Brief acknowledgement of retrograde planets in 2020.

by with 4 Comments Astrological InsightsInner life

 

2020 seems to continue to be a very busy astrological year indeed!

Venus will be moving retrograde in about a month until the 24 of June.

On 29 of May Mercury will move to Cancer, and on the 18 of June it will be going retrograde at 14 degrees Cancer, going all the way back to 5 degrees Cancer. Mercury will move forward on the 12 of July.

Neptune goes retrograde on the 23 of June at 20 degrees Pisces.

Before that, on 26 of April Pluto goes retrograde at 24 degrees Capricorn, then Jupiter goes retrograde at 27 Capricorn on the 15 of May,  and a few days earlier, on 11 of May, Saturn goes retrograde at 1 degree Aquarius popping back into Capricorn from July 2 until 17 of December when finally moves to Aquarius for good. (the Saturn and Jupiter conjunction happens on 21 of December!)

On the 10 of September Mars will go retrograde at 28 degrees Aries.

That’s a lot of information to process but my purpose with bringing this all up is to have a general look at this info.

It seems to me that for the next few months there will be a lot of pondering and rethinking. Retrogradations in general are looked at as something negative but I usually find them enjoyable (sometimes painful) periods of contemplation and reflection.

Where are we in our journeys?

My idea was to write about Venus going retrograde and the possibility of reframing our values but with most of all the other planets somehow also going retrograde in the next few months period, it feels like something larger is at stake here.

This seems like a turning point. Collectively and, at the same time, Individually. Perfect for reassessment before taking action to move forward. May we use our time wisely!

 

 

Brief acknowledgement of retrograde planets in 2020.

by with 4 Comments Astrological InsightsInner life

 

2020 seems to continue to be a very busy astrological year indeed!

Venus will be moving retrograde in about a month until the 24 of June.

On 29 of May Mercury will move to Cancer, and on the 18 of June it will be going retrograde at 14 degrees Cancer, going all the way back to 5 degrees Cancer. Mercury will move forward on the 12 of July.

Neptune goes retrograde on the 23 of June at 20 degrees Pisces.

Before that, on 26 of April Pluto goes retrograde at 24 degrees Capricorn, then Jupiter goes retrograde at 27 Capricorn on the 15 of May,  and a few days earlier, on 11 of May, Saturn goes retrograde at 1 degree Aquarius popping back into Capricorn from July 2 until 17 of December when finally moves to Aquarius for good. (the Saturn and Jupiter conjunction happens on 21 of December!)

On the 10 of September Mars will go retrograde at 28 degrees Aries.

That’s a lot of information to process but my purpose with bringing this all up is to have a general look at this info.

It seems to me that for the next few months there will be a lot of pondering and rethinking. Retrogradations in general are looked at as something negative but I usually find them enjoyable (sometimes painful) periods of contemplation and reflection.

Where are we in our journeys?

My idea was to write about Venus going retrograde and the possibility of reframing our values but with most of all the other planets somehow also going retrograde in the next few months period, it feels like something larger is at stake here.

This seems like a turning point. Collectively and, at the same time, Individually. Perfect for reassessment before taking action to move forward. May we use our time wisely!

 

 

Astrology as an imaginative practice

by with 2 Comments Astrological InsightsAstrology and me

As I listen to a birds song’s playlist I ponder about the importance that imagination plays in interpreting astrological symbols.

The more I explore and think about the subject of astrology the clearer it becomes to me that imagination is a fundamental faculty that needs to be used in order to get insights. And because imagination can hardly be quantified and tested in a scientific way it creates confusion amongst us astrologers and people interested in astrology in general.

We are coming from a world view that overemphasises science and rationality as the only true way to access valid information, and as we are conditioned by this mindset in a very fundamental level, it becomes very challenging to let go and recognise that imagination is an important and necessary function, as much as rationality is.

Everything has its place!

I saw a post the other day on social media with someone saying that after this quarantine we will finally understand and value artists, because if it wasn’t for music, films, etc, we would not be able to get through this tough time. I agree on that one.

And this brings me back to the idea of imagination being a fundamental part of ourselves and a valid way of engaging with reality.

Once I started thinking about the role of imagination in the interpretation of astrological charts I began to relax with the horoscope image for longer before making any judgement.

I feel that perhaps a successful astrological interpretation has a strong connection to the capacity that the astrologer has to stand uncertainty and let go of rationality a little bit, for a little while anyway.

I see the astrological chart as a painting, something to be felt as well as interpreted. So next time when you look at a horoscope, what if you didn’t rush into making assumptions and searched for reasoning? What if you also used this moment to get in touch with and to train your imagination?

Unless you’re a writer or something like that, in our educational system we are generally encouraged to dismiss imagination, and I feel that astrology can be such a powerful tool to befriend our imagination again, and perhaps, a tool to help us being aware and staying with the mystery that being alive entitles without rushing into explaining everything.

Astrology can help us engaging differently with the world so maybe there is no need to try and fit into a cookie cutter rational mode to be justified or respected as a subject.

Stellium in the 3rd

by with No Comment Astrology and meProfessional Astrologer

Interesting to think about the amount of spare time that we all suddenly have at our disposal, and the job that we are all probably having to redesign our routines at the same time.

Everything seems to be a little disorientating at the moment.

The multiple conjunction between Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn seems to be reflecting very well our current situation. The polemics created by some of our leaders trying to prioritise the economy over ‘a small number of deaths’, the collective response to the situation, if any. The general panic shopping around the world, and someone observed, I think maybe Lynn Bell, the interesting connection between the conjunction of Pluto with the planets mentioned and people stockpiling toilet roll…

Pluto is connected with purging and detoxing, release, defecation… Richard Swatton used to call Pluto the ‘cosmic toilet’.  There you go. Astrology in manifestation once more.

All of these big transits happening in the 3rd house of my horoscope and the MA Im currently doing seems to be connected because it sure is bringing me a lot of food for thought.

These days I’ve been, for the first time in a long time (maybe ever to be honest), questioning my desire to continue defining my career path as an astrologer. Quite shocking at first, as I always had that certainty. But to be honest, my certainty remains in the fact that astrology is my passion. What I am not so sure anymore is perhaps astrology as a profession.

Im working on an essay about the decline of astrology in the seventeenth century and it is bringing me a lot of questions regarding my profession.

According to Patrick Curry there are 3 types of astrology, high astrology, middling astrology and low astrology. Sounds quite simplistic putting in this way, but I feel that this being my blog, differently from my essays, I don’t necessarily need to go much deeper into it.

High astrology is the astrology of the scholars and theologians, the big philosophical questions about the universe and how the planets affect terrestrial affairs; the middling astrology is judicial astrology, reading charts to clients for example. The last one, low astrology, is connected with the popular horoscopes written in the newspapers, etc.

According to Curry what happened in the seventeenth century was a decline of both the high and middling, and the rise of its popular version, low astrology, which was highly criticised by some astrologers, scientists and the church as well.

With that in mind, we start to have an idea about the complexity of astrology’s history and process of development.

In addition to this picture, we also have a myriad of techniques, and types of astrology practiced around the world. Perhaps even because of that astrology has failed in producing a professional organ with cohesion, at least in the seventeenth century.

During this quarantine I’ve been questioning myself and my choices regarding profession. At least I’ve been realising the frustration in having to decide on so many intricacies within my profession because I need to explain to people what is that I do.

And what is that I really do?!

(Do I believe in fate? Do I believe the stars are causing something or are reflecting something? Can I foretell the future? Is there any positivity in telling someone about the future? Do I psychologise astrology too much so it fits within the capitalist/secular paradigm? …)

 

Creative quarantine

by with 2 Comments Astrological Insights

Life is turned upside down.

Suddenly it seems like the North Node in Cancer became the rule in our daily routines and the multiple campaigns talking about the importance of staying home now are just a reminder.

Funny to think that for things to get better and to move forward again it is required that we stay still at home. (It would have been pretty hard to imagine that sometime ago!)

The challenge is set.

We are all pretty much thrown back at ourselves and any personal work that hasn’t been done is coming back to catch up with us. Any anxiety or unhappiness that was lurking under the surface is now shouting at our face full blast.

I was listening to a very insightful podcast published by the Astrology University with Lynn Bell and Laurence Hillman, where they were talking about this moment as an invitation to descent. If we graciously accept the invitation or not isn’t the point, as we are taking a trip into the underworld regardless our willingness to do so.

So what would be the best thing to do right now?

I think that being conscious of this transitional moment can be really helpful. Knowing that this is a time for digging deeper within, and at the same time, for doing the things we love the most in order to keep our psychological balance and well being.

Be kind to yourself. Nurture yourself. Keep it simple.

This crisis is pointing out to what does not work in our society anymore, and in our personal lives as well. It’s like a collective and individual big purging happening simultaneously. Best to be present with it.

Sending you all much love and calm energy to deal with whatever it is that we have to now.

 

Saturnian Quarantine, times of change!

by with 3 Comments Astrological InsightsSearch for home

I’ve been back in the UK for the past 5 days and things here (regarding the corona virus) are more heated than it was in Brazil when I left (apparently the panic is beginning to catch up there too).

My friend has left to Brazil and I’ve decided to live in Brighton, a small town on the beach 50 minutes by train from London. Im currently staying at his bedroom until the girls in the bedroom next door (which is meant to be mine) are able to travel (they were planning to go to USA and Spain, both have their boarders shut at the moment).

In moments like this I think of what Liz Greene said about the outer planets talking about collective movements of change related to survival and how much we individuals have little to say regarding that. Some things are beyond our control and we would do good in keeping our peace and mental health in any way that works for us. Meditation, prayer, drawing, painting, dancing, jogging… you name it. Whatever works!

This is actually what I wanted to write about in here. We are in a situation where a quarantine is somehow ‘forced’ upon us, take that as an opportunity to go back to yourself. To reflect upon your life, your choices, your values and who you are in the most authentic way. Who are you? What do you truly need? How can you best contribute with the transformation that we (collectively) and the world seems to be going through?

Jupiter and Mars joining in the conjunction of Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn seems to be reflecting this ’emergency crisis’ in the forefront and I feel this to be symbolising what has been going on in the last few years, a big political and economic crisis. It seems like we are hitting a point where we cannot ignore what is going on anymore. The structures that organize our society are purging and in need for massive transformation.

How can we contribute in this process?

This is one of the questions that we could ask ourselves during the quarantine. What would we like to see more in the world? It’s another one.

By the end of the year Saturn and Jupiter will conjoin in Aquarius marking the beginning of a long cycle in the air element (it will be a change from earth to air) and a 20 year cycle focusing in the aquarian archetype.

Aquarius at best connects with humanitarianism, how individuals can best contribute with the group, progress in a digital sense and acceleration of time (more?). As Jessica Murray said, we will be moving from materialism to idealism.

How is the best way that we, as individuals, can take responsibility in this process?

I think that the answers to some of these big questions could come up as we take advantage of this quarantine to do some soul searching rather than wallow in fear and panic.

What kind of society would you like to see manifesting, starting from your neighbourhood?!

Neptunian longings …

by with No Comment Astrological InsightsAstrology and meSearch for home

Im feeling tremendously nostalgic as I prepare myself emotionally to move on from the past six months spent in Brazil. Its like I already miss everything around here so much…

Then I looked into the astrological chart of this moment and realised that the Sun is exactly conjoined Neptune in the sky. I tend to feel the Sun as a big spotlight that illuminates whatever else it touches, so in that sense, Neptune is really under the spotlight right now.

My melancolia has this Piscean Neptune’s signature.

I have always found hard to write about Neptune but Liz Greene’s book on Neptune really helped me understanding this archetypal dimension of life a bit more. She talked about it in relationship to a few different possibilities/themes like for example martyrdom, victimisation, art, transcendence, nostalgia, the scapegoat, and many other dimensions, including the longing to go back to the source.

This is such a complex and yet simple idea to think about, the longing to be in union with everything once again, a sense that resonates with the experience of being in the womb. It touches one of the main points regarding Neptune I believe, for Neptune really talks about our boundaries being easily dissolved. Compassion is a potential manifestation of this phenomena, but victimisation, a less pleasant one, is also a possibility when Neptune features strongly. They are two sides of the same coin.

With transiting Sun in an exact conjunction to Neptune I think that our longings are bound to come to the surface now. In my case is connected with the sense of belonging and searching for home, but I think that this might be a coverup to this deeper longing to stay in union, to go back and swim in the waters of the goddess’s womb. To be one again.

Today and tomorrow, and perhaps for this whole lunation cycle so rich in Neptunian energy since the New Moon was also conjoined with Neptune, we would do well in being aware of this longing underneath what we think we need. We would do well also in honouring this energy consciously by writing poetry, or painting, or appreciating beautiful music… anything that can help us dissolve the boundaries in a constructive way…

How are you feeling?   …

Grounding under the Full Moon

by with No Comment Astrological Insights

In less than a week I will be back to the UK from Brazil and I have mixed feelings.

One side of myself is almost relieved and looking forward to having my english life back for a while, meeting my friends over there, going back to my usual diet, etc… but on another, I feel deeply sad to leave this reality behind. The warmth, and by that I mean human warmth, is so great here… being a sort of nomad isn’t easy…

Well, enough of that for now, Im here to talk a bit about the energies of the coming full moon at 19 degrees Virgo which will be happening on the 9th of March.

As I stare at the astrological chart for the moment of the full moon one of the first two things that calls my attention is the Sun conjoined with Neptune in Pisces, and Venus separating from a tight conjunction to Uranus in Taurus.

The feeling I have regarding this full moon is that during this month’s lunation, we will be working and made more aware of our illusions and longings on one hand, and our need for total freedom on another.

A quiet longing to merge is in conflict with a very disruptive and individualistic impulse causing separations.

The longing theme has actually been following us this whole lunation cycle as the New Moon couple of weeks ago was in Pisces and also pretty much close to Neptune, did you notice anything in your life? Here in Brazil the new moon happened exactly during carnaval, a huge Dionysian holiday where people feel free to exaggerate in doing just about anything they feel like doing! Obviously one of the main thing that happens during carnaval is that people drink a lot, really a lot. They go crazy, and this might have something to do with this neptunian energy which longs to transcend boundaries and go back to the source.

As I think about this I can imagine the energy of Uranus giving us the impulse to separate and cause disruption. How do we balance them both?

I think about all of those planets in Capricorn when I ask myself this question.

Being grounded, focusing on your work and how can you best be of service (after all this is a full moon in Virgo!), how can you bring your dreams to fruition? Are they feasible? A reality check at this point could do us good.

Personal responsibility is another very important theme that can be of great help in the dilema.

Also, we can probably tap into precious insights under this full moon as Mercury will be stationing to move forward in the late degrees of Aquarius, enhancing vision, understanding and rationality.

Move forward with your projects, and happy full moon.

 

Pluto-Moon transit update and roots

by with No Comment Astrology and meInner lifeSearch for home

In less than a month I will be heading back to the UK after almost 6 months living in Brazil. I have mixed feelings and think about how much the decision of living outside your home country changes things for good.

Where then is home?

For many years I rejected Brazil as my place of origin and adopted the foreigner identity, but now this seems to be changing again. I don’t feel completely Brazilian in a cliche sort of way, but I also don’t feel ‘not Brazilian’ anymore either.

These feelings made me think about writing a sort of update on my long lasting/ongoing Pluto-Moon transit.

For the last 5 years much has happened in connection to transiting Pluto forming a square to my natal Moon.

(if you’re curious about this whole process just click on the tag ‘Pluto Square Moon’)

I now find myself a lot more balanced and emotionally honest, giving more space for healthier emotional bonds in my life, and the list really goes on. Feeling more secure within myself, more solid, living what seems to be a more authentic life, more courageous in lots of different levels, with a transformed relationship with my mother but also the inner mother has changed a lot… (the list really goes on…) but…

I still find myself without a home.

Since I moved out from London in early 2015 I’ve travelled a lot and experimented a lot. I’ve developed myself through moving around, also through gathering the courage and guts to move on my own. I lived in Bristol, in Thailand for 3 months, I hitchhiked for 3 months, I’ve worked on summer festivals by myself, I moved to a community in the Forest of Dean for a year and a half, I came back to sense myself in Brazil for 6 months… I’ve put down roots just to shortly pull them up again.

I think I did a lot. (A lot of moving around, definitely)

Now, as I stare into my temporary keyring which is once more with multiple sets of keys (one for my mom’s, one for my friend’s where I currently live, and one from the guy I’ve been dating)  I wonder how long it will take until I’m able to have a home that’s not so much temporary…

How long until I can put down roots which will grow a little further than usual?

I am looking into buying a flat in Sao Paulo with my father and my intuition says that perhaps my 12 year chapter in England is coming to an end…

At the moment transiting Pluto is forming a trine/sextile to my ASC-DSC axis and trine to my natal Venus, but it will eventually conjunct my IC in Aquarius. And I wonder what will be the condition of my roots by then…

I also find interesting the fact that my Progressed Moon is in Aquarius, the sign of my IC, and in 6 months it will be crossing over it and into my 4th house, exactly when Im thinking about coming back to Brazil to spend another 6 months, but by then, possibly with a flat of my own.

Piscean Mercury Retrograde 2020

by with 9 Comments Astrological Insights

For a while I’ve been meaning to come here and write a little about this cycle of retrogradation of Mercury in Pisces which begins today.

We usually attribute imagination to the symbolism of Mercury in Pisces but as I look into the chart for the moment that it will start moving backwards later on today, I have the sense that much of the themes emerging back will have something to do with rebalancing the emphasis we put on relationships and other people’s needs versus our own.

How did I get to that idea?

Both the Moon and Mercury will be forming an almost exact square, from Sagittarius to Pisces, and I see here a conflict between merging (Pisces) and freeing yourself in order to pursue what is meaningful to you (Sagittarius). Both are ruled by Jupiter in Capricorn somehow reflecting the need to be grounded and take responsibility for working with this duality.

Venus is in Aries, quite close to Chiron also in Aries (speaking of dealing with the different layers of our wounded sense of self?), emphasising individuality, and Mars just recently moved into Capricorn. Here our awareness is brought back to the Stellium in Capricorn which has being under the spotlight for a few months now (comprised of Saturn, Pluto, South Node and Jupiter).

What is it that we better take responsibility for?

Mercury in Pisces has a resonance with intuitive thinking, dreams, imagination, but the final dispositor for this cycle of retrogradation is Saturn in Capricorn, a symbol reflecting separation, inner authority, hard work and maturation. I feel that this could be a wonderful 3 weeks to regain focus on what truly matters to us as individuals, even if in a creative and intuitive manner, as opposed to what other people expect from us, including our partner.

As usual, during the Mercury retrograde period we do well in revisiting, rethinking, reassessing, etc… and also, not to forget to always bring the symbolism of transits into your natal chart in order to figure out how “exactly” and in which area of your life this process is bound to take place, and in this way, achieve further insight.