Search for:

Pass It On Events

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Log in Subscribe

Weekly Weather Report

by Stephanie Azaria

Significant Planetary Aspects for:

Mp3s of Kathy’s 100-minute talk on preparing for and navigating this summer’s exciting aspects are available at her site Empowerment Unlimited.

Most of the time we are so caught up in the demands and dramas of just getting through the day that we don’t actually perceive what’s right in front of us. In any given conversation, our minds are leaping two and three steps ahead, rather than taking in mundane information that’s before our eyes: The color of a companion’s shirt (or eyes). The expression on someone’s face and the emotional undercurrents it discloses. The total on a grocery receipt. The flavor of food after the first bite (which we sometimes miss as well.) Usually we brush off such details and relegate them to the background tapestry of our lives as we barrel toward whatever it is we’ve decided is more important. Usually it takes a tear in the tapestry to get our attention. It doesn’t matter whether we’re directly responsible for the tear (a forgotten automatic charge that overdraws a bank account, car trouble that is going to cost more to repair than it would have if you’d dealt with it earlier) or it comes from something seemingly outside our control (a loss, bad health news, a death). The effect is generally the same: we become acutely aware of exactly what we’d been taking for granted before. Sometimes it even feels as if time is slowing — or opening to a great expansiveness. Regardless, we have the opportunity to perceive a piece of physical existence more fully, to ponder about the situation and to think about treating it differently.

That is the theme of this week. We are being called upon to approach our lives and our world differently, and we will be given lots and lots and lots of time to perceive and reflect and experience some discomfort with what’s been happening. Whether we make any changes is up to us, of course, individually and collectively. The pressure to change is intensifying, however, and so is the cost of continuing business as usual. Both will become increasingly apparent this week.

A couple of events in Taurus are key to this process. Taurus is the first of the earth signs, and it contains the most primal aspects of our relationship to physicality, our bodies and the earth. Ruled by Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, money and possessions, Taurus is connected to how we nurture, experience and enjoy physical existence. Do we simply possess and consume it, or do we appreciate and honor it? The question comes down to what we value. While that’s generally a useful benchmark, it’s doubly so this week.

Mercury, the planet that rules how our minds and vehicles work, goes direct on Tuesday. His retrograde in earth-bound Taurus has slowed the flow of communication and travel (to the point of widespread grounding of air flight, which happened again last week). They’re not going to magically shift back into “normal” gear. In fact, turning direct is not going to speed them up in the slightest. It will take him till Friday to move off the degree of his station– meaning that the affairs he rules will continue to enjoy super-slow pacing — and he will not clear the degrees he traveled during the retrograde until Memorial Day weekend. Between now and then, concrete information is going to slowly, quietly but definitely surface about messages and events that took place (or slipped through the cracks) during the retrograde, which began on April 17, or during the entire retrograde cycle, which began on April 3. Other time periods are possible as well, particularly early in June, when Mercury hits the degree of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction of May 2000. (Mark your calendars and watch the news — closely.)

Since Mercury is currently ruled by Venus, concrete information is also going to be coming through about our possessions, our money, the state of our gardens, our food and, most of all, our values. There has been a huge cosmic push in the last year to get extremely clear about personal values and priorities, and to refocus our lives to include them and nothing else. Revisit the topic this week. Think about what you say you value, then look at how you’re actually living. Collectively we’re getting another shove in the shoulders to do this as well. The environmental disasters of late are screaming for us to not take this planet for granted but rethink what’s really most important to us as human beings. Given the implications of both the Icelandic volcano and the Gulf Oil rig eruptions, it’s no longer alarmist to frame the question as: do we want immediate convenience and immense profits for some, or continuing and sustainable living for many? The question is not going away. Fixed energy doesn’t move quickly or easily off a point once it’s seized it, so this question is going to continue unfolding slowly and inexorably. For each of us as individuals and for all of us as a group, information is going to pass before us in slow motion, so ingest it thoroughly.

The impetus to reboot our relationship to physicality and to the planet itself comes with Thursday’s New Moon in Taurus. The Sun and Moon are squaring Neptune in Aquarius, an aspect that demands enlightened, compassionate approaches with awareness of all humanity. This aspect can also dislodge lies and illusion, which could mean both an upsurge in media spin as well as in uncovering ways we’ve fooled ourselves. With whatever comes to light, we’ve got plenty of impetus to act on it. The Sun and the Moon are in a beneficial and easy aspect to structure- and commitment-bringing Saturn and in an opportunity aspect to Uranus, the cosmic advocate of change and innovative perspectives. And in between Saturn and Uranus, who are still traveling in an opposition, is the New Moon’s ruler, Venus. She won’t be making an exact square to either Saturn or Uranus this week, but she is close enough to form the focal point of a T-square. She’s bearing the brunt of the pressure of their opposition, which drives home the importance of everything she rules. Because she is in the air sign of Gemini, there is a highly mental and communicative element to the process this New Moon is setting off. We are to think and talk about what we value, what we own and what we love. Once we get clear on those, it’s time to start walking our talk. No big moves are in order; no sudden, drastic shifts are the answer. Tiny, incremental changes are called for, step by baby step by baby step, starting with our thinking.

Even if we feel powerless to change the direction of the world, the country, the neighborhood or, heaven forbid, the family, each of us can still cherish and take responsibility for the little plot of ground we inhabit. There’s a reason Earth Day falls during the Sun’s visit to Taurus; this planet is our home, where spirit has come to have and enjoy physical existence. A 70s-vintage poster I own sums up the challenge in one sweet image: a gentle-faced, motherly woman offers a glass of milk and a giant cookie to a smiling earth, under the legend “Take Good Care of the Earth.” For more on the New Moon, read my report on the site.

Monday: We’re dealing with issues of power, aggression and use of will. They whip up our dreams and subconscious before the day gets rolling EDT, and they resurface with great agitation around dinner time. In between, there are no exact aspects whatsoever to break or distract from the tension. Mercury has slowed to a crawl, too. Much as you may feel like pushing and shoving, if you give in and try you are more likely to have your head hit a wall than to force movement or win a battle. Follow the tension inward. It can lead, if you’re honest, to locating where you are off-kilter. Prioritize. Focus. Streamline.

Tuesday: How fast would a pearl travel if you dropped it into molasses? That’s today’s atmosphere, suspended in something dense and unyielding. Thank the complete absence of aspects between early morning and early evening EDT, and Mercury stationing direct late in the afternoon. Allow huge cushions of time around appointments, especially if they require travel. If you’re hell bent on keeping a jam-packed, fast-paced schedule, you are on a collision course for frustration. Hang loose, though, and no telling what gifts may amble over to you. Take a good, good look at what is in front of you, and you will see at least one piece of valuable information that you didn’t catch before.

Wednesday: Monday’s themes of power, aggression and use of will surface again, first thing in the morning, and reverberate throughout the day. Remember that you have the power and right to pick your battles, down to choosing to engage in none. Remaining focused on your personal priorities will help you identify and dodge the skirmishes that you don’t want to join. If one situation or person is a persistent irritant or challenge, think about the role that it plays in your life. It wouldn’t be there if it hadn’t served you at some point. Does it still serve you? (Maybe it gives you a face or an external situation to be a projection screen for frustration and, oh, I don’t know, feeling of powerlessness.) Are you ready to leave it behind? What would that take?

Thursday: We have another day with few astrological aspects. Most of the impulses, until the New Moon around 9 PM EDT, are edgy and tense with undercurrents of power plays. The New Moon itself opens the door to a new relationship with our physical world and the people, objects and experiences we value. A little time in contemplation and reflection is on the cosmic agenda.

Friday: Yet another day with very few aspects sails us into the weekend. The overnight hours stir issues of commitment and responsibility, followed by a morning of willingness to take innovative approaches. The atmosphere is starting to feel less like molasses and easier to move about in. Stretch your brain, your tongue and your legs. You may not be able to achieve anything major, but you will enjoy getting around more nimbly.

Saturday: Even fewer aspects grace today than yesterday. All that reflection earlier in the week pays off in relationship and money developments moving into new and healthier phases. As you become more mindful of what you value, your behavior toward it becomes more appreciative and, no surprise, what you get in return becomes more rewarding. The best times for social interaction are at the start of the morning or the evening. Watch your tongue late afternoon; communication will be more effective closer to dinner time.

Sunday: Moods ping-pong between ease and discomfort all day long: from warm-hearted and loving to irritated by the sound of someone’s voice to soothing and inspired to wanting to run away — and that’s just the flow of the morning. Don’t be surprised if the munchies hit you with a vengeance in the afternoon (I’m seeing lots of milk and cookies, or maybe jelly doughnuts), but consider that they may be — okay, are — a physical way to ground and placate your emotional security and stability needs. Communication is most effective and rewarding early evening, but then the ping-ponging starts again. Set your expectations accordingly.

Visit Kathy’s site EmpowermentUnlimited.net for void of course moon tables, podcasts, mp3s, a discussion forum and more. To join her mailing list, send e-mail to kbiehl@empowermentunlimited.net .