Just a warm welcome to Saturn in Pisces

by with 2 Comments Astrology and meInner lifeSearch for home

I’m having a Saturn transit again!

Do you know how I always talk about astrology as a tool to identify cycles within cycles? Our lives are made of events, emotions, and encounters – all that promoting different opportunities for growth. This is a strong part of my world view which is embedded in my work. 

When I talk about Constructive Astrology, I don’t mean it in a superficial, ‘Pollyanna’ or ‘Toxic Positivity’ way. Its more connected with responses and choices.

For example, many of these cycles might relate to hard lessons in life, or loss and grief. It seems like we somehow inevitably loose something when we grow. Even when you gain something, you’re automatically losing something else. When you become a mother, you lose your ability to only care for yourself (I’m not talking about specific cases, like when someone isn’t able to care for another). When you find your life partner, you lose your single self.

Life is non-negotiable growth.

And astrology can enhance this process by promoting awareness and enlightening choices and responses. 

For instance, I was just now pondering on Saturn’s approach to oppose my natal Sun and Mercury in Virgo. So many things come to mind, including an overwhelming feeling of sadness as I witness my parents getting older – Saturn is transiting my 4th house. Part of this cycle is about reclaiming my place in the world, as an adult. At the same time, it’s about acceptance and surrender. (Pisces)

Life has its cycles – birth, growth, decay, and death. There is absolutely nothing we can do about that, at least not yet (sigh of relief). No matter how much Botox, plastic surgery, and drinks of collagen we buy, the ageing process is inevitable. 

I see it in myself, not only in how comfortable I feel in my role as an expert (Sun in the 10th house), but in some of my new-born wrinkles. I don’t feel so young anymore. And neither are my parents. Or the people I grew up with. Places and customs also have changed tremendously. 

I suddenly seem to understand the feeling people start to have, as elders, almost as if slowly we stop belonging in this world. 

Year after year after year after year, we gradually start our exit. 

Not that I have started it yet, but there is a strange feeling of recognition, almost like a premonition. I foresee my future in my parents’ feelings and changes, with the world also rapidly changing around me, as I watch everything with a sort of nauseous perplexity. 

Me, getting old and obsolete? No, never. My parents? I thought they were eternal! 

Saturn is about the hard truths. 

It has barely shifted to Pisces and I’m already longing for home – I never thought I would want to go back to Brazil or idealise my life there. But something has changed. I miss my flat, my parents and friends that I barely saw the last time I was there. In a Saturnian fashion, I had no time to see them, I was too busy working on my dream life. 

Here it comes, the Piscean flavour again: The dream life. 

This year I have Saturn on my side to help me build it, brick by brick. For every realisation and acceptance of the realities of life, another piece can be solidly placed. This is what I mean about the choices and responses. As I lose my outdated feelings of youth, I start to embrace my reality and create what I really want to see happening. 

I take charge of my life.

I feel sick as I type these words sat on a cold bathroom floor somewhere in Bristol, as I don’t want to wake up my partner. I’d rather not burden him with these thoughts. For now, thanking Saturn, I let him dream.

Productive quarantine and Pluto retrograde

by with 14 Comments Astrology and meInner lifeProfessional Astrologer

I think that I am finally managing to create a productive routine during the lockdown. I guess moving countries again was also inevitably disruptive on my daily practices, etc.

That Mars/Uranus in Sagittarius in my chart reflecting the part of me that keeps travelling and moving around no matter what…

Anyway, Im enjoying the time and space to focus on the things that truly matter to me, in this case, my astrology work. I’ve been working on talks that I will be giving this June, and also taking the opportunity to watch free online courses as well. It really is mind blowing the quantity of online webinars and lectures available even for free at the moment.

That really made me think about the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius that will be taking place in December 21 this year. It seems like we are heading towards the direction of a massive boom of online education, where information is made accessible to a larger number of people.

These days I watched an interesting webinar on how to create online courses and it was quite insightful. Im glad I did it. Now Im being flooded with ideas for creating a short course on astrology myself. I love teaching and public speaking, especially about a subject that Im so passionate about like astrology, so I see potential for developing something really nice.

I even had someone getting in touch with me for a short astrological session in order to learn a bit, rather than just receive the interpretations. That is a sign, isn’t?!

As I work on my talks and think about these ideas of mine, I have to witness a very strong fear of coming out, perhaps a fear of failure, Im not entirely sure. But I do remember astrologer Frank Clifford talking about the journey of Virgo being connected with developing self-confidence because they never believe they know enough or that they are good enough.

That resonates with me so much!

My first big talk for the Astrological Association is happening in June 28 or 27 and Im dreading that moment and, at the same time, really looking forward to it because I will have to break an old pattern of fear, otherwise I won’t be able to do it.

I feel that I was born to be a communicator (amongst other things of course), but it does not come very easily in terms of taking action and being confidently encouraged. But once Im on stage it is almost like something else takes me over and it is really joyful, I feel incredibly high during and afterwards as well.

Anyway, Pluto is going retrograde today until around October the fifth, and this is a great time for revisiting our shadow work. Looking into those paralysing fears that are limiting our capacity to live our lives to the fullest, preventing us from being what we are meant to be.  That’s what Im going to do as I prepare myself for the series of talks that I will be giving in the near future…

Wish me luck!

And if you have been following me and my work for a while and feel that you could be interested in knowing more about the teaching side of it, get in touch. I would love to hear from you.

A note on Mercury

by with 3 Comments Astrological InsightsAstrology and me

These days I watched the MISPA event celebrating the 10 years that the astrology school has been open and they had many astrology talks with great astrologers on. But the main one that I wanted to talk about here is the one that Darby Costello did on Mercury and Hermes.

I absolutely loved how she talked about this archetype and I feel that we (at least myself) tend to take for granted planets like Mercury, only paying attention to it when is retrograde and saying that it relates to your intellect, full stop. There are many dimensions to each archetypal pattern represented by the symbols in astrology.

And Mercury isn’t an exception!

Darby said that Mercury relates to travelling and movement, as is already largely spoken in the astrological community, but she connected that with the idea of information as well. Thats why Mercury in the Jupiter ruled signs are in fall or detriment, because Jupiter relates to belief and truth. And when we are communicating something that we believe is the truth we automatically shut down the process of exchanging information, which is the function of Mercury.

She also said that Mercury is about the collection and exchange of information that can be useful to people, that is the relationship to Gemini and Virgo, the two signs ruled by Mercury.

It was so insightful to me as I have such a powerful mercurial nature, with Sun, Mercury, Venus, Chiron and the North node all ruled by Mercury in my chart.

Darby also talked about Mercury being a guide, for Hermes is the one that can take people into the underworld, and in order for us to tap into that guidance we have to keep in motion. When you are stagnated Mercury does not help you, but once you go on a journey, it is there to help or trick you.

Astrology is such a magical subject with many facets for us to realise and empower ourselves with!!

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.

 

Use your imagination and go beyond!

by with No Comment Astrological InsightsAstrology and me

Synastry is one of the astrological techniques that has deeply interested me from the very beginning of my journey with astrology.

Since a young age, maybe when I was 9 or 10 years old, as we didn’t have internet yet, I used to read those cheap astrological magazines available in Brazil on the basic sun sign romantic combination and felt like I was uncovering some secret truth that was kept away from the majority of people.

With that said, the mystery of chart combination and astrological compatibility still hasn’t ceased to amaze me!

The other day as I was dancing around the living room and having corporeal insights into the subject (sometimes that happens with me), when suddenly it became clear to me something that I had heard during one of John Green’s lectures about synastry and the importance of always considering each astrology chart individually before making any further assumption on compatibility.

I was thinking about two different people currently in my life and how each affect me in very distinct ways, which also brought me the thought that attraction can have many facets and be very individually experienced as well.

In all of the astrological cookbooks one of the most well-known interaspects indicating magnetic sexual attraction between two people is Venus from one person activating Mars of the other.

(Im sure that I have already written about this when a co-worker in the past had his Mars in a tight conjunction to my Venus and all that that reflected was that we could work really well together, but definitely not in a romantic way as I didn’t feel any sort of sexual attraction towards him)

Anyway, here is another opportunity for me to uncover what it seems to be one of the ‘absolute truths’ of the astrological cookbook literary world!

I have been seeing someone for a few weeks and things are developing quite nice and slowly (I currently have transiting Saturn forming a trine to my natal Venus and DSC).

One day we went out together and I met one of his friends which I felt a magnetic attraction towards almost immediately. The physical vibrations I was feeling when he sat at our table serving himself a glass of beer sort of reflected to me that that was reciprocal, I think.

It was weird and uncomfortable even to talk with each other at first and I was at times feeling paranoid that my behaviour was too obvious and revealing. I did not feel very good about the whole thing.

Days later, when I was dancing and having astrological insights, I had the thought that that guy’s Mars closely trining my natal Venus was actually activating my natal Venus square Neptune combo and it was pretty uncomfortable rather than a ‘wonderful magnetic physical smooth sexual chemistry’. I felt awkward (my Venus is also in Virgo!) and very inadequate a lot of the time when this person was around, whereas with the current guy I am going out with there is a very strong friendly energy and I feel that I can be myself much more freely.

There are many other details that I have analysed about both synastries and both people in question, for instance the guy Im going out with have done many years of therapy already, a fact I feel that is of paramount importance in how a person can express more consciously the energies reflected in the birth chart, but I am not going to go into it right now.

My point is that we have to always analyse the whole chart and the level of awareness of each person before making assumptions on how the relationship will evolve. And in my opinion, we can’t know that without listening to the person in question.

So, cookbooks yes, they are an important step in order to start understanding what the symbolism can mean. They are part of a fundamental stage in our development and gathering of basic knowledge. But don’t get stuck with them, use your imagination and go beyond!

Solar return intentions

by with 4 Comments Astrology and me

I remember astrologer Frank Clifford telling us that on our solar return we should do a little bit of everything that we would like to be doing for the next year. I love this idea and in every birthday I try to consider it in my choices of what to do to celebrate.

So today writing this blog post is part of my intentions for my next personal year, to do a lot more writing in general..

Im loving my solar return chart for this coming year. Every single personal planet is in Virgo and falling in the third house.

That is a lot of mercurial energy!! (I love that, Mercury is the strongest planet in my chart!)

And I want to make sure that I make the most of it by writing as much as I can, not only for this blog, but also for University and potential publications. The third house also reflects public speaking and teaching so this is also a big thing that I want to get myself more involved with.

Im off now to continue with birthday celebrations and intentions 🙂