Category: Amelia’s Blog

“Only with winter-patience can we bring about the deep-desired, long awaited spring.” Anne Morrow Lindburgh

Mars recently entered the sign of Taurus and will transit through this sign through  late April.  This placement is often seen in the charts of landscapers and gardeners – who are attuned to the rhythm and pace of natural cycles of growth – from seed to flower. Mars, governed by the god of speed and action is frustrated in this sign as it can slow things down and require patience when Mars wants to rush ahead.

Mercury enters the sign of Aries today and the Sun is moving up to a square with Saturn – exact on Friday. It is wise to make sure planning is sound,  details have been taken care of and to avoid impulsiveness.  Saturn is about being in it for the long haul – and being prepared and committed to that process with each incremental step.

One of the Sabian symbols for the transit of Mars into Taurus is,”Natural steps up to a lawn blooming with clover.” And one of the symbols for Mercury’s ingress into Aries is, ” A seal has risen out of the ocean and a woman is embracing her.”

Sabian symbols for Lynda Hill

“There was an owl
who lived in an oak.
The more he heard,
the less he spoke;
the less he spoke,
the more he heard-
We all should be
like that wise old bird.” English nursey rhyme

The Moon waxes full Sunday March 12th at 22 degrees of Virgo.  The Sun will be conjunct both Chiron and Pallas Athena at this time. In mythology Pallas Athena- the goddess of justice and wisdom- was known for her strategic approach to conflict and for her invincibility in battle. The City of Athens was named after her and she brought a civilizing influence to humanity by teaching how to peacefully resolve disputes and uphold the law with compassionate justice and wisdom.

Owls are known for their acute vision in the darkness and Pallas Athene is often depicted with an owl on her shoulder. This served as a reminder of what she could not see or what she might have overlooked.

The veils are thin at the time of the Full Moon and Chiron, the asteroid associated with the journey towards wholeness through a process of wounding and healing is powerful at this time.  It provides a good opportunity to look at your personal journey towards wholeness  and to get a glimpse of some information about a missing piece or fragment that may shed the light on the path forward – particularly information related to the emotional life, creativity or spirituality. Saturn the taskmaster is nearby so it is likely any new initiatives related to this will soon encounter challenges. It is wise to take concrete steps and strengthen your resolve.

The Sabian symbol associated with this time is, ” A lion tamer rushes fearlessly into the arena.”

Sabian symbol quote from Lynda Hill

 

 

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone;  it has to be made and remade all the time, made new.” Ursula Le Guin 

Venus the planet of love, desire and beauty will station retrograde on March 4 and the retrograde period will last through April 15. Venus retrograde periods occur roughly every 18 months for 40 -43 days.

As with the better known Mercury retrograde periods this transit provides a good opportunity to pause and reflect -this time on the Venusian areas of life – those having to do with love, pleasure and desire and how you make these things manifest in your life. In general it is a good time to reflect on blind spots in your thinking and behavior in these realms.

Often old friends and lovers can surface during this time. It is not generally thought a great time to initiate new relationships but if this does occur it is likely that steps might need to be retraced in order to asceratain what might have been overlooked in the beginning.

Venus will station in the sign of Aries and retrograde back into the sign of Pisces.  Aries is an independent, assertive,  warrior like  sign – Venus knows what she wants in this sign and goes for it. She is quite capable of thinking and acting autonomously. Venus is Pisces however is extremely sensitive, impressionable, compassionate and romantic. When hardships come Venus in Aries can be assertive and fight whereas Venus is Pisces is more likely to retreat.

In general it is an opportunity to get clearer about your values – what you value in life – and how that might have evolved or changed over time. And how you advocate for what you believe in now.

“The Pacific Ocean was overflowing the borders of the map. There was no place to put it. It was so large, wild and blue that it didn’t fit anywhere. That’s why it was left in front of my window.” Pablo Neruda.

Mercury the planet of thought and communication is now in the sign of Pisces – the sign ruled by the Sea God and planet of dreams – Neptune. This indicates a good time for creativity and the imagination and speaks of symbolic thought. It bodes well now to engage in activities that inspire – listening to music, reading or writing poetry, meditating or pursuing spiritual growth and awareness.

One of the Sabian symbols for Mercury’s move into Pisces is,”Moonlit fields, once Babylon are blooming white.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

“Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that work
in the night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought, is it
going around now, cups
empty, carrying only shadows?

No, my soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open
far off things, and listens
at the shores of the great silence.” Antonio Machado

Neptune the planet of dreams and illusions is very strong at this time and at the time of Sunday’s eclipse in Pisces. Jungian astrologer Liz Greene has noted that when Neptune is a strong influence there can be a sense of a “lost Eden.”
With the many other very powerful forces at play now there can be a sense of the customary order being upended with confusion left in its wake. With Venus and Pluto involved there can be a strong pull to frame things in old, habitual ways which result in a sense of discouragement, loss or dis-empowerment.
Pluto is square Venus though and this aspect speaks of  Ganesha and his putting obstacles in the way to forment change or transformation. This time provides a good opportunity to review progress along your path as there is a strong influence now to be soley future oriented and moving with great speed – and sometimes this can contribute to missing information and wisdom that can be gleaned from past and more recent experiences.
Amanda Painter, writer and astrologer has noted that the meaning of the Sabian Symbol for Sunday’s eclipse. ” A jockey pressing his horse, intent on outdistancing his rivals” concerns self quickening. And she continues with the thought that self quickening is always best achieved by traveling light – unhindered by unnecessary baggage from the past because the important information has been gleaned and carried forward in a new form.

“For Pythagoras, mathematics was a bridge between the visible and invisible worlds.” Stromhmeier & Westbrook

Pythagoras, educated in Mystery Schools throughout Greece and Egypt, taught – among other things  – about the mystical meaning of numbers. In terms of numerology, 2017 is a Ten year.  The Card for the number Ten in the Tarot deck is the Wheel of Fortune and indicates the  winds of change are blowing strong both individually and collectively.  Into this realm of great change are brought the seeds of the future and the obligations and burdens of the past. It is a time of opportunity when new choices are likely to present themselves and contrary forces are about as well.

The upcoming New Moon/Solar Eclipse on 2/26 holds the potential of a powerful doorway from the past into the future. At the time of the Eclipse the South Node is conjunct Mercury, the Moon, the Sun and Neptune as well as Pallas Athena – the goddess of advocacy and wisdom. This planetary combination indicates that in order to advocate for your desired path forward it is key to identify and let go of unproductive thought and speech patterns which lead to a sense of discouragement, dis-empowerment and may be based on illusion. They may also have an addictive quality to them. These thought and speech patterns may have come down through blood lines and have an ancestral nature to them – indicating that keeping a heightened awareness of your intentions and  of what you are thinking will bode well. As the Dalai Lama wrote, “We must always be thinking about what we are thinking.”

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A petrified forest, an eternal record of a life lived long ago.”

 

 

 

“I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times,
In life after life, in age after age forever.
My spell bound heart has made and re-made the necklace of songs
That you take as gift, wear round your neck in your many forms
In life after life, in age after age forever…

Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, its age-old pain,
Its ancient tale of being apart or together,
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge
Clad in the light of a pole-star piercing the darkness of time:
You become an image of what is remembered forever.” Tagore

Venus is is Aries now and will be moving up to a square to Pluto. In mythology Pluto was the lord of death and rebirth and Venus the goddess of love and pleasure. These planets together can speak about profound love and its inherent connection to loss.
There is a tendency when these planets are together to draw in karmic or past life relationships that can be very passionate but often difficult to resolve.
On a deeper level these two influences represent the opportunity to connect to a deeper understanding of the meaning of love through the processing of pain on a deeper level – as they say in hospice – to shed another outer layer of the onion skin.
Under this influence it bodes well to look at issues of self esteem and self worth to see if they need to be updated. Venus also symbolizes resources and how we provide for ourselves based on what we feel we deserve.
Recently I saw a photo of a woman in Dublin, Ireland in the Women’s March holding a sign that read,”Fight Like a Girl.” Pluto can bring back powers that were lost due to painful experiences if you clear obstacles that are in the way. Progress will be made by overcoming and transforming old beliefs in this area and as the shamans say – shedding an old skin.
This aspect is also about connecting with what you feel most passionate about in your life in a deeper or clearer way.
After aspecting Pluto Venus will move on to squaring Uranus  – and this offers the opportunity to move forward in a new way – freer of the burdens of the past.
Venus is at 8 degrees now and one of the Sabian symbols for that is,”A teacher gives new symbolic forms to traditional images.”

Sabian symbol reference from Lynda  Hill

“And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.” Pablo Neruda 

“The entire world is a very narrow bridge.
The essential thing is to have no fear at all.” Reb Nachman

There is a lot of energy to harness with Mars and Uranus in the fiery sign of Aries now as we head towards the Solar Eclipse in Pisces on February 26. Eclipses are like evolutionary doorways and solar eclipses represent the opportunity of opening a new chapter of your life. Check your chart to see which house the eclipse falls in – this will indicate which area of life is up for change for you.

Solar eclipses occur at the time of the New Moon. Between now and the 26th is a very good time to focus on and clarify your intentions. Eliminate blurriness and indecisiveness in your thinking and be very clear.

Long awaited breakthroughs and awakenings related to creative or spiritual evolution can occur. It can be an exciting time when the future seems to arrive at our doorstep. There can be great courage, a sense of urgency to act and a great desire to break free of limitations.

With all the planets involved between now and the eclipse do keep equilibrium and moderation in mind. It’s best to leave extra time when moving around or traveling as it can be an accident prone time if you- or others- are rushing or not paying attention. It is an edgy time when things can get off to an energized start and then seem to fall apart. Nerves can be frayed and tempers can run high.

It is a good idea to plan for extra down time during this period – as the nervous system can be more easily taxed under these aspects.

On of the Sabian symbols for Mars at this time is,” A bomb which failed to explode is now safely hidden from discovery.”

Sabian symbol quote from Linda Hill

“Here’s the test to find out whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive it isn’t.”Richard Bach

“A Japanese friend explained to me, ” The plum  is for courage because it puts forth blossoms when the snow is still on the ground.” Anne Morrow Lindbergh

We are now entering eclipse season with February’s Full Moon Lunar eclipse this Friday 2/10 and 7:33 PM EST. The Sun is in the sign of Aquarius with the Moon opposing it in Leo at 22 degrees.

Lunar eclipses can bring things to conscious awareness that have been brewing under the surface for some time. Usually if there are sudden or surprising events, the pressure to bring them into form has been building.

The Aquarius/Leo axis speaks of how well personal authority and autonomy interfaces with the need to collaborate with others. It is about the balance between what is good for the individual and what is good for the well being of all.  It is a good time to consider this dynamic in your personal life as well as with  other types of relationships in the outer world. Do you feel your personal needs are met by the way you interface with others? If not it may be time to tweak the way you approach things in this realm. You may need, for example to advocate more for your needs as an individual. Or it could be time to come from a more egalitarian perspective and cooperate more intentionally with others.

As we come into the Age of Aquarius there is more of an emphasis on egalitarianism and collaborating as friends or equals rather then from a top /down power structure of authority. Willingness to collaborate and cooperate now will go a long way to achieving long and short term aspirations both individually and collectively.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A carrier pigeon fulfilling its mission.”

Sabian symbols from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom

“The healing
that is ours and nature’s will come
If we are willing, if we are patient
If we know the way, if we do the work”  Wendell Berry.

Venus is now in Aries along with Mars – adding courage, ardor, restlessness and the desire to act impulsively.  It bodes well however – for the long term -to keep a cool head and collaborate with others along common lines of interest. This may require collaborating with groups or people that you are at odds with in other ways.
The Sabian symbol for Venus entering Aries is,”A woman is rising out of the ocean, a seal is embracing her.” This indicates that new states of awareness are emerging in your life or around you and that it bodes well to welcome and nurture them.  It’s best to resist falling back into old ways of thinking or being that have been shown to have outlived their usefulness.

This symbol also speaks of creative and spiritual renewal – a good thing to make time for  – as we live  now in a time of fast paced and sometimes sudden and surprising events. This atmosphere can be chaotic, anxiety producing and contribute to a kind of fragmentation. With Chiron in Pisces now healing fragmentation can come through being in touch with higher forces (spiritual practice) and through creative expression. It also bodes well to spend time in nature in places that restores a sense of harmony, interconnectedness and wholeness.

“Here are your waters and your watering place.
Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.” Robert Frost