Tuesday 25 August 2009

Pisces Full Moon: The Last Dance of Summer

On 4th September, just a couple of days before Mercury goes Retrograde, the Moon is Full in Pisces.

There’s something ethereal and otherworldly about the idea of a Pisces Full Moon. An image comes to mind of a blissfully intoxicated celebration, a total letting go, an ecstatic dance, at one with nature, absorbing the potent energy of the Moon’s brightness, like Sylvie the Moongazy Girl in the wonderful Stonewylde novels.

By its very nature (marked astrologically by an opposition aspect between the Sun and Moon) we must engage totally with others and they with us during the Full Moon time and in Pisces we can also connect universally, as the boundaries between the worlds seem to dissolve and we feel as if we can see forever.

However, being an opposition, the other energies with which we must find compromise under this Full Moon are the energies of the Sun in Virgo. A balance between the chaos of Pisces and the order of Virgo must be found. This is a time to be giving and helpful, kind and compassionate. A time to give or to seek help. A time for service, even sacrifice. A time for purification, a time to connect with spirit, if that is your leaning.

If you are in tune and willing to do the work, you will find that the energies of this Full Moon are but another step on your journey towards expanded consciousness. I have been discussing this process for some time in my blog and on my website, in particular around the recent Lunar Eclipses, the Solar Eclipse and the ongoing Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron conjunctions.

Click on the links above if you want to read more, but in summary, these energies have been about letting go of what we don’t need (be it our emotional baggage, our self-limiting mindsets, the way we work, our relationships, the outdated causes we have served etc.) so that we can move forward with our purpose.

Sometimes it seems as if we have barely had a chance to heal and make the necessary adjustments before the next thing comes along, such is the apparent sense of urgency in the air these past few months, a sense of urgency which is coming to a head once again as Saturn and Uranus meet again in exact opposition mid-month, dragging mighty Pluto, who is right back at the start of Capricorn into a T-Square with it. A corner will be turned and many of us will start to come into our power. More on the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto alignment in an upcoming blog.

During this Full Moon time, watch what you say because with Mercury in Libra’s irritable square to Mars in Cancer, spilling your thoughts too readily on others could cause friction and might mean you have to take it all back anyway when Mercury goes Retrograde a couple of days afterwards.

Instead, draw on the spirit of the Pisces Moon and say what you have to say with kindness and compassion, then accept the invitation of Venus in Leo, who is asking you to bask and play a little while longer in the mellow afterglow of the long, hot summer.

Enjoy the dance.
This Full Moon will resonate most strongly with you if you are a Pisces, Virgo, Gemini or Sagittarius, particular if you were born in early March, early September, early June or early December, or if you have other planets or points at 9-13 degrees of the mutable signs.

If you do not know your chart and want to see if this Full Moon will affect you, you can quickly and easily download a free birth chart from http://www.alabe.com/ which also includes a basic interpretation or email me at mandi@mandilockley.com

I offer personal consultations, based on your time, place and date of birth. If you are interested, email me at mandi@mandilockley.com or see my website at http://www.mandilockley.com/

Friday 21 August 2009

A 'Boring' Blog about Mercury Retrograde

This year, we are being treated to four Mercury Retrograde periods instead of the usual three, so this upcoming Retrograde is number three – eeek!

On the 7th September (6th September if you are West of Europe) Mercury Stations Retrograde at 6 degrees of Libra, travelling backwards to 21 degrees of Virgo before Stationing Direct on 30th (29th) September and moving forward again. If you want to take the longer view, the effects of this Mercury Retrograde started on 17th August and go on until 15th October. This factors in the ‘Shadow Period’, which I won’t go into because it’s boring and difficult to explain – forgive me, I have Mercury in Sagittarius!
I have to say that much is said and written about Mercury Retrograde and it is often feared as a time when everything is likely to go wrong, especially anything to do with communication or travel. I don't totally agree with that, after all, Mercury is the Trickster planet and he's the planet of the mind, so he loves to fool us into worrying unnecessarily.

The retrograde period may not even affect you at all unless it is hitting trigger points in your personal horoscope. That said it’s always a good time to take extra care when doing the 'things' which are ruled by Mercury. Thinking things through properly and double checking the details is worth the effort. It's also worth putting off signing any major deals, documents and contracts during a Mercury Retrograde if you can. Not necessarily because it will be some great big disaster if you do, but because you may end up having to go over everything all over again at a later date, which in itself is annoying and irritating.

Mostly, Mercury Retrograde is a time for review and in Libra (7th – 17th September) it might be a good time to review and re-value your relationships or to address how you share, yield and give yourself to others

When Mercury Retrogrades back in Virgo from 18th -30th September, it is all about checking the details, doing a bit of personal housekeeping, simplifying your routines, perhaps reviewing your diet or health regime or breaking a bad habit. Mercury Retrograde in Virgo aspects the Virgo New Moon on the 18th September, suggesting that making a fresh start in these areas, around this time, puts you in tune with the astrological weather.
See also the follow up to this blog: Mercury Retrograde How Was It For You?
Still reading? Here’s a little true-life Mercury Retrograde story to illustrate what can go wrong and that it’s not really all that bad.

In 2005, I went on a business trip to Madrid to organise for a bunch of 50 consumer prizewinners from all over Europe to spend a weekend there and go to a cool party to celebrate Europe’s best bar. Guess what? Mercury was Retrograde in Sagittarius, the sign of travel no less! I had to fly 50 kids from 20 countries all to one place all at the same time! Impossible? Well, knowing my astrology, I checked and double and triple and quadruple checked all the details over and over and made the girl working with me do the same.
And guess what? Everything was correct, we made no mistakes, we’d beaten Mercury Retrograde – yay! We forgot that we couldn’t control everything and that’s where Mercury snuck in to trick us. Four kids from Italy missed their flights, just simply didn’t get to the airport on time and had to take the next flight. On top of that, the client had arranged for loads of goody bags to be sent to the hotel for the winners. They got stuck in some warehouse in Madrid and arrived at the hotel after most of the kids had gone home! We had to lug the stuff all the way back to London with us and send them on from there! All pretty much par for the course for Mercury retrograde. But hey, we still had fun, no-one got hurt and no-one was complaining, except from their hangovers!!!
I offer personal consultations, based on your time, place and date of birth. If you are interested, email me at mandi@mandilockley.com or see my website at http://www.mandilockley.com/

Monday 17 August 2009

A Celebration of Virgo

On 22nd August, the Sun moves into exacting, discriminating Virgo.

Quiet, hardworking, critical, modest, exacting, discriminating, dissecting, modest, humble, lacking in confidence are some of the common words and phrases used to describe Virgo. Not very exciting is it? Why not?

Perhaps it’s because it comes right after Leo in the Zodiac. Any sign would seem humble after Leo, would it not?

Imagine a scene in the playground, two young lads practicing their goal scoring skills:

Little Bobby Leo, as he kicks the ball straight through the goal posts: Yes!!!! I’m ace!!!! The best!!!! I’m gonna be the next Beckham or Ronaldo!!!!

Little Jimmy Virgo, carefully lining up his ball for his shot: Quiet Bobby, I’m trying to concentrate. He shoots, the ball goes in. Hey, I’m getting good at this, a bit more practice and I might make the school team.

Humble? Not really. Realistic, hardworking, practical, yes! You see, Virgo is an Earth sign. Earth signs say it like it is, they say I am what I am, and just like their other Earth cousins, Taurus and Capricorn and they just get on with it, without any of that Leo hubris or drama.

Perhaps part of the reason for Virgo’s bad press is that it rules the 6th house of the zodiac. The 6th house, traditionally, is malefic (‘bad’). It is the house of service, toil, chores, servants, subordinates, of small and humble things. It is also the house of illness and infirmity. Doesn’t sound like much fun does it?

Of all the concepts from the above list, I think the only one that Virgo should own and embrace is service. Service does not have to mean subordination. After all, when you strip away the power and the ego, what are our politicians and spiritual leaders if they are not servants? Of course, we have to hope that they are servants to a higher cause, for the greater good, but seen this way, there is nothing humble about it. It is a huge responsibility, a responsibility worthy of any Virgo.

However, Virgo, like the other Mutable signs (Gemini, Sagittarius and Pisces) must beware of spreading themselves too thin, scattering their energies and splintering off in too many directions. Saturn’s current transit through Virgo is certainly helping Virgo (and all Mutable types) to focus and the current series of history-making oppositions between Saturn in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces**, of which the next is September 15th, is a strong symbol for the positive push for change needed in the world right now.

On the world stage, it's finally time for the Pluto in Virgo* generation (Barack Obama and UK PM in waiting, David Cameron) to take the reins from the Pluto in Leo* bunch (George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown) and clean up the messes they have made, ready for future, fair and just, Pluto in Libra* leaders.

So for now, if you have Sun in Virgo (or otherwise have strong Virgo in your horoscope) you're in very good company. Stand up, borrow a little bit of that Leo pride and confidence and get busy.

You are wonderful and the world needs you!

*The Pluto in Leo generation was born between 1938 and 1956. The Pluto in Virgo generation was born between 1957 and 1971 and the Pluto in Libra generation between 1972 and 1984. The start and end dates are approximate because Pluto tends to go back and forth before it settles into a new sign.

**More on the ongoing Saturn-Uranus oppositions here and in an upcoming blog.

If you do not know your chart and want to see if you have strong Virgo in your chart, you can quickly and easily download a free birth chart from http://www.alabe.com/ which also includes a basic interpretation or email me at mandi@mandilockley.com

I offer personal consultations, based on your time, place and date of birth. If you are interested, email me at mandi@mandilockley.com or see my website at http://www.mandilockley.com/

Friday 14 August 2009

New Moon in Leo: Finger of God

On 20th August, the Moon joins the Sun for a Leo New Moon, carrying the loss and healing themes of the last few weeks with it and taking them inward for assimilation.

That the chart for this New Moon features a Yod is very significant.

A Yod is an aspect pattern comprising planets in Sextile (in this case between Mercury and Saturn in Virgo and Venus in Cancer) which make Quincunx (or Inconjunct) aspects with a third planet or planets, in this case the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron Conjunction in Aquarius. Jup-Nep-Chi, therefore, find themselves at the powerful apex point of this formation, otherwise known as the ‘Finger of God’.

In the chart below you will see Jup-Nep-Chi at the bottom of the chart, connected to Mercury, Saturn and Venus by the green dotted lines which denote the two Quincunxes.




Yods very much bring into focus the planet/s at the apex. They call for awkward, possibly downright uncomfortable, adjustments. They want us to find clarity and move forward with our purpose. In a clear echo of the themes of the recent Aquarius Lunar Eclipse this Yod urges us to seek a fresh perspective. We are being asked to expand our consciousness, let go of beliefs/habits/emotions we no longer need and move on. It is no longer relevant to feel unworthy or unqualified for our purpose, we need to just do it! If others do not like it, we must, with compassion, let them go, then find or create our new team, reorganizing ourselves accordingly and progressing forward.

This age we are living in is a milestone time, we need the new generation of healers, visionaries, artists, poets and spiritual warriors to emerge. We need them to embody the highest Aquarian values of humanitarianism, true equality and freedom. We are not asking for old style leaders, we are asking for the forerunners of the new-style leaders. Leaders who can teach others to take responsibility for themselves, for others, for our world and who understand that they will need to step aside with grace when their job is done.

Maybe you are still unclear about your purpose, or what you should do next, still in the dark about what lies ahead on your path? Remember that the seeds you plant now, under this New Moon, must by necessity germinate in the dark. You cannot yet know the final outcome.

If you feel the urge to seek out solitude during this Leo New Moon phase to work things out and if you have the opportunity to do so, then take it. Then, in the spirit of Leo, plant the seeds of your future with pride and creativity, confident that one day they will find the Sun.

While these themes touch everyone, this New Moon will particularly affect the fixed signs: Leos, Aquarians, Taureans and Scorpios (especially those with the Sun, planets or points between 20-28 degrees of those signs). Additionally, anyone with planets or points between 20 and 24 degrees of Cancer or Virgo may also feel these energies intensely.

If you do not know your chart and want to see if the New Moon in Leo is in close contact with your chart, you can quickly and easily download a free birth chart from http://www.alabe.com/ which also includes a basic interpretation or email me at mandi@mandilockley.com if you would like a personal consultation.

More articles by Mandi Lockley at: http://www.mandilockley.com/

I offer personal consultations, based on your time, place and date of birth. If you are interested, email me at mandi@mandilockley.com or see my website at http://www.mandilockley.com/

Sunday 9 August 2009

Idealism, Hope and Healing: Sun in Leo opposes Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron

Astrology: 13th to 18th August 2009

Still hot off the back of the Aquarius Lunar Eclipse, the Sun in Leo meets the Aquarius energies again when he opposes the current and rare Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron triple conjunction. Hope and idealism are fine keywords for both Jupiter and Neptune and healing is a reliable keyword for Chiron. But we must also remember that with Neptune we are also in the world of scandals and deception, a nebulous place where nothing is ever quite what it seems and our physical and emotional boundaries can easily crumble. This is also the space where Chiron brings his healing through pain and suffering. At worst, Jupiter exaggerates and spreads the negative effects of Neptune and Chiron, but at best, Jupiter will also boost their most positive expressions.

During this triple conjunction, we have already seen the swift spread of the Swine Flu outbreak and the media and government reaction in the UK, which has been vastly overblown and disproportionate in many people’s opinion (which is not to belittle the suffering of those affected of course). The MPs expenses scandal in the UK is another example of the effects of this conjunction, especially when viewed in the wider context of the ongoing Saturn-Uranus oppositions.

As for examples of the conjunction’s positive expressions, astrologer Hiroki Niizato nails it when he describes how the recent release of the two American journalists from North Korea by former President Bill Clinton reflects the conjunction's themes of hope, faith and humanitarianism. Read his blog here: holisticastrologerblog.

On a personal level, while we may feel invigorated by the energies of the Sun in Leo, and relieved to have let go of some of our old ‘stuff’ during the Lunar Eclipse, we may still be licking our wounds and mourning what we have lost, for even in negative emotions, relationships and situations, we feel the comfort of habit and inevitably miss them when they are gone. Such is the human condition.

Jupiter, Saturn and Chiron are currently all Retrograde (in apparent backward movement). In fact, any planet that opposes the Sun will always be Retrograde (except the Moon, which is not strictly a planet of course). This means that whenever the Sun opposes a planet, it provides us with a counterpoint, an opportunity to view things from a different perspective.

So, during mid-August it might be wise to review the last few months and make adjustments as necessary. Are your old hopes and dreams still appropriate, or even possible? From this fresh perspective, are your recent disappointments really as bad as they once seemed? Has the healing process reached the point where you can finally let go of past hurts? Mars in Gemini’s helpful Trine aspect to Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron over the same period should provide the mental dexterity needed to negotiate these difficult questions and Mars’ square to Uranus on the 19th August, will provide the energy boost needed to make the necessary changes following your review*.

Leos with birthdays between 13th and 18thAugust will particularly resonate with the Sun opposition Jupiter-Saturn-Chiron themes and they will carry these energies with them during the coming year, in their Solar Return charts**. The opposition will also affect Aquarians born between 9th and 15th February; Taureans born between 11th and 17th May and Scorpios born between 12th and 18th November, as well as anyone with planets or points at 19-26 degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius).

If you do not know your chart and want to see if the Sun opposite Jupiter-Saturn-Chiron is in close contact with your chart, you can quickly and easily download a free birth chart from http://www.alabe.com/ which also includes a basic interpretation or email me at mandi@mandilockley.com if you would like a personal consultation.

*For more on Mars’ aspects this month, see Astrogrrl’s excellent blog at: As Above, So Below

**A solar return chart is cast for your birthday, when the Sun is at the exact same degree as when you were born. The chart is said to reflect the themes of the coming year.

More articles by Mandi Lockley and details of personal consultations at: http://www.mandilockley.com/

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Obama & The Aquarius Lunar Eclipse

On 5th August (in US time zones) and 6th August (European time zones), we experience the third and final Eclipse of the season, a Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius. During a Lunar Eclipse, the Moon has completed the exact half way point of her monthly circuit around the Zodiac and is in an opposition with the Sun, the position of the Full Moon. The Full Moon is usually the brightest and fullest of times, when the Goddess is in her incarnation of the fertile mother. However, this month, as the Sun and Moon face each other off, the Moon passes behind the Earth, where she can’t receive the energizing rays of the Sun. At her ripest time she is Eclipsed.

The Lunar Eclipse, therefore, is a time of deadlines and endings, a time to let go of stubborn ideas and worn out attachments, a time to play out the themes of the Leo-Aquarius opposition.
The Leo-Aquarius axis symbolizes the need to balance the individual need for personal gain and acclaim with the collective responsibility to abide by rules set to benefit all of society (and if you think that following rules is not very Aquarian, pause to remember that Aquarius’ ancient ruler is none other than stern father Saturn).

Aquarius will never deny Leo’s right to be king, but will absolutely insist that the king serves his people with integrity and honesty. Teamwork and delegation of authority is everything to Aquarius and selfish greed is just not acceptable. Aquarius teaches that ultimately it is through serving the group, the community, the team, our friends, that we gain the honour and significance that is so crucial to Leo.

Conversely, Leo teaches Aquarius that sometimes you have to take the lead if the cause is important enough. Somebody has to stand up for the masses, rebel against the status quo and shake the system up, if there is to be any chance of a lasting change for the better and what better than Aquarian energy to do this!

That this Eclipse occurs the day after Barack Obama’s birthday and falls on his Sun in Leo can be no coincidence! In fact, the Leo-Aquarius axis is very prominent indeed in his horoscope and his mission is surely to be an influential catalyst for these themes.

Obama has Aquarius rising and Jupiter in Aquarius, with Sun, Mercury and Uranus in Leo in the public-seeking Western hemisphere of his chart. The karmic, lesson-giving nodal axis also falls across Leo-Aquarius in Obama’s chart. (4th August 1961, 7.24pm, Honalulu, Hawaii - the chart is posted below).

“Yes We Can” – is such a wonderfully positive Leo-Aquarius refrain, so let’s hope that that the fervor of the election spirit is revived and put to beneficial use, following this Eclipse time.

On a personal level, look for help from the significant groups to which you belong (your community, your team, your friendship circle etc) during this Lunar Eclipse for clues about what might need to be released in your life right now, then seize your power, remembering to act in a way that will benefit the group, whilst still honouring your own unique, highly individual needs.

Mercury, who moved into discriminating, rational Virgo on 2nd August, will be there to assist in this process and a helpful aspects to Pluto on the 3rd will make it easier to think deeply, weigh up the pros and cons and make level headed decisions. Additionally, on the 10th, a hard working square between Mars and Saturn will give you the energy and resolve to follow through.

This Eclipse, at 13 degrees and 43 minute of Aquarius will affect Aquarians born between 31st January and 4th of February and Leos born between 3rd and 7th August, as well as as well as people who have other planets or angles between 11 and 16 degrees of Leo or Aquarius. Additionally, any planet or point at 11 through 16 degrees of Leo or Aquarius will be activated by the August 6th Lunar Eclipse.

If you do not know your chart and want to see if the Eclipse is in close contact with your chart, you can quickly and easily download a free birth chart from http://www.alabe.com/ which also includes a basic interpretation.

If you want to go deeper, please also see my article Working with Eclipses, for information on how to work with Eclipses which closely aspect your natal horoscope.

Mandi Lockley's Astroair Astrology: articles, details of consultations at: http://www.mandilockley.com/

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