical planet Neptune seeks inspired and intuitive insight and Virgo, ruled by Mercury is the sign that excels at critical thinking and discernment. There is an opportunity to reach a more evolved balance between the two this weekend

Jupiter and the Sun

Over the next few days take advantage of beneficenr Jupiter’s expansive influence as it aligns with the Sun. There is likely to be increase in the area of your chart where this planetary pair is transiting – the very early degrees of Virgo.
With Jupiter transits it is wise to keep moderation in mind and to avoid excess – particularly with the opposition to Neptune – the planet of dreams and illusions. It can be a good time for increased spiritual awareness, for telepathic experiences and for expanding creative visions.
But it can also be a time of irritation and illusion. It bodes well wot make an extra effort to stay grounded.
One of the Sabian symbols associated with this time is, ” A man becoming aware of nature spirits and normally unseen energies.”

Saturn, The Sun and the Moon

“Saturn, known by the Greeks as Chronos (or Time) is the farthest planet from the Sun easily visible to the naked eye. Saturn thus demarcates the boundary between the visible and the invisible.” Caroline W Casey
Saturn’s influence is strong this weekend – squaring both the Sun and the Moon.This indicates a good time to slow down and assess progress from a detached perspective. Do take time to recharge and reconfigure if necessary,
The First Quarter Moon – known as a time when challenges arise to face intentions set at the New Moon – is Saturday at 29 degrees of Scorpio conjunct Saturn. It is best to put off any serious decision making under this influence and to assume the information is not all in. One of The Sabian symbols associated with this time is,”An unsealed letter has vital and confidential information.”
Amelia Shea advises clients on a broad range of issues:  family, relationship and transition as well as life path and career. She can be reached at 603 654 1043, amelia.shea@comcast.net and ameliashea.com. Her readings start at $30 and can be done by phone, email and in person.