Full Strawberry Moon in Sagittarius and Neptune Retrograde

The full moon in 22 degrees of Sagittarius was exact at 12:11 a.m. on Friday, June 13th on the east coast but I would bet the farm that most of us have been feeling its effects since Monday, June 9th when Neptune stationed retrograde in 7 degrees of Pisces. There was a foggy feel to the day that had a tendency to play out in either heightened idealism or disillusionment.

Why is it called a Strawberry moon?  According to the Indians, the month of June with its 30 days represented the short season for harvesting strawberries.  It is extremely rare that this full moon falls on a Friday the 13^th, a day rife with superstition.  We won’t have another full moon on Friday the 13^th until August 13, 2049.  So, with this full moon and Mercury retrograde, you can definitely expect the unexpected and prepare to clean out your life both literally and figuratively.

We may finally have Mars direct, but last week Mercury went retrograde and now we have Neptune retrograde until November 16th. Neptune retrograde forces us to review the condition of our soul, and for many of us, to let go of our need to rescue others by developing the faith that they will find the strength to overcome their own challenges. And don't be surprised if dreams become even more vivid over the next few months; that is part and parcel of Neptune's territory.  We cannot forget the re in retrograde and what it stands for: reassess!

Saturn in Scorpio has been playing a huge role in this week's planetary activity. On Tuesday, June 10th the moon in Scorpio conjuncted Saturn in Scorpio. This inspired me to tweet: "Big reality check today as moon conjuncts Saturn in Scorpio. No escape from doing the work to transform our toxins." It must have resonated big-time for a lot of folks because it garnered 254 views and quite a few retweets and favorites.

Astrologer Henry Seltzer aptly named this week's full moon as "The Painful Progress of the Sagittarius Full Moon" in his astrograph.com newsletter. This full moon opposes Mercury in addition to the Sun, inconjuncts Jupiter in Cancer and squares Chiron in Pisces, forming a T-square.  Henry likens it to being on a shamanic path because of the difficult changes we are going through and I couldn't agree more.

I googled shamanism and found a beautiful definition on:

www.shamanic.journey.com

that I would like to share:

"Healing is the most important function in shamanism along with prophecy as well as addressing the condition of the soul for healing to occur in the first place."

Venus in Taurus also opposes Saturn in Scorpio, which is trining Chiron in Pisces and this supports the theme of uncovering prior wounding.  Indeed, it is an opportunity to explore underlying difficulties in our relationships that prevent them from reaching their full potential.

The full moon falls in my third house and Neptune is stationing retrograde in my fifth house.  How is that playing out for me?  Well, I am trying to put myself out there in the community more in terms of developing my business by engaging in some creative behavior.  I would like to have some more Reiki clients, but I realize that no matter what you say or write about it, unless you have experienced Reiki, you just don’t understand it or how it can benefit you.  During the last two years when I was extremely stressed out from my job, I would do Reiki on myself every morning in the bathroom to destress.  This week I started thinking that a lot of people get that feeling of dread on Sunday at the thought of going back to work on Monday.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do something for yourself to prepare for the work week and balance your energy so that you are in a calm, relaxed state?  So I asked the owner of the acupuncture clinic that I work at if I could host a Reiki event on a Sunday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and offer 10 free chair Reiki sessions that are ten minutes long.  My usual sessions are twenty minutes and include a chair and a shikibuton where the client gets to lay down and receive treatment.  She agreed to it and it will be held on July 20^th, when Mercury is finally out of its shadow retrograde and Saturn is stationary direct.  It seems like Saturn has been retrograde forever, but in reality, only since March 2^nd.  It feels like forever to me because Saturn’s retrograde station began on my Venus and will resume direct motion three degrees away from my Sun. 

Transiting Pluto in Capricorn is still in my third house within striking distance of my north node, so it is high time that I make myself more visible to the community.  This does not come naturally to me, as I am a bonafide introvert, especially with Saturn in the first house conjunct the Sun. 

And did I mention that I work at a community clinic that offers acupuncture, herbal medicine and Reiki? This just seemed like the perfect way to harness the energies of the third and fifth houses.  Just in case anyone does want to learn more about the benefits of Reiki, check out this link:

http://everyonesacupuncture.com/what-reiki-can-do-for-you/

On June 14, 2014 we will revisit the themes of April’s Grand Cross with Mars in 12 degrees of Libra squaring Pluto in 13 degrees of Capricorn.  But this time Mars is direct this time (don’t you feel like you need a score card to keep up with all of these retrogrades?), so we can expect more cosmic support to implement those changes we have been contemplating.

In addition to Reiki, please consider getting an astrological reading to obtain more insight and healing during these challenging times. Check out my services page on this site at:

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

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter for my daily astrological insights at:

https://twitter.com/danceofphoenix

 Happy Friday the 13th and Full Moon!

Mercury Retrograde in Cancer

Mercury officially goes retrograde on Saturday, June 7^th at 7:56 a.m. in 3 degrees of Cancer.  This is yet another Mercury retrograde that starts in a water sign and ends in an air sign.  The last one was from February 6-28, 2014 in Pisces and Aquarius.  Be aware that any unresolved emotional issues from that period may rise again.  I think that fellow astrologer Robert Ohotto said it best when he described this Mercury retrograde being about healing the split between your mind and heart.  Indeed, Mercury retrograde in Cancer has a theme of bridging the gap between the heart and the mind to communicate and connect.  Changes in home life will be also be reviewed.

Mercury retrograde in Cancer can cause general anxiety and overreactions, especially for folks with planets in Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces.   Mercury retrograde in Cancer can be a very introspective period because our subconscious fears can return to haunt us and we may be forced to deal with emotional issues.  It is a time of reflection, review and perhaps renegotiation.  This is the stuff that soul searching is made of!

But the mind piece comes into play into when retrograde Mercury enters the sign of Gemini on June 18^th.  It will resume stationary direct motion on July 1^st at 24 degrees of Gemini. And let us not forget that Chiron in Pisces is a major player in all of this action.  On June 3^rd, the Leo moon inconjuncted Chiron in Pisces, which inspired me to tweet: “Be prepared to face old wounds today as Leo moon inconjuncts Chiron in Pisces. “  This tweet actually garnered me 109 views on Twitter, so it must have resonated for quite a few other people.  We had a first quarter moon in Virgo on June 5^th which featured Chiron in Pisces trining Saturn in Scorpio and squaring the Sun in Gemini.  Authority figures may have been a problem for some on that day.

This Mercury retrograde is occurring in my 9^th house and I had a conference with an attorney to discuss some financial concerns regarding 8^th house matters on June 5^th.  Even though the weather was perfectly dreadful with drenching rains, I wanted this to be handled before the official Mercury retrograde on June 7^th so that I could trust the advice that I received.  It was definitely worth braving that rain for the pearls of wisdom that I received.  And there is nothing like a Virgo moon for taking care of business details. 

But we all know that Mercury entered its retrograde shadow period on May 23^rd at 24 degrees of Gemini.  Many of us have begun to feel its effects since then with computer glitches, communications and transportation problems, etc.  On June 5^th I went to pick up a prescription at my local Walgreen’s and wouldn’t you know that the computer froze while it was ringing up my transaction?  I am also concerned that when Mercury finally does station direct on July 1^st in 24 degrees of Gemini, it will be inconjunct my Venus in Scorpio in the 2^nd house.  This is going to be a challenging aspect for me in terms of expressing my feelings.  This transit first hit me on May 23^rd, and there were definitely some communication problems that weekend. How will that play out for me the second time, especially concerning my values, feelings and finances?  Time will tell…

So, what can I say but be prepared for Mercury retrograde by allowing extra time to get to our destinations, not signing contracts, launching new projects, making an offer on a new home, or starting a new job.  If you start a new job during Mercury retrograde, it will not turn out to be what it was described during your interview.  The job responsibilities may be quite different and you risk the chance of leaving a less than favorable impression on your new employer.  And by all means, don’t buy a new car, computer, install new software and avoid unnecessary travel at all costs.  Forewarned is forearmed.  Life must go on during Mercury retrograde, but take precautions.

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter for my daily astrological insights at:

https://twitter.com/danceofphoenix

Mars Direct and Grand Water Trine

Personally, this week has revolved around two major astrological aspects for me: Mars stationing direct in 9 degrees of Libra on May 19th and the Grand Water Trines involving initially the moon in Pisces, Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Scorpio on May 22^nd and the upcoming grand trine on May 24th involving Chiron in Pisces, Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Scorpio.  If this sounds heavy and intense, believe me it was.

Mars has been retrograde in Libra since March 1st and in its journey from 28 degrees to 9 degrees it has traveled from my first house to my 12th house. Now we all know that Mars is definitely not comfortable in Libra and a retrograde Mars is not exactly a boon to accomplishing our goals. But having it in your 12th house is literally a double whammy. I am very impatient for Mars to enter my 1st house, but I will have to wait until June 26th for that to occur. But at least Mars is in motion, be it ever so slowly. Mars stationing direct did prompt me to tweet on the 19th that: "Mars going direct today may temporarily exacerbate feelings of frustrations and impatience but progress is imminent."  I really want to believe that, let me tell you! 

Mars has also been squaring my nodes, which has definitely amped up the frustration level.  Who likes to feel stuck?  I know that when planets transit the nodes change is necessary due to the challenges they present in the form of a square. But since patience is not my strong point with my natal Mars squaring both my Sun and Saturn, there is a big part of me wants to scream, "enough already!" The bottom line is that even though Mars is direct, I am fully aware that it will probably be a week or two before real movement is evident. My business is really slow, despite the fact that I have been making major investments in time and money to promote myself.  Granted, I could just be feeling the effects of transiting Saturn in Scorpio on my Sun forcing me to be responsible and do the work, but it does get tiring.

What will happen when we can actually feel Mars in action? Plenty! For starters, from mid to late June, Mars will be in the middle degrees of Libra activating the infamous Uranus Pluto square that none of us can escape. On a personal level, it will also cross my ascendant and activate my grand air trine to my moon and Mars. Will I finally experience relief and be inundated with new Reiki and astrology clients? It's certainly something to aspire to. I'll keep plugging away and have faith that I will reap the benefits of my efforts to communicate with the masses.

But when all else fails me, I do try to fall back on that grand water trine.  My chart is basically water and air, so water is my comfort zone.  My Sun, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Pallas and Ceres are in Scorpio and my Jupiter, Uranus, Vesta and south node are in Cancer. The first one this week occurred on May 22, 2014 with the Pisces moon trining Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Scorpio.  It inspired me on that day to tweet that “Pisces moon trining Jupiter in Cancer today brings big dreams, enthusiasm and ability to see the big picture.  But don’t expect it all at once.”

On May 24, 2014, we will experience the Grand Water Trine with Chiron in Pisces, Saturn in Scorpio and Jupiter in Cancer.  I like to call it the Power of Three.  Saturn is still retrograde until July 20^th, when it finally stations direct at 16 degrees of Scorpio.  Chiron in Pisces represents healing and magic, Jupiter in Cancer hope, luck and money and Saturn in Scorpio represents work, power and money.  It is somewhat reminiscent of that fabled Grand Water Trine involving Jupiter in Cancer, Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces in 4 degrees of those respective signs back on July 17, 2013.  That was an incredibly peaceful, spiritual day for me last summer that I thoroughly enjoyed.  This time around, Chiron in Pisces is substituting for Neptune, and I truly believe that Chiron will be extremely beneficial in helping us to heal those emotional wounds, even if we do need to experience some pain in facing them.  Saturn and Jupiter are not exactly on the same wavelength and tend to make strange bedfellows, but it helps that they are trining each other by leveling the playing field.  Saturn in Scorpio trining Jupiter in Cancer will give us access to realism and optimism and Saturn’s trine to Chiron will assist in weeding out emotional patterns that interfere with our ambitions and prevent us from moving on.

I am also eagerly anticipating Jupiter’s entry into my 10^th house on May 29, 2014.  Jupiter hasn’t been in my 10^th house since early December, so this is a big event for me as I approach my Jupiter Return in mid-July 2014.  I had some good financial news back then and I hope for a reoccurrence, albeit in a somewhat different form.

I have added a Testimonials page to this site, so please check it out at:

http://phoenixscorpio.blogspot.com/p/testimonials_25.html

I also encourage you to follow me on Twitter for my daily astrological insights at:

https://twitter.com/danceofphoenix

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!