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"You don't really believe in astrology, do you?"

It amazes me how often I have been asked this question, even by people who know I am a professional astrologer (and it’s a pretty insulting question to ask a professional.). The question itself is symptomatic of a deep bias against astrology that comes out of the scientific community. Refuting the reasons for that bias would take a whole book, and fortunately astrologer Pam Gregory has written one with the same title. But there are a few key points about astrology and science I’d like to make here.

1) Bias is a lousy basis for experimentation.

In the course of acquiring a solid scientific education, one of the first things I learned is that science is based on objective observation and testing. Theories are encouraged, but if your theory gets in the way of your facts, then it’s back to the drawing board or the lab bench. I also learned that scientists, like other humans, can be far from objective, cherish their pet theories, and even descend into intellectual dishonesty in defense of their preferred world view (or their grants). Astrology threatens the core world view of many scientists, and they attack it with such ferocity that it’s clear they have a real emotional investment in demolishing it. This leads to flawed reasoning, testing, and interpretation.

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."  ~ Thomas Merton

The August New Moon, in fun-loving, generous, heart- (and sometimes self-) centered Leo, forms a threesome with Venus, planet of relationships. This configuration tends to turn astrologer’s minds to hearts and flowers and “Love Is in the Air” . But a closer look at the chart reveals that you won’t be able to get away with a saccharine and shallow approach to relationships this month. (Though by all means, feel free to drag out the disco music. Someday I’ll do an astrological study of the disco scene in the 70s and will, I have no doubt, find a prominent Leo signature in the charts).

"Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence." Max Ehrmann

This month’s New Moon features some intense aspects and planetary placements, including a station of Mercury as it prepares to go retrograde. It occurs just a few minutes after midnight on Monday, May 18th (all times EDT, find the chart here) at 27 degrees of Taurus, so anyone with placements in 23-30 degrees of the fixed signs will  have some extra energy to play with this month. Opportunities and pitfalls both abound — let’s take a look at how we might chart a course towards the former and avoid the latter.

It’s an  oft-repeated truism in the literature on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that it never goes away. I’m a big believer in the plasticity of the brain and the strength of the human spirit, so I’ve always felt that it was possible to fully heal, just damned difficult. Part of the problem is that trauma affects everyone differently, depending on a number of factors — genetics, environment, parenting, the ages at which trauma occurs, etc. — which means everyone’s path to healing is different. Sometimes it can be hard to see where the next step is, much less where the path leads.

I’ve had plenty of people tell me over the years about their special one-size-fits-all “cure” for PTSD.  Along with various psycho-therapeutic methods and magical and shamanic techniques, I’ve been urged to try EFT or acupuncture or any of a gazillion other different treatment modalities — and I probably have worked with most of them. But in my experience and that of many people I’ve spoken to in my work as an astrologer and tarot reader, you pick up some healing here, and some there, and a bit more over there, and pretty soon you’re talking real healing. But it takes time, it takes support, and it takes a willing heart.

Aries the Ram, Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins, Cancer the Crab--Zodiac symbols are arguably one of the most recognizable motifs in the world.

Kayti Welsh, who brought us the 78 Tarot collaborative deck, has teamed up once again with different designers to create a fun, sparkly take on the 12 Zodiac symbols with AuraScopes--a set of greeting cards, metallic prints and T-shirts. 

The Full Moon in Libra is one of the year’s lunar eclipses, occurring on Saturday, April 4 at 8:07am. This moment in space is brought to you by the Aries/Libra axis of the Zodiac, and I want you to go and gather all your hats together now, because you’ll probably be feeling the need to change them frequently as you try to keep up with the action over the next few months. It’s a dynamic chart, full of changes and interactions, opportunities for leadership, relationship, and compassion, accompanied by plenty of new ideas and inspirations. The chart also has the Uranus-Pluto square locked in tight, so all that work you’ve been doing around stripping down to the essentials and making profound changes in some area(s) of your life will continue to demand your attention, and all your skills at life-navigation.

One of the first things that jumps out from this chart is an emphasis on the Fire element. Fire is flowing freely in a Grand Trine among Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn, and a there are trines between the Sun-Uranus conjunction and Jupiter as well. This configuration highlights impassioned communication about broader social issues, and indicates possible sudden awakenings and breakthroughs in awareness.  We’ve already seen the fiery energy of the Spring Equinox chart expressed in wildfires, volcanic eruptions, explosions, and multiple airplane crashes (I’m not even going to link there are so many over the past couple of weeks — just google it. And yes, as you may have guessed, Uranus, now in Fire sign Aries and still tightly square destructive Pluto, rules air travel.) Now, with this lunar eclipse chart, we are getting even more Fire energy coming in. Those of us who work magically with the Elements have our work cut out for us.

The New Moon this month occurs on Wednesday, February 18^th, at 3:47 pm (PST) on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces (at 29°Aquarius 59.9' to be exact!)  I talked about Aquarius in my last month’s New Moon post, so this month, although technically the New Moon is in the last gasps of Aquarius, I want to focus on Pisces.  This is also my last in a year long series of New Moon blog posts which started with Aries, and naturally, should conclude with the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces, bringing us full circle.   

Pisces is a Mutable Water sign, meaning that it is a threshold sign that bridges one season into the next – in this case winter giving way to spring in the Northern hemisphere.  It also resonates with the emotional and subjective element of Water.  Pisces is the Shapeshifter, the compassionate one, and sometimes, the escape artist.  It is a sign that is tuned in to the intuitive realm, and often has psychic flashes and uncanny ways of knowing.  As the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces often has a sense of somehow having been down that road before.  Pisces' compassion comes from knowing what it's like to walk in someone elses shoes.  Neptune rules this Water sign, and resonates with themes of the Rescuer/Victim archetype.  Neptune symbolizes our urge to merge, and sometimes those with Pisces strong in their chart have difficulty with boundaries.  Pisces must learn the art of not giving away the Self, at expense of the Other.   Under the guise of being altruistic, giving, and endlessly in service, there is a darker current that can run through the shadow of this sign, and sometimes there are threads of the martyr sewn into Pisces' apparent selflessness.  Some individuals with this sign or Neptune aspecting a personal planet or angle, identify with the archetype of the Saviour to the point where it is unhealthy, and they are in fact, giving for the glory of being the Redeemer.  This is a tricky one, and is often unconscious, and can show up as co dependence to the outside observer.  Pisces' task is to not become too identified with either the Redeemer or Victim end of the spectrum, and instead find a mindful balance of compassion for others and self care.