Today the Mean North Node enters Capricorn, moving backwards from the sign of Aquarius.  If you want to read more, I have a blog posted on 5 July if you can find it.  In the blog I have contrasted the placement of the North Node in Capricorn with the signs either side, saying: “The new karmic requirement as denoted by North Node in Capricorn will be that of acceptance and of working with what is, without frills and flourishes”.  It is also the Mayan New Year and “We are urged to celebrate the Day out of Time, the Day of Point Zero, a day of forgiveness and compassion.”  You may still be working out issues from last week arising out of the eclipse, but today does mark another new beginning if you can cope with another one.  We start the new working week tomorrow Monday (27th) with a trine between Venus and the triple conjunction in Aquarius (Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron).  It is a chance to bring together the harmonies of the triple conjunction, especially if you are conscious in your life of what that represents.  Later in the week, Mercury will bring an opportunity to work with the tensions (we live in a balanced Universe).  So, seizing the opportunity brought by Monday’s Venus trine Jupiter, pop open the champagne and think of something to celebrate.  It’s time to socialize and party.  Might be difficult if you are back at work, but resolve to work hard and play hard.  Do lunch with an old friend, then return to the grindstone refreshed.  Psychologies magazine gave an excellent tip last month, which I have been following.  If you have an afternoon slump at work, drink liquorice tea instead of coffee.  It works for me.  The next leg of the Venus trine is Chiron, and that is specifically concerned with the healing of relationships.  Perhaps you have been nursing wounds and will be able to talk things through.  The third leg of the Venus trine comes on Tuesday (28th) with Neptune.  Paranoias are reassured, and depending on your level of illusion this may be permanent or temporary.  You may be able to access great inspiration in music and art.  Relationships are graced with a sense of spiritual communion.  In the second half of the week, you will have a chance to analyse these sublime experiences and form conclusions about them.  But for now, later on Tuesday (in the evening in the UK) there is a turnaround of mood, a sense of detachment brought by a square of Venus to Uranus.  You may look at the events of the last two days from a different perspective.  Perhaps you wore more of your heart on your sleeve than usual, and feel embarrassed.  But it’s all good stuff and part of the hologram.  If you are the analytical type, you’ll enjoy picking everything apart mentally on Thursday (30th) when Mercury begins its opposition to the triple conjunction.  Just don’t take all the juice out of the experience, unless you are determined to be a complete rationalist.  Mercury first opposes Jupiter, so you’ll be on google finding out if it really was possible that you had a close encounter, or whatever you had.  You will want to know all about it, until you experience information overload.  Then on the same day Mercury opposes Chiron, so you may give yourself a headache with over-analysis.  If so, a spot of meditation could coalesce and reconcile all viewpoints, and bring mental healing.  That may also set you up nicely for Friday’s Mercury opposition with Neptune, which confuses and clouds travel and healing efforts.  If you are travelling to a health-related appointment, set out two hours earlier than planned to compensate for detours, and make sure you ask the right questions when you get there.  Making a list may help to anchor your consciousness.  Finally, on Saturday 1st august Venus takes the spotlight again, entering the sign of Cancer after leaving outgoing but flighty Gemini.  Your domestic cat may act as a barometer of this, having been independent of late, but now settling into becoming a cosy lap cat again.  At the very end of the day (again with UK time – please adjust) Venus opposes Pluto and someone in your circle (it may be you) is saying au revoir and moving onto pastures new.  But it has been an important week for reviewing emotional and mental experiences, especially in relation to some of the bigger things going on in your life (the triple conjunction, and Pluto in Capricorn) so don’t dismiss any important insights you have had in the rush to be so over this week.

Jonathon Porritt, a world-saving hero of mine from the time he first came into the public eye, has had an eventful eclipse week: two near fatal cycling accidents, and a career change.

Born in 1950, this has been the year of his second Saturn Return, and Pluto is coming up to an opposition with his natal Uranus.  But this particular week, as well as the eclipse, transiting Pluto has been exactly square to his North and South Nodes.

He’s a Cancerian Sun sign with a sensitive conjunction of Mars and Neptune, and so I see him as a guardian to Mother Earth.  Traditionally Virgo is associated with green, ecological and environmental issues (and he may have a Virgo ascendant – his birth time is not available).  But his approach has much of his Sun sign of Cancer about it, when focussing on environmental factors in relation to  children.  He himself is a father of two daughters.

“I didn’t really come into environmentalism through a love of nature; I came into environmentalism through looking at what happened to children whose lives were blighted by there being no nature” – he said in relation to his early career as an inner-city teacher.

Of his campaign to restrict population growth, another Cancerian-related issue, he is quoted as saying: “I am unapologetic about asking people to connect up their own responsibility for their total environmental footprint and how they decide to procreate and how many children they think are appropriate.”

This week, he stepped down as government advisor at the Sustainable Development Commission, after 9 years in the post.  He plans to continue working for Forum for the Future, and hopes to have more time for campaigning, for green issues but also for human rights.

His natal North Node (karmic mission) is at the beginning of Aries and to some degree conjunct with the caretaking Moon, depending on his time of birth.  His future plans are in line with this, and the current Pluto square to this conjunction shows a need to break away from his current position where he may have done all that is possible.  I hope that he still holds to sentiments he expressed in 2005: “We have a very strong rule about working with the positive energy in people.  If you work with the positive energy, you will see a faster process of change than if you bludgeon people into doing things.   You need to get connected.”  Next February, he has a Jupiter Return in Pisces, which may bring opportunities to fulfil some of his hopes.

Last week brought a high death toll for the U.K. in Afghanistan, losses from swine flu, and the loss of the world’s oldest man Henry Allingham, who died of natural causes yesterday.  What was the secret of his longevity?  “Cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women” he once joked, but if you were coming into incarnation and wanted a long life, what sort of birthchart could you choose, from what we can glean from his chart?  He had 5 planets in Gemini, which included a conjunction of Sun and Pluto, not an aspect you would normally associate with longevity.  He had witnessed harrowing scenes as a serviceman, but his life force battled through, past the cusps of two centuries.  His close Sun/Neptune conjunction was squared exactly by Saturn at his end.  We do not have a birth time for him but the chart for the time of his departure (excarnation?) shows Pluto exactly opposite the Ascendant.  But as for the most telling aspect depicting his longevity, I would plump for his exact trine between Mercury (his Sun ruler) and Chiron (his inner healer) which were in excellent rapport.  At the other extreme another Gemini Sir Edward Downes chose to end his life in Switzerland, together with his wife Joan who was terminally ill.  At his end, Jupiter was exactly conjuct with his South Node (a karmic choice indeed).  Moving on to present time, the theme of this week is change and surprise, both chosen and imposed (on some level).  The day’s main event is Sun trine Uranus, which ushered in the week just past midnight in the U.K.  It may prompt you to make a big bold statement or resolve to do things differently.  Stagnating on the couch is not going to be allowed today or this week.  Tomorrow (Monday 20th) Mercury in Leo is in sextile conversation with Mars in Gemini.  They talk of cutting edge procedures, are slightly confrontational but stopping short of actual conflict.  They may sizzle with anticipation and excitement, and may not just be all talk, but could rise to action.  On the following evening, Tuesday (21st) Venus squares Saturn, which is a whole different conversation, on a feminine and feeling level.  It’s a conversation which acknowledges loss, and is the first step towards coming to terms.  Just a few hours later, in the early hours of the morning in the U.K. Wednesday (22nd) we have an eclipse of the Sun, and a New Moon in the last degree of Cancer.  In the afternoon of the same day, the Sun enters Leo.  All this activity around the cusp of Cancer and Leo is about creating, self-creating and co-creating; parenting, self-parenting and co-parenting.  There is also an element of  nurture and nourishment.   Something or someone may come up from the past.  If your birthday is around this time, the eclipse is going to be even more meaningful to you than most.  Eclipses in general can be turning points: the end of something and the beginning of something else.  Like the end of cynicism and the beginning of innocence.  I have a mandala on my Poetry page which I painted earlier to represent the cusp of Cancer and Leo, and also a poem written many years ago on the Cancerian New Moon.  The experience of the eclipse, though it happens mid-week, may resonate through the rest of the week and beyond (they often shape events for months to come)…Your own experience may hold the soulfulness of the sign of Cancer, the joyfulness of the sign of Leo, or it could be both.

As Mercury sextiled Saturn in the early hours of this morning in the U.K., and Mars entered Gemini, and I was fast asleep, and did not receive an enlightening dream, all I can do now, blogging in hindsight, is to offer the re-alignment of breath consciousness.  But I have resolved to cover next Sunday’s early-morning aspect in this blog to avoid the same problem next week.  Mercury and Gemini are associated with breathing, and so it would be as well to get in synch with these early morning aspects to carry you through the day or the coming mild and mellow week, in which there is an emphasis on Mercury aspects.  Saturn’s sextile to Mercury does not exactly restrict the breathing, but it does control it, so you need to first take a few deep breaths in order to start to re-set the breathing.  Then allow the breath to fall into a natural rhythm, which may be slightly slower than usual in tune with Saturn’s influence. With Mars’ entry into Mercury-ruled Gemini, there may be a temptation throughout the day to slip into fast or shallow breathing, or even hyperventilation, but just bring the breathing back to the Mercury sextile Saturn rhythm if that happens, if you want a relaxed, lazy Sunday.  The new issue of Breathe magazine was out this week, and it is the last issue edited by Robert Moore, who has been at the helm since 1984.  I started subscribing in 1987.  The cover title leads on “Physical Immortality” this month, and as always the subjects covered fascinate.  He tells us there is a “subtle change in some people’s approach to Breathwork…I had the sense of more respect for following how a person is already breathing instead of them having to adopt a prescribed form.”  To read more, get your copy of this historic issue.  Also, if you have been involved in rebirthing and breathwork, and would like to take over as Editor of this magazine, it is looking for a new Editor.  Tuesday (14th) brings a conjunction of Sun and Mercury.  Ah!  A conjunction.  I have a predilection for these, and might have a whole one for breakfast that day.  This conjunction in particular I have found to be perfect for writing poetry.  It is in the sign of Cancer, so if you do write poetry, or blank verse, you may find that it falls into more of a natural rhythm than usual.  Remember to breathe throughout the process, too.  On Thursday (16th) Mercury trines Uranus, which is an excellent aspect for aligning the higher mind with the lower mind, the right brain with the left brain, and receiving and transmitting telepathy and channellings.  If you do not want to confine all the action to your head, then other ways of expressing this trine would be to have some electrical re-wiring done, or to attend or host a workshop, a book group, or a self-help group.  There may be a surprise breakthrough or innovation concerning communication, the media or the world of I.T. in the news that day.  For some of us, we will be happy and content for our computers to work smoothly and without situations of panic.  People who are comfortable around technology will be free to put their mental energies to more creative use.  On Friday (17th) Mercury enters Leo, and the prevailing mental energy will change from sentimental (Mercury in Cancer) to dynamic and creative, with the added thrust of debate and discussion and the slight edginess of competition.  Mentally, people will be trying to score points off each other, unless they have worked through their sibling rivalry issues.  If the sibling rivalry issues have been worked through (with rebirthing or psychotherapy, or if you are an only child) the mind is free to explore its own creativity and to shine and excel in its own right.  This theme can continue right through to the early hours of the following Sunday morning (19th), with a trine between the Sun and Uranus bringing together a heady mixture of communication, innovation and creativity.  I hope to explore that in greater detail next week, when we will also be preparing for the changes brought by the forthcoming solar eclipse and New Moon.

Venus entered Gemini this morning, and consequently I have been blogging since I got up, so I am hoping to keep this one brief, not to bog down my blog so to speak.  So the day may be characterized by a flurry of social communication, and multiples of the usual forms (hence I have 3 blogs).  “Extras” would be a good theme for the day, e.g. an extra person for lunch, and generally extra trimmings throughout the day.  Mars also squares Chiron today, so health and safety factors also need to be taken into account, including bruised egos.  Take arnica for the ordinary bruising, and soul-searching for the other kind.  Mars forms two more squares tomorrow (Monday 6th) so there is more expression of exuberance and possible remedies to hand.  First Mars squares Neptune, so the health and safety issues may be connected specifically with oil and water.  Drink plenty of water, but not too much.  Allow your imagination some rein, but not too much: your energies could be sapped, or you could put your energies into unrealistic goals.  Grounding may be needed as an antidote.  Where you could go into overdrive is  in the ensuing square of Mars to Jupiter. It would have been enough on its own, but the accumulation from the effects of the previous two squares could lead to energies going over the top, e.g. overheating of the physical body or over-zealousness for a cause.  After reaching boiling point, simmer gently.  Bach flower Rescue Remedy or a more subtle and skilled use of flower essences would be definitely recommended.  A balanced mind, body and spirit is required to bring out the best from the aspects of Tuesday (7th).  On that day, first Mars sextiles Uranus, which may see some electrical and mechanical issues of the last week resolved, and new ideas burgeoning.  And the eclipsed Full Moon in Capricorn occurs soon afterwards (9.21 a.m. in the U.K.)  The emotional focus will be that of restraint, order, seriousness and responsibility.  It’s a good time to look at your life direction and to accordingly re-align plans for the future with current conditions in mind.  The goal posts may have been moved since you last looked.  The Sun sextiles Saturn on Thursday (9th) so serious examinations need to take place, and you may need to knuckle down to work (especially if you are still laughing about antics which took place under Mars square Jupiter on Tuesday).  Friday 10th brings around again the momentous conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune, which last configured on 27 May (how could you forget it?)  It may be phase two of the effects of the conjunction in your life (the more fluffy part of the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction), so capitalize on the benefits, and deal with the complications as best you can.  At the risk of flogging an old joke, for fans of the Customer Service Desk, not only is there now soothing blue carpet laid on, but my mother-in-law has kindly handed down no less than 3 bells for our use.  On the down side, we have one door still out of operation, no curtains and nothing to sit on…there is always phase 3.

The story of the two Bushes is not a new theme, and has been chronicled and analysed by Astrologers over the years.  With troops being recalled from Iraq, it seems that the karmic cycle which began when the North Node left Aquarius and entered Capricorn at the time of the First Gulf War (late 1990, early 1991) has come full circle round the zodiac.    The three main characters of this karmic tale are the archetypal villain Saddam Hussein, the elder President George H. Bush, and his son George W. Bush.  What astrological features befit these three for their roles in the story?  Saddam Hussein had Jupiter exactly opposite Pluto, a psychodynamic of overweening hunger for power.  The Senior George Bush has Mars on his South Node (the sign of a past-life connection with warmongering) but with the steadying and more mature balance of Saturn sextile his North Node and trine his Mars.  He would look upon his role as “doing what’s necessary”, but his natal Sun is exactly conjunct the Mars of the U.S.A. chart, so either way (personally and presidentially) war was on the cards.  And, as history would play out, his presidency would see the initiation of a war cycle.  That George W. Bush was gung-ho about his karma and everybody else’s  may be due to his natal Uranus conjunct the North Node and trine his Jupiter.  This North Node/Uranus conjunction links in karmically with the key charts: it is conjunct Saddam Hussein’s Chiron and the U.S.A Mars and his father’s Sun.

The well-known story of the First Gulf War started with Saddam’s annexation of Kuwait in August 1990, when Jupiter was exactly conjunct his natal Pluto and opposite his natal Jupiter, obviously shored up by the full hilt of Jupiterian energy to his natal opposition.  The world watched with bated breath through Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, when Mars was squaring George Bush Senior’s Nodal Axis (again, destined for war).  The U.S. (as part of a U.N. endorsed force) was in saviour role to Kuwait: the Jupiter in its chart sextile exactly the natal Kuwait Pluto.  Eventually, the situation simmered down, and was left simmering for years in the subconscious mind of his son George W. Bush Junior.  When he came to power, this karma was re-activated, setting the stage for the Second Gulf War of 2003.  He enlisted the help of the sympathetic U.K. Prime Minister of the time, Tony Blair, through the magnetic attraction of Tony’s Pluto being exactly conjunct with George’s Venus.  The extra karmic and compulsive element was provided by Tony’s Pluto sextile George’s North Node.    In the chart of the Second Gulf War (20 March 2003) Pluto was exactly conjunct George Bush Junior’s South Node.  It was therefore an obsession that George could not ignore, to go to war.  Operation Shock and Awe was instigated, the successor to Operation Desert Storm designed to finish off what his father had started.  Now at this point in time, as the North Node returns to O degrees Aquarius, a karmic cycle is complete.  The three main players have been removed from the scene.  The chalice of the new karmic cycle has been passed to Barack Obama, whose North Node at 27 degrees Leo is now opposed by the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron, symbolizing the complex clearing up job he has to do from the old cycle, and the new nuclear-bearing protagonists with which he has to deal.  Happy Independence Day!

The North Node, which represents the karmic tone of the period, now stands at O degrees Aquarius in the process of moving into Capricorn, as it moves backwards.  It spends approximately a year and a half in each sign, and the shift is due to take place over the next two months.  The Mean North Node enters Capricorn on Sunday 26 July, and the True North Node on Friday 21 August.  If you have planets or angles (such as your Ascendant) at O degrees of a sign, there is likely to be a significant change of lifestyle.  In recent years the North Node has passed through Pisces, then Aquarius, both signs of global emphasis.  In retreating to Capricorn, it may seem a retrograde step in terms of spiritual evolution as for Capricorn charity begins at home.  But it is necessary to counterbalance to some extent the disadvantages of globalization, as nations take a hard look at economic stringencies and boundary issues such as immigration control.  When the North Node arrives at the cusp of Sagittarius in February/March 2011, it will be on with the global outlook again, but in more realistic terms.  In this transit of the North Node through Capricorn, the lessons and achievements of the North Node in the previous two signs are not lost, they are just integrated.  Capricorn is not a lesser mode karmically, it is just a different emphasis – whereas the signs around it are more idealistic, aspirational and concerned with the good of the whole, Capricorn addresses the letter rather than the spirit of the law, and takes into account the material reality.   It is ruled by Saturn, one of the agents of karma.  While the Aquarian way of managing karma is to rise above suffering and to create new sociological structures based on fairness and equality, the new karmic requirement as denoted by North Node in Capricorn will be that of acceptance and of working with what is, without frills and flourishes.  Some may find that a more real approach.  Together with the other end of its spectrum the South Node in Cancer, it spells a rise in patriotism and nationalism, again on the surface of things a retrograde step between nations and divisive for peace efforts.  However, it may allow people to re-draw their boundaries (an issue which is fudged under Aquarian and Piscean influences) to find out where their real needs lie for the short term.  The North Node has been giving impetus to the changes wrought by the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius, but will be working soon with the necessities of Pluto in Capricorn.  These two forces will be squeezing our focus from both ends of Capricorn, Pluto at its beginning moving forwards, and North Node at the end of Capricorn retrograding, so that at a certain point (November 2010) the two meet and merge their focus.  This will be a defining moment worldwise, and personally: you need to understand what you are doing, and why, in order to avoid falling into negative Capricorn roles such as victim or scapegoat.  Instead, work with positive archetypes such as the teacher, the pathfinder and the leader, if Capricorn is strong in your chart, so bring those out of your repertoire.  Some of these will be contained within your panoply of past-life characters.  You will of course still be working on the function of your own personal North Node and its sign in your natal chart (karmic mission, as applied in its natal house).  But where your work links with the world, you will also work to some extent with the transiting North Node.  Think back to when the North Node was last at this point in December 1990, the world was on the brink, in the midst of the First Gulf War crisis, very much a me and mine issue to Saddam Hussein (annexing Kuwait) and George Bush Senior (protecting the oil wells).   Pondering this turned into an extra blog…But meanwhile in my own life the last time the North Node was at O degrees Aquarius and on my 10th House cusp (career) I was beginning my regression work and the deeper study of past lives as it transited my 9th House in Capricorn.  Now I have a queue of two regression clients waiting, because I have no curtains up in my regression room at the moment (though another brave soul decided to chance it anyway).  There is also the matter of no door, and a completely new flooring.  So with this feng shui, I am starting a new cycle in my own work in the field of karma.  Fascinatingly, the changeover links in with the Mayan Calendar for on 26 July it is the first day of the New Year in the 13 Moon Calendar and we are urged to celebrate the Day out of Time, the Day of Point Zero, a day of forgiveness and compassion.

There was a time in my old neighbourhood when all the women in our street sported a Farrah Fawcett hairstyle (Moon rising in Cancer, the essence of femininity) and all their men had the Kevin Keegan haircut (we had the same hairdresser)…Aah! Those were the days…And the life and death of poor Michael Jackson, who maybe could not face the hurdle of 50 upcoming concerts, was always defined by the planet Pluto.  At birth, Pluto was conjunct his Sun, in the early 80s when cosmetic surgery started to show Pluto was conjunct his natal Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, and at his passing Pluto was trine his natal Pluto, beckoning him perhaps to a more final reinvention.  This week’s rhythm is slow, slow, quick, quick, slow.  Nothing happening, then everything happening.  Underwhelm followed by overwhelm.  The “quick, quick” days are Wednesday and Thursday (1st and 2nd July).  If you are the contemplative type, plan to do nothing on those days!  If you would rather seize the day, then plan an activity for each event: On Wednesday (1st July): Jupiter semi-sextile Uranus (test out new constructions); Uranus Stationary, prior to Retrograde (test out electrical wiring); Venus square Chiron (suss out what you need ot heal next through your feeling nature); Mercury trine Chiron (apply the appropriate affirmation through your mental focus); Venus square Neptune (gently question your nearest and dearest about their feelings); then (these are all in sequence by the way) Mercury trine Neptune (re-draw plans to include all the lessons of the day and all the sensitivities of all who are involved).  Phew! Is that a world record for the number of aspects in one day?  It is the most aspects for a day I have had to blog in two-and-a-half years.  If that to-do list works for you, then for Thursday 2nd July try the following: Mercury trine Jupiter (try long distance travel or communication, and sales), but have a fall-back plan because the next aspect can put a spanner in the works.  Mercury square Uranus (turn back before you have reached the point of no return, as there may be a hitch in communication, travel and sales).  You may spot a loophole in the fine print before you sign on the dotted line.  You may ask why bother in the first place, but there is something in the process for you, e.g. you may make an important new acquaintance, who may be a kindred spirit but not a suitable business partner.  Expand your consciousness to see the bigger picture.  Even the hitch may have a purpose.   Venus also squares Jupiter that day, so keep social manners appropriate, e.g. no inappropriate laughter or inappropriate touching.  Read the body language correctly.   And it’s a day of contradictions because Venus also sextiles Uranus, so there may be a surprise social benefit.  You’ll find, despite earlier suspicions otherwise, that you really are in the right place at the right time meeting the right people.  It’s just your social manners that might be inappropriate, but they may overlook that.  You’ll probably be exhausted by Friday, when there is only the movement of Mercury from Gemini into Cancer to contend with.  Communication will have arrived at a more empathetic level after the initial awkwardness of the previous day.  Saturday is the test of meaningful communication, with Mercury forming an opposition to Pluto.  Someone will demand the truth.  If you are travelling that day, be vigilant, for there may be difficult passengers or scenarios.  You may need to play Samaritan and listen to a sob story for instance.  Tip of the week comes from my friend Laura, who started last night’s telephone conversation by (correctly) accusing me of being overly fond of conjunctions.  She then went on to say about the current triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron (one of my all-time favourites): “If we are attached to ideas or forms as to how our lives should be, the triple conjunction is likely to produce illusion and self-deceit.  If, however, we are open to new ideas and possibilities – each according to the house in which the conjunction falls – then we are likely to receive a subtle but powerful inspiration – You can quote me.”

Happy Summer Solstice!  Just after dawn in the U.K. the Sun entered the sign of Cancer, and summer became official.  The Part of Fortune today is in the 12th House, which denotes that it is the inner process which will bring you joy today.  At lunchtime, Venus will be conjunct Mars, and the inner alchemy between the expression of male and female can be glimpsed, or experienced.  Whatever you are hoping for today, the inside story is crucial.  The outer dance always flows from the inner dance.  If the outer dance looks right, and you are not feeling it, then it’s not real for you.  But if the inner dance is right, the outer can reflect that or may follow in future.  But the now within is what counts.  So getting the now right now is possibly on your to-do list for today.  Right now we are taking up carpet ready for the imminent arrival (in up to 2 weeks) of the new carpet for the Customer Service Desk, which got a little worn since I started this blog.  That will also count as phase two of the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunction at ours, phase one having been successfully completed.  Today and tomorrow may see a changeover phase, focussing on the completion of an old project or the end of phase one, and the start of a new regime or phase two of a larger plan.  Tomorrow has two consolidatory aspects: Venus trine Saturn and Mars trine Saturn, followed by a defined new beginning (Cancer New Moon).  Venus trine Saturn brings meaning to relationships, and artistic and musical experiences.  Even difficult relationships could uncover the gold of loyalty, commitment and shared supportiveness.  Mars trine Saturn favours getting the job done, even jobs which seem hum drum, such as taking up old carpet.  If you get such issues out of the way by the evening, you can concentrate on the delight of the New Moon in the evening (19.35 Hrs in the U.K., 1 degree Cancer).  This New Moon favours home projects, such as carpet re-laying.  In an earlier version of this blog, I was still in Gemini mode mentally from yesterday, writing about Twitter.  Twitter strikes me as a very Geminian preserve, a wor(l)d of lite bites.  Although its Sun is in Aries (born on 21 March 2006) its ruling planet Mars is in the middle of Gemini.  I discovered this week that I have two followers on Twitter.  This was conveyed to me through my inbox.  It was a surprise to me, as a few weeks ago I did try to join Twitter, but didn’t think I had succeeded.  I am, however, a member of ipeace, and after listening to an evening of peace and anti-war songs from a delightfully vibrant 71-year old Julie Felix last night, I invited her to join.  She had recently sung “Forever Young” at David Frost’s 70th birthday party, and is a Geminian herself, the sign of eternal youth.   So far so good, and Tuesday (23rd) is time for a little drama, brought to you by Pluto opposing the Sun.  In the pecking order of transits, Pluto always has the final say.  Jupiter, Neptune, Chiron, all very fine and dandy, but if a project doesn’t cut the mustard with the very outermost planet, Pluto, then it may not hold.  Pluto holds the life (and death) cycles, and is the very barrel we scrape psychotherapeutically.  And while Pluto is in the sign of Capricorn now, everything needs to pass its test of being sustainable and ethical, both personally and planetarily.  So if your film doesn’t pass the censor, this is the reason.  But don’t let that deter you, for you do get extra marks for intention.  And if you fail to complete a task, all is not lost, because the work you have put in may get re-used later.  Just glance down at the cutting room floor, and make sure you have salvaged what you need.  The last aspect of the week occurs on Friday (26th) and it is another challenging one, Mercury square Saturn.  If you encounter difficulties in communication or travel, you may start to wonder whether Mercury is still retrograde, and on realizing that it is in forward motion, may start to question the whole phenomena of Mercury only causing problems when retrograde.  After all, communications can go right when Mercury is retrograde, and communications can go wrong when Mercury is travelling forwards.  Homework for the week is to polish your inner quicksilver Mercury.  You need to be in your eternal now Mercury, for communications to always work for you.

The big news today is Mercury’s entry into its own sign of Gemini, which is good news for Geminis who can express themselves fully and freely and be themselves, and good news for journalists and broadcasters who will have a steady stream of stories lined up and ready to roll.  For the rest of us, we may be able to clear our heads, and eperience fewer senior moments for the duration of this transit (which lasts until 3 July).  If you are still having senior moments, then try the Japanese tree supplement ginkgo biloba, combined with ginseng for concentration.  That, with Mercury in Gemini, should hopefully do the trick.  So the next couple of weeks is favourable for any work on the mental plane, such as sketching out a learning plan, writing short articles, and light conversation accompanied by tea and spelt toast.  Visiting relatives is also favoured under this transit, so a family get-together or catch-up is likely, particularly between siblings.  Tomorrow Jupiter is stationary, prior to going retrograde.  Foreign travel may be put on hold, suspense over exam results, u-turns on philosophy (e.g. by governments) – anything of a Jupiterian nature starts to contract after its unprecedented expansion over recent months, Jupiter being part of the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron (it was only a matter of time before I would mention the T-word).  However, triple conjunction plans and hopes continue to be consolidated.  They are just going into a different phase. Boundaries have been set, and plans re-drawn to take account of progress made or financial stringencies.  In early July, Jupiter will re-join Neptune and Chiron at 26 degrees Aquarius, and Uranus will still be wielding its influence acting as a counterpoise at 26 degrees Pisces, so we will see an encore of the original triple conjunction at the end of May.  With all four planets retrograde by then, it will be different – an inbreath after the outbreath.  If you are involved in a large-scale construction, you will be entering into phase two of the long and complicated process.  That is looking ahead somewhat, but you may be able to glimpse the next part of the vision and its significance tomorrow when Jupiter turns retrograde.   Wednesday (17th) is also important for assessing and refining progress, with the Sun trining Neptune/Chiron and squaring Uranus.  Last week was decisive for some, as Uranus semi-sextile Neptune allowed disengagement where necessary.  For instance, if you had lent your energies temporarily to the development of large-scale community plans (Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron) you may have sensed that you had come to the end of your soul’s contract with it.  Or you may have needed to retreat to work on your own healing.  If the plan is your plan, you will want to see it through, but if it is someone else’s plan, then your energies may be needed elsewhere or even in your own back yard.  Wednesday may be the time for that disengagement, with the Sun squaring Uranus.  However, you may keep a spiritual link with the group or an interest in the progress of the plan (Sun trine Neptune).  More of the healing significance of what is taking place may also be revealed at this time (Sun trine Chiron).  Complex structures are being built for the future, and groups are coming together now, but an individual may also be needed to attend to more than one group at a time.  Some people will be holding the energy of one group, and others moving between groups and projects.  There will be more dismantling at a later phase when the Saturn-Uranus opposition becomes exact again, but at this time it is several degrees wide and taking a back seat in the reconstruction process.  And so, on to Thursday (18th) when the Sun trines Jupiter and you can let your hair down, enjoy the fruits of your labours why don’t you.  Life can’t be all serious working at astrological aspects all the time, honestly.  It’s a relatively untrammelled aspect (although still tied to those other planets admittedly) but brings out the playful side of it all, the lighter side of life, the cosmic giggle.  Take time out from committee meetings, and plan some leisure activity or relaxation, communal or otherwise (you may need some space).  There may be a sense of anticipation in the air on Saturday (20th), the final day of Spring, with some gorgeous aspects to come right at the beginning of Summer.