Author: Margaret Lassiter

Astro Doings July & August 2015

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

This marks the 55th post for AstroDoings. That’s over 4.5 years of monthly blogs, and I’ve decided to take a break. So this post will include information on planetary doings for July and August. We’ll see what the fall brings.

Lunations

July begins and ends with a Full Moon. Yep, “once in a blue moon. . . “ Not sure where that expression originated because having two full moons in one month is not all that rare, and the moon will not be blue!

July 1: Full Moon at 90 degrees Capricorn at 10:20 pm ET

At a full moon, the Sun and Moon are on the opposite side of the zodiac, in this case the Sun is in Cancer and the Moon is in Capricorn. This axis is all about balancing the feminine (Cancer, ruled by the Moon) and masculine (Capricorn, ruled by Saturn). Cancer is about nurturing, food, home and security. Capricorn is about structure, plans, integrity and maturity. In its highest expression, Capricorn has the discipline to achieve its goals. Pluto is conjunct (next to) the Moon adding depth (and potential deception) to this full moon. It also brings with it a lot of power – power to face our fears and our shadow. Mars is in this mix as well, adding hopefully, courage and passion to the make any major changes needed at this time.

July 15: New Moon at 230 Cancer at 9:24 pm ET

This is the time to focus on what we all need to feel secure, centered and “at home.” For each of us the requirements will be different, but we need to ask ourselves: What do we need to feel safe? To be nurtured? To grow? Mars and Mercury are also in Cancer to add new thinking (Mercury) and energy (Mars) as we answer these important questions. Cancer is a very personal sign, but if we are not feeling “at home” we are less able to fulfill our function (dharma).July 22: Sun enters Leo at 11:31 pm ET

The focus is on personal creativity and expressing who we are. Leo loves to shine – it’s ruled by the Sun after all. In its highest expression, Leo is on quest to discover the divine within and in others. So let your light shine brightly.

July 31: Full Moon at 70 Aquarius at 6:43 am ET

With this Full Moon we have the opportunity to balance our own creative expression (Sun, Leo) with what is beneficial to the group (Aquarius).

August 14: New Moon at 210 Leo at 10:53 am ET

New moons are focus on new beginnings. So this is a time to shine your light more brightly, to discover another talent that you haven’t fully explored and to genuinely relish who you are. Leo is the sign of the child. Think of young children you know who are just so full of themselves – and emulate them!

August 23: Sun enters Virgo at 6:38 am ET

Now we shift gears from fire and air to earth and water. Virgo ‘s focus is on integration, health, and healing (for ourselves and Mother Earth). Virgo is practical, pragmatic and focused on details necessary to complete any project. While Leo dreams big, Virgo remembers the forks and napkins. We are entering the time of harvest – of our own growth since last year. The Sun has some mighty help in our efforts toward greater health and integration on all levels (see below).

August 29: Full Moon at 60 Pisces at 2:35 pm ET

Pisces can soften the earth of Virgo, provide a broader perspective – or provide fog. Neptune, ruler of Pisces, is conjunct the Moon; Jupiter, ancient ruler of Pisces is conjunct the Sun in Virgo. This is an opportunity to balance the numinous (Pisces) with the everyday practical (Virgo). How do we integrate our spirituality (Pisces) into our everyday life (Virgo) is the question that this Full Moon can help us answer.

Other Planetary Doings

July 25th: Venus stations retrograde at 00 Virgo at 5:29 am ET

It’s almost as if Venus got into Virgo, a sign that she doesn’t particularly care to be in, and said: “I don’t think so!” And back into Leo she goes until September. Any retrograde planet expresses itself more inwardly and Venus is the planet of love. Venus loves beauty, harmony, and balance. This retrograde presents an opportunity to integrate (Virgo) these qualities and to truly love ourselves as we are (Leo).

July 26th: Uranus stations retrograde at 200 Aries at 6:38 am ET

The planet of rebellion, destroyer of old forms (particularly ways of thinking) has been in Aries, the warrior for a while now. This retrograde that lasts until Christmas is a time for us to integrate new patterns of expressing our warrior side. However, since the energy will be focused inward, we may feel some frustration in expressing it. Because of this retrograde, Uranus will be at 200 Aries the whole month of July and August. Attention anyone with planets from 15-250 of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Capricorn or Libra). This long retrograde at the same degree will give you an opportunity to really deal with the issues presented by the planets in your chart at those degrees and in those signs.

At the end of July there will be 5 planets in retrograde motion. So even though it’s summer, the energy – to me at least – feels not as forceful or easily expressed. I believe this is a time of deep inner work so that we can all better live our truth.

August 2nd: Saturn stations direct at 280 Scorpio at 1:53 am ET

Saturn, the great teacher, has been retrograding through Pluto’s sign since March. As Saturn starts moving forward (direct) we can begin to express what we’ve learned about power and healing (Scorpio). Like Uranus, Saturn will stay at 280 the entire months of July (retrograde) and August (direct). Attention all those with planets at 20 – 300 of the other fixed signs (Leo, Aquarius, and Taurus). This station of Saturn presents a unique opportunity for restructuring and change.

August 11: Jupiter enters Virgo at 7:13 am ET

Jupiter changes its expansive and optimistic focus from personal creativity and expression to the areas integration, health and healing. He encourages us to value simplicity, discernment and humility and embrace that less can truly be more.

I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret

Astro Doings June 2015

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

It’s hard to believe that it’s June already. Time seems to be moving at a breakneck speed! Here’s what the planets are up to in June.

Full Moon: June 2 at 12:19 pm EDT

We begin the month with a Full Moon, where the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of the zodiac. In this case the Moon is at 110 Sagittarius and the Sun is at 110 Gemini. This Full Moon calls us to balance gathering information (Gemini) and seeking truth and meaning (Sagittarius). We are bombarded by more information than at any time in history, but this easy access to data is not without cost to our nervous system. Data do not bring knowledge or wisdom per se, and we are increasingly become aware that our ceaseless, multi-tasking orientation is actually making us less productive. Focus is difficult to achieve as we flit (Gemini) in a restless search for meaning (Sagittarius).

So, what are we to do? The heavens provide some assistance in the form of a square to this Full Moon (perspective-changing, growth opportunity) from Neptune in Pisces. Neptune expresses herself very powerfully in her own sign, so this is a particularly strong square. (She also squares the Sun, Saturn, Mercury and Mars.) What Neptune encourages us to do is look beyond our multi-tasking, frenetic search for more of whatever, to the numinous, to the transcendent in our search for meaning and wisdom. To do that we need to slow down, focus inward, be quiet and find time in our day for meditation and contemplation. She invites to bring our world back into better balance between our busy-ness and our higher selves. As we all know, meditation helps us to stay present and to respond instead of react. So this is a time to ramp up our spiritual practice.

Mercury Retrograde Ends: June 11 at 6:33 pm EDT

You’ll all be delighted to know that Mercury goes direct this month. However he will remain in Gemini until next month – a very long transit in his own sign. The good news is that this will favor all mercurial things: communication, writing, computers, and thinking. Also, Mercury was the only one in the Greek and Roman pantheon who could access all three levels (Hades, Earth and Olympus) without getting stuck anywhere. So he provides us the ability to integrate all three levels of our being as well. The bad news is that Mercury tends to flit from thing to thing to thing. Gemini hates to be bored, and so learns a little bit about a lot of things and then quickly moves on to something else “more interesting.” The square from Neptune, which will last all month, will provide some balance between Mercury’s speed and help us to carve out time each day to connect with our Higher Selves (and our Higher Mind). I believe that one of the reasons some tend to regard planets in retrograde motion as “bad” is that they disrupt our multi-tasking busy-ness and slows the out-of-control speed at which many of us live our lives. We get caught up in the everyday and lose sight of who we truly are. A retrograde planet, especially Mercury, changes the energy flow and invites us to re-tool our lives and re-flect on who we truly are. Some of us aren’t too sure we want to look inward – afraid of what we might find there.

Neptune Stations Retrograde: June 12 at 5:09 am EDT

OK, so if we didn’t get the hint about taking time to go inward, Neptune will help us along by changing directions at 90 Pisces. She will remain retrograde until November, so we have some time to integrate what she has to teach us about making a habit of meditation and of turning inward. Planets in retrograde motion tend to express themselves more inwardly as a general rule, providing the opportunity to make inward changes that express outwardly when the planet changes direction. Neptune’s time in retrograde motion may also assist us in better understanding our global water crisis, since Pisces is a water sign.

More Water: Saturn retrogrades into Scorpio: June 15

Saturn returns to Scorpio and will remain there until September. Saturn, the most spiritual of the planets of our solar system, has been working on our inner concepts of meaning and truth during his retrograde transit through Sagittarius. Now he moves back into the power sign – Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, planet of the underground, the unseen, the deeply transformative. Coupled with retrograde Neptune, the summer months provide an opportunity for us to come to a deeper (Pluto) understanding of our own divine (Neptune, Pisces) power (Scorpio). This is not power as the world defines it but quiet, personal, inner knowing – very feminine in its feel. Both Neptune and Pluto are feminine planets and water is a feminine element. Saturn’s re-entry into Scorpio strengthens his relationship to Pluto in Capricorn – they are in each other’s sign. This provides a very easy flow of energy, and Capricorn, being an earth sign, provides boundaries for water, which in turn softens earth so it can be more productive. Capricorn is the sign of the spiritual initiate in its highest expression. The inner nature of this summer’s planetary energies may make us feel less energetic or active than we normally think we should be during the summer months. This can be a time of deep transition for those who desire to take advantage of it.

New Moon: June 16 at 10:05 am EDT

This New Moon occurs at 250 Gemini and is joined by Mars and squared by Chiron (who is also in Pisces). New moons represent new beginnings and in Gemini these new beginnings have to do with how we think about things – what our attitudes are – and how those affect everything around us. With Mars in the mix we have an opportunity to rethink our definition of the warrior – to move from the warmonger to the spiritual warrior. Chiron helps heal with deep wounds of the patriarchy and in Pisces to bring more of the numinous, feminine inner knowing into our thinking. It can also signal a new beginning in how we communicate (Gemini) with one another, with the masculine and feminine sides of our own nature.

Yet More Water: Summer Solstice: Sun enters Cancer: June 21 at 12:38 pm EDT

The last third of June provides an interesting conflict between planets in fire signs (Venus, Jupiter, Uranus) and those in water (Sun, Mars, Saturn, Neptune). There will be one planet in earth (Pluto) and one in air (Mercury). Obviously fire and water don’t get along very well – in fact they’re “afraid” of each other. Water puts fire out; fire boils water into nothingness. This elemental tension will last through the first half of July as well. I believe we will feel this tension in the world at large. On a personal level, I think balance is the key and honoring the blessings of both elements for what they bring to us.

Have a great June!

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret

Astro Doings May 2015

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

Happy May Day! May promises to be a little quieter than March or April. However, it begins with an intense Full Moon and the second Mercury retrograde for this year starts this month. Let’s take them in order.

Full Moon: Sunday, May 3rd

This Full Moon occurs at 11:42 pm EDT at 130 Scorpio. Full Moons occur when the Sun and Moon are on opposites sides of the zodiac from one another – called, fittingly, an opposition. Oppositions generally present us with something (or someone) that is present within us, but that we don’t want to recognize or “own.” Taurus, where the Sun is, is an earth sign that processes information through the five senses and is said to be the most stubborn sign of the zodiac. It has a tendency to be complacent, and seeks stability and comfort. Ruled by Venus, Taureans respond to beauty, most especially of Mother Earth, and like things that are pleasing to the senses. (Think chocolate, bubble bath, massages. . . ) Scorpio, on the other hand, is a water sign and focuses on a deep, intense understanding of what is around him/her, transformation, and the uncanny ability to see below the surface of everything – including you, which can be rather unnerving. It is a sign of power and when the Moon is in Scorpio, emotions and feelings tend to be very intense and deep. We will also tend to hold on to these emotions/feelings longer than is perhaps good for us or helpful.

What makes this Full Moon so powerful is this opposition is squared (read: growth opportunity, shift in perspective) by Jupiter who’s running around in Leo. This is a called a t-square, because it makes a big T in the chart. Leo is a fire sign and is questing for the divine child within by going through a deep-seated sense of unworthiness. Leo, Taurus and Scorpio are all fixed signs. Fixed signs have the reputation of being stubborn – stuck in wherever they are. However, their spiritual task is focus and persistence. Fixed energy is what holds an idea (cardinal energy) long enough to manifest. Without it, nothing would take form. The “solution” to this T-square lies with the fourth fixed sign, Aquarius, the sign of the recognition that we are all equal and that we need to work together. Aquarius, in its highest expression, reminds us of who we really are. There is a second T-Square operating as well. Mercury will be opposed Saturn (in Sagittarius) and square Neptune (in Pisces). This T-Square provides additional impetus to augment our understanding and compassion of ourselves and each other. The “solution” to this T-Square lies in the sign of integration and harvest of self, Virgo.

New Moon: Monday, May 18th          

The Taurus New Moon occurs at midnight at 260. This new beginning occurs hours before Mercury stations retrograde, and once again it is near the end of the sign. Taurus is the sign of the builder and in its highest expression – detachment. Coupled with Mercury stationing retrograde (see below) this is a time to look at what we’re attached to – especially thoughts and behavior patterns – that have come to the end of their usefulness to us.

 Mercury Retrograde: Monday, May 18th

When he changes direction at 1:26 p.m. EDT, Mercury will be at 130 Gemini and will retrograde until June 11 when he will be at 40 Gemini. Because of its retrograde motion, Mercury will be in the sign it rules until July 8, an extremely long transit. I believe that this retrograde period and the three squares that Mercury will make to Neptune (May 9, May 28 and June 23) provide an opportunity for us to re-group, re-think and re-order our priorities, old thought patterns, and to integrate some of the powerful astrological energies that we’ve experienced in March and April. Between the retrograde motion of Mercury and the fixed energy of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter, we’ll have a chance to slow down a little bit and make substantive changes in how we view our world and how we operate in it.

 Sun Enters Gemini: Thursday, May 21 at 4:45 a.m.

The Sun joins the Gemini team with Mercury and Mars. Communication will be emphasized, but things can feel a little scattered as well.

Have a wonderful May!

Peace and abundant blessings,

Margaret

Astro Doings February 2015

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

February promises to be somewhat quieter than January or March, so enjoy!

The February Full Moon occurs on the 3rd at 6:09 p.m. ET. She’ll be at 140 degrees Leo. Full moons can be times of increased awareness and looking across the Leo/Aquarius continuum, how do we balance our individual (Leo) needs with the collective (Uranus) needs? How are we using our individual creative (Leo) power for the benefit of humanity (Aquarius)? Continue reading →

Astro Doings January 2015

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

Happy New Year! I hope 2015 brings abundant peace, joy and blessings of all kinds to us all.

January begins with a powerful Full Moon on the 4th at 11:53 p.m. The Moon will be at 140 Cancer, opposed the Sun in Capricorn and squaring Uranus in Aries. The Sun is also conjunct (right next to) Pluto. This Full Moon accentuates the Uranus/Pluto square (aka growth opportunity) that I’ve written about previously. Anytime you have slow-moving outer planets, in this case Uranus and Pluto, in relationship to personal inner planets, the Sun (our essence) and the Moon (our feeling nature, our emotions), it increases the opportunity for deep-seated, evolutionary change. In this case, the opportunities are both personal and collective. This Full Moon urges us to examine how we’ve been using power (Capricorn, Pluto) to nurture (Cancer) ourselves and others. It is a time to shed light (Sun, Moon) on our personal and collective shadow (Pluto). Continue reading →

Astro Doings October 2014

Margaret Lassiter Leave a comment

Hi Everyone

October will be more intense than September because there are two eclipses, the last of 2014 and everyone’s favorite retrograde – also the last one of 2014. So, let’s take them in order.

Mercury goes retrograde on October 4th at 1:02 p.m. at 20 Scorpio. He will back into Libra on the 11th and stay there for the rest of the month. Actually after October 23rd when the Sun moves into Scorpio, Mercury will be the only planet in an air sign. We’ll have all fire and water, with two planets (Pluto and Mars) in earth. This reinforces the theme of the lunar eclipse – balance between ourselves and others, between masculine (fire) and feminine (water) energies. (See below.) Mercury will go direct again on October 25th at 3:17 p.m. at 160 Libra. These three weeks are a wonderful time to re-group, re-pair, re-think and re-treat. These retrogrades also slow us down. Mercury is the planet of how we process information and how we think. This three-week period scramble, if you will, the “normal” flow of information, so we can take time to discern and to think things through. Continue reading →