December 21, 09

Kathy is offering a holiday special for readings booked and paid for by December 31, 2009: $160 for one hour or $90 for a 30-minute SWAT look at your chart. Email kbiehl@fortunaworks.com to book.

We have a powerful week in store. A couple of the year’s major themes are converging for another round of assimilation, as if to give us a year-end review long before the opening strains of “Auld Lang Syne.” We’re straddling heaven and earth again, with some aspects accentuating the spiritual aspect of existence and others rooting us firmly here on the ground. This bridge is where we live now, with no separation between the spiritual and physical, which we now experience and express as one unbroken continuum. Spirit permeates every aspect of the mundane. At the same time, we are called upon not to dim our light out of fear or false modesty or feelings of unworthiness but to step into the full power of our being.

These are certainly heady themes to be stirring in the thick of holiday parties and last-minute preparations for Christmas and the year’s end. The heavens are operating on a schedule that’s not bound by our man-made calendar, to be sure, although some of this week’s astro-festivities fit right in. The Aquarian triple conjunction that has been with us for most of the year hits its final peak moment when Jupiter and Neptune complete their third meeting early Monday morning. This is a magical, mystical union, throwing sparkle dust into our dreams, softening our experience of reality, increasing our connection to our muse, our inner voice, our higher being and the divine, infusing our lives and connections and networks and communities with compassion, higher love, enlightenment and a sense of living on a far grander scale than the mundane. This off-again, on-again conjunction has activated our internal guidance systems and put sheer knowingness on par with our physical senses. (Haven’t you noticed since the spring that you have been guided by something other than your mind or senses, regardless of — and often despite — the empirical data at your disposal?)

This development is a higher expression of the changing relationship that has occurred this year between heart and mind. Over the summer, heart and mind aligned, and we moved into a new way of being, in which the heart leads and the mind and ego follow. In the same way, our higher guidance is now leading, with the mind and ego going along with and implementing its decisions. This open channel to higher guidance goes both ways. We can receive whatever guidance is on tap, and we can also ask for it. Don’t forget that. We can also ask for blessings, grace and, oh, why not, the deepest longings of our souls. Any and all are possible bounty now.

In this final coming together, open yourself to perceive the highest potential in — and envision the grandest expression of — every area of your life. Areas that you value most are especially in the spotlight, because this final Jupiter/Neptune conjunction is occurring with Venus winking at Neptune. The goddess of love is looking right at the god of Love, and the power of their combined spectrum can permeate romance, friendships, resume listings of skill sets and even bank accounts. Relationships and financial dealings can rise up out of the every day and take on rosy, heaven-kissed hues. Look at the people around you through the eyes of love, with either a lower-case or upper-case L, and watch how your world opens up.

As the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction sends us soaring ever higher, the Sun and Venus move into Capricorn and provide a counterweight that roots us here on terra very firma. Their shift heightens our awareness of our sense of purpose and mission, our relationships and money and our attitudes about possessions, values and self-worth. We’re looking at practicalities, long-term goals, commitments and our own personal bottom line. All of these areas get an immediate intensity, laser focus and streamlining as the Sun and then Venus (next week) meet with Pluto. Pluto is still the outer planet at the earliest degree, which means he is the gatekeeper that every celestial body must pass when it first enters a sign. The Sun and Venus are meeting him on either side of Christmas, which will make for major and memorable experiences this long holiday weekend. Right after they meet Pluto, each of them butts heads with Saturn, prodding us to assimilate the relationship dynamic restructuring that’s being demanded by the ongoing Saturn/Pluto square.

The Sun submits our ego and personal power to Pluto’s scrutiny on Christmas Eve. This contact strips away impediments to standing in the full power and glory of your soul. Fist-banging is not a given, though for some people this will be the easiest and automatic mode of expression. Instead, watch for profound and unwavering knowledge of Who you really are and the courage to move through your world as that person. Depth of experience and contact are going to be more important than following tradition or doing something simply because another person wants or expects it. On Christmas Day, the Sun squares Saturn and we bump into metaphoric walls. Presents aren’t all we’re unwrapping. Interpersonal dynamics are being peeled apart, too. You’ve changed, and so have all the people you’re interacting with closely. Now you get to explore how each relationship is going to accommodate its newly refined components.

The trick is remaining true to you as you now know yourself. Don’t go into an encounter focusing on what you expect or anticipate or assume the other person will do or want. Keep your focus on your end of the equation. When the interaction starts, look at what the other person is presenting for what it is, not for what you’re projecting onto it. Stay in yourself and in time present. Balances of power are shifting. Roles are changing. Traditions are dying or evolving. So are attitudes and relationships. Speaking of relationships, there’s a particular type that frequently heats up this time of year: parent and adult child. That particular dynamic is in for enormous shifts this year. Family relationships are often rife with drama during the holidays, and this year they are getting new scripts. Since we are taking authority and placing it within ourselves, how interesting it is going to be when we interact with people who have served as authority figures for us. The previous paradigms are not going to work anymore. Even if someone treats you in an old pattern, don’t worry about backsliding yourself. If you’re reading this site, you don’t have the frame of reference that will allow slipping into your old ways. The worst you’re likely to experience is irritation and annoyance at not being recognized for who you are. But don’t fight the process. Embrace the unfolding evolution; it’s for the good of everyone. Besides, resistance is futile. The pressure isn’t going to relent. The evolve-or-die theme continues for the rest of the week in our closest relationships and our attitudes about what’s most important to us, as Venus moves toward her own meeting with Pluto next Monday.

The skies are not exactly delivering a recipe for a Hollywood-style holiday celebration. It’s a real and honest one, though. More importantly, it’s a celebration on our own terms. Presents may be fewer. There may be less dashing from one house or obligation to another. But the core experiences will be deeper and more meaningful as a result.

In the midst of this extraordinary holiday week, Mercury stations retrograde the day after Christmas at 21 Capricorn, underscoring the emphasis on structures, infrastructures and long-term goals. His retrograde begins during a void of course Moon, which is almost a wink from the universe and a shake of the head about starting anything new during his backward journey. Matters that are birthed during a void Moon have a way of not amounting to much. Keep that in mind between now and January 15, when Mercury returns to direct motion. Anything pushing you feel inclined to do will have a greater shot at staying power if it’s retrospective. Revisit the details of existing plans. Think about them, talk about them, even negotiate them. Anything you appear to finalize now — and anything new you launch now — is very unlikely to remain in the form it takes. So hash out those relationship issues. Just remember that all the cards aren’t on the table yet. You’re keeping some in reserve, and so is the other side.

Monday: This may be a shortened work week for some people, but the skies are not letting us ease into it. It’s a busy, busy day above. Venus and Neptune are pouring the milk of human kindness from a bottomless pitcher, which Venus and Mercury want to pass around the house, while Jupiter and Neptune are performing their final, most spectacular magic show — and that’s before dawn hits the northeastern states. By the time we awaken, we’re exuding good will towards all and back to believing in Santa Claus. (Dreams promise to be doozies; write them down!) And then the Moon smiles and Venus and goes void of course, giving us a whole long day (from 7:54 AM to 6 :42 PM EST) to enjoy our bright and bubbly disposition toward our fellow man. The void isn’t without incident. Within it, Mercury and Mars put us to a choice in how we communicate our personal agenda. This choice, for a change, is not written in stone. Since Mercury is stationing to turn retrograde and Mars is already in backward march, course corrections will be possible later if the route we choose today doesn’t work out. The Sun moves into Capricorn during the void as well, ushering in a time of paying attention to earth-plane ramifications and looking down the road to where our actions are leading. Happy Solstice!

Tuesday: A Sun/Venus meeting by declination locks the planets’ energies together as they begin their approach to the sign of Capricorn and contacts with Pluto and Saturn. Look for clarity today as priorities and values line up with the ego. We know what we have, what we’re worth, what we want and what we are willing to exchange for it. Sociability runs high, and we’re still enjoying the golden glow of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction.

Wednesday: All the day’s aspects belong to the Moon. She’s grappling with masculine energy in the morning, first choosing a method for pushing an emotional agenda forward and then reining it to meet obligations and comply with other people’s dictates. Change is the order of late afternoon, when rebelliousness and new perspectives erupt and previous commitments fly out the window. The evening blossoms into warm and rosy revelations and feelings.

Thursday: It’s Christmas Eve and something’s different this year, first and foremost you. Two years ago, Pluto moved into Capricorn the night before Thanksgiving and how you celebrate that holiday changed forever. There’s a similar vibe now as the Sun meets with Pluto. You know yourself better than you ever have. You know what you want to do and do not want to do. Go with what you want, without apology. Scale your celebration back to what is meaningful for you. If that means staying at home and skipping the big extended family get-together, so be it. Actions, realizations, decisions and choices today have long-term consequences. As you step more fully into the truth of who you are, you are reworking the internal foundations on which you have built your life. They will no longer support traits, attitudes, arrangements and situations that are not true to you. Keep in mind that everyone is undergoing this. Some may not be conscious of their motivations, but everyone is coming into contact with the raw power and call of their soul.

Friday: Merry Christmas! Do remember that is the appropriate greeting for the day. There might be moments you have to make the effort to say it. Remind yourself of the lovely warmth of Monday and Tuesday, too, while you’re at it. The aftermath of the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction is still with us, even if today’s dramatic aspects obscure it. Jumping into the day won’t be hard. Dreams are hardly likely to tempt you to linger in bed (instead of visions of sugar plums, relationship discordance is likely what was dancing in your head overnight), while the Moon’s move to Aries is bound to get you on your feet bright and early. The gloves are off in the sky today: The Sun and Moon make harsh contacts to Pluto and each other, with the Moon sliding into one with Saturn as well. This is not day of idle chit-chat and whiling away the time. We’re switching gears and making memories for the ages. The potential is high to claim your power and step into intense, passionate, meaningful and profound interactions. Do this from a base of love (for yourself, for starters), and what ensues will benefit everyone. Just remember: You have the right to miss a cue, go off-script or turn down a part in someone else’s drama.

Saturday: This is the slow, leisurely day we might have liked for Christmas. After making an opportunity aspect to good-hearted Jupiter, the Moon is void of course from before dawn until mid-afternoon EST. Moods are infinitely better, happier and more conciliatory from the starting gate. There are no aspects whatsoever within the void, making this a day to simply be. The only event that occurs within the void is Mercury stationing retrograde. No doubt there are matters that you’d like to discuss. Let them wait. Yesterday was intense, even if you took the high road. Relax today.

Sunday: Overnight dreams rifle through all the themes and issues that have been stirred up the past few days. How do you reconcile self-awareness and acceptance of your own power with the demands and restrictions of other people and existing obligations? It’s human to feel stifled and aggravated. Fortunately for the peace of the holiday weekend, these reactions are finding their fullest expression in the dreamworld today and not in your waking encounters. They cast an air of tension over the daylight hours, which have no aspects at all until well into the evening. Keep in mind that everyone is a bit on edge. We’re in the build-up to tomorrow’s Venus/Pluto square, which is demanding a revamping of desires, relationship dynamics and energy exchanges of all kinds. Proceed with kindness.

Visit Kathy’s site EmpowermentUnlimited.net for podcasts, mp3s, a discussion forum and more on the eclipses, the Aquarius/Pisces traveling party and the Saturn/Uranus opposition. To join her mailing list, send e-mail to kbiehl@fortunaworks.com.