Aquarium Age - Transformational Astrology

Today is the winter solstice—it takes place at 4:48 PM EST—and with that annual celestial event, the days start to get longer and the light of the Sun grows stronger. As I mentioned last week, the winter solstice is the foundation for all of our seasonal celebrations of light; it's a non-denominational, life-affirming event, celebrated by a wide range of cultures all around the globe. In our modern world, we bring trees inside and light them brightly; our ancestors built huge monuments to watch the magical start of the new year—not quite the ball dropping in Times Square, but just as significant, even though we don’t understand how our predecessors managed to align their temples so precisely to the Sun without computers to do the mathematical work. Ah… the conceit of the modern world.

And speaking of that conceit, the modern commercialism of Christmas tends to overwhelm many of our fellow travelers, so much so that we often lose sight of the deeper significance of this celebration of light and its promise of renewal. Yes, the vernal equinox offers the same hope and somehow—maybe because we are tired of winter’s cold—that promise of renewal isn’t overshadowed by shopping. During the winter solstice season we focus on stuff. Please don’t misunderstand; I love stuff as much (some would argue more) as anyone but I don’t think it’s healthy to exploit this season of light and let gift giving obscure the true reason for glad tidings. Presents are fantastic, but it’s the act of giving that inspires wonder and joy. The simplest gifts, given with a pure intent, are often the best gifts of all. Give yourself and those you love a moment that celebrates the return of the light and the deeper meaning of the holidays.

We’re in the final ten days of a challenging year and the planetary patterns put Pluto in the spotlight:

(1)  We are in the midst of the final pass of the United States of America Pluto Return—exact and separating on December 28—but try not to allow Pluto to interfere with your reveling plans. It’s in keeping with this astral event that images of Mr. Trump in jail are replacing images of dancing sugarplums in my head; I am, of course, happy to see the latest steps towards holding Trump accountable for his egregious betrayal of his country, but I am also exhausted from all the news about him.

Also on this day of the exact Pluto Return, Mercury and Venus are conjunct in Capricorn, conjunct Pluto, and Mercury is at the degree of the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of January 2020. That conjunction wiped away much of the world as we knew it, so anticipate that some of your end-of-the-year musings are likely to be about all that has changed in the last three years as well as all that’s been lost. Allow yourself to grieve, but also allow yourself to rejoice if what was lost set you free.

(2)  Pluto is approaching the end of its transit through Capricorn, which means that as this year ends and we’re reviewing all that has happened, we can also anticipate revisiting much of what has occurred, individual and collective, since Pluto began that journey in 2008. It’s been a brutal fifteen-year cycle, one that began with the Great Recession—and some think it will end with another Great Recession. I’m not certain about how this cycle will end, but I do know that a lot of information about how we live and what we value has been revealed. As we process the end of Pluto’s journey through Capricorn, it’s important to notice how our relationship to authority has shifted. The notion that science is not to be relied upon as an authority flourished during this journey, culminating with COVID-19 and the rejection by many of the science and scientists working to solve the pandemic and minimize its effect. My heart still aches that Dr. Fauci needs bodyguards because we have regressed so deeply into ignorance.

(3)  At the same time Pluto is reviewing and returning, it’s also getting ready to move into Aquarius—on March 23, 2023—and start a new cycle. You will read lots of articles about Pluto’s move into Aquarius marking the start of the Age of Aquarius. I’m not so sure about that start date. I’m also not so sure it will usher in a glorious new cycle when all of our woes will be behind us and harmony and love will rule the world. I am sure there will be a shift in emphasis, but it won’t be immediate. Pluto is going to move back and forth between Capricorn and Aquarius from March 2023 through November 2024, so for nearly two years we will be straddling parallel universes and adjusting to a new frequency.

Mercury Retrograde begins on December 28—the same day of the final exact U.S. Pluto Return. While I don’t think Mercury Retrograde influences that return, it will affect travel, so make sure you have a travel Plan B. Mercury Retrograde ends on January 18.

As you work your way through the final days of 2023, be sure to keep your patience pills handy and do whatever it is you do to take care of yourself. Also try to be mindful of those who aren’t able to manage the intensity—children and pets feel the energies but can’t articulate what it is they’re feeling and what they need to manage those feelings. Kindness is always a good remedy to apply liberally to any situation that’s too intense to handle easily.

I am taking next week off and will see you in 2023!

I feel as if I am living in a Star Trek prequel: Earth Before the Intervention and Formation of the Federation. While I am not a Star Trek aficionado, in my overactive extraterrestrial imagination, life on Earth was a mess before the Federation, until the alliances formed among various planetary systems bumped up galactic consciousness, hastening the evolutionary leap of recognizing our essential unity.

I may be conflating Star Trek with Shikasta, but my point is the same: both narratives recognize intelligent life in the universe, no matter what form it takes, and both simultaneously embody a moral code of right and wrong that is intelligible to humans, resulting in an interplanetary code that recognizes and respects the differences among us—and that respect forms the foundation for peaceful coexisting universes. Of course, there are anti-Federation activists, but for the most part even the villains know the codes they are violating. The reason I feel caught in this prequel is that so many—too many—of our fellow travelers have lost interest in respecting the differences among Earth’s varying cultures, making it increasingly difficult to hold fast to the idea that there is no need to fear the other, even if the other seems peculiar to us. And what makes our situation worse is that even more of our fellow travelers have forgotten the value of knowing right from wrong. So they just lie, and lie, and lie.

What fascinates me about this time of year is that regardless of differences, most, if not all, cultures celebrate the season with festivals of light. The solstices, winter and summer, are global astronomical events that occur every year and in the Northern Hemisphere, winter solstice is the foundation of all our seasonal festivities. It’s the day we celebrate the return of the light and the start of a new year, and even though daylight’s progress is barely perceptible at first, the days do start to get longer and before you know it, we’re getting ready for the beach.

The word solstice means “the sun’s standstill” because at the solstice (winter or summer) the sun appears to be rising and setting in the same position on the horizon due to Earth’s position in its orbit around the Sun. It’s a physical event with a metaphysical meaning: the triumph of light over dark. From Newgrange to Chaco Canyon, ancient civilizations built monuments to mark the return of the light; and from Christmas to Hanukkah to Yule to Yaldā, this solar victory has been celebrated for thousands of years in a multiplicity of cultures and a variety of languages. This year, the winter solstice occurs on December 21 at 4:48 PM EST.

This week, Jupiter is in its last moments of Pisces; it moves into Aries on December 20 at 9:32 AM EST. Jupiter embodies enthusiasm and its move out of Pisces, a Water Sign, into Aries, a Fire Sign, signals a dynamic shift in how we are likely to feel its presence and express enthusiasm. Lots of people tend to complain about Aries and its impulsive and tempestuous nature, but we all have Aries somewhere in our birth charts, which means we are all dealing with its adventurous signature somewhere in our lives.

The Sun shifts into Capricorn on December 21, at 4:48 PM EST, marking the solstice and the start of winter. Enjoy the last seven days of Sagittarius excess—it is, after all, ruled by Jupiter; revel and celebrate the end of one season and the beginning of another.

We are approaching the end of a strenuous year and now is the time to take inventory on how we spent its currency. No matter when you mark the end of 2022—the solstice or the calendrical New Year—include in your personal rituals what you would like to leave behind as well as what you would like to include in 2023. One last bit of advice: this next week will be emotional for almost everyone, so try to play nicely with others. Don’t stare at people who don’t look like you; try not to get angry at your pets, who are simply channeling the intensity of the times; practice goodwill toward your fellow travelers; and take advantage of mistletoe opportunities when you can.

The planets continue being busy this week and daily life reflects that activity in a thousand tasks, big and small, important and not so much. Last week was so jammed with things to do that it was hard to remember that Mars Retrograde usually puts the brakes on regular routines. But the hustle and bustle sparked recognition that a normally lethargic Mars Retrograde is not so sluggish in the Sign of Gemini, the Sign that signifies the mind—and most of us know just how busy the mind can be. Yet what’s interesting about this current Mars Retrograde in Gemini is just how much is getting done. It may be that things put off for COVID-19 reasons or from rationalizations are finally getting taken care of—retrogrades of any kind are a good time to take care of what’s been put on the shelf. Nevertheless, this phase still feels busier than anticipated and we are only halfway through it—Mars Retrograde continues until January 12, 2023. We may feel the energy get sluggish toward the end of Mars’ retrograde cycle, but only because it collides with Mercury Retrograde from December 29 to January 18.

The dominant astral news this week is an opposition between the Sun in Sagittarius and that ongoing retrograde Mars, joined by the full Moon in Gemini. A Sun/Mars opposition agitates the air with an aggressive attitude and a willingness to fight for the things that matter to you—sometimes just for the pure pleasure of fighting, but most of the time this opposition fuels a need to protect and defend what you hold most precious. This opposition occurs between the two Signs of the zodiac that are interested in information and knowledge, so utilize the tension of this aspect to examine your belief systems before you go to battle.

With the Moon, the planet of feelings, in a conjunction with Mars, feelings that arise now are likely to be much more than a passing fancy, heightening tensions. Everyone is affected by this conjunction, which means that most of us will be in a hyper-reactive emotional state. This Sun/Moon/Mars combination is exact and separating starting tonight. The Moon is the first to move out of this tight formation—it starts to move out of its exact opposition to the Sun at 11:08 PM EST, and begins to separate from Mars ten minutes later at 11:18 PM EST. The Sun/Mars opposition is exact and separating at 12:41 AM EST.

All week long, as this cranky configuration pulls apart, we’re likely to see tempers flare and even normally calm people succumb to a hyper-agitated state. Arguments you thought were resolved are likely to linger, while others, less emotionally based, will last for a couple of days but by the end of the week, their potency will evaporate.

There are lots of reasons to practice patience this week, so do whatever it is you do to maintain your equilibrium, internal and external. It’s also a good week to make kindness your first choice. I know I always advise compassion—and I always mean it—but when tempers are testy and people are looking for a fight simply to blow off steam, kindness becomes a necessary remedy for a belligerent environment. Take your stand if you must, but also try to be empathetic.

We’re only two weeks away from the winter solstice, the quietest time of the year, when the trees and other plants dig down deep into the earth and strengthen their roots. So rather than get caught in the intensity of this Sun/Moon/Mars signature, mimic the plant world by digging deep within and strengthening your roots.

The new astral winds that arrived in time for Thanksgiving continue to blow through the days and nights of life here on Earth, but this week they have a bit of a bite. While things are running smoothly and moods generally look good, Mars Retrograde starts its opposition to the Sun, engendering a strong potential for moods to turn more than a little prickly, especially by the end of the week. Don’t worry—goodwill doesn’t disappear, but many of our fellow travelers may not be feeling as cooperative as they were last week, so be patient if you run into Grumpy in the grocery line or at the gas station.

Mars Retrograde, which began on October 30 and ends on January 12, is the source of irritation, individual and collective. Mars signifies self-assertion—it’s the warrior of the astral world and is usually defined as a fast-moving, definitive force that wants to get the job done. And if Mars can compete to be the best, it is usually very happy. Gemini is the Sign of communication—it's the information provider of the astrological universe, and if it can share something new, Gemini is delighted. But the problem with Mars Retrograde in Gemini is that while Gemini doesn’t mind repeating itself, Mars does. What’s more, Mars doesn’t like moving backwards and as a result of that Martian dissatisfaction, mere mortals—thee and me—feel the strain. Try to avoid becoming testy because you’re feeling anxious or agitated. Breathe deeply as many times as necessary to settle your nervous system and if you can’t settle, resist the temptation to take it out on others.

Last week we were under a strong Sagittarius influence as a line-up of planets—the Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus—entered the fiery Sign where we search for truth and are also determined to have as much fun as possible; that aggregation of planets continues into this week. Gemini, where Mars is losing its mojo during its retrograde phase, is opposite Sagittarius in the Zodiac wheel, and while oppositions can and often do signal strife, I like to think of opposing Signs as complements. As those Sadge planets aggregated, Mars was in place in Gemini to oppose all of them, creating a fair degree of strife but also offering a complementary point of view.

The Mercury/Mars opposition began on Sunday, November 27, and was exact and separating on Tuesday, November 29. While not a pernicious interaction, it could manifest as grousing about or being impatient with others. Be kind instead of punishing, especially when it involves children.

On December 1, Mars opposes Venus, which could show itself as romantic dissatisfaction or an inability to regulate strong emotions and sexual passion. The good news is that Saturn in Aquarius trines Mars and sextiles Venus, offering stability and also the potential to harness strong emotions and express them maturely. This opposition ends on December 5.

On Sunday, December 4, the Sun/Mars opposition kicks in; it is exact and separating on December 8. Pay attention: there’s also a Full Moon on December 8, with Mars conjunct the Moon in Gemini as it opposes the Sun in Sagittarius. This is a highly charged Full Moon, which translates into an emotional high tide, and the main emotion riding that tide is certain to be anger. Mars signifies the ability to take a stand for yourself as well as a stand for what matters most and as that martial attitude combines with the Moon, many of us are likely to feel imbued with a fighting spirit and the need to have “it” our way. If you must fight, choose your battles wisely; if you don’t want to fight, assume a peaceful stance on just about everything and hold fast to that position. Saturn will still be positively supporting lots of endeavors, but because Mars Retrograde persists until January 12, not a lot will get going the way a Mars/Saturn trine would prefer—determinedly aimed at grounded action.

The first days of December are busy. Neptune Direct begins on December 3, and as Neptune ends its retrograde phase that began on June 28, it squares Mercury and Venus in Sagittarius as well as Mars in Gemini. These Neptune squares will make it hard to discern the true from the false; Neptune is, after all, the planet of illusion and delusion, which is why it is important to sort out the facts of a situation before you make or act on assumptions.

On December 6, Mercury enters Capricorn, a move that is certain to support a level-headed approach to practical concerns and help most of us to not get too lost in Neptune’s tendency for obfuscation.

The planets are busy and so are we, and although there is a slight Martian irritation underlying all that happens this week, it’s not as bad as it sounds and regular routines are still possible. Stay calm, keep your patience pills handy, and you’ll manage the intensity. Above all, try to be kind to your fellow travelers—we all need as much cheer as we can muster.

Just for this week, let’s put angst and tsuris aside, adjust our posture to carry the lighter load, and refuse to let suffering, personal or collective, determine our attitudes. Tomorrow, November 24, is Thanksgiving in the United States, traditionally a day of gratitude, even if the specifics of its origin story are born of colonialism. Despite those origins, I also choose to see Thanksgiving as an opportunity to take stock and be grateful. While it’s satisfying to be thankful for personal abundance, too many of our fellow travelers don’t have financial stability or the joy of an abundant yearly harvest. For those who cannot measure their abundance in material ways, Thanksgiving can be a day of disturbing deficit, especially for children who don’t understand the stark differences of a class system that organizes our day-to-day world into the haves and have-nots.

Those two realities always collide during the holiday season—the world isn’t fair and too often the reality of the people who work the hardest to survive is ignored or belittled. That’s always been—and still is—problematic for me; perhaps as a result of the politics of my family, but in large part I think it is problematic because the cruelty we consciously or unconsciously inflict on one another is unnecessary. Unfortunately, this is the time of year when we are bombarded with images of what life should look like. And when life doesn’t look like what we are told it should, it’s very easy to suffer over what we are programmed to think we are missing. Again, children are the most vulnerable among us during this season.

But this week I’m choosing to celebrate what is good in life because I need a break from all that’s wrong. The wrong won’t go away, but despite the persistence of an unfair world, this week offers us a chance to rest, replenish internal reservoirs, and reset attitudes, leaving us in better shape for the work that lies ahead: to continue healing our lives and our planet.

From a planetary perspective, Sagittarius rules the week as the Sun, Mercury, and Venus line up in the first ten degrees of this fun-loving Sign. Later today, at 3:15 PM EST, the Moon also moves into Sadge, adding an emotional component to this already concentrated planetary Fire. Sagittarius is the Sign of humor, optimism, and philosophy, three dimensions that Randy Newman (who happens to be a Sagittarius) blends with a similar sentiment to mine about the disparity between the rich and the poor in his song, “The World Isn’t Fair.” On YouTube

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter and as it happens, today Jupiter goes direct, ending its retrograde phase that began on July 28 and goes direct. While it’s not moving forward in Sagittarius, Jupiter is the Ruler of that optimistic Sign, so it’s a nice touch that it goes direct during the current aggregation of planets in Sagittarius. Jupiter moves into Aries on December 20, just in time to add a big dollop of goodwill for Christmas celebrations. But back in present time, Jupiter’s “forward” motion bodes well for convivial as well as thoughtful Thanksgiving feasts.

You won’t miss anything if you take a break from the madness—it will still be there when you return--but you’ll be stronger and more able to handle the angst and tsuris of daily life because you’re rested.

Give thanks this week for all the good things in your life—and there are good things. I am thankful for all the readers who return weekly to these pages (and are happy the monthly is a thing of the past), many of whom have been reading the Aquarium Age for years. We’ve grown together over those years and I appreciate your confidence in what I have to say and your loyalty. May you have a joyous day of gratitude.

A wide conjunction between Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces stimulates strong emotions this week, and as these co-rulers of the Sign—Jupiter was its ruler before the discovery of Neptune—form an almost perfect union, many of us are likely to experience deep feelings about almost everything. That may not sound unusual or even newsworthy given that so many of us have had so many strong feelings about almost everything for quite some time. What’s more, we’ve been under the influence of this Jupiter/Neptune conjunction for nearly a week, which means we’ve been in the grip of a heightened emotional field for long enough to get used to it; many of our fellow travelers might not even notice the increased intensity.

But given that emotions have already been riding high this past week and that we are on the threshold of one of the most emotional weeks of the year, it wouldn’t be surprising if lots of us were inclined toward dramatic reactions to just about any situation as we approach Thanksgiving. It would be wise, and also kind, to be patient with yourself and your fellow travelers; apply the wisdom that while feelings may run deep, they are also ephemeral and thus likely to change quite quickly. Before you make snap decisions you might later regret, take a moment to breathe and to take in your situation. Quick and expedient choices may not be necessary.

Pisces is the Sign of imagination and sensitivity, so don’t be surprised if you have been experiencing and continue to experience strong intuitive feelings. Some of those feelings may be the consequence of a heightened susceptibility to suggestion, a condition also fostered by the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces. Be wary of taking strong action based on intuition alone—you may be right, but you may also be ahead of yourself or just plain wrong; once you turn those intuitive hits into action, it might be hard to dial them back.

Jupiter goes direct on November 23, and as a result, it continues its trine to the Sun until the end of the month. This positive and humorous interaction is a great boon for Thanksgiving feasts. Yes, Jupiter signals too much but Thanksgiving is always about too much, so there shouldn’t be too much apologizing for excessive appetites before, during, and after the feast. It also signals that conversation around the feasting table can be of good cheer rather than a battlefield of opposing political points of view. This is also the first time in several years that the “National Day of Gratitude” won’t be so sullied by COVID-19 and all its variants. I’m not suggesting that we are completely out of the plague zone; I am saying that fear and anxiety about this disease don’t have to have a separate setting at the table.

Mars Retrograde in Gemini squares Neptune and while it’s hard to call this a fractious interaction—Gemini and Pisces aren’t known for their sharp edges—it can be a confusing one. Mars/Neptune encourages the urge to merge, fostering the ability to see things from a perspective other than your own. And while that is a gift, it can also be a burden, especially if you are prone to losing yourself or suffer from still-unattended codependence. Keep good boundaries but still allow yourself to look through a lens other than your own.

Mars Retrograde also forms a wide square to Jupiter, exacerbating the already too much signature of the mighty planet of good fortune. The next few days might seem more than a little overwhelming. If you forget what you’re doing or who you are talking to or even what might have been said, call a personal time out. Get some sleep and do restorative yoga or anything else that’s healthy to reset your system. There’s no sense in burning out at the beginning of Mars Retrograde—it persists until January 12 and it’s not leaving Gemini, the Sign of information, during its retro-review. That translates into way too much information for anyone to handle. So pace yourself—you’re going to need your mental might to make it through this phase.

Finding a comfortable personal pace just might be the perfect solution to the weeks that lie ahead. These are the most emotionally intense and tumultuous weeks of the year; whether we are aware of it or not, most of us are affected emotionally by the holidays. From this week until the winter solstice, the days will darken in the Northern Hemisphere and then we will enter the weeks of all the seasonal festivities that celebrate the return of the light. Make like the trees and sink your roots deep into the quiet of winter; that way you might have a bit of energy left to devote to reveling and celebrating.

The Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces also deepens an emotional inclination toward compassion—Pisces is the Sign where we recognize the essential unity of life and acknowledge our fundamental connectedness. Both Jupiter and Neptune are Signs of inclusion and because of that their presence makes it easier for us to imagine ourselves as a part of some greater picture, united with all the puzzle pieces of life’s mystery. Make good use of this inclination toward compassion and inclusion by opening to the natural goodwill of the season. I may not be my sister’s or my brother’s keeper, but my thoughts, words, and deeds have an effect on their lives, as theirs have an effect on mine. Be kind. Be funny. Be creative. And believe that it is possible to live in a world of love.

A few years ago, a very dear friend asked me to describe my writing process and I told her I didn’t think I could clearly delineate it in a way that would make sense to her but I would give it a try, and here’s what I came up with: I get up and have a cup of coffee. Then I look at the chart for the week; next, I meditate and as part of that meditation, I pray that I will find an interesting take on current patterns. Then I pray that I will be able to write well. The good news is that I’ve been lucky most of the time. But when it comes to writing a column that gets published the day after elections, I’m always nervous—not just because of the temptation to predict the outcome, but also because readers are hoping that whatever I predict will be accurate. It’s a lot of self-imposed pressure that no amount of lived experience has eased. This year is no different—in fact, it might actually be worse.

Worse not only because of all the uncertainties and dramas, local and global, attached to these elections, but primarily because the chart for the United States midterm election is a testament to Uranian energies. The Sun, Mercury, and Venus are all in Scorpio this week and Uranus is in Taurus opposite all three. The standard interpretation for this type of configuration is to expect the unexpected—Uranus signifies surprises and reversals of fortune.

What’s more, Saturn squares both sides of that opposition, forming a T-square, which represents tension—and lots of it. But that’s not all. This Election Day also falls on an eclipse, an event that ancient kings would have interpreted as challenging their political power. How to interpret such a constellation of planetary energy in our contemporary situation—writing a day before the election for those reading this missive the day after? Frankly, I have no idea, but here are a few guesses: 

1.  The pundits and polls are predicting that the Republicans might win, although those same experts simultaneously report that the Democrats are also doing well. Put simply… they don’t know.

2.  The polls have been consistently wrong in recent elections, so given the role of Uranus, every prediction could be part of a surprising plot twist.

3.  Call me foolishly optimistic, but I think that young people, minorities, and women are hyper-aware of the threat Republicans pose to personal freedom and that they will turn out to preserve their rights.

 What I know for sure is that no matter who wins or loses, the turmoil we are experiencing isn’t going away anytime soon. The underlying, and perhaps more potent, dynamic of the celestial constellations on Election Day is the United States Pluto Return, its imprint feeling like a cosmic thumb pressing down on the week’s turbulent energies. That pressure combines with Pluto’s impending change of Signs, which starts next year on March 23 with its first ingress into Aquarius and completes on November 19, 2024. March may feel like it is too far in the future to have an effect, but Pluto’s influence is far-reaching. Pluto is cleaning up a nearly fourteen-year transit through Capricorn and that cleanup is affecting everyone, even if we aren’t aware of it. As Pluto continues to pull the rug out from regular routines and simultaneously continues its challenges to the tried-and-not-always-true structures of power, there is nothing certain about where this process is headed. The only thing I know for sure about Pluto’s role right now is that it is disruptive and unnerving and demoralizing.

The T-square of this eclipse is just as disruptive on the local level—for individuals—as it is at the global level—for the world. Many of our fellow travelers may be experiencing the disintegration of certain structures in their personal lives and when you add in the presence of Pluto, the outcome of that disruption can be just as unnerving and demoralizing for the individual as it is for a country or a political agenda. It might be wise to wait before you make any big, life-changing decisions—a marriage, a divorce, or a move. With so much of our lives and our world in flux, waiting for things to calm down will help you make better decisions.

And let’s not forget that Mars remains retrograde until January 12, which means that many of the things you put in motion could reverse themselves once Mars is direct.

It’s a crazy week—at first I didn’t even want to write about it, but it almost always helps to name things if you want to sort them out and prioritize your concerns. Many people are going to be emotionally reactive this week, no matter what the outcome of the elections. While I reject the idea that both sides are the same, I do not reject the idea that lots of people are going to be suffering over the results, and that suffering is going to exacerbate the already gigantic divide that is turning us against each other. It’s not so much the propaganda that’s inflaming the division, although that’s a large contributor; people’s reactions to what they are being told is the biggest contributor to the tumult and turmoil. If you don’t have the capacity to reject the notion of Jewish space lasers or understand that inflation is not caused by one man, or—in further defense of President Biden—the brain cells to remember the situation we were in before he took office, then you might not have the capacity to accept the outcome and move on.

We are in a mess that we might not recover from for a long time. Nonetheless, in all of our thoughts, words, and deeds, we are planting the seeds for tomorrow. So be intentional in how you handle the election results and do your best to remember that regardless of our political persuasion, we are all in this together.

In a week, the madness of the election process in the United States of America will be over— but even as I type those words, I know that isn’t true. The madness of the 2020 election is still very much a part of our day-to-day life and there is no reason to think that the upcoming elections are going to change the mindset behind the crazy conspiracies. Mr. Trump, who managed during his few (I want to say short, but they seemed interminable) years as leader of the free world to make hate and cruelty the guiding principle for a sector of Americans, is still doing his utmost to make sure that meanness rather than kindness is a guiding principle. His purposeful promotion of animosity has blatantly inspired bullies and allowed hatred to inflame violence everywhere. While this is not just an American problem, Mr. Trump made it de rigueur for just about every Republican politician to be callous, making meanness and cruelty an acceptable political policy.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, kindness has also been gaining traction and I can’t help but feel that the growth of these two dispositions is interrelated. I thought the rise of hatred could be attributed to the principle that love brings up anything unlike itself (an idea I believe was popularized by Sondra Ray in her Loving Relationships Training, though I’ve seen online sources attribute it to Marianne Williamson; Course in Miracles followers, forgive me if the reference to LRT is inaccurate). It doesn’t really matter who said it first; time has proven the observation true and continues to do so. As the practice of compassion has grown more expansive over the last decade, so has its opposite—a cynical refusal to help others. We’re in the midst of a massive individual and collective healing process, yet unfortunately we are in the phase that resembles hell more than heaven and we are trying to figure out what to do about it. Making fun of anyone, 82 years old, 20 years old, or younger, who has been viciously attacked, is not an indication of political savvy; it’s an indication of a cold-hearted soullessness, a condition that spiritual warriors everywhere must resist.

Those who agree with the refusal to be heartless are more plentiful than we might think. Kindness is often quiet and as if to underscore this point, this morning before I started writing, I received this quote from Michael Leunig in an email from the Daily Good:

I cannot help but think that a rich and confident spiritual life is a form of genius.

I agree—a confident spiritual life is its own motivation, especially in times like these, when every choice we make is an affirmation of what we believe, even if others don’t share the same sentiment. We are the heroes of our own personal mythology—yes, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for—and we can remain true to our principles. We can be heroes every day if we choose to walk our talk and turn those principles into action. Here’s my mantra that I sing or hum almost daily to remind me of my commitment to making my personal hero’s journey.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7HJZPlJn_U&list=RDMM&start_radio=1&rv=N-aK6JnyFmk

This week, we are in the thrall of the lunar eclipse that occurs on November 8, and all week long many of us are certain to feel its emotional undertow pulling us inexorably toward the depth of our feelings. Be aware that eclipses often obscure conscious concerns and focus instead on what is unconscious, that which is lurking in the shadows but nevertheless exerting tremendous influence. The depth of feeling triggered by this eclipse may be uncomfortable, so don’t be surprised if you or someone close to you isn’t interested in plumbing those emotional depths—it might be too much given all that is at stake with this election and how deeply we are affected by the intensity of our personal and collective healing process.

With the lunar eclipse happening on Election Day in the USA, many of our fellow travelers are at risk for getting caught in the nets of political opinion. Take a deep breath—we know this won’t be an easy passage and much of what might be revealed (and has already been revealed) is quite shocking. I don’t think it’s possible to be any more disturbed than we already are, but it would be wise to anticipate more startling information about anything and everything.

The source of that startling information is attributable to Uranus, which is conjunct the Moon during the eclipse. Uranus, as we know from experience, is the planet of surprising plot twists. (I’m tempted to write “startling plot twits,” but I’ll avoid making snarky comments for now.) Whatever the results of this election, one thing is certain: we will be dealing with the current state of polarization for quite some time and we must find a healing paradigm that includes all of us. (I don’t know if it is possible to heal hatred, but putting that uncertainty aside, I am going to continue to try.)

The other big astro-news this week is Mars Retrograde, which began on October 30 and continues until January 12, 2023—it’s a long haul but the length of this retrograde is standard. Mars is retrograde in Gemini, the Sign of communication and information. Expect old emails about all sorts of things to arrive in your in box—I received an email from 2020 a day after the retrograde began. If you find yourself with any similar oddities, just be sure to check that the information is real before you fall prey to any tricks or scams. 

Also anticipate that previous conversations that ended without satisfying results will be back. The key to handling this Mars Retrograde is patience—lots and lots and lots of patience. Mars is one of the planets that drives the mechanics of daily life and it doesn’t much enjoy going “backward” instead of “forward.” (Imagine running a marathon backward.) It would be wise to strategize about how to handle the retrograde frustration—a plan to do whatever it is you do to maintain an even keel. It won’t be easy, but it will be necessary if you want to be able to concentrate on staying calm even if others are melting down around you. Be especially kind with children and pets—they feel the intensity even if they can’t articulate it in a language intelligible to their guardians.

It will be a long slog through this Mars Retrograde and you’ll want to be ready for any obstacles that might come your way, especially communication and travel snafus. Gemini is the Sign of communication and Mars, despite its retro-phase, is going to have most of us talking even if we’re not in the mood to share. If you want to keep a secret during this phase, keep it to yourself. Very few of us will be able to hold back and you could find yourself blurting information just for the sake of having something to say.

It's an understatement to say that the weeks ahead won’t be easy; between the eclipse effect, the election disruption, and Mars Retrograde, you could convince yourself to take cover from the madness by ossifying into a set position and refusing to budge. But you don’t have to defend a viewpoint simply because you’re exhausted by all the controversy that seems to permeate the air. I’m not suggesting you surrender your opinions or your candidates; I simply think it might be wise to figure out how to handle the upsets that are sure to morph from molehills into mountains. My primary concern is that as a result of the building unrest and the current climate of cruelty, violence will escalate. Those of us who prefer a different approach—a peaceful one—need to hold that desire for nonviolence foremost in our consciousness and be active spiritual warriors, confident that it is possible to transform even the most debilitating of situations. Be proud to be kind.

The planetary frequency shifts this week, moving from Libra and all of its need to connect and honor relationships of every ilk to Scorpio and all of its need to keep secrets, protect territory, and simultaneously hold fast to its positions. The Sun and Venus are in Scorpio and Mercury joins them on October 29. This transition from Libra to Scorpio was marked by the solar eclipse on October 25 as well as the upcoming lunar eclipse on November 8—Election Day here in the United States of America. When the Moon moves through the Earth’s shadow, conscious everyday concerns overshadow unconscious urges and practical matters become more important than all others, yet eclipses always reveal hidden or surprising information; they don’t bode well for straightforward activity. Both of these eclipses are sure to adhere to that rule, especially the lunar eclipse that’s two weeks away, because Uranus, the planet of startling plot twists, is conjunct the Moon during that event.

How this eclipse will affect the elections is anyone’s guess, especially given that the competition is beyond vitriolic—it’s venomous. Also, given the six-week rule of an eclipse’s influence before and after the event, we may have already witnessed startling revelations—and by the time of the election have witnessed even more—that affect the election’s outcome. But don’t despair; as disturbing as some of these revelations might be, exposing what’s behind the scenes is the first part of the healing process. Those of us interested in unity rather than division need to hold onto the notion that you gotta feel to heal. Feeling the disturbance and disruption of the ongoing turmoil and then letting those feelings lead to positive solutions is always hard work but always necessary and also unavoidable.

On October 30, Mars begins its retrograde at 25° Gemini; Mars lingers at that point all week long and continues to linger at that same point until a week following its “turn around” on October 30. As a result, nothing—absolutely nothing—is moving quickly. Mars thrives on forward movement, so as it “slows” down to prepare for its backward glance, many of our fellow travelers are likely to grow increasingly frustrated and testy. This is a good opportunity to practice patience—and there will be ample moments to perfect that forbearance.

Before Mercury follows the Sun and Venus into Scorpio on October 29, it trines Pluto, which translates into the capacity to think deeply—Mercury rules all mental processes and Pluto symbolizes what lies beneath surface appearances. But thorough thinking isn’t guaranteed by their combined influence, so before you form an adamant opinion, consider a multifaceted examination of the issues. It’s hard to listen to people rationalize their voting choices based on a refusal to even consider the validity of an opposing point of view—or reality, as the 2020 election was not stolen. It’s even harder to know that we might be in this political mess for many more years.

It's distressing to watch the news and hear various points of view that deny the results of the 2020. It’s also distressing to listen to the polls predict the ascendancy of election deniers. But none of that compares to seeing the widespread need to degrade President Biden. He is no perfect being—none of us are—but considering the mess he inherited, he’s doing just fine. I wish people would remember the many factors leading up to and contributing to inflation and the rest of the mess we are in. While inflation is awful, it’s not Biden’s fault and he doesn’t deserve to be blamed for it.

Getting back to the idea that people have been and are being brainwashed with false information, infatuated by the outlandish nature of the bizarre narratives that some are proposing—what a difference it would make if all of us thought about the basis of our opinions. Of course, that would be much easier if we were all educated equally. Education is one of the ways out of the miasma of ignorance that currently informs so many of our fellow travelers’ views. (And I don’t mean ignorance as it is defined by Buddhism, although I could include it.) I am defining ignorance as the inability to think critically about what’s going on and the need to make up stories about what’s happening because those stories make events digestible. When a narrative explains the why of something, we can embellish and add all manner of exaggeration to the story, which fulfills the very real need to be in control of an otherwise uncontrollable world.

And that is where we find ourselves each week—wondering if life will ever be controllable again, forgetting that it never was. The people who do the best with understanding that reality are those who learn to live comfortably in a state of uncertainty—and that is a day-to-day practice that very few of our fellow travelers have mastered. But we’re in a crash course now that can’t be forestalled. I have no idea how the results of the elections will play out but I do know that no matter who wins what office, we will still be in the midst of tremendous upheaval. Knowing how to handle the uncertainty of that upheaval is crucial to making it through. Knowing how to help others make it through is also crucial, so when possible lend a helping hand to those in need.

The planets are busy for the next several weeks and life on Earth reflects their activity. Regular routines assume a snappy rhythm as irregular routines shift the astral focus, opening up new perspectives. Be prepared for changes and also expect even more previously hidden information to be revealed—as if there could be more. The pace of daily life is erratic, not because Uranus is running the show with its famous time-warp signature, but because we are in the midst of a retrograde clash embedded in all that celestial movement. As some planets are ending and others are beginning a retrograde cycle, the liminal space between reviewing what was and making forward progress wobbles daily life in both directions simultaneously. If you lose track of time it’s not because you’re getting absent-minded; it’s because time is not following a straight line. You might also lose track of what you are working on, not because you’ve lost interest but because so much is happening; the distractions are almost certain to challenge our ability to concentrate.

As Pluto squares the ongoing Sun/Venus conjunction in Libra, its presence diminishes some of the finesse of that harmonious coupling in the Sign of relationship. Expect some—not all, but some—to put aside their lovey-dovey behavior and instead try to pick a fight. For some people, arguing is exciting foreplay but for others it’s problematic, so before you start bickering, make sure the object of your affection is interested in sparring.  

Saturn goes direct on October 23, ending a retrograde phase that began on June 4. Saturn is the keeper of order as well as the Lord of Karma and as it moves forward it is going to iron out a lot of wrinkles, personal and collective. One of Saturn’s gifts is the ability to eliminate the superfluous but not in the way that Pluto wipes things away or Uranus blows them up. Saturn clears the slate either through harsh discipline and strong judgments or through the clarity of common sense. Use its forward motion to create greater clarity, even if that clarity means letting go of tightly held positions that no longer serve.

We are also in eclipse season, with a Solar Eclipse on October 25 at 2° Scorpio and a Lunar Eclipse on November 8 at 16° Taurus. The 24/7 cable news cycle has been adopted by the 24/7 astrological news cycle, with all that that implies. While I support astrology’s return to the mainstream, the Internet is now flooded with astrological opinions of every variety, some of which, in an effort to please readers (or so it seems), translates into assigning positive interpretations to not-so-positive planetary interactions. I’m kinda old-fashioned about sticking to some of the old astrological rules—eclipses are revelatory, but they are not positive. They reverse the order of things and that’s exciting, but those reversals can also cause the Earth to wobble on its axis. Both Taurus and Scorpio are financial Signs, so we could experience that unavoidable wobble not only in the financial markets but also in our personal finances. Pay attention to money matters during this eclipse season and try not to let your personal finances get away from you. What’s more, the shadow of an eclipse event, six weeks prior to or after the actual eclipse, is included as part of the interpretation, so you may have already experienced the effects of these eclipses, or you may feel them afterwards.

Jupiter, the planet of good fortune, continues its retrograde phase and as part of its retro-review, it moves back into Pisces on October 28. Although I realize that’s slightly out of the date range of this week’s column, as Jupiter lingers on 0° Aries all week long and we will feel its lingering as a slowing of the pace of daily life. While the eclipses will hasten the pace, Jupiter is going to interfere with that acceleration.

But that’s not the only thing slowing down the pace and rhythms of daily life. Mars Retrograde begins the morning of October 30 and that retrograde review downshifts forward motion to a crawl—another reason that the week feels as if everything is slowing down. It’s not quite a slog to begin with—though eventually it will try the patience of the most even-tempered fellow travelers—but given the flux of this week, the Mars Retrograde shadow has a distinctive energetic signature that many will start to feel quite keenly as Mars prepares to make its “course correction.” Mars Retrograde occurs at 25° Gemini and ends on January 12, at 8° Gemini.

Mars lingers in the Sign of information, which means all of us will be reviewing the data of our lives. Mars is a forward-moving planet and it doesn’t enjoy moving “backwards,” so anticipate that everyone, including you, will be more than a little cranky. Mars symbolizes assertion and when it’s compromised, tempers tend to be more than a little testy. If you must battle during this retrograde phase, pick your battles carefully—the smallest squabble could grow into a very big deal.

I find it very easy these days to imagine that I am living in someone else’s dystopian dream. (I am actually not sure that I am imagining it.) Much of what’s unfolded has been so hard to believe and it’s anyone’s guess when that dynamic will change. The eclipses will only add to a feeling of dislocation because they always reveal what has been hidden in the shadows, revelations that are sure to exacerbate the already strong feeling of uncertainty that underscores our collective culture right now. Over the last many years, random acts of kindness and applied compassion have become increasingly popular and the popularity of that goodwill has exposed its shadow (something that always happens as we grow). A seductive current of cruelty has allowed and continues to allow bullies to be venerated. I wish it were otherwise, but if we are going to make a shift into a new paradigm for the planet, all the shadows impeding our growth need to be revealed.

It isn’t easy for anyone to work through the personal shadows of the individual psyche and it is no less difficult for the collective to make similar shifts. But it must be done if we are to be whole. So do your best to eliminate internal negativity and heavy self-judgment—it only adds to the collective angst—and instead practice loving yourself just as you are, warts and all, and see if that helps to maintain a positive warmth through the bitter chill of these times. Be generous and kind, especially through Mars Retrograde, and when you can, help your fellow travelers to come in from the cold. 

By the end of this week, we enter the Mars Retrograde phase of the year. Mars is retrograde from October 30, 2022 though January 12, 2023, and even though it only lasts for two months and two weeks, for most of us this phase is likely to be a slog, especially by the end of the year, when Mercury goes retrograde on December 29 through January 18. Whenever Mars and Mercury are retrograde at the same time, daily life becomes increasingly frustrating because these are the two planets that drive the mechanics of daily life, and trying to get things done smoothly feels almost exactly like shifting gears without engaging the clutch. That grinding noise you’ll hear is likely to be your attitude colliding with the cosmic resistance of Mars Retrograde, and then also with Mercury Retrograde a little more than two months from now. We’re all going to need tremendous patience to make it through these retro-waves, so do whatever it is you do to calm your internal waters so that you have the best attitude you can muster to deal with the cosmic pushback.

The ongoing Mercury/Jupiter opposition, while not a pernicious influence, has been an irritant and might even be the source of a fair degree of grousing and arguing. Mercury/Jupiter combinations usually nourish humor and practicality but because they are in an opposition, which is a tense interaction, humor could be skewed toward biting sarcasm or the need to belittle others in order to boost one’s own importance. Try not to be funny at someone else’s expense, but seek laughter when and where you can.

The ongoing Sun/Venus conjunction in Libra continues to infuse daily interactions with grace and harmony. Keep using this positive conjunction as a salve for tension and stress and allow it to help you deal with vulnerabilities, yours or others. Both the Sun and Venus are in a square to Pluto, fractious interactions that fill the air with the need to acquire and then exercise personal and collective power. Anticipate intense disagreements with family, friends, and coworkers, but also expect that these situations can be calmed down by carefully listening to their opinions even if you don’t agree. You don’t have to dismiss or belittle ideas that differ from your own; it is important to treat them with respect, if only because so few of us actively respect ideas we don’t agree with. That polarization doesn’t help anyone to find potent and positive places of compromise.

The Sun/Venus conjunction also trines Saturn in Aquarius, a positive alliance that engenders an even-tempered attitude, which will make it easier to navigate the hard edges of the Sun/Venus/Pluto square. Saturn is a stabilizing force and through this trine supports the grace and harmony of the Sun/Venus in Libra.

The Sun/Venus conjunction also trines Mars in Gemini, and Mars also trines Saturn, all of which forms a Grand Trine, which is a highly supportive interaction. I love this configuration because it supports clarity as well as a free flow of ideas and opinions. Gemini is the Sign of ideas and Mars is going to be examining all the information that’s fit to print and all the rest that’s unfit. Add the solid ground of Saturn (solid ground in an Air Sign is no small feat) and it is possible to try on ideas and take them seriously without having to drink the Kool-Aid or join a cult. Use this Grand Trine to examine your belief systems with an eye toward weeding out what no longer makes sense to you.

The dicey news of the week comes in the form of a Mars/Neptune square. Neptune is in Pisces, its Home Sign, which amplifies all of its sensitivities as well as its susceptibility to suggestion. When Mars, the planet of self-assertion, clashes with Neptune, which is always working to dissolve boundaries, holding on to your own opinions isn’t easy. Do your best to keep your own counsel—Neptune loves to merge, but sometimes merging isn’t the healthy choice.

The ongoing Saturn/Uranus square continues to challenge the status quo—so what else is new? The status quo has been so challenged for so long, it’s hard to identify what the status quo actually is anymore. The pillars of daily reality prior to the Saturn/Pluto conjunction and the foundations of pre-United States Pluto Return life continue to crumble before our eyes.

I’ve noticed over the last several weeks that many of our fellow travelers are waiting, some patiently and others anxiously, but all with a feeling that something’s coming. Although many are making plans and going about their daily business, there’s an underlying niggling sense of foreboding. I’m not suggesting everyone feels this way or that everyone is holding their breath. But whether it’s the midterm elections in the USA, the war in Ukraine and Putin’s threat of a nuclear strike, the increasingly violent manifestations of climate change, or the global collapse of currencies, lots of people are making grim statements about what is going to happen next. Perhaps people are simply reacting out of PTSD—we’ve had so many shocks over the last many years that we’re conditioned to anticipate upheaval and expect it to be a part of daily life.

I’m going to ascribe this anxiety to Pluto: we can feel its readiness to leave Capricorn and move into Aquarius—a change of Signs as well as a change in Element, from Earth to Air, and thus a change in emphasis that will facilitate a huge psychic shift, individual and collective. It helps that this change of Signs and Elements happens over a couple of years because we’re going to need time to adjust to Pluto’s new point of view; Pluto, despite its small size, is the most powerful planet in the astrological system.

Of course we want to welcome this new phase—Pluto’s tyranny of transformation may be difficult to manage but it is always a valuable process, especially if you’re committed to personal and planetary transformation. Nevertheless, it won’t be a comfortable transition—Pluto represents death and rebirth, and it will sweep away what no longer serves.

But it is also important to remember that it is our collective response to all the changes that will determine the outcome. As David Abram writes, “Climate change is the simple consequence of forgetting the holiness of this mysterium in which we’re bodily immersed.” Let’s make it a point to remember that humans are a species among many who inhabit this world—a world that is sacred, mysterious, and a part of a much bigger reality that we only glimpse from time to time; and every time we do, we are simultaneously reminded of our significance as well as our insignificance. Make humility a constant companion during the weeks that lie ahead and be sure to combine it with compassion—it’s an unbeatable alliance that works wonders when times are tough.

First things first: How do you spell relief? D-i-r-e-c-t. Yes, Mercury Retrograde is over and even though it moves slowly at first, we’re likely to feel its forward motion as the coming week unfolds and an unimpeded current of activity flows easily; email gets delivered without a hitch, as do texts and voice mail. As the regular routines of daily life inhaled deeply during Mercury Retrograde, now those routines exhale deeply all week long, releasing retrograde tensions. You don’t have to hurry or push this river; you just need to navigate your course with intention.

On a completely different note, a Sun/Venus conjunction in Libra adds an element of grace to all our interactions. Libra is the Sign of relating, which translates not only into romantic interactions—the way most of us think of Libra—but also into partnerships of every ilk. The Sun contributes vitality and when it shares the same space and forms a perfect union with Venus, we experience the love. That loving spirit can extend to all sorts of people, places, pets, and things, especially artistic endeavors. This Sun/Venus conjunction started on October 2 and is exact and separating on October 22, but continues into Scorpio until November 15. So there’s a lot of time to make good use of this beneficent alliance; apply it liberally in all situations in need of harmony and beauty.

The almost exact Saturn/Uranus square continues to challenge the status quo of, well, everything—and don’t we know it. Saturn symbolizes structures and organizations; Uranus symbolizes revolution and innovation; and squares indicate friction. We already know that almost all of the things we take for granted in our macro and micro worlds are being challenged to either maintain their position or surrender the systems that no longer serve. We continue to be in the midst of many multidimensional shifts and as the hologram of daily life continues to spin, dizziness from all those shifts happening simultaneously is likely. When you can, take a break and let yourself rest. Sometimes stepping away from the intensity helps to refine your perspective on all that’s going on, and a refreshed point of view can lead to making better choices.

Pluto Direct begins on Saturday, October 8, ending a retrograde phase that began on April 29, so be prepared for a stop-and-start rhythm as the week unfolds and Pluto gains forward momentum. Pluto won’t have another retrograde phase until May 1, 2023—its first retrograde in Aquarius. Yes, this Pluto Direct will take us to Pluto’s first entry into Aquarius on March 23, 2023, which means that for the next six months—until it enters Aquarius—Pluto is finishing up its journey through Capricorn, which began in 2008. Be prepared to visit and revisit much of what was set in motion during those years from an individual as well as a collective perspective.

This change of Signs won’t be easy; more importantly, the last fourteen years have been overwhelming years of social shift as Pluto challenged power structures, symbolized by Capricorn. Those structures are still trembling from Pluto’s journey through the Sign of stability and order, and they will continue to tremble for several years. More about this Plutonian process as Pluto Direct unfolds and excites the ethers, making its presence known through the day-to-day goings-on as it finishes the transformative process that began with its entry into Capricorn, simultaneously initiating individual and collective change.

As Mercury moves forward this week, it leaves behind its opposition to Neptune, shifting us from magical, Neptunian dreams into the practical aspirations of Mercury in Virgo, which are increased clarity. This opposition is officially over by October 9.

We’ve also been under the influence of an ongoing Mars/Saturn trine, a stabilizing combination that supports the stamina and endurance that is required to accomplish strenuous tasks. Our fellow travelers who are cleaning up after all the powerful storms will benefit from the indefatigable force of this positive alliance. Mars is in Gemini, the Sign of ideas and information; Saturn is in Aquarius, one of the Signs it rules, and Saturn’s presence here stimulates the urge to integrate ideals into concrete action. Technically, this Mars/Saturn alliance lasts until October 18, but because both planets are seemingly slowing down—Mars goes retrograde on October 30 and maintains its position at 25° Gemini for several weeks, and Saturn goes Direct on October 23—we benefit from this trine for much longer than we normally would. Make good use of this energy by allowing it to inspire your determination to work hard on projects that are meaningful for you.

For many, watching the world unfold under the influence of Pluto’s journey through Capricorn has been stupefying—so many changes, and so many of those changes are absolutely necessary if we are to move forward to a more perfect union and expression of our ideals. Keep in mind that we are still in the midst of the United States Pluto Return and because Pluto is always searching for greater authenticity, the structures that we’ve outgrown are collapsing. And while I realize that this is an American-centric challenge, it nonetheless affects the entire planet, if only because we are no longer only local on Planet Earth and never will be again. Even if you don’t agree that what happens in the USA has an effect on the rest of the world, Pluto’s preparation for entry into Aquarius knows no borders and all of us are experiencing its effect. So use this time wisely and don’t be afraid of its intensity—our situation is pretty intense and it requires that we keep moving toward positive solutions. And as always, don’t forget to be kind to your fellow travelers. We all need a little tenderness right now.

As I write, I am praying for practical wisdom and guidance from the planets about how to handle the many storms that are raging all around—and I’m not talking about the hurricanes predicted to disrupt the lives of so many of our fellow travelers. The storms I’m focusing on are political, economic, and cultural; to name but a few—the war in Ukraine, the rise of the right wing in European countries, the likelihood of Trump selling state secrets, Republican plans to put election deniers in key positions of power, the falling stock market, the failing UK pound, and all of the local and personal storms set in motion by the larger global ones. It’s a mess, but it’s been a mess for so long that it almost feels normal to be trying to live in the midst of such turmoil. And the turmoil will continue for quite some time.

We’re still in the throes of Mercury Retrograde, which lasts until October 2, so only five more days and we are done. Mercury’s next retrograde is December 29 – January 18, 2023, and it collides with Mars Retrograde, which begins on October 30 and persists until January 12, 2023. If you’re making travel plans for the holidays, try to make them between October 5 and 27. There are no guarantees that you won’t experience travel hassles, but at least you will have tried to avoid them. Forewarned is always better prepared.

This week, moods might lean slightly towards pessimism as Jupiter, the planet of optimism, continues to oppose the Sun and Venus, stirring the desire to pretend things are better than they actually are. From an individual standpoint, it would be wise to make humility your constant companion; rather than truss things up to present a better appearance, try keepin’ it real. These days—post COVID days—very few of us expect anything to be in perfect shape or functioning smoothly.

From a collective perspective, humility is also the best way to handle the tension of this mostly benign opposition. Of course, lots of people in leadership positions will resist the simplicity of that advice, opting instead to keep up appearances in an effort to look strong.

The astral underpinning of all the happenings this week is the ongoing Saturn/Uranus square; while this square is not exact, it still operates with great force. Its energetic signature is the dissolution of the status quo, something we can witness in its collective application through the demonstrations in Iran, as young people rebel against rules and regulations; the election of Ms. Meloni in Italy, the country’s first far-right leader since Mussolini; and the Russian citizens who are fleeing their homeland to avoid being drafted into war with Ukraine. And who knows what else we will discover about the dissolution of order in the United States of America as the January 6 Committee reveals more of its findings this week. (On a side note, it still stuns me that those who report the news continue to be shocked by Mr. Trump’s behavior. Often it seems they still expect him to suddenly turn presidential and honor his responsibilities, and just as often they are shocked and surprised that he opts for himself and his own self-interests. He has never embraced what might be good for the country. Why does anyone still think he might?)

We are also under the influence of a Mars/Saturn trine, a strong interaction that radiates a militant attitude. Many may use this strident configuration to hold tightly to their positions; they may also experience this trine as a call to battle. Don’t be bamboozled by those talking of war or talking you into taking a stand you might later regret. This trine will end by October 13 and until then it can be used positively to get things—almost anything—done. It signifies the determination to work as hard as necessary to achieve goals.

As the world roils around us, it would be wise to remember that we are all in this boiling cauldron together. There is no separation in our global world and we share the suffering of others even if we are not near the tumult or participants in the turmoil. And yet, many of us are experiencing our own version of that turmoil—relationship, finance, and career issues are likely to be overwhelming during times like these. And that doesn’t include the racial, gender, or class issues we are dealing with. I know I don’t have to say we are living in interesting times, but we are. We are in the midst of a revolutionary force that is literally sweeping away much of what has been our local and global reality. What we create as the new paradigm is dependent upon how we handle our current situations. Yes, it is uncertain. Yes, again, many of the pressing problems cannot be solved easily or quickly. So be sure to breathe deeply through this process and remember to be kind to your fellow travelers. We need to acknowledge the best in ourselves and in each other even when that is difficult to do.

It’s a threshold week and as always when we’re in the midst of transitions, major or minor, expected or unexpected, life often turns uncomfortable and disconcerting even as we make efforts to adjust to the new situation. One of the thresholds we are crossing this week is the autumn equinox on September 22, signaling not just the move from Virgo to Libra but a new perspective as the days and nights shift into a new season. There are plenty of reasons to be melancholy as the weather shifts and the days and nights grow increasingly cooler. We are moving to the end of a really strange year that was discombobulating because of all the necessary adjustments that needed to be made. We are used to the shift from summer to fall but this year the change of season feels just a little more poignant.

Perhaps Queen Elizabeth II’s death is the source of this poignancy for many—she embodied history by her place in history and through her death we’ve become undeniably aware that those days are gone. Long gone. While our social situation has improved in some ways over the seventy years of her reign, I can’t help but feel that the huge turnout of mourners—the queue was 750,000 strong in London—was fueled by a longing for times gone by, when so many issues were swept under the carpet that few of us realized just how bad things were for so many of our fellow travelers. And now we are achingly, painfully aware of the suffering that surrounds us—and has always been there—and the magnitude of that misery has made us hyper-aware of what has to change in order for all of us to survive. These are tumultuous times and they grow increasingly intense and uncomfortable, which intensifies figuring out how to navigate the ebb and flow—for that is the task at hand: how to live with uncertainty. 

This week, a brief T-square on September 22, comprised of the Moon in Leo, Saturn in Aquarius, and Uranus in Taurus, dominates the astral news. It’s brief because the Moon moves fairly quickly and only lasts a day in proximity to Saturn and Uranus. T-squares always indicate tension but because this one is so brief, we may not feel its effect as keenly. The components of this configuration are all in Fixed Signs, which means lots of us are likely to stubbornly stick to our opinions rather than listening to others with respect.

The autumnal equinox occurs on September 22 at 9:04 PM EDT. The chart for this change of season includes a trine between the Sun at 0° Libra and Venus in Virgo (in a wide conjunction to the Sun, by degree but not by Sign), the Ascendant in Taurus, and Pluto in Capricorn. This is a positive, grounded configuration that bodes well for the next season, but only if we do the necessary work to make good use of this aggregation of practical planetary influences. Try not to squander this positive force; it is the energetic signature of the coming season, and thus possible to harness long after we cross the seasonal threshold.

I heard from a fellow astrologer that there is a rumor going around about a difficult astrological interaction at the time of the equinox or a couple of days later. I don’t see it—maybe I need a new ephemeris or astrological glasses. But it started me thinking about all the dire predictions that float through the ether these days and combine with the conspiracy theories that also abound in cyberspace. Oy… we are increasingly influenced by these theories and many of our fellow travelers seem to have lost the ability to think critically about such theories and deconstruct them. I am all about honoring intuition (after all, it’s how I earn my living) but just because you feel something doesn’t make it so. Learning how to discern what is an intuitive hit versus what is a bad dream or wishful thinking is an important skill to develop. In our topsy-turvy world, where liars and cheaters are so frequently honored, honing the skill to discern the true from the false grows more important every day. Neither the Queen nor Hillary Clinton ran or run a pedophile ring; Bill Gates didn’t put a chip in the COVID vaccine, and Anthony Fauci is a good man, not an agent of the devil. And if you want to get married during Mercury Retrograde, go ahead. If the marriage doesn’t work out, you can always blame the planets rather than take personal responsibility.

It’s another week of uneven rhythms as the retrograde parade of planets plays out; Mercury Retrograde places a fine point on the entire phase that includes Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. One of the best ways to handle this irregular retrograde pace is to stay flexible—mentally, emotional, physically, and spiritually—to the extent that you don’t get disgruntled by changed appointments, missed flights, lost mail of every denomination, and voice mails that just don’t exist no matter how much the person who left it insists it should be on your phone. (I have already received several emails, one including tickets, from 2018 and 2020.) Don’t worry; your device hasn’t morphed into Hal (from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey), but it is disconcerting to receive messages from several years ago—I actually thought I had missed a concert.

Mercury Retrograde opposes Jupiter Retrograde this week and the tension of that opposition could contribute to feeling disconnected, especially from common sense, yours or others’. Mercury signifies all thought processes, including language and every form of communication. Jupiter represents a positive storehouse of ideals. When they work together, it’s a beautiful generative phase of constructive ideas. When they are in a fractious relationship to each other, as they are now during this opposition, common sense easily goes out the window.

Because Mercury and Jupiter are benign forces in the astrological system, when they form a negative interaction with each other we don’t necessarily experience a pernicious or mean-spirited effect, although a lack of common sense is problematic. This opposition could feel a lot like taking stupid pills and not being able to make an appropriate decision without causing hassle upon hassle. Don’t despair if you feel trapped in uncertainty or deeply affected by a lack of clarity. This is a good time to rest your brain and to slow your pace. The Mercury/Jupiter opposition is exact on September 18 and ends on September 25. For the next ten days, do your best to think before you leap and if you have to leap, make sure you’re working with a net.

A Sun/Neptune opposition could add to the brain fog. Neptune is notorious for projection, deception, illusion, and all sorts of other tricky states of consciousness. That being said, Neptune is also the symbol for imagination and when it opposes the Sun, symbol of the life force, the tension generated by their opposition can incline us toward imagining all kinds of aliments and conditions. For most of us, this opposition is likely to be felt as hypersensitivity and the ability to be easily seduced or exploited by others. Avoid get-rich-quick schemes that sound too good to be true because they are. Remember, this Sun/Neptune opposition is also occurring during the Mercury/Jupiter dearth of common sense, so before you sign a contract or make a commitment you might later regret, wait until clarity returns. The Sun/Neptune opposition is exact on September 19 and behind us by September 23. Mercury Retrograde is over on October 2.

Saturn in Aquarius continues to square Uranus in Taurus and as mentioned last week, while this square isn’t exact, it is close enough to have an effect, and because its signature is the dissolution of the status quo, we can anticipate even more tried and true structures dissolving. Mr. Trump’s pilfering of nuclear secrets is a dramatic example of that dissolution, and the shock expressed about that theft is indicative of just how much so many of us rely on the social agreement that a president will act with integrity, especially when the best interests of the country are at stake. And adding to that dissolution is the death of Queen Elizabeth II, which quite starkly ends an era, moving us into a reorganization of world power and no one can predict what that new order will look like.

Uranus in Taurus also trines the Sun in Virgo, a positive interaction that feeds the need to break free from the status quo and the chains that hold us hostage to aspects of life, especially social contracts, that no longer serve. This is a powerful interaction that feeds the rebel with or without a cause and could lead even the meekest among us to take a stand for personal and political freedom.

Lots of us are feeling uncertainty about the future; daily, we are bombarded by so many aspects of our lives in need of transformation and we have yet to find viable solutions for so many of the problems we currently face. While I know I am always reminding readers of how much work there is to do, I offer these reminders in part because all of us need to participate in creating the future we would most like to see—not the future we are afraid of. Young people especially need to be supported in their efforts to envision their brave new world. If you’re feeling at a loss for how to participate, consider how you can mentor and help young people around you, encouraging them to be hopeful and proactive in creating their future.

The week unfolds with a peculiar rhythm—on one hand we’re in the retro-zone and on the other, we’re in the back-to-school season of getting back to work. It’s both possible and impossible to think of retrogrades as having a powerful blowback, but when there are five, and by Friday six, retrograde planets, the force of that planetary retrospective cannot be denied or easily sidestepped. So put aside the urge to hurry everything and replace it with a deliberate intention to look at the details of all you’ve put in motion. Sure, it can be a drag to do such an extensive review, but if you insist upon pushing forward against this slo-mo planetary flow, you could end up dealing with too many details as you try to cross the finish line.

Mercury Retrograde begins late in the day—11:38 PM EDT—on Friday, September 9. As most readers are already aware, the three days prior to a Mercury Retrograde phase can be as sluggish as the actual retrograde. If you can avoid putting something new in motion, please do. Mercury Retrograde is a great time to review the details of projects and plans already in motion, especially those related to communication and travel. (One can only hope that the airlines use this retrograde period to review the details of their operating system and make the necessary adjustments.)

Mercury Retrograde is not the best time to initiate something new and put it in play. Yes, it does try the patience to wait it out, but this one is a real doozy because Mercury has a lot of company during its backward glance—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are also retrograde, all of which amplify Mercury’s review and its need to apply that fine-tooth comb through all the details of all the projects you’re involved in.

Mercury “turns around” in an opposition to Jupiter, also retrograde, and that opposition could manifest as challenges to common sense or as the sluggish processing of information. Try to stay centered and avoid outlandish schemes if you can. And whenever possible, try to choose wholesome rather than extreme solutions to problems.

Mercury also goes retrograde in a trine to Mars, and that positive alliance makes for busy minds. That’s okay, as long as you don’t succumb to frustration that you aren’t able to implement all your ideas.

Many of us have tried our best to maintain balance in the midst of so many cultural, political, and emotional shifts and while doing so hasn’t been easy, it has been clarifying, especially when it comes to knowing your own mind and what you value most. And there is still so much to learn. As you move through the next several weeks, try to focus on what you’ve learned and where you still feel there is more work to be done, personally and collectively. We are in a process, and as I wrote last week, this process involves several simultaneously multidimensional, transformational shifts. Yes, that is as intense as it sounds, and even though we’ve been at it for a while, we are only at the beginning. So align yourself with the transcendent principles that are your guiding stars and when possible, help others to do the same. Yes, again, kindness is the best and greatest tool you can use to help others to identify their values—use it often; you won’t run out.

The astral winds start to shift this week, moving us out of the fierce planetary interactions that dominated the days and nights of August and into a milder air—those of you who kept your cool, congratulations and those of you who lost it, I hope you didn’t do too much harm to yourself or others. It’s not quite the hallelujah moment we’ve all been waiting for, so don’t start celebrating the notion that we’re out of the woods and into a better astrological pattern. The intensity persists; it’s simply not the mean-spirited wind that stoked the pernicious heat of summer.

This week, the pace of daily life shifts slightly, not quite ushering in a fresh start (I always think of the start of school as the start of the true new year) but definitely shifting the collective mood at least a few degrees away from explosive. The glitch in this shift has to do with the pace of daily life. As regular routines begin to ramp up for autumn, they encounter the drag from five retrograde planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—which slows all sorts of activities to a snail’s pace. And that lumbering stride doesn’t include Mercury Retrograde, which begins on September 9, bringing the total retrograde planets to six, so be prepared for absolutely everything to be affected by this slo-mo rewind motion.

Mercury Retrograde occurs in Libra at 8° on September 9 and ends on October 2 at 24° Virgo. But don’t let those dates fool you; there’s always the three-day rule to consider: three days before and after Mercury Retrograde are slow as molasses and not a completely retro-free zone if you want things done in a hurry. So take your time and try not to push too hard against the retro tide.

For those who track the retrograde planets: Pluto goes direct on October 8 and Saturn on October 23; Jupiter Direct begins November 23; Neptune, December 3; and Uranus Retrograde takes us into 2023 when it goes direct on January 22.

The big news in the retrograde universe is Mars Retrograde, which begins on October 30 and lasts until January 12, 2023. More about Mars in the coming weeks.

This week, a Mercury/Jupiter opposition could cause some of us to toss common sense into the bin and instead to follow not-so-smart hunches. Be careful not to risk your savings—financial or emotional—on a scheme that sounds too good to be true because it is.

A Sun/Mars square was exact on August 27 and lingers until September 9—the day when Mercury Retrograde begins. This square indicates a feisty atmosphere that would rather fight things out; it creates an itch to engage in battle. Yes, a good fight can often clear the air, but our current air is a little too thick to clear from an argument. See what you can do to dial down the need to duke it out. Tempers may flare but they don’t have to become belligerent wildfires.

It won’t be easy being or becoming a calming influence. We are in the midst of many multidimensional transitions in just about every area of life all around the world, which means most if not all of us are attempting to deal with upheavals in our day-to-day realities. We know intellectually that we are all connected and therefore the process of transforming one issue is likely to involve solving several issues. And many of us know that until more of us embrace the reality of our interconnectedness, we won’t be able to find transformative solutions to the very pressing problems we are facing. And yet we continue to make progress, however incremental.

It’s important to maintain a positive, hopeful attitude during these transitions, so do whatever it is you do to maintain and bolster a good attitude. Remember, whatever we focus our attention on becomes our reality. Focus on doing your best to keep yourself buoyant and healthy and when you can, help others to do the same.

As planetary strife continues, terrestrial life continues to reflect the fractious celestial air. We’ve been caught in this “clash of the titans” since the end of July/beginning of August and the bellicose environment isn’t ending anytime soon. It’s challenging to navigate a negative environment every day—and it’s downright hard work steering clear of the minefields of despair, so if you’re feeling tired, even exhausted, you can blame that on the stars too. The key to making it through these waves is staying positive by not allowing anyone else’s mood to alter yours. That’s no small feat, but if you can keep clearly delineated boundaries, you’ll have an easier time staying on a positive track.

The source of this strife is the ongoing Fixed T-Square that includes an opposition between the Sun in Leo and Saturn in Aquarius, with a Uranus/North Node conjunction in Taurus—joined by the Moon today—squaring both the Sun and Saturn. Last week, Mars was a part of this package, but Mars has pulled away and as of today is only square to the Sun even as it forms an exact trine to Pluto. This entire T-Square bundle occurs in Fixed Signs, which are notorious for their lack of flexibility, and that refusal or inability to bend often translates into a stubborn refusal to budge even if you know you should. You can apply this interpretation to individual situations or to the current global mess we’re in—or both. I’m not going into more detail about this T-Square because I wrote about it for the last two weeks, so if you’re new to the current astrological weather, review those columns for further insight into the dynamics of this challenging aspect.

Pluto is not in a Fixed Sign; it’s in the Cardinal Sign of Capricorn, which means it is ready to move into action, a major feature of Cardinal Signs; they are the Signs that initiate action, reaction, and responses. A Mars/Pluto trine is a powerful combination that fuels big ambitions and the untiring efforts to actualize those goals, so this is a busy and powerful combination of celestial forces that is happiest when working.

The power of this trine is enormous: Mars signifies muscle and sheer physical strength, while Pluto represents the raw power that can be applied in a variety of venues, from the physical to the metaphysical. If you’re immersed in projects that require dedicated concentration, this Mars/Pluto trine provides the fuel to work 24/7 to get the job done, and if your efforts are frustrated, this trine also symbolizes the sheer brute force to bust through any obstacles. Use its power wisely and what you put in motion will stay in motion.

In other good news, we are in the midst of a Venus/Jupiter trine, a benevolent interaction that is concerned with forging harmonious relationships and all other activities that put love before anything else. This trine is exact on August 18 and stays in effect until August 23. Spend this generous energy liberally—use it to be nice, considerate, loving, and caring towards family, friends, and even strangers. We need as much kindness as we can muster right now.

And there’s more good news: we are also under the influence of an ongoing Mercury/Uranus trine, which was exact on August 16 and lasts until August 21. This is a wonderful interaction that fosters innovation. Mercury symbolizes all mental processes and Uranus is the father of invention; when they work together, it’s almost possible to pluck ideas from the air. I always think of this aspect as bearing the universal symbol for a good idea—the lightbulb lighting up over your head when the perfect solution appears seemingly out of thin air.

Each week I try to end with a positive sentiment that could actually help to make the world a better place. I lean toward kindness because it has made such a big difference in my life—how I treat others, how I contextualize how others treat me, and how I view the events of the world. But it’s not easy to maintain a compassionate attitude in a world that seems intent on blame and retribution. And I’m not just talking about Republicans. I’m talking about the assumption many of us make about people who disagree with our values. My opinions are far from neutral and I’m always gaining insight about what informs those opinions. Yet I’m also trying to understand the causal level of those I disagree with—if I can understand what underlies the vehemence of their points of view, I can begin to understand how to find peaceful resolution. Yes, I realize that sounds idealistic but I can’t succumb to cynicism; it will only hurt my heart. So as you move through the intensities of the week, explore the idea that those you disagree with are not your enemies; they are fellow travelers whose lives have led them to this moment as my life has led me and your life has led you to a certain point of view. Compassion isn’t only about being kind; it’s also about insight and applied awareness.

An undertow of difficulty underlies the days and nights this week, intensifying the already too-intense air and adding a bitter flavor to regular routines. Be careful not to get bitten by the bitterness—its toxic effect might result in a cynicism that could be hard to shed. Also be careful not to slide into pessimism about the state of the world or the state of your personal life. Cynicism can be quite debilitating, and you’re going to need all the positive energy you can muster to get through the coming weeks. Refuse to succumb to a negative attitude and instead cling fast to the many efforts, in your life and beyond, to facilitate positive change. We don’t hear about those endeavors as often as we hear about all the things that are going wrong, and that’s unfortunate because many of our fellow travelers are doing their best to promote compassionate transformation.

Several sources contribute to this bitter undercurrent, but the most important influence is a T-Square that includes a Sun/Saturn opposition that began on August 8, is exact and separating on August 14, and ends on August 20. As Saturn’s judgmental perspective scrutinizes the Sun’s vitality and points out the flaws in optimistic plans for the future, we are at risk for a depressive view that can only see the glass as almost entirely empty. Do your best to avoid succumbing to the negative possibilities inherent in this opposition and as you encounter flaws in your plans, use Saturn’s precision to make any realistic adaptations.

The Sun is in Leo, a fundamentally cheerful and generous Sign and Saturn is in Aquarius, which holds an egalitarian viewpoint, but can often skew to an aloof awareness that has the potential to reject or belittle Leo’s optimism. There is actually no conflict in those perspectives except the conflicts we ascribe to tensions between different points of view. Try to see these differences as complementary rather than clashes that can only be rectified by vitriolic debate.

At the midpoint of this Sun/Saturn opposition (and what turns the entire configuration into a T-Square) lies a Mars/Uranus conjunction in Taurus, with both Mars and Uranus in a square to the Sun and Saturn. The Mars/Uranus conjunction was exact and separating on August 9—the separation phase (which we are in this week) is when we feel the full brunt of any interaction; this conjunction is highly volatile and we are likely to experience it in our individual lives through arguments and battles that no one is willing to back down from. Be careful not to descend into revenge or other destructive behavior because that behavior is almost sure to bite you in the ass when the Mars/Uranus separation phase is over, which is technically on August 12, but the fractious energy of this aspect is likely to echo through the remaining weeks of the month.

That echo is attributable (as I mentioned last week) to a Mars/Pluto trine. As Mars pulls away from Uranus it moves immediately into a trine with Pluto, a positive interaction that provides an almost never-ending source of energy and power but simultaneously fails to provide any inclination towards peace-making. One of the problems with this T-Square is that it takes place in Fixed Signs—Taurus, Leo, and Aquarius—and Fixed Signs are notoriously stubborn and for the most part compromise averse. So letting go of a beloved point of view in order to keep the peace won’t be easy—but give it a try. I am not advising you to surrender your principles; I am suggesting that before you go to battle, you take stock and see if the battle and possible damage will be worth it in the long run.

Do your best to keep the peace this week, and as I always advise, take your stand but before you do battle with opposing viewpoints, examine your position with an eye toward how it might be revised and refined. The more we work together, the easier it will be to make it through these waves of change—it’s the kind thing to do and it makes manifest a compassionate heart.

The return to Wednesday publication begins this week, so going forward we are back on track for Wednesdays.

Under normal circumstances, this North Node/Uranus/Mars conjunction would be over by August 9, when Mars moves out of range. But—and this is a big but—as Mars pulls away, it moves right into a square with Saturn, another combination with a pernicious signature. A negative Mars/Saturn interaction tends towards a stubborn, harsh bitterness that puts self-interest first and can’t really recognize the needs of others.

But that’s not all: a Saturn/Sun opposition begins on August 8, forming a T-square with the ongoing Mars/Saturn square and that’s not good news for anyone, because it turns touchy into testy and cranky into angry (all the shadow Disney dwarves we hardly ever hear about because Grumpy gets all the press). The Mars/Saturn square began on July 30; it’s exact on August 7, and finally ends August 15. The Saturn/Sun opposition begins on August 8, is exact and separating August 14, and finally ends on August 20.

But even the ending of this T-Square is problematic because on August 27, Mars forms an exact square to the Sun—a combustible, fractious interaction that fuels an argumentative attitude that tries even the most patient souls. Do whatever it is you do to be cool and keep your cool. It won’t be easy resisting the intensity of the weeks that lie ahead—all of August is volatile and explosive—so find healthy ways of managing your frustration. There will be plenty of time to work out difficulties later on, once the collective mood cools down.

A Mars/Pluto trine kicks in on August 6, intensifying the already too, too, too intense air. This trine is exact and separating on August 14 and ends on August 23—right when the Mars/Sun square is kicking in. Although trines are positive interactions, and this trine delivers an almost endless supply of strength, energy, and ambition, it also carries a potent threat because it fuels the need to take charge and is unrelenting in its desire for power. Anticipate that this Mars/Pluto energy will fuel all the other interactions of August with permission to use force and brutality to get your own way. Bullies thrive under this influence, so don’t take them on until the air clears and the potential for violence dissipates. Skirmishes started under this pernicious wind could last for a long time.

Most importantly, during this difficult astrological month, when the Sun nevertheless shines its brightest, mimic its brilliance by shining your light brightly—be kind, be gracious, and be compassionate.

Lots of readers have been confused about the publishing dates for the weekly column so as of August 1, I will be returning to Wednesdays. If you are a subscriber, look for the column in your inbox. If you are reading it on the website, from August 1 on it will be there on Wednesdays.

The American Revolution 2.0 continues to be fueled by the United States Pluto Return and it’s simply stunning to watch it unfolding in real time on TV with the January 6 Committee hearings—sometimes I simply can’t believe my eyes and ears. The hearings keep revealing the terrible underbelly of Trump world—a world he helped create and nurture to its current exposure. Much is coming to the surface and I am glad this information is coming to light despite how disturbing it is because now we know what we are really dealing with; maybe not all of it, but enough to know that we are in danger of losing our democracy to a gang of heartless deplorables—not the mob of rioters, but the elected officials and many candidates running for office who are trying to capitalize on the sentiment of insurrection. It’s going to take a long time to sort out and an even longer time to renew confidence in our government.

Mr. Trump and his posse of mendacious and mostly unqualified (purposefully so) cabinet members and appointees set out to dismantle the foundations of government, doing dire damage to almost every institution. While I am no fan of red tape, I am a fan of trying to get the basics back on an even keel. This is why I support Joe Biden and get a little annoyed when so many people talk about what a lousy job he is doing. We needed, and still need, someone like President Biden to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, especially during the ongoing pandemic, which was so badly mismanaged back when most of us were focused—pre-vaccine—on staying alive and healthy.

Yes… we do need a younger president, someone who has her or his finger on the pulse of what needs to shift to save the planet and to address the many other situations in dire need of innovation. I remember the joy I felt when Bill Clinton and Al Gore took office and my generation moved into the Oval Office—my vote mattered in a tangible way. While I don’t feel like an old geezer (on most days), I know that young people are the future and they need leaders who have that future—their future—foremost in mind. The baby boomers weren’t and aren’t all bad; as I recently wrote, the hippies were right about everything, including Birkenstocks, but the baby boomers need to step aside—not disappear—and concentrate on helping young people move into their power. We need young leaders who can embrace a wide-band perspective.

The more the older generations criticize the efforts of the young, the greater the divide and the less likely we are to share information born of experience. Find the best young people running for office and support them. If no one is running, search out who might be a good choice and convince them to hold high the banner of change. We are in the midst of a revolution, not a retrospective, and President Biden is not the enemy—he is an extraordinarily empathetic leader and although he has made mistakes, he isn’t purposefully try to harm others—something that cannot be said about Mr. Trump and his Gang of Hungry Ghosts.

This week, the sky reflects the urgency of our situation. Let’s look at Uranus first:

1. A Mars/Uranus conjunction in Taurus dominates the week. It begins today, is exact and separating on August 1, and finally ends on August 10. This is an extremely volatile interaction. Mars represents muscle, might, and physical strength. Uranus represents the volatility of uranium and its erratic pulse. When these two share the same space, their combination is explosive. It would be wise not to engage in violence of any kind—try not to use words as weapons and especially avoid using weapons of any kind. Try to be patient, which is next to impossible under this influence, but try anyway. And be prepared for startling developments—as if there’s anything left to be startling. It won’t be easy to keep your cool. Uranus symbolizes the nervous system and it’s likely that all of our nervous systems will be stretched under this conjunction. So do your best to take it easy and be easy on others.

2. We are at the beginning of an almost exact Saturn/Uranus square. I say “almost’ because although it persists until mid-October, due to their retrograde motion, Saturn and Uranus never hit an exact point in this interaction, but that doesn’t diminish their influence. This square notoriously signifies the dissolution of the status quo.

Last year, in 2021, we had three exact squares. This cycle of Saturn/Uranus contacts began with a Saturn/Uranus conjunction in 1988. There were three conjunctions that year: February 12, June 26, and October 18. The first square in that cycle was exact on July 17, 1999, the next on November 14, 1999, and the last on May 13, 2000. The opposition within that cycle occurred on November 4, 2008—Election Day in the United States. There were four additional oppositions within that cycle: February 5, 2009, September 15, 2009, April 26, 2010, and July 26, 2010. I’m listing the dates for those interested in researching the social, political, and financial climates of those years. The seeds of what we are dealing with now were sown during those pivotal years. This current cycle of Saturn/Uranus squares began on February 17, 2021, and the next two exact squares happened on June 14, 2021, and December 24, 2021.

As we round out the final phase of that cycle that began in 1988, we are tying up many of the threads of what was disrupted since the cycle’s start. The next Saturn/Uranus cycle begins in June 2032 with a conjunction at 28° Gemini. Much of what happens during the nearly eleven years between the end of the current cycle and the beginning of the next will clarify what the 1988 cycle set in motion. This includes the intensifying crises of racism, poverty, misogyny, and fascism in America, all of which are emblematic of our inability to care for our citizens equitably and live up to the promise of an egalitarian democracy.

Jupiter Retrograde begins on July 28 and it stays retrograde until November 23. For the next several days, Jupiter’s preparation for its “turn around” could make it seem as if time is standing still, so don’t be disturbed if you feel like your legs can’t move fast enough to get to the next challenge.

A Mercury/Jupiter trine could put you in the mood for writing—use this muse to be witty, charming, and engaging in both spoken and written word. Jupiter represents humor—something we can really use right now. Try to avoid being funny at the expense of others, but allow this positive interaction to lift your thoughts and spirit.

All around the world the planet is suffering from fire and drought, as are all of Earth’s inhabitants. As we learn from the news constantly, there isn’t a place on Earth that isn’t crying out for help. At the writing of this column, there are twenty-seven armed conflicts occurring in our world. There are at least 89.3 million refugees, far too many of them children (www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html), and statistics suggest that there might be at least ten million more added to that number by the end of the year.

The list could go on and on because the suffering is so pervasive, so intense, and happening at such an alarming rate. The question is, what are we going to do about it? How can we find ways to help each other? We must figure this out because the suffering isn’t going to cease until we engage with it. And it makes no difference whether we caused it or not—it’s here and it isn’t going away without positive solutions. The old paradigm didn’t work and we need a new one if we are going to make it through these waves.

As always, be kind to yourself and others, even as the intensity intensifies—kindness and compassion are a great way to start making a difference.

Welcome to the American Revolution 2.0. It is not, as some have suggested, the Civil War 2.0, despite the stultifying polarization that has insinuated itself into almost every facet of daily life and makes us view ourselves as hopelessly divided. No, what we’re in the midst of is a reassessment of our foundations—every pillar of principle that has supported our government and every baked-in flaw that’s been eroding those very ideals. In 1776—or the days of yesteryear, as the justices of the Supreme Court probably like to call them—not even the most well-off and well-loved women were considered equal.

Women have been fighting for their rightful place as equals ever since. Those of us long-in-the-tooth enough to remember when a girl couldn’t wear pants to school, when periods weren’t mentioned let alone monitored on an app, and abortions were whispered about with apprehension, look at the overturn of Roe v. Wade, banishing our hard-won rights as fully entitled citizens, with disbelief. Five right-wing conservatives enforcing their limited view of reality are returning women to archaic laws. I remember when every woman, regardless of age or experience, was called “girl” in the reception area. There were very few females in executive positions prior to the sixties and seventies, those decades of turmoil and transformation that made men so uncomfortable.

Ambition came at a precious personal cost for many young women who were only just becoming aware of the depths of prejudice that infected how they were seen and categorized. Those of my generation surely remember the consciousness-raising that took place and drove lots of people crazy—men and women alike—with accusation and realization. Women are still not free to experience life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are being pushed to do what old men—men of my generation—would like us to do: have babies and shut the fuck up about everything else. Of course, we are not about to shut up about anything, especially when we are told that our constitutionally proscribed place is barefoot, pregnant, and chained to the stove, not the phone.

Here’s an interesting quote from the Dalai Lama about the power of women:

dalailamacenter.org/blog-post/western-women-can-come-rescue-world.

Of course I agree with him, and I have often felt that the women of the West, who have so much access to power but much of it still unused, would eventually marshal their forces and create a powerful unifying presence that would educate society to appreciate the value of compassion and care, diversity within unity, and the value of knowledge and wisdom, not just of information.

In dealing a swift blow to gun control laws, the Supreme Court has also ensured guns have more rights and protections than women do.

Soon, anyone who disagrees with the radical Christian agenda embraced by the majority of Supreme Court justices will face the arduous challenge of defending how they choose to live—Clarence Thomas has made that clear. (He was Senator Biden’s choice in 1991 and he is President Biden’s problem thirty years later.) But we may not have too long to worry about that given that the EPA, according to the Supreme Court, won’t be able to regulate pollution and thus won’t be able to continue its fight to diminish global warming, thus shortening the life span of our species and every other species on planet Earth.

Unfortunately, this week we are in the throes of a Mars/Pluto square, which is a pernicious interaction that once again pits us and all of our oppositional points of view against each other. Mars symbolizes muscle and might; Pluto symbolizes power; and squares symbolize fractious interactions. When might and muscle clash with power, violence often ensues. This square is exact and separating on July 1, which means the air is alive with the sound of arguments, just in time for the 4^th of July. Be careful about the fights you pick this week and next because they could easily morph into full-scale battles with no easy or obvious resolution available. The influence of this Mars/Pluto square finally ends on July 9—just in time for the second exact hit of the United States Pluto Return on July 11.

A Mercury/Saturn trine is exact on July 2, and although we’ve been under the influence of this positive combination and its potential to support clear thinking and the practical application of that clarity since June 29, you wouldn’t know that from the Supreme Court decisions just handed down. (Unless you think that Saturn Retrograde, which began on June 4, is the force of retro-judges’ backward glance.)

A Venus/Jupiter sextile is still operative, which translates into a slightly lighter air for the next several days, but a Sun/Jupiter square turns that Jovian bent for laughter towards gallows humor and that could be upsetting for many of our fellow travelers. Try to keep your internal compass set on a positive path that will keep you from falling into the pernicious winds of the Mars/Pluto square.

Every week I try to end on a positive note. This week it’s about turning the tables on the men who would make women manageable again by controlling women’s reproductive choices. The more you try to restrict women, the more likely they are to rebel against that control. Men and women must unite to make the world a better place to live, but especially women. Because if women don’t unite and fight for their rights, soon we won’t be able to get an education, and most importantly, we will lose the right to vote and effect further change; we should consider any freedoms not ordained by the Constitution at risk under this power grab by regressive forces.

Yesterday was the longest day of the year, but I have to admit, I feel like the last couple of years have been the longest days of any year—maybe even the longest days of this lifetime. My perception of time has shifted so radically that creating a coherent timeline seems impossible—and I don’t think I am alone in my temporal disorientation. Certainly, the extremists of the Republican Party have so dramatically lost the thread of current time that it seems they have time-traveled to a period of history that supports their antiquated views on slavery, women, guns, and homophobia, which they’re intent on revisiting upon all of us; they refuse to recognize just how much consciousness has shifted around race and gender—and every other gain that’s been made in the last half century.

The pandemic punched a huge whole in the space-time continuum, and trying to return to any normal perception of time feels like a fool’s mission. Sometimes it feels as if from 2020 up until this very moment we’ve been subject to an enormous tear in the spiritual and material fabric of time, and while I try to gauge things in terms of a broad perspective—years rather than months or days—it’s hard to get a handle on just how many years ago the pandemic started.

Yes, I still have my marbles and I can still count. But something essential has been so fundamentally altered that I think it’s easier to realize that life is never returning to what it was than it is trying to piece life back together—and that feeling has nothing to do with the United States Pluto Return. It’s based purely on an awareness of how many people are feeling completely out of step with their lives and can’t seem to undo what’s been undone.

This week, the skyscape offers a modicum of help, especially when it comes to overcoming the pervasive sense of stuckedness—a word a friend made up to describe the feeling of emotional quicksand. Jupiter is in Aries, a positive placement for the planet that signifies optimism, expansion, and a magnanimous perspective. On the evening of June 20, the Moon entered Aries and formed an immediate conjunction with Jupiter that ended this morning. Because this conjunction can be an emotionally volatile placement and because Aries is a fundamentally direct sign, you might have spent the last two days taking an inventory of everything and sharing your opinions with everyone.

Even though the conjunction has ended, its effect isn’t over given that the Moon, upon ending its conjunction with Jupiter, formed an immediate conjunction with Mars, also in Aries, amping up the emotional intensity and trying to turn those feelings into action. Try to harness the potency of this powerful conjunction to move through whatever space-time discombobulation you may be experiencing. This is a powerful conjunction that can be used to enhance your motivation to get the job done.

Try to avoid misusing this Martian intensity by attempting to force situations to move that do not want to budge. Beginning on June 25, exact on July 1 and finally ending on July 10, we are in the grip of a Mars/Pluto square. Yes, it is as intense as it sounds, because this aspect tends to manifest as ruthlessness enforced by sheer brute force. As a consequence we are likely to see even more terrifying demonstrations by all those domestic terrorist groups committed to the attainment of their goals through violence. An interesting note: The last Mars/Pluto square, with Mars in Aries, was January 5, 2021.

It's going to be a difficult couple of weeks, and when you add to the mix all that is being revealed about extremists taking a wrecking ball to democracy here in the USA, and about the leaders who are continuing to intentionally bamboozle their followers with one lie after another, I can’t help but think that that I am trapped in a dystopian novel where the world has gone completely cuckoo (that’s the cleanest way of putting it). This nightmare makes holding onto hope the most serious task at hand. When one of the country’s most conservative judges calls Trump and his followers a clear and present danger to democracy because the President of the United States planned and continues to plan a coup d’état, we know we are in trouble. Nonetheless, it is even more important for all of us to hold high the banner of truth. It is also crucial that we reaffirm our commitment to compassion, even when that feels like a futile endeavor. Kindness and empathy are always important, especially in times of dynamic transformation.

After watching the January 6 hearings so far, I have developed a new respect for the Republicans who stood up for the truth. I may not agree with their policies, but I am thankful for their courage, although why they didn't come forward for the impeachment trial is anyone's guess. I am also wondering what lawful remedy the election worker Shaye Moss, who gave such powerful testimony today, has for the slander and threats she and her mother and grandmother were subjected to in the wake of Rudy Giuliani’s and President Trump’s egregious lies.

The United States Pluto Return, 2022: The American Revolution 2.0

No one needs an astrologer to point out that the United States of America is in the midst of a powerful political and cultural catharsis that affects all aspects of daily life. Gone are the regular routines that provided necessary structures of order. Conspiracy theories have increasingly taken root, replacing traditional ways of explaining seemingly aberrant events for a great many people, even as aberrant events have increasingly become the norm. Put bluntly: collectively, we’re a mess. And while I am focused on the United States, the mess is global—climate change, migration issues, economic woes, and the war in Ukraine are all pieces of the greater Plutonian puzzle. Although astrology is not necessary to address the particulars of our situation, it is a way of contextualizing the shape we’re in, and for those willing to embrace a multidimensional perspective, understanding that we are in the midst of powerful astrological interactions can deepen our appreciation of what’s at the core of this powerful catharsis.

Pluto signifies the process of death and rebirth—not birth and death—and I’m always stressing that difference because what is often most disturbing and disruptive about any Pluto interaction, individual or collective, is that Pluto’s influence often begins with loss. Ultimately, that loss is emblematic of what needs to transform, but all too often what we cling to is what we most need to let go of. One of Pluto’s superpowers is its penchant for illuminating what no longer serves. Pluto may be the planet that’s farthest away from our pale blue dot, but it is nonetheless a heat-seeking missile for authenticity. Put simply, Pluto reveals what needs to change at the core.

Pluto entered the Sign of Capricorn in January 2008, retrograding back and forth into Sagittarius until December of that year. In addition to signifying the process of death and rebirth, Pluto also symbolizes all the aspects of life we have no control over, including the myriad unconscious forces that inform the processes of daily life, individual and collective. Capricorn is the Sign of corporations, government, authorities, and all the structures that hold the practical realities of daily life in place. Since Pluto’s transit through Capricorn began, the undercurrents of hidden forces affecting what we once viewed as stable societal structures have been revealed.

Pluto’s journey through Capricorn begins to wind down next year when Pluto makes its first entry into Aquarius on March 23, 2023. But Pluto moves back and forth between Capricorn and Aquarius from March 23, 2023 until November 19, 2024, which means we are in the culmination of Pluto’s transit through Capricorn for a couple of years. The final degrees of a Sign are the distillation of its essence; Pluto’s prolonged transit through those final concentrated degrees of Capricorn are certain to be uncomfortable and are sure to focus on what is still being denied.

The reason I’m focused on the long view is simple: Pluto’s influence is the most powerful of all, and its pull toward transformation is inexorable. From the collective perspective, Pluto in Capricorn tears down political systems that no longer work. America is a country born from such a dismantling. Although no human being will ever experience a Pluto return because it takes approximately 248 years for Pluto to make a full journey in its orbit around the Sun, many of us have experienced Pluto’s unrelenting demand for transformation under its other challenging aspects to our charts. Returns always contain a review, and given Pluto’s placement in Capricorn at the founding of these United States, the political unrest we are currently experiencing will intensify over the course of the next several years. The constant pressure of this Pluto Return, even when Pluto is not in direct contact with another planet, is undeniable, and the more we include it in our awareness, the more skilled we will become in handling its effects.

The current astrological skyscape paints an emotional picture for the week. On June 14, there was a Full Moon in Sagittarius, and by the end of June 15 and into June 16, the Moon moves into a conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn. Anticipate an almost compulsive need to express what you’re feeling. And even if you can somehow prevent such urges, expect those you love or work with, or even strangers, to be expressing that emotional intensity. So be patient with your fellow travelers—all of us are feeling the intensifying intensity.

The Moon in Capricorn squares Mars as it moves into its conjunction with Pluto and that fractious interaction ups the ante on irritability, so expect that you and the rest of us are going to be easily aggravated. If your temper starts to rise, try to remember to take as many deep breaths as necessary to stay calm and present.

The Venus/Uranus conjunction in Taurus continues until June 17, so you can expect even more surprising emotional encounters, including spontaneous declarations of personal independence. If you’re not expecting those declarations, you could be quite startled, but here’s the thing about Venus/Uranus contacts: while the emotional thrust of that influence is often adamantly expressed, a reversal of position can soon follow. So try not to be reactive—just keep breathing.

A Sun/Neptune square can easily obscure important information, but the Sun also trines Saturn, a sobering force that can easily override the trickster energy of Neptune.

It’s not an easy week and you’ll need to stay focused, inside and out, if you want to navigate the waves with confidence and skill.

As I write this, the January 6 Committee is holding its hearings. Much is being revealed, some of which we already knew, but the hearings are filling in the backstory of a concerted effort to undermine the principles of our democracy through a coup d’état, and the details of what happened behind the curtain are, as my hero Commander Spock would say, fascinating. The underbelly of American politics is being exposed in ways that can’t be easily dismissed or forgotten. Yes, we knew it was bad, but in keeping with the United States Pluto Return and the idea that history repeats itself, Mr. Trump is clearly our mad King George. And there is still plenty to learn.

And because there is so much to learn—not just about January 6 and the plot to interfere with the peaceful transition of power, but all the aspects of our system that have failed and need transformation—let’s devote ourselves to knowledge and understanding as we simultaneously stay committed to kindness and compassion.

I was holding up under the intensities of these past weeks until I heard the sixty-strong contingent of mariachi from San Antonio serenading the mourners in Uvalde. The poignancy of their songs, the emotional vibrato of their voices combined with the purity of their desire to console triggered a release of deep internal grief that dropped me into an all too familiar place of sorrow. Sorrow not just for those who lost their lives in Uvalde but for all those who have died, who have survived such traumas, and who have lost the ones they love to the cruelty of guns. Those heartfelt musicians also triggered my grief for those who feel helpless in their efforts to confront and eradicate the senselessness of this ongoing, persistent perversity.

But the song I can’t get out of my head is “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats. For those of you who don’t remember that song, it was written about a teenager who opened fire on an elementary school playground in San Diego in 1979 and when asked why she did it, she explained that she didn’t like Mondays. I remember being startled by the event, the song, the explanation, and that the shooter was a young girl. I know there are many ways to understand what motivates someone to kill, but none of these explanations addresses the deeper cause: in the decades since then, we have become increasingly affected and infected by a soul sickness that is both individual and collective; it’s a disease that disregards the sanctity of life and hardens the heart.

The Second Amendment is another key issue spotlighted by the United States Pluto Return. We are in the thick of that Return, and while it may seem esoteric to some, this is an important practical and transformational process. We can interpret the right to bear arms literally, as far too many do (although there’s been a calculated rightwing shift to leaving “well-regulated” out of the original equation), or we can acknowledge that the founders had no idea of the assault weapons the Second Amendment would be used to defend. (For those of you new to the idea of a Pluto Return, more about the U.S. Pluto Return next week.)

Fortunately, the astral interactions of the week are slightly less strident than last week. Mars and Jupiter, both in Aries, end their conjunction today, and that separation strikes a slightly softer chord as it simultaneously lessens manic behavior.

A Venus/Uranus conjunction in Taurus stirs sexual desire; even if you’re not inclined toward pursuing sensual and sexual pleasure, you might find it impossible to resist the power of this conjunction. It’s a highly seductive combination that can easily express itself as infatuation—sometimes you can feel as if it’s possible to fall in love with everyone you encounter—for at least five minutes. While I am in no way opposed to romantic liaisons, it might be wise to refrain from any impulsive desire to get married until the conjunction is over—June 16. It’s just as easy to fall out of love under this influence, so I wouldn’t go to divorce court just yet, either. There’s no need to hurry and as I like to warn under Venus/Uranus contacts: marry in haste, repent at leisure.

It's going to be another challenging week. We will be hearing from the January 6 Committee, and we are likely to see more people like Matthew McConaughey making impassioned pleas for gun sanity—if such a thing is possible in the current climate. As the week unfolds there will be plenty of opportunities to contemplate your local situation and how you can make a positive contribution to your community if you feel called to action. There will be so much information—maybe even too much—to digest and metabolize that it may at times feel overwhelming. Keep an open mind as you work your way through all that is revealed, knowing that we are in the midst of a gigantic process that will last for a long while. Be clear about what you value and why. And above all, be kind to your fellow travelers—we all need the comfort of compassion and we all benefit from it.

It serves no useful spiritual purpose to review the tragedy of last week with an effort to explain it astrologically. As we continue to be bombarded by the awful details of the slaughter in Uvalde and by the ongoing devastation of Ukraine, every new angle on these stories challenges body, mind, heart, and soul. Most of us are desperately struggling to find hope in the midst of our despair; we may not find the old coping mechanisms up to the task, but in digging deeper in ourselves, it may be possible to discover more profound resources than we knew we had.

Those efforts to find comfort take on new urgency as June begins with the Moon in Cancer, signaling the dominant frequency of the month: the need for safety and security. Cancer symbolizes the home, the longing to belong, and the mother, so this month opens with the emphasis on family and home.

As the Moon stirs a deep yearning for safety, it also clashes with a Mars/Jupiter conjunction in Aries. This conjunction is a potent force that stirs the urge to move into action—don’t be surprised that as people move out of their shock and grief, they move into finding ways to effect change. Of course, not every move is guaranteed to be the wisest choice, so it would be wise to carefully consider your options and think before leaping into situations that require more thoughtful and prudent choices than those made in the heat of the moment. For those of us looking to get a lot done, this conjunction provides the muscle to do whatever is necessary to accomplish those goals. While the conjunction’s clash with the Cancer Moon could inhibit smooth passage toward those objectives, that lunar square is over by the afternoon of June 2. What lingers beyond is Cancer’s emotional temperament and the increased need for safety.

There is also a tendency to assume a hypercritical attitude as Mercury in Taurus, about to go direct on June 3, squares Saturn in Aquarius—about to go retrograde on June 4. It would be quite easy to describe this square as a clash of directions, but it’s likely to feel more like a fractious clash of judgment about what should be done and what could be done. Try not to get caught in a negative attitude that only focuses on what’s wrong or what could go wrong.

The good news is that as Mercury Direct begins, Mercury also trines Pluto, a positive interaction with the potential to support innovative thinking that can get to the core of the problem and devise thoughtful solutions.

During this week and the weeks and months that lie ahead, the challenge for most of us will continue to be figuring out how to act from our truest values even as we feel paralyzed and trapped in our worst place. There is no magic way out of our current dilemma—yes, we can turn off the news, which many of us have done. But ultimately, there is only the wisdom of taking one day at a time, each day marshalling our forces to strengthen our spiritual light, illuminating those true values, and galvanizing the will to turn those values into positive action. It will not be easy, but you already know that. It will be worthwhile, especially as we build hope in our collective efforts to make a difference and to create a world we want to live in peacefully. As always, try to make kindness and compassion your first response—we all need more than a little tenderness to make it through these waves.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus
November 2, 1883

As the teeming masses of displaced humanity search for a safe haven—a place to call home—in the modern diasporas occurring globally, I thought it might be useful to reference the Mother of Exiles and remember how we all got to these shores. Yes, the United States of America is a country built on the genocide of its indigenous population and we revisit those violent origins and pay for those acts of cruelty with each and every mass shooting—it seems we just can’t stop killing. And yes, again, we’ve always viewed the “other” with suspicion despite seeking asylum from those who sought to oppress and otherwise limit the freedom of millions of immigrants who endured soul-crushing hardship to arrive safely on these shores. And even though the vision of our founders was limited by a worldview that ignored or agreed with the perversion of slavery as it simultaneously failed to see women as fully ensouled human beings, the founders of our democracy put forth a vision of a world free from the tyranny of oppression—a  vision that spoke to millions and has never died.

Yet now, caught in the maelstrom of the United States Pluto Return, those values—liberty and justice for all, a siren’s song to so many of the world’s suffering—are being challenged by a stultifying and stupefying ignorance. Unfortunately, it’s a challenge that has persisted for so long we’ve almost grown used to it. “No Irish need apply.” “Separate” but never equal. And countless other racial and gendered slurs we have endured. I say almost grown used to, because we are not yet completely hypnotized by the cruelty we set in motion when we deny the humanity of others. Nevertheless, and despite the best efforts of our best leaders to remind us of our principles, collectively we’ve betrayed the spirit of our country so profoundly that some have come to believe our borders need walls and more barbed wire to keep out the teeming masses yearning to breathe free.

I used to think that line was yearning to be free and only recently realized it was yearning to breathe free. When you are oppressed or enslaved, breath—the life force itself—cannot be completely inhaled; it is regulated by so many forces other than your own free will.

I realize that we live in a world that defines itself by rules and regulations and while I am not an anarchist, I am proudly a child of the sixties, and when rules and regulations fail to meet the needs of the moment, those regulations need to change. When we forget that the Mother of Exiles stands at the door of our harbor holding the torch that glows with the promise of welcome for the wretched and suffering, we forget our purpose; and instead of offering a safe haven to those longing to breathe free, we chase them at the borders, put them in jail, separate children from parents, lose the necessary documents to reunite them, hold people in prison, ruin life after life after life, blaming the very people escaping tyranny as we impose a new tyranny on their longing to breathe free.

This is only one betrayal of our values, but I am starting here because it is such a blatant betrayal and because we haven’t even begun to see the extent of climate migration. We need to see these millions of displaced people as people—they are not numbers; they are human beings yearning for the safety of home. And I don’t think we yet have a resilient, sensible plan about how to handle what lies ahead as the planet becomes increasingly uninhabitable.

This week, the sky supports that yearning to be free, a need that’s likely to increase all week long as the planets continue to line up in Aries, the Sign of individuation. Venus is in Aries until May 28; Jupiter stays in Aries until the end of October, when it retrogrades briefly back into Pisces; and on May 24, Mars enters Aries and begins a transit through its Home Sign that lasts until July 5, which means the next six weeks are certain to be quite feisty.

Be prepared for lots of people to be staking out their territory and declaring their positions on everything. Also anticipate a tempestuous air coupled with a bold sense of adventure that has the power to encourage some of our fellow travelers to leap before they look or think about the consequences of their actions. On a positive note, the concentration of planets in Aries supports action, although I think we have to wait until Mercury Retrograde is over before we can access the purity of that fiery impulse to take decisive action. As you move through this fire, be prepared to experience some of its effects as the need to move—Mars signifies the muscles of the body. But because it is strongest in its Home Sign, we’re likely in for more than a few belligerent interactions. Choose your disagreements carefully—not every argument has to devolve into a full-scale battle.

As Mars prepares to enter Aries, it’s moving out of its conjunction with Neptune in Pisces. This conjunction has been stoking the impulse toward compassion and empathy; try not to lose that intention as Mars grows increasingly fierce. It is possible to be strident and care about the well-being of others. Also be aware that when Mars moves into Aries it forms a conjunction with Jupiter, a positive alliance that is certain to have most of us very busy.

Pluto Retrograde began on April 29 and on July 11 it will form the second of three returns in the United States chart—the third return is on December 28. Between now and July 11, Pluto will be revisiting all that has transpired since February 20—the first return. This Plutonian retrograde review is an invitation to identify the issues we most need to deal with. These Pluto returns are not about returning to the days of yesteryear as some, including several justices on the Supreme Court, would have us believe. The United States Pluto Return is about recognizing what’s changed since 1776 and bringing the principles of our democracy into current time with greater clarity. Our ancestors came here yearning to breathe free and our fellow travelers are following suit every time they take a raft across the Caribbean or cross the Rio Grande—they are seeking asylum in the safety of our principles. We need to recognize that it is our responsibility to honor those principles as well as the human beings who long to breathe the free air of democracy.

To all the readers of the Aquarium Age: the Weekly Frequency is back! And thank you to the many readers who sent kind words about its return—they are much appreciated. The monthly column proved too dense for lots of readers to digest easily and there is so much going on right now, and so much that will continue to go on for the foreseeable future, that I thought it might be a good idea to go back to the basics. I may skip a week occasionally—everyone needs a break from routine—and rather than publishing on Wednesdays, the column will start on the first of each month and repeat every seven days.

Daily life continues to vibrate with what has become the normal unsettled pace, and because reality (if there is such a thing) also continues to feel splintered in a thousand different pieces, lots of us are going to be spending a fair amount of time attempting to put the shards of what was into a legible mosaic of what is. Unfortunately, too many of us are trying to arrange the hodgepodge of broken pieces into a semblance of normalcy and it just can’t be done. Most, if not all, of the institutions that once held the foundations of daily life together have been torn asunder and there is absolutely no going back. But the planet’s evolutionary need to preserve itself and move forward could provide a new view of the madness, a view that includes novel if not eccentric solutions—not intended to piece reality back together, but motivated to generate workable, sustainable solutions to the destruction and decay that surround us.

Many of our fellow travelers are depressed and despairing about our collective situation but despair, while a necessary element in reaching the global healing process, won’t serve past a certain point. We need to create new solutions to persistent problems and that requires shifting our focus from feeling helpless to becoming active in manifesting remedies for the madness. As always on this free-will planet, it’s a choice. Each of us plays a part (even if we think we are too insignificant to matter) and when we assume that participatory role, helplessness can dissipate, giving hope a chance to dominate. We create our reality as we go along, adding our consciousness to the mix, and until one of us becomes the hundredth monkey and the collective reaches critical mass on how to improve conditions without causing additional harm, that consciousness-mix is a mess—or put more politely, a work in progress.

This week the planets begin to shift their focus, turning away from the deeply, internal emphasis of Pisces toward an active, external one, symbolized by Aries and its fiery need to take action.

But the internal emphasis isn’t completely over. Mars is still in Pisces conjunct Neptune, the Ruler of Pisces. This conjunction is exact on May 18 and completely behind us by May 25. It’s a truly empathetic planetary coupling that affords an opportunity to inhabit another person’s perspective. The downside is its ability to dissolve borders; the upside is its potential to mend fences and explore differences without having to denigrate the opposing point of view. This extraordinary opportunity to see through the eyes of another won’t last long, so enjoy the gentle frequency of the Mars/Neptune conjunction while you can. Squabbling will only increase in intensity during the coming weeks.

The week’s external emphasis is symbolized by a concentration of planets in Aries. Currently, Venus is in Aries—it entered Aries on May 2; Jupiter just moved into Aries on May 10, the day Mercury began its second retrograde phase of the year; and on May 24, Mars enters Aries, and as it does, daily life will take on an increasingly intense martial air (hard to imagine, I know). Mars is the archetype of the warrior and because Mars rules Aries, when Mars transits its Home Sign, those warlike tendencies intensify. And because the transit of any planet through its Home Sign strengthens its essence, lots of people are sure to be stirred to action.

Mercury Retrograde continues until June 3, and as Mercury retraces its recent history, we are in a slo-mo rewind of our own. Use this time to reflect, review and reconsider recent choices. Mercury signifies all things related to communication and travel as well as commerce and negotiation, which is why Mercury Retrograde isn’t a good time to initiate new business projects. It is the perfect time to go over all the details of what is already in motion.

There is a Lunar Eclipse of the Moon in Scorpio on May 16, and as always with an eclipse, things that have been lurking in the shadows are revealed. During the eclipse, the Moon trines both Mars and Neptune, a position that amplifies the already hypersensitive sentiments of that Pisces conjunction. Because the Moon is in Scorpio, many of us could find ourselves revealing secrets or having our secrets revealed by others. For some this eclipse could be quite dramatic, but others may not even experience the slightest disturbance.

I often write that living comfortably with uncertainty is an attribute of sound mental health—never is that more true than right now, as the news of the world worsens and our collective angst turns into collective dread. But don’t let these conditions wear you down—hold onto your highest ideals and be determined to live according to those principles. Focus on what you can do to be of service and don’t rule out kindness as your greatest contribution. From what I can garner from some posts on social media, kindness has become the new black. Wear it well and apply it liberally. So many people need help right now and being kind to a fellow traveler has the power to make a difference.

To all the readers of the Aquarium Age: the Weekly Frequency is back! I’ve decided to return to the weekly format, as of the first week in May. The monthly column proved too dense for lots of our fellow travelers to digest easily and there is so much going on right now, and so much that will continue to go on for the foreseeable future, that I thought it might be a good idea to go back to the basics. I may skip a week occasionally—everyone needs a break from routine—and rather than publishing on Wednesdays, the column will start on the first of each month and repeat every seven days.

Almost everyone I’ve talked to in the last several weeks has started our conversation with “What the f*ck is going on—and what do the stars have to say? Is it going to end soon?” Everyone is aware that nothing is normal and it’s freaking them out. “Welcome to the American Revolution 2.0,” is my reply, “symbolized by the U.S. Pluto Return.” As Pluto often does, it has wiped away the structures that held together any semblance of a reliable, organized daily life. Those structures have disintegrated or are in the process of disintegrating, and because Pluto signifies the process of death and rebirth, the dismantling of those structures is devastating and terrifying; it’s as if we’re free-floating in space, not yet sure of where we are or where we are headed—no direction known, although it seems that we are on a collision course with the days of yesteryear. Of course, we’re seeing a great deal of unraveling occurring around the globe, not just in the U.S., but what’s happening here is an intensification that’s shaking the foundations of our nation’s identity.

It's difficult to offer words of comfort in the midst of this madness because there really aren’t any, other than this is what it’s like to be in the midst of a Pluto Return—violent, intense, and devastating, just as it is simultaneously creative and transformational. We’re in a process that’s going to take quite some time, not just because Pluto transits take a long time—the average Pluto transit takes approximately two years, if you use a 1° orb. We’re in this return until the end of the year, but because Pluto is also changing Signs, entering Aquarius in March 2023, this Pluto Return is going to feel as if it is lingering longer, if only because there’s a lot to dismantle before we can create a new paradigm, one built on an egalitarian philosophy that honors everyone regardless of gender, race, religion, age, sexual preference, or economic status. Just don’t get your hopes up for an easy entry into that new paradigm. There is certain to be much resistance to the shift (as we are already seeing in the intensifying power struggles at state and federal levels), and while resistance to these changes is ultimately futile, that won’t lessen the turmoil which will dominate daily life for several years.

Pluto always intensifies change at the core and that is certainly what we are experiencing—the fascism that was partially hidden but not at all dormant; the misogyny and bigotry written into the Constitution but always denied; and the entitlement of white men that enables the cruelty and callousness toward anything other than the needs of the privileged. The good news is that the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence are also a part of this Pluto Return, and that means integrating those ideals is also part of the Plutonian process. The turbulence between what is and what needs to be in order to live up to those ideals is where we are now, and it isn’t easy finding a way through to higher ground. While it is important to have a government that strives to embody and manifest those ideals, it is much more important to have citizens who appreciate the value of those ideals and strive to live up to them, for we’ve seen how quickly the government can fail when not enough do.

For the next several weeks, lots of us will be reviewing the recent past as well as the ancient past. Mercury Retrograde begins on May 10 and ends on June 3, and even though most of us are familiar with the Mercury Retrograde drill, we aren’t exempt from its influence. Anticipate troubles with Wi-Fi as server connections are disrupted. Mail of every denomination is also likely to be afflicted with problems and all communication and travel plans will need an adjustment. Mercury Retrograde is not a good time to initiate new projects, but it is an excellent time to review the details of projects and plans already in motion. So feel free to blame the stars for all the technical difficulties we are bound to experience over the next several weeks.

On a positive note, Jupiter moves into Aries on May 10, the same day that Mercury goes retrograde, so don’t be surprised if you want to move forward at the speed of light—Jupiter enjoys transits through Fire Signs—but can’t quite bring yourself up to speed because Mercury has all of us tethered to the here-and-now. Jupiter’s transit through Aries will amplify impetuous urges and tempestuous moods as it simultaneously feeds the need to be honest and forthright. Try to think before you speak, but also embrace this astral impulse to be direct.

One more bit: by May 11, Mars conjuncts Neptune in Pisces, fostering the urge to merge. This conjunction is exact and separating on May 18 and ends by May 25, when Mars enters Aries. More about Mars and Neptune next week.

As I often like to remind those of us who pay attention to the stars and planets, we bring these astral influences to life—they manifest in many ways, but it is our actions that determine how we experience their energetic signatures. So as we move through these turbulent times, keep your eyes on your destination. The patriarchy is quaking from the waves of Plutonian transformation and taking every action they can to turn back the hands of time, but it is not possible to forestall the future. We’re already winning, otherwise they wouldn’t be so afraid or trying so hard to hold onto power. We must continue to resist their efforts to harm the planet and all its sentient inhabitants because in that resistance—both its failures and its gains—we will find our new paradigm. We won’t be able to implement it easily but we will eventually find a way to make it through the suffering we must unfortunately witness. Be kind to yourself and others, and try to find compassion for those who cannot open their hearts to life in all its myriad manifestations.

Emotional waters run deep this month—there’s no bottom to the intensity of feelings, yours or others’, so it’s wise to think before you leap, speak, or take any action purely based on an emotional moment. April’s uber-sensitivity is largely due to a Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces that began on March 20 and is exact and separating on April 12, finally ending on May 9. Be prepared for the next several weeks to be a blur of feelings. For those old enough to remember that song from the ’70s, “Feelings,” you’re free to start singing endless wo-o-o’s—it actually might feel good to start humming a cliché, if only because it could make you laugh. And for those who are too young to remember those endless emotive choruses, find the song online and let yourself join in—it could be a great cathartic moment to just sing along with the intensity.

But the prominence of this Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces, the Sign of empathy, isn’t the only contributor to April’s intense emotional field. Environmental factors also contribute to the pervasive and nearly palpable sensitivity of the month: the change of seasons, a transition that always tends toward hyper-sensitivity as minds and bodies struggle to adjust to the flux of temperatures and climate, has become increasingly volatile in recent years due to global warming, and this year those transitions are likely to be even more uncomfortable and confusing.

And that's not all: we are witnessing a televised war in Ukraine that is heartbreaking each and every moment. Many of our fellow travelers feel overwhelmed by the blatant cruelty of this war. There is currently no end in sight, making us keenly aware of the horrifying losses that the Ukrainian and Russian peoples will carry for decades ahead.

The collective turmoil is mirrored (as always) through individual upheaval, especially as the reality of our global situation takes hold. Nothing is at it was, and as many of us experience the displacement from our pre-COVID lives, the destruction in Ukraine resonates the poignancy of lives lost on so many levels. Despite the freedom many people are feeling as pandemic regulations have relaxed, COVID remains a threat, and the prospect of another variant surge lingers. The Saturn/Pluto conjunction of 2020 continues to deconstruct reality, revealing all the holes in structures previously supporting the routines of daily life—demonstrating in no uncertain terms the ways these systems no longer work.

April’s hypersensitivity coexists with an equally strident start to the month. A Mars/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius is the source of this discord; it began on March 27, is exact and separating on April 4, and persists until April 13. This conjunction is a pernicious interaction that tends toward violence as a way of solving differences, and while its energy can also be applied to dangerous situations that require extraordinary precision, managing such power requires finding a way to navigate an often grueling obstacle course. This planetary combination signals tests of endurance that challenge body, mind, and spirit to find positive solutions, but harnessing the power of a Mars/Saturn conjunction—in any Sign—requires deep determination and commitment to transformation, no matter what obstacles are inhibiting your progress. Just be careful to avoid ruthless methods of overcoming roadblocks. That Mars/Saturn determination can turn quite callous when it removes obstacles without restraint.

April also opens on a strong Aries signature, which some may deem a strident tone—Aries and its Ruler, Mars, can be seen as the archetype of the warrior, and both can be inclined toward issuing orders as a means of coping with challenging situations that are out of control. The Sun is in Aries and Mars is conjunct Saturn, and given those powerful placements, it wouldn’t be surprising to find yourself barking commands in the midst of chaos, especially if you’re feeling ultra-impulsive about getting results—even if that means refusing to honor limits and boundaries. Not only is the Sun in Aries, but Mercury is conjunct the Sun, which enhances the Aries determination to rationalize the danger of taking charge without appropriate objectivity about the situation you’re seeking to control. Add the New Moon in Aries on April 1 and you’ve got a full-speed urge to get the show on the road, whatever that show may be.

The New Moon is always a good time to initiate plans and projects and a New Moon in Aries particularly glorifies the energy of germination, which makes it the best New Moon (other than Taurus) for planting the seeds of what you want to grow. Whether you’re planning a food or flower garden or wanting to seed ideas, this New Moon is a great time to get your garden growing. Let yourself plant with purpose and ambition.

Week One: April 1 – 7

The first week of April is characterized by the passionate New Moon in Aries as well as the sharp intensity of the Mars/Saturn conjunction, making it truly important to find and maintain your balance as the routines of daily life reflect the strong influence of Mars and Aries. But even in the midst of that strong concentration of Martian force, the underlying current of the week is the emotional Jupiter/Neptune conjunction. The sensitivity of this conjunction in Pisces is more than likely to make finding your balance difficult—Mars and Saturn aren’t all that interested in empathy, while the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces encourages a spiritual experience of unity, creating disparate goals and producing a strong emotional environment.

Week Two: April 8 – 14

The Jupiter/Neptune conjunction is exact on April 12 at 23° Pisces 59’, which means the entire second week of April is certain to be emotionally intense. Be prepared for feelings to overwhelm reason—which isn’t always a bad thing, given what we’ve learned from watching the various iterations of Spock’s emotional development all these years. Nevertheless, unless you are already an intergalactic child of a bona fide Vulcan/Earthling marriage and struggling to make sense of your feelings, last week, this week, and the next several weeks ahead are likely to be easier spent allowing yourself to feel—wo-wo-o, truly, madly, and deeply. It could be as simple as listening to music and suddenly being brought to tears by your emotional response to the violin orchestrations of your favorite song, one you’ve listened to a thousand times before and never shed a tear in appreciation of its beauty.

Enjoy this emotional intensity because resisting it will take more energy than going with the flow; try to let it flood your system in healthy ways. If you are joyous, create a ritual of gratitude so that you can express your joy without hesitation. If you are grieving—and many of us are—create a ritual for mourning and allow yourself to release your grief. We are in need of grief rituals—we’re grieving the life we left behind, and although our pre-COVID world may not have been heaven on Earth, it was the reality we were used to and our regular routines provided order. The realization that that way of life is gone, and that many of the people we shared that way of life with are also gone, has been a loss too sad for many to let themselves feel—but not in the midst of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction. Expect to be overwhelmed at times, and again, let yourself open to it. Resistance, especially this month, is futile.

Many are also grieving for the devastation in Ukraine, and for the harm that’s being done not just to countless Ukrainian and Russian lives but to our planet, all of which adds to the underlying grief that some of us still consider war a legitimate means to an end. War is state-sanctioned violence and even if it is against a great evil, as it was in World War II, war only perpetuates more violence. Most of us, but not enough of us, know that war is never the answer.

Whenever possible, try to avoid judging yourself or your fellow travelers about just how much emotion needs to be discharged under this influence. Find healthy outlets to support yourself—dance, drum, or chant it out; you can also draw, paint, or plant as a way of expressing your feelings. If you are an athlete, run, swim, jump, or row it away.

The upside of this potent and emotional conjunction is its potential to give birth to deep spiritual experiences—for those who meditate, take advantage of this magnificent, mystic urge to merge with the divine. Both Jupiter and Neptune symbolize the potential for expansive consciousness as well as spiritual devotion. As these co-Rulers of the Sign of mysticism unite, they produce the possibilities for expansive spiritual experiences that you won’t need drugs to enhance.

Week Three: April 15 – 21

Mars moved into Pisces late in the day on April 14, and although we could expect its entry into the Sign of empathy to amplify the effect of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction, its influence is more likely to manifest as the need to assess rather than assume before moving into action.

The Sun in Aries has been squaring Pluto in Capricorn since April 13 and that square is exact and separating on April 18, just before the Sun’s move into Taurus late on April 19, and finally ends by April 24. Sun/Pluto squares always indicate power struggles, which translates into rough days in mid-April. It won’t be easy steering clear of altercations, so choose your stands wisely. Be careful not to act impulsively and also be wary of involving yourself in any interaction that could turn into a power play. Pluto’s presence can manifest as ruthlessness, something you want to avoid, especially in the current climate of violence and cruelty. Continue to use the spiritual power of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction to guide your behavioral choices. You won’t be wimping out; you’ll be opting for higher ground rather than contributing to the suffering of your fellow travelers.

On a more positive note, a Mercury/Uranus conjunction begins this week; it is exact and separating on April 17 and ends on April 21. As readers know, I love Mercury/Uranus interactions because they symbolize and stimulate an active mind; ready, willing, and able to embrace curiosity as a way of life. I often liken it to having the universal symbol for invention—a gigantic lightbulb—overhead, sending inventive ideas to anyone who is listening. Make the most of this invigorating interaction by allowing yourself to think differently about persistent problems all the while staying open to innovative solutions.

On April 16, there is a Full Moon in Libra that is likely to add to the already too-emotional atmosphere—the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction is still in effect. Try to attune to the peacemaking signature of Libra by finding your internal equilibrium and doing your best to maintain that balance. A word of caution: it won’t be easy to stay balanced, but it is a worthwhile endeavor to try. The more we focus on peaceful interactions in our personal lives, the more we contribute to creating peace from a collective perspective.

Week Four: April 22 – 30

A Venus/Neptune conjunction in Pisces kicks in on April 23, is exact and separating on April 27, and ends on May 2. This conjunction indicates inspiration and a rich creative field that is inclined toward dreamy romance as well as graceful spiritual experiences. Channel this planetary combination into creative endeavors that allow you to express Venusian as well as Neptunian values—love, both carnal and spiritual, is the signature of this conjunction. Jupiter is in the middle of this conjunction, which translates into an expansive magnification of this imaginative Venus/Neptune force.

April’s astral intensity ends with a solar eclipse on April 30 at 10° Taurus 28’, a position that Uranus has held on and off for part of 2021 and for all of January 2022. Eclipses always reveal what’s hiding in the shadows, so we can definitely expect surprising information to suddenly be revealed. Eclipses aren’t positive, and even though we can predict their occurrence (so could our ancient ancestors, by the way), they still signify a disruption in the order of things. Because this eclipse occurs at the end of a highly emotional month, it would be wise to expect that it will exacerbate the already emotional atmosphere. Anticipate the information that’s revealed to be disruptive.

The best way to navigate the deep waters this month is to do your best to keep an even keel, and while that may feel impossible in the midst of April’s emotional waves, keeping your ship upright and holding fast to a steady course will yield positive results. We live on a disrupted planet and the turmoil is far from over. We will all need to embrace a perspective that includes the global and the local as well as the collective and personal points of view. Holding fast to that multifaceted view may not be easy, but it will be worthwhile, especially as we interact with our fellow travelers. As always, remember to be kind to yourself and others as you make your way through these waves of change. We will all benefit from more than a little tenderness.

Hello to readers everywhere!

March plays out on a split screen, but the dual reality I’m talking about isn’t referring to the proverb about the month’s weather—March comes in like a lion but it’s not likely to go out like a lamb. This month’s split screen is all about attempting to adhere to the regular routines of daily life even as the violence of war casts global shadows of anxiety and uncertainty, clouding all areas of life, here in the United States and throughout the rest of the world.

I spent the last several days glued to the TV watching history unfold, contemplating how the consequences of Putin’s madness might manifest, marveling at the determination of the people of Ukraine to resist, and wondering how the invasion that began on February 24, 2022, is related to the United States Pluto Return, which was exact on February 20, during Russia’s escalations to war.  But that is just the tip of the astro-iceberg: on February 23, Mars, the planet of battle, was at the same degree as the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of January 2020, which is another factor that points to the longevity of this war and its world-changing consequences. We are bearing witness to our world as it tilts toward more violence and upheaval.

As many of our fellow travelers are experiencing, it’s simply overwhelming to consider all of the possible ramifications of this Russian invasion: the loss of human life; the tragic, traumatic effect on citizens across Ukraine and Russia, knowing that their trauma will imprint future generations; the damage caused to yet another part of the planet in our already polluted environment. What’s more, the Russian capture of Chernobyl, site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, raises almost permanent goose bumps at the memory of those horrors and concern for what could come.

Yes, this is a free-will planet and I can always turn the TV off, but there is no way to shut out the pervasive anxiety that this invasion could turn into another world war—and there is good reason for such concern. The world is just beginning to emerge from the worst trials and tribulations of COVID-19, only to be faced with the specter of World War III—for many, it’s just too much, so be patient with friends and family who are suffering from the weight of our combined local and global situations.

Beyond the broadcasts of war and the inevitable consequences of its violence, the extremists of the right wing (or what has become the GOP 2.0) continue their machinations to neutralize the cultural progress we’ve made over the last decades. The old white guys of yesteryear are doing their best to turn back the hands of time: in the rollback of every ilk of civil rights, from voting to gender to LGBTQ gains, conservatives are determined to hold onto their crumbling privilege. They are not going down without a fight—all those who have been working for change need to stay alert and awake at the wheel of our cultural revolution/evolution.

Although barely reported on while the mendacious actions of our less compassionate fellow travelers breathlessly fill the airwaves, the altruism and positive impacts of our more compassionate fellow travelers are making a difference in the lives of so many. And those differences have a long-term effect.

For those wondering how this current crisis may be related to the United States Pluto Return, there’s no telling and we will have to wait and watch. But it has been clear that the GOP 2.0 is aligned with Putin, and so many key players who came to power in 2016 are proud of (and were aided by) that connection: Trump, Pompeo, Manafort, Flynn, and too many more to list here. I’m hoping that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will finally reveal the depth of those connections. In my last column, I wrote that the events set in motion during the third week of February would have a lasting effect. I’m sticking to that opinion, if only because there is so much more to be revealed—we are only at the beginning of this American Pluto Return.

Week One: March 1 – 7

March begins with a Venus/Mars/Pluto conjunction. The Venus/Mars portion of this trio is a benign interaction that has been in effect since the middle of February and lasts until the end of March. Mars represents the male principle; Venus, the feminine principle. When they share the same space, they give birth to passion, sexual and creative. This alliance began in Capricorn and on March 7, they move in tandem into Aquarius. There are many ways to view this conjunction; the obvious interpretation is the intensification of amorous desire, yet a Venus/Mars conjunction is often associated with all varieties of love, from sexual to platonic, lovers to friends, and also towards family, pets, music—whatever you feel deeply drawn to that expresses your passion and devotion to love. The presence of Pluto in this triple conjunction has the power to turn many of those passions obsessive, so make every effort to insure that the sexual attraction you might be feeling is mutual. Also, try not to be manipulative—Pluto’s quest for power can often blur boundaries, making it difficult to know if something was your idea or someone else’s.

A Mercury/Saturn conjunction that began on February 26 is joined by the Moon on March 1, the day before the conjunction between Mercury and Saturn is exact and separating. The Moon moves on the next day, while the Mercury/Saturn conjunction ends on March 6. A Mercury/Saturn conjunction symbolizes the capacity to think deeply (and I’m not referring to those Jack Handey greeting cards) about almost anything—and there is plenty to think about. But this combination of planetary energies is also likely to manifest as a stubborn refusal to modify or release ideas that may sound good in the abstract but won’t work in reality. Be patient with yourself and others if you find yourself clinging to ideas and holding on to points of view that no longer serve. When you are ready to release them, you will. Also try not to brood. I know that’s not an easy task when there is a war looming over the planet, but it won’t be helpful to dwell negatively on situations you have no control over. Instead, use the depth of this conjunction to contemplate solutions or positive steps you can take to make a difference in the world—there is always room for local kindness and peace.

The Sun and Jupiter are conjunct in Pisces, a positive union that softens some of the difficulties of the month by stimulating the urge to laugh—a seemingly contradictory response to war, but humor, even gallows humor, can lighten the tension. Don’t hesitate to laugh when the opportunity presents itself. Also be aware that this Sun/Jupiter conjunction is highly empathic, making it easy to put yourself in the shoes of those who are suffering from all sorts of ailments, not just the ravages of war. Let its power help you make a kind contribution when you can. 

Uranus sextiles that Sun/Jupiter conjunction, adding a deep desire to be happy. Uranus almost always delivers a surprise, which means you can anticipate needing to be flexible as you make your way through the first week of March.

On March 6, Venus and Mars move into Aquarius together, and as they move out of the seriousness of Capricorn and into the silliness of Aquarius, anticipate a shift in attitude. I’m not saying that life gets easier; I’m saying that it will be possible to access a fresh perspective through the inventive lens of Aquarius—and that could provide some relief.

Week Two: March 8 – 14

Mercury enters Pisces on March 9 and over the next couple of weeks as it moves through this highly empathetic Sign we could experiencing a softer air—not as brittle or as grim as it has been at the beginning of the month. Don’t get upset, Aquarius; I’m not suggesting that you are harsh—detached, maybe—but Mercury conjunct Saturn in Aquarius is more clinical than touchy-feely and right now we need a softer approach.

The Jupiter/Sun conjunction continues and is exact on Sunday, March 13, providing the potential for a lighter attitude. I realize that sounds impossible, but I’m hopeful because we will need a break from the intensity of war and what has been set in motion.

Spring begins on March 20, when the Sun enters Aries, igniting the need to move out of winter’s lethargy and stillness. It’s time to think about what you want to grow in your actual garden as well as your metaphysical/spiritual garden.  

Unfortunately, the joy that spring brings—even if it snows one more time on the equinox—is not likely to persist. A quite difficult square between Mars and Uranus that began on March 14—not quite the Ides of March—is exact on March 22, feeding the need to fight about almost anything. Mars is the god of war and Uranus is the revolutionary, eager and willing to fight for freedom from whatever enslaves. This square exacerbates violence, especially in all those areas or relationships where violence is already occurring. It does not bode well for the Ukrainian/Russian conflict—even if things calm down before the third week in March, this square is likely to ignite it all over again.

Week Four: March 22 – 31

The Mars/Uranus square is exact and separating on Tuesday, March 22, and as these two fighting forces pull away, the urge to fight for your opinion increases. This square amplifies fractious interactions so if you want to solve a problem with your partner, personal or professional, dial down any belligerence and be sure to check your reactions. It’s a tense month and this square contributes to the tension. Yes, Mars/Uranus can be harnessed to help you make Herculean efforts—spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical—but you have to be clear about what you want to accomplish and what tools you can use to soothe rather than excite the moods of all involved. What’s more, Mercury moves in Aries, the Sign of the soldier, on March 27, and that intensifies the need to take a stand, even if a stand isn’t needed.

It's not an easy month and most of us will be tested to keep our inner peace in the midst of so much tension. The Masters of War—all the dictators around the world as well as those who benefit financially from outsized appetites for power, regardless of the consequences—are going to fight hard to maintain or advance their positions. But as most of us who have a brain, heart, and courage have learned over the years, the old ways of power will not sustain the planet and her children. Focus your intentions on helping those who are on the front lines—the soldiers, the families, and the children enduring the physical violence of war. But also help those not on the front lines, your neighbor, the UPS driver, the person getting off the bus or out of the cab. Be especially nice to children who have no way of contextualizing the intensity. And also be kind to yourself—you need compassion too.

Hello to readers in Brooklyn!

It’s a serious month, the second serious month of a deeply serious year, and the planets on day one of February 2022 reflect that gravity. As I like to remind readers, you don’t need an astrologer to know which way the wind blows. You don’t need a meteorologist, either. All you need do is watch the news, any news, even Fox (or maybe especially Fox) to know that we are in trouble. How to handle that trouble is the task at hand this month, and for the next many months, as we attempt to find solutions to the many issues bearing down on us.

February is also a volatile month in an already too-volatile world. For those who have already decided that the world has lost its mind, February might seem like a good month to hide under the covers. Unfortunately, the only problem with that choice is you might want to save it for March, April, or any other month this year when denial will appear as the only reasonable response to the madness. You could say, and I will say: we’re doing the Time Warp dance again and again and again. Madness does take its toll. You can jump to the left, put your hands on your hips, and then jump to the right, but there is no way out of the mess we are in. So best to get comfortable, but don’t fall asleep—too much is happening all at once and you’ll need to be aware of what’s going on so you can make informed choices about how you want to respond.

February presents us with the first exact United States Pluto Return on February 20, and all month long the inexorable pull of that dynamic event dominates all other astral activity. You may not immediately recognize the presence of Pluto but that lack of awareness doesn’t lessen its influence. Pluto signifies death and rebirth—something has to die so something else can be reborn. We’ve been under the thumb of Pluto for the last several years, which is one of the reasons the world looks as if it is falling apart—it is. Pluto’s influence has been wearing down and deconstructing systems—individual and collective—that no longer authentically express the values of the American idea. We will be under Pluto’s influence for many months and years ahead, which means we can expect more institutions to crumble under the weight of having outlived their usefulness. Pluto only tears down what is no longer relevant, and as it does, we often experience that transformation as a loss of the tried and true.

In many ways it is both terrifying and thrilling to be alive in the age of such profound transformation. But that doesn’t make the effect of Pluto’s power any easier to bear. Try to be aware and alert to your feelings through this process. Notice what is no longer authentic for you and notice what you resist releasing. For Pluto, the dissolution of what was is as important as the creation of the new reality, and while that dissolution is uncomfortable in its uncertainty, it is also exciting to envision what’s next. Try to find a positive view about the future, and as you do, be aware that what you envision is part of what we are collectively birthing. If you think that kindness is a more important value than power, make it a point to live a kind life. Kindness has its own power, but you have to value others to fully experience its benefits.

Week One: February 1 – 7

February’s serious air is attributable to several astral interactions:

At the stroke of midnight on February 1, there is a Moon/Sun/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius and 46 minutes later that Moon becomes a New Moon, the emblem for new beginnings. But don’t get too giddy about the new beginning, even if it is the start of the Lunar New Year. Saturn saturates the air with seriousness and all the celebrations in the world won’t override its sober strength. Saturn is a co-ruler of Aquarius—it used to govern Aquarius before Uranus was discovered. For those familiar with astrology, it is hard to imagine Aquarius being as sober as Capricorn, but Aquarius is a Fixed Sign and as all Fixed Signs do, it holds fast to its beliefs and opinions, often refusing to budge. And yet Uranus, which is now considered the significator for Aquarius, is believed to symbolize invention and innovation—it’s one of those astrological conundrums that we just have to live with, yet continue to contemplate because it doesn’t actually make sense. (Similarly, while I hold fast to the idea that the planets are not causal, I totally support not buying new technology (if you can) during Mercury Retrograde—go figure.) From a positive point of view, the New Moon in Aquarius on February 1 promises innovation. Coupled with the structural gifts of Saturn, it’s possible to ground some of those innovative ideas in reality.

But don’t be in a hurry to get things done immediately. February opens with the last three days of this year’s first Mercury Retrograde. Mercury goes Direct close to midnight EST on February 3, so let’s just agree that it’s over on February 4. When Mercury makes a “course correction,” it slows down a couple of days before and after the “turn around”; this is the Mercury Retrograde 3-day rule, so don’t expect anything to be moving quickly until at least Monday, February 7. Those three days tend to go against common sense: Mercury is moving forward, why am I still stuck in the mud? Over the weekend, it will seem as if circumstances are slowing down the already slow pace, reducing the tempo of daily routines even more than the retrograde itself. The best way to handle this sluggish pace is by continuing to be patient with yourself and others as Mercury takes its time establishing a new stride.

One more thing: Mercury goes direct in a conjunction with Pluto, which translates into a need to think things through as thoroughly as possible before taking action. And that won’t be so easy because Neptune, the symbol for imagination, sextiles that Mercury/Pluto conjunction, and Neptune is almost sure to infuse many of your ideas with a healthy dose of imagination, making it a little harder to maintain mental clarity.

Uranus in Taurus squares that Moon/Sun/Saturn conjunction, which makes whatever pace is established erratic. Uranus is the planet of surprising plot twists and when it squares off with the Moon and the Sun, emotions vacillate from one extreme to another, as do aspirations. Add Saturn to the mix and we are back in the process of dismantling the status quo—Uranus is busy challenging what is by introducing inventive new ways of doing the same old thing. Anticipate being antsy and restless even in the midst of all that Saturnian seriousness.

Uranus in Taurus also trines the ongoing Venus/Mars conjunction in Capricorn. This Venus/Mars conjunction lasts until mid-April, when both Venus and Mars move from Capricorn to Aquarius and eventually into Pisces, where they finally move away from each other. A Venus/Mars conjunction in any Sign represents passion, creativity, and sensuality that can manifest as strong sexual or creative urges capable of pushing past inhibitions—even customary politeness. If you get excited, be careful not to foist your affection where it isn’t wanted. Despite a tendency to go too far, this conjunction fosters love, and while it tends toward romantic love more than any other variety, it also enhances platonic love. Anticipate feeling a strong need to be connected to those you already love as well as an equally strong inclination to flirt with just about everyone you meet. A word of caution: Uranus leans toward the spontaneous, and that need for spontaneity might convince you to throw caution to the wind. As I often advise, when Uranus and Venus combine you might want to wait until the transit is over before you get married. My motto (as many of you know) is “marry in haste, repent at leisure.” The same is true about divorce. So enjoy the sensual and sexual intensity of this Venus/Mars conjunction—get lost in it even—but be sure to remember the way home, if only because Uranus can turn on a dime and what was once a wild infatuation that would seemingly last forever can quickly turn into a casual fling.

Jupiter, in Pisces, sextiles that Venus/Mars conjunction, which ramps up the intensity, making it hard to find any middle ground. Yes, Jupiter is the planet of good fortune, but it is also the planet of excess and its presence pushes hard on Venus and Mars, intensifying those passionate urges and the need to act on them.

But that’s not all: Jupiter also sextiles Uranus, which gives the entire bundle a sense of being preordained—a ‘you had to be at that coffee shop on that day at that time or you would have missed the love of your life’ kinda thing. And that sense of destiny could override common sense. I’m not suggesting you shy away from genuine feelings of love; I’m simply advising you not to get carried away. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but just log it for now because if you find yourself about to move overseas because you met someone on Match.com that you’re sure is the perfect person for you, you might be glad to find a brain worm already established in your head that will start to question your intentions and clarity.

Week Two:  February 8 – 1

All of the interactions discussed above spill over into this week.

Week Three: February 15 – 21

This is the most important week of the month—and hindsight might deem it the most important week of the decade (and no, I don’t think I am exaggerating). On February 20, the first Pluto Return of the United States of America occurs, and while a lot of people may not think this is an important astrological event, it is the reason the country appears to be coming apart at the seams. I know you don’t need me to point it out; all that’s required is listening, reading, or watching the news, which seems to be incessantly focused on reminding us that our democracy is facing an existential crisis. Books are being banned; so many people think a mask mandate is the same thing as a freight car headed to a concentration camp; voting rights are being blatantly challenged by racists who are proud of their bigoted efforts; armed militia are itching for a fight they’ve been waiting on for years; the list goes on and on. These indicators (and more) are all signs that the foundation of the American government is being challenged, but more importantly, the very idea of America is being assaulted. One could argue that the idea of America—as the great melting pot and land of opportunity—has always been threatened and that it has always failed to live up to its potential. But not in every instance. We get a lot of things right.

There are many aspects of America in action that demonstrate its ideals. Those of us who are not white supremacists take pride in the principles that we try to live up to. I, for one, love living in a melting pot. Almost everyone brought up with exposure to a variety of cultures knows the benefits of that caldron of cultures firsthand.

My father, the Communist, would argue that this right-wing insurgence is a by-product of capitalism—if you can keep the masses uneducated, you can manipulate them to believe anything, even rejecting a vaccine that will save their lives. I don’t often agree with my father, but on this one we see eye to eye: education is probably the only thing with the potential to save us from ourselves. Unfortunately, it will take a very long time to educate all the people who need to learn to think on their own. Of course, a UFO intervention would also work and take far less time.

I realize I am making light of a very serious situation, but it is my way of dealing with the difficulty of having to bear witness to what the U.S. Pluto Return is revealing. Pluto always, always, always exposes what is inauthentic, and as I have written about before and will continue to harp on going forward, most of the weaknesses in our system—weaknesses we know were already there—have been laid bare. In part, that exposure is a consequence of having reached critical mass. We aren’t going back in time (even if we are doing the Time Warp, again) but it still doesn’t look like we are moving forward. The bigots are losing; they know it. They can’t stop this Plutonian shift to a more enlightened perspective, as much as they are still attempting to. Call it a tipping point, an inflection point, or simply a revolution; it doesn’t matter. We are in the midst of a huge transformation and this month, when the Pluto Return is exact, we move into the heart of that transformation, a process that will carry us forward all year and into 2023.

Week Four:  February 22 – 28

The good news is that a Sun/Jupiter conjunction in Pisces begins on February 27 and that should smooth some rough edges. This is a positive interaction that fosters goodwill and kindness toward our fellow travelers.

This month, do your best not to tune out. I’m not suggesting you follow every nuance of change, but I am advising that staying present for this process is important. It will help you figure out your individual role and what steps to take next. We’ve been living in and through interesting times and we should be used to it. But this Pluto Return is bigger than many can imagine and because it’s Pluto we’re dealing with, the issues it raises are going to take a long time to resolve. Be patient with yourself and others, especially children and pets who feel the intensity but can’t put it into words.

Also try to track how you’re experiencing the intensity—all of us are experiencing the tilting axis of the Earth, but it will be beneficial to know what direction you are favoring in this great tilt. Try to keep your feet on the ground, one foot in front of the other, moving forward, living life, and seizing the creative aspect of this transformational moment. Notice who shows up—friends from the distant past or new ones who you suddenly feel aligned with. Notice how you show up for these changes; what you resent and what you delight in. Notice the limits of your compassion for others. We’re living through a great awakening that requires us to develop compassion for what we don’t understand and don’t like.

Above all, be kind to your fellow travelers. We need each other through this process and remembering what is good about each other will make it easier for all of us to make it through.

Hello to readers everywhere!

You say you want a revolution? Well, welcome to 2022, where we’re already in the midst of the American Revolution 2.0. It is being televised every day, and it is already on social media, even in the Metaverse, and it’s only just begun. All year long, no matter what may be happening on the surface of daily life, underneath the almost regular routines, a strong undertow is sending out a disruptive pulse that is signaling the inevitability of a massive shift. What those changes are and how they will happen is anyone’s guess (and that’s not me copping out on predictions). Predictions are possible when patterns are revealed through reoccurrences. But the pattern we’re currently caught in—the United States of America’s Pluto Return—is only the first iteration. Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the Sun. The United States of America was born 248 years ago, and now Pluto is returning to the position it occupied when America was born. While we may be able to recognize certain common threads in our situation today with those woven into the country’s founding, all bets are off as to what the outcome will be. Earth is still a free-will planet, which means we are creating this revolution moment to moment and we are also creating the outcome, and at this moment in time and space, we are still in the process of making it up—or should I say, deciding what the outcome will be.

The first exact U.S. Pluto Return occurs on February 20, 2022; the second is on July 11; and the final on December 28. But as many readers are aware, the scope of any kind of Pluto transit is generally 22–24 months. On occasion, Pluto lingers longer at certain degrees, but not this time. I use a very tight orb of influence, and if I expand that range and use a 3-degree margin (which is still several degrees narrower than other astrologers might use), not only have we been in this Pluto Return since the start of 2020, but the end of this Pluto Return extends to and overlaps with Pluto’s entry into Aquarius on March 23, 2023. Given Pluto’s retrograde back and forth at the threshold of Aquarius, the effect of the U.S. Pluto Return won’t end until November 2024. Translation: we have been, we are, and we will continue to be in Pluto’s transformational soup for a long time.

Pluto’s transformational soup is complex. Pluto symbolizes all the things we have no control over (even if we think we do)—politics, finances, the process of transformation, sex, death, power, and any other area of life that is out of our immediate influence. A Pluto transit can be subtle, extreme, or a combination of both. Ask anyone who has been through a Pluto transit and they will testify to Pluto’s seeming insistence that something needs to shift, and because Pluto represents the process of death and rebirth, that thing that’s gotta shift is usually something we don’t want to release.

From an individual perspective, the most useful prayer while in the midst of a Pluto transit usually goes something like this: I am willing to release anything that is not authentic. Sounds simple enough, but the problem is that what we tend to cling to is usually what we fail to see is what we most need to release. And that’s where the struggle usually takes place; Pluto keeps reiterating what needs to change and we keep saying, “no way, not yet.”

From a collective perspective, the same rules apply; but as always, collective processes take time, especially when the middle ground is nearly impossible to find. And that’s the soup we are in—the MAGA millions are at odds with the social justice millions and neither is willing to budge. Through a Pluto Return framework, the United States of America is in the process of deciding what is authentic and what isn’t. Originally, “all men are created equal” was a lofty ideal, except in practice that equality did not include people of color and women. Eventually, we grew into a more enlightened application of that constitutional principle but it wasn’t without pain, angst, and struggle; it took a very long time and there is still resistance and resentment about including everyone. And that’s just one inauthentic pattern embedded in the so-called American Way.

The threat to voting rights is yet another challenge to our ideals, and is seemingly the white man’s last stand in an effort to hold onto the days of yesteryear, when he was in power. This is the most pernicious threat to democracy because it undermines the very core of the democratic system. If you have states enacting laws that allow certain officials to curtail voting rights and overturn election results unfavorable to them, then the hands of time have been set to run backward and racial prejudice will prevail. Don’t worry; if that happens, it won’t be a lasting moment. There are too many young people who won’t agree to live in a world structured by racism; they will fight for their right to be free. And they will win. Every structure in the government of the United States of America is currently being challenged, from the presidency to the Congress to the Supreme Court. That’s Pluto in Capricorn revealing what is not congruent.

Social justice is love at the collective level and I am aligned and committed to its movements, perhaps because I’m a child of the Sixties or because love is a transcendent value that I do my best to align with. Finding the means to heal the enormous divisions that currently challenge our confidence in the American Way includes finding a way to turn love into actions that will close the gaps between who we are and who we want to be. Do I relate to the people who stormed the Capitol and who continue to mistake selfishness for personal freedom? No, I don’t relate to those values at all. But do I continue to try to find a way that includes those I seemingly have nothing in common with? Yes, I do, because what unites us is what will heal our divide. It can be hard work to remember that our shared humanity binds us to each other. Many of us already know this and are working quietly and diligently to make a difference in our communities. As the climate crisis intensifies, we are also reminded that we are connected to all sentient beings on the planet. Will we remember our essential interconnectedness in this year of revolution? We must, because what unites us has the power to reveal our common ground and help us weather the revolution through its many twists and turns.

Alarm is an appropriate response to this Pluto event. Pluto will persist; its effect intensifying at times, receding at others, yet omnipresent all year long. As you adjust to its presence, be careful not to underestimate the power of this U.S. Pluto Return—everyone, no matter where they live, will be affected. And as we move through it, we are deciding not just the fate of American democracy, but in many ways the fate of the planet—and that is a fight that requires all of us to work together.

January 2022

This month opens on a fitting note of intensity, setting the tone for the year with a Venus/Pluto/Mercury conjunction in Capricorn, a powerful triple conjunction that reactivates the degrees in Capricorn that set the tone for this year and last, which means that we are still dealing with what was set in motion as a result of that concentration of astral energy that’s already two years old. Of course, we don’t need an astrologer to point out that we are still in the midst of the deconstruction of systems—both government and corporate—set in motion by the Saturn/Pluto conjunction of January 2020, or that the pandemic which spiraled out of control shortly thereafter continues to have a massive, pernicious global effect.

Also be aware that on March 23, 2023—a little more than a year from now—Pluto enters Aquarius, so while we are in the midst of the U.S. Pluto Return, we are also in the midst of reviewing everything that Pluto’s transit through Capricorn has wrought since 2008. I said it earlier, but I’m saying it again: we are in for a rough couple of years as we attempt to make sense of this Plutonian transformational process. Remember, plutonium signals change at the core. Plutonian transformation signifies the very same thing. We are changing at our core, whether we want to or not.

Back to 2022: Many astrologers have been writing about how we start 2022 with the positive influence of Jupiter in Pisces. Jupiter was in and out of Pisces during 2021, and on December 28, it moved into Pisces where it stays until May 10, when it enters Aries. Jupiter is quite happy in Pisces—it’s a co-ruler of this highly empathetic Sign, and when a planet moves into its home Sign, its influence is heightened. This Jupiter/Pisces intensification filters down into the 3D reality of daily life as increased empathy coupled with hypersensitivity. You’ll see lots of information about Jupiter in Pisces floating around online, especially about how it bodes well for the coming year. Please use your capacity to discern when something is being exaggerated: Jupiter rules exaggeration, expansion, and excess, and when those tendencies are fortified in Pisces, emotional excess is expected. What’s more, everyone is so fatigued by all the bad news (which is also strange and unsettling news), that any good news feels like the antidote to what ails. Maybe Jupiter in Pisces will alleviate some stresses, but there is too much going on with Pluto to say with confidence that we are out of the woods of difficulty.

Also be aware that Jupiter’s presence in Pisces can enhance your susceptibility to suggestion—be careful who you listen to and whose advice you follow. Despite the inherent benevolence of Jupiter, it can often lead to an excess of drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances as a means of self-medicating and easing the pain of hypersensitivity—it is possible to be too permeable and therefore unable to stay on your own track. Nevertheless, this influence can be put to positive use by deepening your meditation practices and increasing altruistic leanings and endeavors.

One Jupiter transit you might want to watch carefully: On April 12, 2022, Jupiter and Neptune will be conjunct at 23° Pisces. These are the two Rulers of Pisces and when they combine, the Pisces energetic signature is quite intense. Be prepared for floods—Pisces is a Water Sign—and if you are in a flood zone and do not have insurance, get it now. The weather is so dramatic, it would be wise to be prepared for an unprecedented deluge. Of course, this could also indicate and facilitate an emotional deluge, a tidal wave of feelings that cannot be controlled and must be expressed, which is likely to challenge all sorts of relationships. Remember to be kind as you gush.

The first Mercury Retrograde of the year begins on January 14 and ends on February 3. Mercury signifies all things related to communication and travel, so expect delays and detours as well as repeating yourself more times than you would like. And even though we all know the Mercury Retrograde drill by now, here is a quick review for those new to the idea: try not to initiate new projects when Mercury is retrograde, but use the time efficiently by reviewing all the details of what’s already in motion. Also keep in mind the three-day rule when you are making plans, especially travel plans or important gatherings—the three days before or after a retrograde starts fall within the parameters of the actual retrograde, so try not to be in a hurry.

The additional Mercury Retrograde phases of 2022 are: May 10 – June 3 and September 9 – October 2.

This year also opens with Venus Retrograde, which started on December 19 and ends on January 28. Venus Retrograde is seldom as disruptive as Mercury Retrograde, but given they are running simultaneously, the combination could be troublesome. Anticipate hassles, especially financial snafus—your bank could miss a deposit or you could accidentally enter the wrong email address when using Venmo. Be careful and mindful of how you are using electronics (Mercury) and money (Venus).

The best remedy for the year ahead is to identify what brings you joy and then to immerse yourself in that activity as often as you can. As the world seemingly falls apart, it is equally important to focus on finding beauty in your life—whether that is appreciating those you love, immersing yourself in creative expression, or simply acknowledging the perfection of your plants or pets, make sure you are engaging in a mindset as well as activities that support your heart and help you to love more deeply. And as always, be kind to your fellow travelers. So much hinges on our ability to love one another and to love our planet Earth.