Full Blue Moon in Aquarius and Saturn Goes Direct

Change is in the air these days.  Last week we had the Sun and Mercury move into Leo, and Venus and Uranus stationed retrograde.  This week we have our second full moon of the month (hence the moniker Blue Moon) on July 31^st in 8 degrees of Aquarius and Saturn stations direct in 28 degrees of Scorpio on August 2^nd on the east coast.

A full moon in Aquarius is future-oriented, determined to let go of the past and open to new possibilities.   This theme is reinforced by Mercury in Leo trining Uranus in Aries.  Even though Uranus is retrograde, it is still seeking new concepts with that trine to Mercury.  This full moon can help us release stuck psychic energies. 

This full moon is conjunct my natal Mars in the 4^th house, so I am eagerly anticipating a fresh blast of energy in this area of my life.  I work out of my home a great deal in addition to my one day a week giving Reiki treatments at a community clinic, and I sense that changes are in the offing.  For one thing, I desperately need to get a new computer, and that is pretty Uranian.  I am also switching cell phone carriers after 11 years because the erratic coverage is causing dropped calls and inability to answer some calls.  This is just not acceptable for a home based business.  A friend of mine wryly observed that it is a perfect phone for the 21^st century because while it lets me text, email and have Internet access, I can't complete a conversation on it.  And for those of us old enough to remember when all that you could do with telephones was talk, it is a pretty sad commentary. The full moon is also squaring my natal Saturn in Scorpio, so it may also feel a little heavy.  The transfer process from one carrier to another was quite frustrating and I am sure that aspect played a role in that.  I need to remember that the key to utilizing this energy is the theme of constructive change.  After all, a full moon in Aquarius is all about new ideas and spiritual growth.

Saturn in late Scorpio factors heavily into this mix.  It is trining Mars in Cancer, which facilitates us in the transformation of feelings.  It is also encouraging us to take risks and helping us restructure our psyche.  Saturn has been retrograde since March 14^th, so if you feel like a certain project or goal has been on hold or felt like the brakes were put on, you are not imagining things.  Saturn assuming direct motion gives us the green light to move forward with our goals.  If you’ve been itching to start a new business, this is your time to strike while the iron is hot. Saturn will move back into the sign of Sagittarius on September 17^th, where it remains through December 2017 and it won’t return to Scorpio until 2041.  I know that many Scorpios, myself included, are breathing a collected sigh of relief over that!

Meanwhile, we are still dealing with Venus retrograde.  Venus stationed retrograde in 0 degrees of Virgo on July 25^th, but on July 31st on the day of the full moon, Venus re-enters Leo, where it will reside until October 8^th.  The best way to utilize this period is to give yourself some space and reflect on your past if necessary, but don’t glorify it.  Venus retrograde is also an opportunity to acknowledge any codependent traits that we have in relationships and stop excusing others who don’t treat us respectfully.  It is definitely a time to cultivate a little self-love and possibly do some repair work on current relationships by reassessing and reevaluating.  I love working on my clients' astrological charts and realized this past week that while I am totally useless at reading regular maps, I have come to regard the astrological chart as a map of the soul.  That map is one that I can read and it offers a wealth of tools and resources to help navigate the roads in life.

If you are curious as to how this extended Venus retrograde in Leo period will affect you, please consider getting an astrological reading with me.  A little insight is always a powerful tool.  Just ask for the Venus Retrograde Special, which will be $25 through the month of September 2015. Contact me directly at lindasim54@gmail.com.

I am also offering a Summer Solstice Special for only $25 at this link:

http://phoenixscorpio.blogspot.com/p/summer-solstice-special.html

This special is literally being offered through the entire summer season and features a two question tarot telephone reading with a look at your astrological chart to see how the summer planetary action is affecting you.

  

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:

https://twitter.com/danceofphoenix

Aquarian Space

The Sun entered the sign of Aquarius on January 19^th at 10:51 p.m. and I sensed a definite change in the cosmic energy field.  The sign of Aquarius is renowned for being inventive, original, progressive, rebellious, aloof, independent and stubborn.  It is, after all, the fixed air sign.  New ideas and information are being circulated with the Sun in Aquarius. Social conscience, humanitarianism, and eccentricity are also associated with Aquarius.  Aquarians are known for their genius, uncanny ability to detach and their need for a lot of space.  This is a very different vibe from all of that intense Capricorn energy of the past few weeks.

But the Sun is not comfortable in the sign of Aquarius.  It is actually in detriment because it is dignified in the sign of Leo, which it rules.   When a planet is in a sign of detriment it has difficulty operating positively.  I have Venus in Scorpio, which is in detriment, so I know all too well how that one feels.  On the bright side, having a planet in detriment is slightly better than having it in fall.  A planet in fall is considered to be debilitated.  The Sun is considered to be in fall in Libra because it is exalted in Aries, its opposite sign.  Let’s face it, the Sun in Leo exudes the life force and the ego of the self plays prominently.  The Sun in Aquarius actually subjugates the ego and puts more of a focus on detachment.  Feelings of isolation can occur and difficulties relating in interpersonal relationships abound.   Perhaps that is why Aquarians tend to shine in group endeavors.

Winter is in full force when the sun is in Aquarius.  Who can argue that the cold and inclement weather don’t contribute to feelings of isolation?  Let’s face it, the holidays are over and the bills are coming due.  It’s time to face our fears, surrender and deal with our challenges.

This is not to be construed as negative energy.  On Tuesday, January 21^st, the sun in 0 degrees of Aquarius was trining the moon in 0 degrees of Libra.  This was a delightful, high energy day replete with contacts from friends and very pleasant energy.  I even managed to enjoy a visit to a new dentist.  It always helps to hear that you are a new patient with no major problems!

On January 23^rd, the moon entered the sign of Scorpio and that ramped up the intensity emotionally.  But it trined Neptune in Pisces, which lent a spiritual note and boosted intuition.    On January 24^th, Mercury in Aquarius trines Mars in Libra, which will support us to take risks and communicate.  But on January 25^th, Mercury in Aquarius will be squaring off with Saturn in Scorpio, so we can expect the universe to be testing us.

The fly in the ointment with this Aquarius energy is Mercury.  Although it technically doesn’t resume retrograde motion  until February 6^th in 3 degrees of Pisces, it did enter the shadow of Mercury retrograde on January 23^rd at 18 degrees of Aquarius.  I learned about the shadow of Mercury retrograde last year and made a few life-changing decisions based on that.  Trust me, there is merit to the shadow theory.  I am eternally grateful to astrologer Jessica Adams for reminding me of that this week.  Check her out at:

http://www.jessicaadams.com/

In keeping with the tone of the Aquarius energy, I took a big leap of faith this week and conquered one of my biggest fears—social media.  I knew that Mercury retrograde was fast approaching, so on January 22^nd, I opened a Twitter account for Dance of the Phoenix.  I certainly didn’t want my social media debut to occur during Mercury retrograde, or even the shadow.  You can follow me at

http://twitter.com/danceofphoenix

Mercury will resume direct motion in 18 degrees of Aquarius on February 28^th but then it will enter its post-shadow period.  Mercury will emerge from it post-shadow period on March 20^th in 2 degrees of Pisces.  So if you hear astrologers predicting that there will be delays and changes until mid-March, blame it on the Mercury retrograde shadow.

Transiting retrograde Jupiter in 12 degrees of Cancer will be opposing the Venus (also retrograde until January 31^st) Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on January 26^th.  This aspect will definitely put the focus on relationships.  Growth and expansion may come as a result of a power struggle.  This should be an interesting weekend!