If you know your moon and rising signs please listen to those as well but remember this is not about you alone. This is about your humanity and the fundamental need for survival. You can take away any personal meaning from this month’s chart but there is so much more when you think of your true self as the whole of humanity.
A Rabbit smacked a crowded street in downtown Seattle. From high up in the sky it was dead before it hit the darkly red cobblestone. Crushed by over 350 pounds of pressure from the Talons of a Bald Eagle, who caught it in Renton, near lake Washington. The event was so sudden that a small crowd heading toward Pike's Market had jumped back, amid cars coming into the historic place.
On a chilly evening near the outskirts of the city a successful businesswoman arrived for her appointment at the humble cottage of a famous fortune-teller. After making tea for his guest, the fortune-teller settled down onto his sturdy Mahogany chair near the fireplace. The woman stood nervously. He motioned for her to sit on the guests' chair a few feet away.
The Solstice, or the moment when the Sun "stands still" happens twice a year. In the Northern Hemisphere, we will experience the Winter Solstice Friday, December 21 at 2:23pm Pacific. Winter Solstice is associated with the longest night and the deepest dark. It's a time when we have the opportunity to turn inside ourselves, and towards each other, to find the light that's missing in the external world. We remember that even in the darkest times, there is a spark of divinity within each of us that can always be found and remembered.
The days leading up to this New Moon have been full of change. And indeed, change seems to be the name of the game for the next 28 days.
We’re dealing with a lot of discomfort right now. It’s never helpful to blame the planets -- that’s a surrender of power we cannot afford. It is helpful, however, to understand the ways they reflect what’s going on, connecting us to the archetypal realms which offer insight and guidance.
At the collective level, there are some things that are in massive dying processes right now. Distortions of power. Manipulations and exploitations of bodies and hearts. The veil is so thin we’re no longer able to pretend it’s even there. It can be pretty difficult to know how to breathe, let alone act, in that level of chaos.
Scorpio knows the way through, though. Scorpio is ferocity all grown up and made wild and fierce with remembrance of constant evolution.
In October of 2017, Jupiter entered Scorpio for its 13 month tour through the depths. Jupiter teaches us about truth, belief, intuition and expansion. In the sign of Scorpio, it can magnify fears and emotional residues, especially when it comes to themes of sex, power, death and anything hidden. This New Moon sees Jupiter in the last degree of Scorpio, magnifying all we’ve learned in the past year.
Here we are, friends. Another significant retrograde -- this time with our friend Venus.
Venus retrograde periods tend to be quite personal in their effects.
This article, however, is intended to help us understand what this retrograde period has to say at the collective level, because it is incredibly poignant and powerful.
From an evolutionary perspective, this Venus Retrograde ushers us through another gateway. It gives us an opportunity to work through patterns of surrender and sacrifice -- particularly those that stem from violence and repression of all things feminine -- female bodies, the body of the earth, feminine essence and feminine expression. Within it, we can learn something about the antidote to self sacrifice: groundedness in personal power and awareness of our worth, needs and desires.