But that’s not all. The Sun in diligent Taurus makes a tense square aspect to Saturn in Aquarius on the 15th and a sextile to Neptune in Pisces as well. In the midst of all that cosmic action, we may find ourselves straining against restraints, yearning for higher law, yearning for a common definition of human decency. The lunar eclipse in Scorpio on the 16th arrives just in time and, for some of us, it may feel like a firebird filling up the sky — a rebirth — a chance to begin again differently. Mars makes a conjunction to Neptune on the 18th putting will power behind our desire for transcendence. Meanwhile, the Sun in Taurus makes a trine to Pluto in Capricorn on the 19th, for those of us who prefer to keep working things out on the Earthly plain one hoof at a time.
Whether you choose the work of the firebird or the sea goat, there’s magic afoot and it’s both collaborative and cumulative. Mercury in Gemini makes a sextile to Jupiter in Aries on the 19th, followed by the Sun’s ingress into Gemini and his conjunction to Mercury in Gemini on the 21st. Sometimes, we know the answer before we are sure why or how we know it. Sometimes, a thread from one world crosses another, and in those crosshairs we are saved by ourselves.
Aries Sun & Aries Rising
Yes, it’s eclipse season; yes Mercury is retrograde; yes, Pluto makes a trine to the Sun in Taurus just days after a total lunar eclipse in Scorpio, which makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces. Yes, all of that is a big deal but not as big as Jupiter’s shift into the sign of Aries. Well, to be frank, all of those transits are very potent but they’re not as prone to making things a big deal as Jupiter is. And Jupiter in Aries is its own brand of diva, as powerful as Mariah Carey’s pipes, as undeniable as Reese Witherspoon’s acting career, as iconic as Céline Dion doing just about anything. It’s true that Mars’ transit through Pisces might have had you hitting the brakes during inopportune moments. But, Aries, the full moon in Scorpio shines down on Mars in Pisces and transforms that symbol into a magic wand. With Venus already on your side, you can’t lose. ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Taurus Sun & Taurus Rising
Another week, another life under the Taurus Sun. In a perfect world, any one of us could buy a villa in Tuscany with the support of our lesbian best friend and a zany cast of romantic characters. But we don’t live in a perfect world and, besides the complication of land ownership and stewardship, the truth is that few of us can choose a life that puts our pleasure and our passions squarely at the centre of our days. Mostly, it’s a money thing, a systemic inequity thing, but it’s something else too isn’t it? Some inherited obligation, some unspoken rule that one must go on earning a life rather than simply living it. Even if it was true once, could it still be true? With the end of the world coming up like a sunset? In nature, there is no such thing as “vacation days.” Everyday is made for pleasure and every night is pleasure’s respite. What if this week you let yourself believe that however you want to spend your days is your right? ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Gemini Sun & Gemini Rising
Who’s afraid of Mercury retrograde? Surely, not someone ruled by Mercury, someone who submits to Mercury’s cosmic dance moves multiple times a year. Why sweat it? To fear a time of instability is to presume that the world is otherwise stable and never in flux, which would be a far cry from the truth. As Martha says in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf “Truth and illusion; George; you don’t know the difference.” But we must carry on as though we did, Gemini. What does this carrying on look like for Gemini? Is it calm like the Brits once decreed? One should hope not! There’s no reason for you to fake it, after all, to act as if you are unaffected or unmoved. Rather, you carry on by showing up for the daily upkeep of a life built painstakingly over the place where the boundaries of logic and magic meet.
ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Cancer Sun & Cancer Rising
If we are to believe that the universe works in concert, that the cosmos conspires in ways we have yet to fathom, then every planetary movement has a story to tell. Like the asteroid Ceres shifting under the stars of Cancer the day before a total Lunar eclipse in Scorpio. Ceres is an asteroid that deals with both birth and death, with the grief of love and loss. In Cancer, Ceres is a fierce mother, whether that motherhood pertains to her land, her offspring, or queer kinship systems. In astrology, Ceres teaches us where mother grief resides in us, where we repeat cycles of self-abandonment, we must return to mother ourselves. The lunar eclipse in Scorpio can be a sultry moon for Cancer people, but it can be a heavy one too. Perhaps the heaviness on your heart is a cue to set it down and reassess. Who benefits when you cloak yourself in self-sufficiency while yearning for nurturance and reciprocity? ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Leo Sun & Leo Rising
The Sun in Taurus knows who she is, even if she doesn’t always know what to do with that knowledge. Up against the North Node, waiting on Mercury (the god of information) to find their way back to her, the Sun in Taurus can feel the Lunar Eclipse before it arrives. And, even if there’s tension, even if some things feel untenable, she knows what’s coming has been coming for a long time and there’s nothing to be done but see it through. So what if all the earthly things in this world get between her and her intense, unknowable feelings? The Sun in Taurus doesn’t need to see the moon or know its contents to respect it. Bring it on, says the Sun, and she rises to meet the day, however that day unfolds. If you are the Sun, Leo, then you were born to keep your own fire going, to burn with a tenacity rooted in the very fabric of the universe. If you are the Sun, then you know you always come up, you always return, even if it hurts — it’s a blessing.ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Virgo Sun & Virgo Rising
It’s only right that a sign ruled by Mercury, a god that moves between worlds, should have the option of two very different types of Mercury retrogrades. You could, for instance, laser in on what you’ve been growing so far and spend the week combing through any and all tangles with a fine tooth comb. The sextile that Jupiter in Aries makes to Mercury in Gemini towards the end of this week has the potential to support that work and uncover new sources of financial support. While this is a perfectly valid way to work with the energies that surround you, the trine that the lunar eclipse in Scorpio makes to Neptune in Pisces might have you putting your reflective energy toward something a little more private and a lot more intimate (like rebuilding a burnt bridge or a past life regression). And, with Jupiter in tow, this Mercury retrograde path is bound to be deeply transformative. Whichever way you choose to move ahead (or backward as the case may be), you’ll find the support you need to feel sustained.ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Libra Sun & Libra Rising
Libra is known as the sign of relationships, which is interesting given that Libras are symbolised by an object — the scales — which can’t exactly build or maintain relationships with other living things. Rather than seeking out or working on a relationship, the scales assess an existing relationship between two similar entities. Which one weighs more? What is the value and the trade? What is needed to attain balance? In theory, the scales are objective and, in practice, nothing is. To decide what is worth comparing, to load the scale, to interpret the results, to be firm or flexible according to environmental factors (sometimes a seed is more precious than a coin, for instance) is to bring in the human element. And, while you may strive to be as objective as possible, Libra, your humanity finds a way to assert itself in deliberations of the heart. As Venus moves through Aries and Jupiter joins her, the stakes for these types of deliberations may feel higher. But, there’s no reason to catastrophise. The more you let this season’s steady energy guide your hand, the more you will find balance in all deliberations.ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Scorpio Sun & Scorpio Rising
Of course we have to talk about it, even if we don’t want to. Even if everything on Earth blocks it out of our sight so what’s left to witness is a dark void where the moon would be. Perhaps it might be of the essence to talk about voids or darkness, which appears as a void but is actually an excess. It’s the way black is not the absence of colour but, rather, an over saturation of it. Sometimes, in a Scorpio’s heart, something like a void appears. Sometimes, this might feel like the absence of feelings, like floating in a sensory deprivation tank indefinitely. When the cosmos mirrors that void with a lunar eclipse in Scorpio, it can feel all the more poignant and all the more difficult to fathom. We have to talk about it, but we don’t have to come up with any solutions — whatever void you find yourself facing is temporary, whatever numbness you’re navigating is not the truth of your heart. Scorpios don’t rule over sensory deprivation tanks, although they appreciate them. Scorpios rule over the dark deep waters that contain the history of the world — of all feelings. ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Sagittarius Sun & Sagittarius Rising
While much has been made of the Jupiter-in-Pisces transit, there’s a great deal to look forward to with Jupiter under the stars of Aries. Your ruling planet in the fellow fire sign of Aries is confident and ambitious, and you may find yourself more willing to make your desires known and more able to make space for what those declarations bring forth. Surely, the copresence of Venus only sweetens the pot, gathering all the right ingredients for your just desserts. If a part of you feels like this all sounds too good to be true, then pay attention to that part. Locate its place within you, find out what purpose it serves and what it feeds on. Doubt and caution, especially when it comes to our own desires, are helpful tools — up to a point. We acquire them as children so that we might learn how to become adults. Adulthood, however, offers us lessons in reverse: to feel certain enough in our strength to unemploy doubt, to unlearn caution when boldness is in order.
ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Capricorn Sun & Capricorn Rising
It’s true that Capricorn placements pride themselves on their own excellency, an excellency that prioritises discipline and distinction, an excellency that shines through even when they themselves shy away from the spotlight. While there are plenty of Capricorn people that love recognition, there are even more that only want recognition on their own terms — terms that they can respect and appreciate. And while you wait for those terms to be met (good luck!), your lot is generally more than happy to wait in the wings, hyping up the other players. But “generally” means sometimes, not all of the time, and there’s no use convincing yourself otherwise. “Generally” means that a person can only console themselves with their principles for so long before their cup grows up and their thirst grows wide. Besides, if you don’t like the cup that’s being offered, there’s nothing that says you can’t bring your own to collect your due. ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Aquarius Sun & Aquarius Rising
Sometimes you ride through life on your fixed-gear bicycle like you’re one with the wind, weightless, unencumbered, and in control. But sometimes your joyride culminates in a long uphill trek and, all of a sudden, you find yourself wishing you could shift gears. Fixed signs like yourself can often feel an internal pressure to perform consistency, to always show up in the same way with the same amount of energy and investment. Of course, a human being is not a fixed-gear bike, but we have our habitual bearings, our well-worn social grooves. It’s okay to admit a limitation, Aquarius, to concede that most if not all things are conditional — even relationships. Give yourself permission to switch things up this week, even if that means letting others down.
ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
Pisces Sun & Pisces Rising
It can be uncomfortable to have Mars in Pisces for so long, with his driving desire to move things forward up against the Piscean inclination to approach things piecemeal. Neptune’s presence only blurs things further, confusing the objective. The thing is, while Mars recalibrates in Pisces, he doesn’t falter. Pisces energy is synchronous and dispersed, like a cook stirring a pot here, shaking a sheet there, and chopping greens simultaneously until all of a sudden a perfect feast appears out of that cloud of activity. With Jupiter out from under your stars this week, you might find yourself spending less time in the metaphorical kitchen and more time enjoying all that you’ve been cooking up. Mars and Neptune in Pisces make a powerful aspect to the full moon in Scorpio and the Sun in Taurus ushering in time of creative connection and magical adventures. Enjoy the fruits of your labours, Pisces, they bloom for you.ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARIANFLOWER
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Jupiter In Aries Is Here, So Lead With Confidence