name='keywords'/> Dance of the Phoenix: Personal Planets on the Move and Mercury Retrograde

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Friday, January 1, 2016

Personal Planets on the Move and Mercury Retrograde






Happy New Year, everyone!  The year 2016 is off to an auspicious start as three big personal planets change signs.  What are the personal planets?  The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars are considered personal planets because they are the closest to the earth and to our physical being.

Venus entered the sign of Sagittarius on December 30th, inspiring me to tweet:
“Venus enters Sagittarius today, creating a lighter, flirtier, more affectionate vibe just in time for New Year’s celebrations.”

How fitting that Venus started the New Year’s festivities early in such a playful, fun-loving sign.  It is much lighter than Venus in Scorpio, and Venus will remain in Sagittarius until January 25th.
Even the moon joined the party when it entered the sign of Libra on January 1, 2016 at 1:41 a.m.  As an added perk, it sextiles Venus in Sagittarius.  Social gatherings are favored, people tend to be in a good mood, and there is a love of beauty and the arts.  Let the good times roll!

On January 3rd, Mars enters the sign of Scorpio.  Mars was considered to be the traditional ruler of Scorpio until Pluto was discovered in 1930.  Mars will be a lot more comfortable in Scorpio than it was in Libra because it thrives on that undercurrent of emotional energy.  Mars in Scorpio is assertive and possesses a great deal of focus and determination.  Scorpios will literally feel energized by the entrance of Mars into Scorpio.  Of course, the flip side of Mars in Scorpio is that we could be prone to some rash behavior, especially with the upcoming Mercury retrograde.  Mars will enter the sign of Sagittarius on March 6, 2016 but it will station retrograde in 9 degrees of Sagittarius on April 17th and will re-enter Scorpio from May 28th through August 2, 2016.  That means we will get a heavy dose of Mars in Scorpio energy.  And Mars will remain in Sagittarius until September 26, 2016.  Scorpios and Sagittarians should have an uber energizing year with Mars spending 9 months in these two signs.

Personally, I am excited that Mars in Scorpio will be conjuncting my sun and Venus, but I am not so thrilled about its conjunction to my Saturn.  Talk about putting the brakes on your action plan!  And Mars in Scorpio will also be squaring my Mars in Aquarius and opposing my Pluto in Leo, so I know that I have to be realistic about whatever challenges, frustrations and power struggles that emerge during this long transit.

Mercury enters the sign of Aquarius on January 1, 2016, but will station retrograde in 1 degree of Aquarius on January 5th.  Mark the day—the official start of Mercury retrograde.  The official end will be January 25, 2016, but for those of us who believe in the shadow effect (and I am a big believer), Mercury will be out of the shadow on February 14, 2016 when it returns to the sign of Aquarius.  Happy Valentine’s Day!  But the big news with this Mercury retrograde is that it returns to Capricorn on January 9th and stations direct in 15 degrees of Capricorn on January 25th. 

Mercury’s return to Capricorn will give us an opportunity for extended reflection and self-promotion.  Capricorn is not a slacker sign, so we should be motivated to hone our communication skills in a more practical manner. We may find ourselves becoming more calculating, precise and methodical.  Structure and order will become more important, but we may need to guard against becoming too judgmental. 

The bottom line with Mercury retrograde (or any retrograde planet) is that we have a chance for a do-over if we didn’t learn our lessons the first time around.  I swear that is why planets retrograde and believe that most of us just don’t get the lesson of the planet the first time around, so the universe is giving us another chance.  Remember that long Venus retrograde last summer?  How many of saw relationships change during between late July and early September 2015?

Jupiter is not a personal planet, but it will be the next planet to turn retrograde on January 7, 2016.  It will station retrograde in 23 degrees of Virgo and remain retrograde until May 9th when it stations direct in 13 degrees of Virgo. When Jupiter stations retrograde it will be conjunct the north node in Virgo.  This can lead to our true calling and path in life if we are willing to engage in service to others and deal with issues of health and efficiency.  Personal and global healing can occur if we embrace this energy. The deal with Jupiter transits is that they are easy to overlook and it’s kind of a snooze you lose situation if you don’t take advantage of it while it is present.  It is very different from Saturn, which can literally force you, kicking and screaming, to learn its lesson.  I personally think that is why many of us (myself included) don’t reap the full benefits of a Jupiter return while we tend to bemoan the effects of a Saturn return.  Jupiter is easy to miss and we just tend to expect it all to fall in our laps.  The promise of Jupiter is that it will benefit us if we grab for that brass ring.  We have to make an effort.
The north node in Virgo has an underlying theme of service to others.  In that spirit of pursuing my path as a healer, I am channeling that north node and Jupiter in Virgo energy by offering my Reiki services. If you are in the Boston area, please consider getting a Reiki treatment at Acupuncture for Everyone in Copley Square to destress, revitalize and remove blockages to healing.  It’s a perfect way to start your weekend off.  Reiki is the most profound treatment for stress relief because it concentrates on CALMING your body.
 
For more information on my Reiki services, please see this page on my site:

http://phoenixscorpio.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_19.html

If you are contemplating an astrological reading to obtain more insight in your life after the recent cosmic roller coaster of planetary activity, you can learn more about my menu of astrological services at:

http://phoenixscorpio.blogspot.com/p/services-offered.html

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for my daily astrological insights at:


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