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As we end the calendar year, the Moon in Pisces makes a sextile to the Sun in Capricorn. This could describe a moment of helpful insight or new perspectives, particularly in regard to understanding how you feel about the ongoing renovations and restructuring taking place in your life. The Moon in supportive aspect to the Sun can also describe feeling alignment between the guiding purpose our lives with the ways in which we carry out that purpose in day to day life. This sextile is a reminder to check in with what gives your life direction and meaning, and how you are embodying that direction and meaning in the ways you move through your days. The Moon then makes a conjunction to Neptune in Pisces, setting the mood for a dreamy New Year’s Eve. The Moon conjunct Neptune can be a time for quiet reflection, meditation, or ritual. It is also a time for connecting intimately with those we love—including perhaps our guides and ancestors who are beyond the veil of mundane reality. Neptune also signifies boundlessness and ecstatic intoxication, so be intentional about how or why you might imbibe tonight. It might be easy to drift or flow beyond our own boundaries, and perhaps that is an experience in which you want to indulge. Make a plan for how to create and contain the kinds of Neptunian experiences that you want to have as we say goodbye to 2019, knowing that 2020 will not start fresh, but rather will begin as a continuation of all of the processes in which we are already moving. 
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After the relatively quiet astrology yesterday, today the Moon in Aquarius is overcome by a superior square from Mars in Scorpio. This can describe physical and emotional distress, injury, or challenging relationships to the body. We may be asked to confront the harm we are carrying in our bodies within the bigger picture of the social systems in which we move. The Moon then ingresses into Pisces, moving shortly through sextiles to Mercury in Capricorn and Uranus in Taurus as Mercury applies a trine to Uranus. Mercury in Capricorn is focused on clear, practical thinking; trine Uranus, we may be inspired to articulate actionable change. How can we begin to advocate for the kinds of structural renovation that we require in our existing systems, in ways that are grounded in the tangible and the material? As the Moon moves between these sextiles, we can consider how to put the change for which we’re advocating into practice today, in whatever ways big or small. Finally, the Moon makes a sextile to Jupiter in Capricorn, inviting us to connect to the resources that support our long-term growth. When you feel into your emotional body, what do you find that you need? What would bring you closer to well-being? Move in that direction.   I'm so excited that the Astrology for 2020 Forecast episode that I recorded with Queer Skies—Daniel Bernal and Drew Levanti—is now live! We talk about Saturn & Jupiter’s meetings with Pluto and the ways power structures and cancel culture might change. We talk about Mercury’s carbonated retrogrades powered by Uranus. We talk about the Venus and Mars retrogrades this year, what lessons they bring for us in terms of survival and resistance, and we talk big picture about what Aquarius has in store for us as our attention shifts.
If you're looking for some queer thinking about the astrology of the year ahead, I hope you give yourself time to listen! You can links to the two previous episodes I recorded with Queer Skies on my Resources page. https://divine-orbit.com/podcast/astrology-of-2020-with-michael-j-morris-queer-skies-ep-7/ In a truly rare moment in the skies, today no exact aspects are made between planets. The Moon is moving through Aquarius, separating from its conjunction to Venus and applying to its square from Mars. With no aspects today and with the Moon in aversion to its ruler Saturn in Capricorn, the day may feel directionless or quiet in an unfamiliar way. The Moon enters its waxing crescent phrase, carrying us into the first light of this lunation cycle following this week’s solar eclipse. Whatever endings and beginnings were initiated at the eclipse may begin to become clear. In the spaciousness of the skies today, use this opportunity for reflection and stillness, integrating what you have been learning through all the simultaneous cycles of your living, and opening to insights and understanding that are yet to come.  In the early hours before dawn, the Moon ingresses into Aquarius and soon moves into a square to Uranus in Taurus. The Moon describes the body and the emotional life, and Uranus describes disruption and upheaval, which could be jarring to our systems. This could be a spike in anxiety or restlessness, the agitation that something needs to change or adjust without quite knowing what that should be. Listen to your body and let it guide you back to grounding. Rather than resisting the sensations that arise, stay with them, maybe even describe what you’re feeling to yourself, and allow that process to become a map to what needs to adjust. The Moon later makes a conjunction to Venus in Aquarius, which could stir desires for connection and union. Venus in Aquarius is inviting us to consider the ways we want to shape and structure our relationships in the future. In what small ways might you begin to put those aspirations into practice today? Finally, in the last minutes of the day, Mercury ingresses into Capricorn, leaving Sagittarius behind. Sagittarius is the sign of Mercury’s antithesis or detriment, in which detail-oriented Mercury can be overwhelmed by the challenge of articulating and managing big ideas and expansive perspectives. Moving into Capricorn with reception from Saturn, Mercury will be more functional. We may feel more capable of clear and practical thinking, communicating what needs to be said in order to lay foundations for the work ahead. With Pluto, Saturn, the Sun, and Jupiter already in Capricorn, Mercury’s presence will draw even more attention to this area of our charts, giving us an opportunity to put into words the changes we’re undergoing in this part of life.  Today the Moon in Capricorn moves through conjunctions to Saturn and Pluto then a sextile to Mars in Scorpio. Saturn is steadily approaching its conjunction to Pluto, which will be exact on January 12. Moving through the narrowing space between these planets, the Moon brings our attention back to this story—which began when Saturn entered Capricorn in December 2017—and how it is unfolding. My sense of this transit is that it describes the immense pressure being put on existing systems and power structures, the ways that we’ve ordered and organized our lives in the past, the limitations that have been set that both support and constrain us, and the ways that power operates on and through us. If we think of Pluto as how power operates, Saturn is a planet that refuses and rejects, a planet that says NO. As the Moon moves between Saturn and Pluto, we can begin to ask: how do we embody our refusal of existing systems and power structures? What does it feel like to embody that refusal? As the Moon makes a sextile to Mars, we may feel emboldened in our struggles, ready to fight to make another way possible. Also today, the Sun makes a conjunction to Jupiter in Capricorn, an aspect called “cazimi” or “in the heart of the Sun.” This is a process of intense clarification and purification for Jupiter, which recently began its journey through Capricorn. This could be a time for clarifying where best to direct your resources in order to support sustainable growth. What is it that you are trying to growth in the year ahead, and what resources do you need to make available in order to support that growth?  Today the Moon in Capricorn makes a conjunction to Jupiter. Coming off of last night’s eclipse, we may be feeling disrupted or interrupted in ways that can be depleting. Jupiter reminds us that even when resources appear to be scarce, there is still more than enough. Jupiter reminds us that abundance is a way of life, of making more possibilities even when opportunities feel limited. As the Moon makes this conjunction to Jupiter, we can ask ourselves: how might I embody abundance and generate more possibilities that can support me—and us—in the days ahead? Jupiter in Capricorn is concerned with long-term, sustainable growth, and this conjunction with the Moon is an invitation to feel and embody these principles. The Moon then makes a waning sextile to Neptune in Pisces, drawing our attention to our ideals, our fantasies, and our dreams. It might be opportune to ask: what ideals are no longer serving me? What fantasies are no longer in alignment with the world that I want to dream into being? adrienne maree brown writes in Pleasure Activism, “But because the realm of imagination is also where culture begins—we imagine things that in turn shape our real life desires and practices.” She invites us to “Examine your fantasies!” and ask, “What initiates your desire? What sustains and builds your desire?” She suggests, “From our first moments, we should be encouraged to focus on how our bodies feel, what sensations and interactions awaken us, what feels wrong, what kind of touch feels right, and how to communicate a spectrum of boundaries and consent.” As the Moon moves through this sextile to Neptune, may we begin to let go of fantasies that are no longer in alignment with the worlds we want to create, and may we return to our bodies as guides to the fantasies and dreams that are in alignment with how we want to feel in worlds to come.  As the Moon perfects its conjunction to Mercury in Sagittarius, we may find ourselves feeling particularly outspoken, willing to speak our truths and advocate for our beliefs, even if there does not seem to be a lot of support for our positions. The Moon then ingresses into Capricorn, the sign of its antithesis or detriment, and shortly thereafter, makes a trine to Uranus in Taurus before perfecting its conjunction to the Sun. The Moon may struggle in Capricorn, but it does have reception from Saturn here, suggesting that resources and support are available even if the conditions are uncomfortable. At 12:12am EST—technically just into December 26—the New Moon in Capricorn perfects just off of the South Node, offering a partial solar eclipse trine to Uranus. We can think of eclipses in several different ways: as a New Moon conjunct the South Node, this could mark a particularly dramatic ending which is also a beginning, specifically in the area of our charts occupied by Capricorn. Trine Uranus, this may be part of the larger cycle of revolution and upheaval that Uranus is describing. I’m also quite fond of Bernadette Brady’s analysis of eclipses within families of lunations called Saros Cycles that move between the Earth’s poles over hundreds of years. This eclipse belongs to Saros Series 3 South, which began in 1208 and will complete in 2452. Eclipses in this family began with the New Moon conjunct Mercury in Leo, with Pluto conjunct the South Node and Venus conjunct Mars in Cancer. Brady writes: “This family of eclipses bring with it the sudden endings of associations or of a relationship … There is a large emotional component, as Pluto is involved, and a sense of traumatic transformation. This can be through news received or short journeys undertaken.” Working with the Saros Series, this eclipse could describe dramatic endings and beginnings that are initiated through sudden revelations or messages that have the potential to end existing associations and demand that we find new ways of relating to our own trauma. Healing often requires breaking with established patterns, sometimes including those with whom we surround ourselves. This eclipse may ask you to face something that you would rather not see, but doing so may be necessary in order to come into a new cycle of healing.  Today the Moon in Sagittarius makes a square to Neptune in Pisces. It may be difficult to know where your feelings end and someone else’s begin. The clarity of why we are doing what we are doing may be elusive, mysterious, or even potentially delusional, so proceed with care and be prepared for misapprehensions. With the Moon in Sagittarius, things that seem exciting or compelling may not be what they seem, and we may find that our expectations and aspirations carry us adrift into terrain that we did not anticipate. The Sun in Capricorn then makes a trine to Uranus in Taurus, inviting us to integrate new comprehension of the ways that we are moving through deep cycles of radical change described by Uranus in Taurus. Uranus first moved into Taurus in May 2018, then after moving back into Aries for a few months, moved firmly into Taurus in March 2019, where it will remain until April 2026. This is a long transit demanding disruption and breaking with established patterns in whatever part of our charts is occupied by Taurus. This trine from the Sun offers an opportunity to see and assimilate changes that have been in motion and will continue to develop in the years ahead.  Today the Moon ingresses into Sagittarius, offering relief from the emotional heaviness of the last several days as the Moon moved through Scorpio. The mood may lift or lighten, and we may feel more capable of venturing out into the world, moving out beyond our own immediate horizons, and seeking excitement or adventure. However, with Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, in Capricorn and in aversion to the Moon, be intentional with your energy and careful with what you expend. You may find that although the quality of the day shifts into something brighter and more expansive, you still have limited resources available to you. The Moon then makes a sextile to Venus in Aquarius, inviting us to be intentional and strategic with whom we spend our time. What are the connections and relationships into which you want to invest your energy most? When you envision the life that you want to be living, who are the people you feel confident are capable of committing to the kinds of mutual care and support that you want for your life?  Today Venus in Aquarius makes a square to Uranus in Taurus. Venus rules Taurus, and so this aspect signifies both reception and also potential conflict, between the ways in which Uranus is breaking up fixed patterns in our lives in order to create space for new possibilities and the ways that Venus is inviting us to imagine new conditions for organizing our relationships. Who are you becoming and how do you commit to new ways of giving and receiving love that are in alignment with your sense of self as you surrender to more and more authenticity? As Mars in Scorpio makes a sextile to Pluto in Capricorn, we may find that acting from our deepest needs and desires gives us access to sources of power that have previously been inaccessible. The Moon in Scorpio then moves through a trine to Neptune in Pisces, sextiles to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, and finally a conjunction with Mars. As we move into the evening, you may find that you are capable of embodying your dreams, fantasies, and aspirations, in ways that demand courage and vulnerability, but also bring you into a deeper experience of your capacities for radical honesty and pleasure. You may find that in fact there is already support available to you as you follow the tides of your imagination and the contours of your own feelings, in the present as they unfold. Don’t be surprised if old wounds or injuries flare up in your system as you explore these new possibilities. Moving deeper into the ways we can trust and embody more clearly that which we are already feeling may pierce places that we have not felt for a long time, but this initiates a cycle of healing, of being in a new relationship to old, hidden wounds.  Today is the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere. It is the shortest day of the year, giving way to the longest night, marked by the Sun’s ingress into Capricorn. It is a time to draw close to loved ones, to stoke the fires that will see us through the darkest times, to meditate on mystery and what it means to survive. But before this major turning point, the Moon in Libra makes a sextile to the Sun in Sagittarius, offering clarity and understanding to the ways we move toward and hold one another. The Moon then ingresses into Scorpio, the sign of its fall or depression, and quickly into a fixed T-square, opposing Uranus in Taurus and squaring Venus in Aquarius. This is a confrontational configuration. If we risk feeling into our own vulnerabilities, the fears and wounds beneath the surface of our emotional responses, we may find that our habitual ways of knowing and sharing ourselves with others are shaken. How might you show up differently in your relationships if you were to stay present with your fears and wounds and to share them with others who have proven themselves trustworthy? The Moon then makes a sextile with Jupiter in Capricorn, reminding us that whatever has been disrupted beneath the surface is part of a larger cycle of growth. Finally, the Sun enters Capricorn in the final hours of December 21. As we move through the longest night of the year and enter these cold, bitter months, I meditate on what it means to survive, and I recall the words of Alexis Pauline Gumbs: “Survival references our living in the context of what we have overcome. Survival is life after disaster, life in honor of our ancestors, despite the genocidal forces worked against them specifically so we would not exist. I love the word survival because it places my life in the context of those who I love, who are called dead, but survive through my breathing, my presence, and my remembering … My survival, my life resplendent, with the energy of my ancestors, is enough.” On this solstice, may you know that you are not alone. You are held by those who came before, who persist with you, and those who will survive because of the life you are living.  Today Venus ingresses into Aquarius, now in aversion to its ruler Saturn. Whereas Venus in Capricorn was teaching us about the disciplines of sustainable long-term love, Venus in Aquarius turns our attention toward the future with a willingness to break with convention and invent new ways of structuring our loving commitments. Venus in Aquarius also asks us to consider how our practices of love fit within larger systems that shape our world. What kinds of societies are you practicing building in your intimate connections? The Moon in Libra makes a sextile to Mercury in Sagittarius, perhaps offering opportunities to connect with others around big ideas shared processes of making meaning. The Moon then moves through squares to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. We may encounter resistance or limitations in the relationships, communities, and collaborations we are working to embody. In Libra, we are called to seek justice in our social bonds, holding different needs and desires in balance together. Remember, we may not yet know what justice will be. There are no doubt persistent patterns and ideological investments that must be questioned and discarded in order to create relationships in which everyone involved is supported in well-being.  In the early hours before dawn, the Moon in Virgo makes a trine to Venus in Capricorn, offering support for the practices of love and devotion that we are embodying. What does it mean for you to be in service to that which you love? Mars in Scorpio makes a sextile to Saturn in Capricorn, reminding us that clear and effective boundaries are necessary in order to act from our most vulnerable places in ways that are sustainable. The Moon ingresses into Libra with reception from Venus in the final degrees of Capricorn. Libra calls our attention to connection, cooperation, and collaboration, bringing together different experiences and points of view in order to create inclusive, harmonious relationships. With the ruler of the Moon in Capricorn, we are asked to recognize that in order to foster more inclusive collectives, we must be willing to question or challenge long-standing assumptions and established institutions—even those we hold most dear. The Moon makes a square to Jupiter in Capricorn, reminding us that the growth we are looking to see will take time. The work of justice is slow and ongoing; how are we putting practices into place today that have the capacity to endure in the long-term? As Mercury in Sagittarius makes a square to Neptune in Pisces, confusion in communication may become heightened. Be vigilant about the ways in which you find yourself interacting with your own projections or the ways in which others are projecting their own ideals or traumas onto you. These patterns of projection can teach us a lot about ourselves and others, but they are not ideal for cultivating clarity and understanding.  Today is a busy day for the Moon in Virgo as it moves through a square to Mercury in Sagittarius, an opposition to Neptune in Pisces, trines to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, and finally a square to the Sun in Sagittarius, entering the waning quarter phase of this lunation cycle. We may feel overwhelmed by the challenges of putting our hopes and dreams into practice. The worlds that we visit in our dreamtime may feel out of reach or elusive as we engage in the mundane tasks of all the work that needs to be done. What if each project on your to-do list could also be a ritual or spell? How might you invite the sacred into what you are already doing? Remember that you are not doing this work alone: all that you do to bring new worlds into being builds on foundations that were laid by those who came before. As we unearth practices that have been buried and repressed within ourselves, our ancestors, and the earth, we tap into sources of power that are bigger than any one of us. This lunation cycle has been teaching us to open our frames, make new connections, and be willing to think with perspectives and points of view that have most often been marginalized or left out entirely. As we enter this last quarter phase, we must ask: what old ways of thinking or valuing knowledge do we need to surrender or abandon in order to create space for more difference in the collective wisdom that we are cultivating?  Today the Moon ingresses into Virgo, with reception from Mercury in Sagittarius. Virgo brings us back to the practical, asks that we process the available data into actionable tasks. With Mercury in Sagittarius, we are still working to comprehend and communicate big ideas and expansive perspectives; the Moon in Virgo reminds us what adrienne maree brown writes in Emergent Strategy: “Small is all … what we practice at the small scale sets the patterns for the whole system.” What kind of world are your practicing for today in the ways that you approach the material, day-to-day processes that fill your life? The Moon then moves into a tight Grand Earth Trine with Uranus in Taurus and Jupiter in Capricorn, bringing our attention back to body, Earth, and ground. What will it take for us to realize that our bodies are not separate from the Earth? Rather, our bodies are part of the planet, the parts with which we are most intimate. In order to transform our relationship with the Earth in the pursuit of ecological justice for a world the is melting and on fire, we must embody revolutionary relationships to the bodies that we are. What can you put into practice today that shakes up your relationship to your own body, planting the seeds of love and care that take root in your material form and extend outward into the planet to which you belong?  Around the start of the day, the Moon in Leo makes a square to Mars in Scorpio. Coming off of its square to Uranus yesterday, the Moon is carrying us through a story of showing up more fully in our brilliance, in our difference, and in the blazing complexity and specificity of who we are. Mars in Scorpio is empowering us to act on our deepest longings and desires. As the Moon squares Mars, we may feel challenged to embody more of what we have known to be true in our depths. This requires the courage and vulnerability to belong more fully to ourselves in order to show up more completely for others. Brené Brown writes in Daring Greatly, “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.” She writes in Braving the Wilderness, “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” As Mars demands that we embody both vulnerability and courage, the Moon in Leo teaches us that our belonging requires that we present our authentic selves to the world. The Moon then makes a trine to the Sun in Sagittarius, reminding us that being seen and witnessed can be the source of immense vitality; we come alive more fully when we can abide in the light of seeing and knowing ourselves so clearly that we are willing to risk being seen and known by others.  Today the Moon in Leo makes a square to Uranus in Taurus. Uranus describes our impulse for revolution, disruption, and upheaval, the demand for change that breaks from existing social norms. In this square, Uranus stirs and disturbs the radiant coals of how we are willing to show up in the world, reminding us that when we choose to persist in presenting ourselves in ways that conform to the expectations of others rather than the insistent pulsing of who we feel ourselves to be, we not only cheat ourselves of experiencing love and belonging: we deprive the culture of possibilities that may in fact make life more livable for others as well. Then Jupiter in Capricorn perfects its superior trine to Uranus, bringing integration and cohesion into the story that Uranus is unfolding. Uranus demands change, and Jupiter is showing us how to cultivate change that supports sustainable growth. Jupiter was last conjunct Uranus on June 8, 2010, when both were in Aries, initiating a cycle of growth that comes out of the willing or unwilling overturning of established patterns. The Jupiter/Uranus opposition was September 28, 2017, bringing us into clarity of what needed to change in order for us to grow. This trine marks a period of integration and support, finding how we might reconstruct lives that are livable in the long-term from the rubble of that has been dismantled. Finally, the Moon makes a trine to Mercury in Sagittarius, inviting us to embody the ideals of which we speak and to name the ways in which we are starting to show up more fully in our glorious complexity and specificity.  Today the Moon in Cancer moves through oppositions to Saturn, Pluto, and Venus in Capricorn. The Moon in Cancer connects us to that which nurtures and protects us. Here we may find that such care stands in tension or even conflict with established systems of authority. Especially if the world is hostile to us, especially for those of us who are marginalized due to gender, sexuality, race, ability, nationality, or class, caring for ourselves—as Audre Lorde taught us—is “an act of political warfare.” Lorde also wrote: “We can learn to mother ourselves … as I learn my own worth and genuine possibility, I refuse to settle for anything less than a rigorous pursuit of what is possible in myself … We must recognize and nurture the creative parts of each other without always understanding what will be created … Eventually, if we speak the truth to each other, it will become unavoidable to ourselves.” What would it mean to mother ourselves in the face on a hostile world, in spite of systems, structures, and operations of power that would deny our worth and possibility, that would refuse our creative parts and our truths? Learning to mother ourselves may challenge our existing understandings and practices of love, but how much more capable of loving might we be if we began to offer ourselves the care and support that the world around us—perhaps including our parents—has not been able to provide? Then the Moon ingresses into Leo, and we are called into the courage required to show up as our full, brilliant selves. This lunation cycle has been teaching us new ways of thinking, making new connections that expand our view of the world. As the Moon moves into Leo, we may find that the integration of these perspectives changes how we see ourselves and how we are willing to be seen by others.  Today Mars in Scorpio makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces. Mars in Scorpio is teaching us how to focus and pursue our deepest longings and desires. Mars can also describe conflict, injury, and harm. Neptune dissolves our edges, draws us into a consciousness of divine union, the realization that we are not separate. How are our seemingly personal desires driven by vast transpersonal currents, the generational tides that move us together toward collective purposes? I recall Sara Ahmed’s writing on Living a Feminist Life: “A feminist movement is a collective political movement. Many feminisms means many movements. A collective is what does not stand still but creates and is created by movement. I think of feminist action as like ripples in water, a small wave, possibly created by agitation from weather; here, there, each movement making another possible, another ripple, outward, reaching.” Today you might consider how your actions are like ripples and waves, movements making other movements possible. Then Venus perfects its conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn, and we begin a new cycle of examining how power operates in our relationships and our practices of love. bell hooks teaches us, “Love can never take root in a relationship based on domination and coercion … there can be no love when there is domination.” The conjunction is the seed of the cycle. Venus in Capricorn orients us toward love in the long-term, the longevity of our attachments; the seed of this conjunction challenges us to root out traces of domination that would prevent love from flourishing in our lives. Finally, the Moon in Cancer moves through a Grand Water Trine with Neptune and Mars. Awash in feelings that are personal, interpersonal, and collective, we can ask how the memories of harm and healing that we hold in our bodies carry the potential to both connect us more deeply to one another and stir us into movements upon movements upon movements. How might we move if we begin from a place of feeling together?  |
AuthorMichael J. Morris is a witch, an astrologer, a tarot reader, an artist, a writer, and a teacher. Categories
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