With Saturn stationing retrograde, time may seem to be standing still and any structures in place may bend or list like the look and the feel of slow motion under water photography suspended. Moon is waxing, and will be full at 7° Virgo on the afternoon of Monday, February 25, bringing a release in emotion, a sense of completion from late last summer’s tasks, ultimately leading us to our time and place to serve. We may be overly focussed on details, so the advice is to remember the forest, the ocean and the biggest pictures. Later on February 25, Venus enters Pisces, becoming the sixth planet in that sign. As Venus is exhalted in Pisces, poetry, wistfulness and dreaminess is at our grasp like a long, long, group hug which turns into a water color painting hung in a movie about artists, dancers and love.

On Sunday March 10, Moon enters Pisces, becoming the seventh heavenly body in Pisces. Whether a house of worship, a concert, being at the beach or in nature, if ever there were a day to dream, pray or compose all for the highest good, this would be the day. 

When many planets gather in a sign, the qualities of that sign tend to make history. The last time Neptune was in Pisces, patents were validated for the first eggbeaters and whisks, mainstay utensils all over our Earth. An egg is symbolic of a new beginning, and as Neptune was in Pisces, the state of the art was to mix egg yellow and egg white seamlessly.

Pisces is also the changing weeks before late March when winter turns to spring. Something happens in the Northern hemisphere with the angle of the sun so that by the end of March, the crocus has broken through the crust of the Earth. This shows how Pisces works, behind the scenes or behind a veil doing some sort of alchemy. Pisces can also be symbolized by pregnancy where the fetus is protected in the otherworld of the mother’s womb.

The last time Neptune was in Pisces was from 1847 – 1862. At that time Stephen Foster, an American composer of parlor and minstrels songs became known as the ”Father of American Music” for writing “Oh! Susanna”, (which became an anthem of the California Gold Rush) “Camptown Races”, “Way Down Upon The Swannee River” and  “Jeanie With The light Brown Hair”.

From Wikipedia, “Foster tried to make a living as a professional songwriter and may be considered innovative, since music writing, as a professional field, did not yet exist in the modern sense at that time. Due in part to the limited scope of music copyright and composer royalties at the time, Foster realized very little of the profits his works generated for sheet music printers. Multiple publishers often printed their own competing editions of Foster’s tunes, paying Foster nothing. He received $100 for “Oh, Susanna”.

This shows the challenging aspect of Pisces, of how difficult it can be to hold water in our hands. Now the music industry is at another crossroads, sorting out the business of music again. This happened once before in 1941, when the ASCAP, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers was boycotted by radio broadcasters because ASCAP had increased royalty rates charged to broadcasters by approximately 448% during the depression. During the boycott, most modern music could not be played by the major radio broadcasters due to a dispute over licensing fees.

Ironically, what slipped between the cracks, was Stephen Foster’s  ”Jeanie With The light Brown Hair”, because due to music law during his lifetime, his song was public domain. That year Time Magazine wrote  ”So often had Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair been played that she was widely reported to have turned grey.”

“Sea of Dreams” by Mark Shasha www.markshasha.com prints available here.

In terms of American history, more important than egg beaters and even more important than music law, the last time when Neptune was in Pisces, the American South was vigorously opposing anti-slavery. Slavery did not end until Neptune went into Aries. Learning from the past, if anything is important, it is Human rights for all people on our Earth. Neptune in Pisces reminds us we are all connected by the one ocean we get. We may be treating our ocean today similarly to the way we treated slaves in the South then. Until Pisces leaves Neptune in 2025, the vulnerable will continue to be exposed. We can be more advanced than our “forefathers” by taking giant steps now to protect our ocean. We can also ask ourselves, What else is going on in the world? While we are investing our time and energy in the equivalent of egg beaters are there slaves somewhere being abused? As technology has advanced enabling us to take a picture with our phone and upload the image to the web, we no longer need to stay in our small world of the eggbeater patent while somewhere, perhaps not far away at all, someones’s human rights may be treated more than unjustly.

While a record number of planets are in Pisces, the sign of magic and dreams, this is the energy that supports prayers and designs that protect our highest good which is easy enough as we settle into ourselves and bring our awareness and our focus to the light.

With the turn of the New Year, the Capricorn New Moon behind us and Jupiter about to go forward before us, there may be a feeling of chomping at the bit wanting to move forward in a strong way! Jupiter moves forward at the end of January in the sign Gemini. To move forward, one of the first steps probably involves sifting through information maybe even lots of it. Whether this means reading a lot of information for school, or sorting information for a project, just keep going! We are all in this together!

On the Winter Solstice, the Earth dips upward marking the beginning of days lengthening in the Northern hemisphere. At the moment our Earth makes this turn, a new season begins, this one marking the Southern Solstice, which is for us up North winter. This moment is powerful in that it is one of four times a year when the personal and the political are so closely connected. A chart can be cast for the solstice moment and we can read it looking for trends over the next three months until the vernal equinox when Spring begins.

Winter Solstice 2012, 6.12 am EST. The ruler of his chart, with Sagittarius on the Ascendant, is Jupiter. Jupiter is at the apex of the very sensitive point called The Finger of God. It is as if no matter how we cut it, this chart points to us landing on our feet over the next three months. There is a saying, Go Big or Go Home, this chart, with Venus applying a trine to the Moon in Aries suggests Going Big in our minds, especially at home. As Jupiter is the planet of generosity this is a reminder to tap into our own generosity with ourselves, being willing to extend our comfort zones and feeling safe anyway. In this huge pulse of energy is wisdom, flexibility and universal love, all ours for the taking.

In this Winter Solstice chart, like the warm colors of this magenta and orange butterfly, four planets plus the ascendant are in fire signs. Venus, Mercury and the ascendant are in fire sign Sagittarius; Moon and Uranus are in Aries. A strong influence of fire in a chart opens up space for optimism, enthusiasm and charisma.

This chart also suggests a climate of changeability as there is both an influence of mutable signs, Sagittarius and Gemini, and there is a formation called a yod, or the finger of God, (the pink triangle in this diagram). A finger of God can often indicate change which can feel beyond our control. This finger of God aligns with the ascendant in the chart, pointing to Jupiter on the descendant emphasizing interactions between the “I” and the “You” and in Sagittarius, on the road to God.

Like an interaction between a guru and a disciple but where the roles keep flipping, there is a flow of learning and opening up to a Bigger Picture. With Venus at the midpoint of the finger of God’s sextile, this suggests, as we open our hearts in a universal sense, there may be an openness to a change in values, as Venus is the planet ruling love and values. Venus in Sagittarius values spontaneity, freedom and an open mind, our suggested direction.

The sextile of this finger of God is made of two slow-moving movers and shakers, Saturn and Pluto. This is a rock solid window of opportunity, of something like communities coming together, (I say communities because Saturn and Pluto represent more of a collective) building foundations (Pluto in Capricorn), telling stories (Jupiter in Gemini) and creating new myths and new visions leading to bigger and expanding visions much much bigger than ourselves (Sagittarius ascendant conjunct the Great Attractor). If ever one could say without sounding like an evangelist, time to let go and let God.

As Uranus and Pluto are now in their square creating world wide paradigm shift, we are used to the mega scale of change by now. All in all, this chart of the winter solstice suggests letting the divine lead, being open to adventure more than attachment and connecting with joy, wisdom and laughter.

The Winter Solstice, a turning point for all of us on this planet, occurs at 6.12 am, December 21, Eastern Standard Time.

If you would like to know how this solstice moment activates your chart into 2013, contact me at design@deirdretanton.com to book a reading.

It is hard to have twelve twelve twelve go by and not be aware of it for at least a second; we know 12.12.12. will not likely happen again in our lifetimes. In the next nine days until December 21, the official first day of winter and beginning of longer days, we are moving forward in the next cosmic chapter of our lives.

There are several strong indicators of a pulse carrying us forward, particularly this week: The planet of unexpected leaps and bounds, Uranus, is preparing to move forward at 4° Aries. There is also a new moon in Sagittarius. Giving further blessings to new beginnings, Mercury is NOT retrograde at all — our thoughts and emotions move naturally in the direction of our future. To give even extra oomph, the ruler of Aries, Mars, supports concentrated efforts at 19° Capricorn. To steady our efforts, the ruler of Capricorn, Saturn, is nestled securely in Scorpio, sextile Pluto, strengthening foundations, if we choose. To top it all off, Venus is conjunct the North Node — something somewhere is very pleasant, even if secretly so.

Also this week there is an aspect which is like getting a new pair of glasses: Mercury square Neptune. This is the moment when the optician says, “Is this clearer or blurrier?” We concentrate on focussing our eyes to make sure this pair of glasses makes us happy and as we concentrate our awareness is heightened. With Sun, Moon and Mercury in Sagittarius, there is reason to be happy if for only the reason that happiness is in all of our reach all of the time. To see where happiness is within your reach look to the houses in your chart where Scorpio and Sagittarius are. In these houses there is a LOT to do, as the houses are both SO lit up and Jupiter is involved.

It always gets back to our thoughts: Is our glass half empty or the glass half full? In case we forget, our charts can always show us where our glass is half full and where our glasses are in focus. The energy this week suggests starting something new and harnessing our energy creatively, happily and with gusto. Happy Holidays!

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As I was looking  at the transits from November 2012 to January 2013, I noticed two cases of overlapping symmetries in terms of transit timing.

The first symmetry I noticed was the Sun-Mercury Rx “Seed Moment” being midway between the eclipses. Eclipses are always two two weeks apart, but it is very rare that the “Seed Moment”, (when a retrograde Mercury conjuncts the Sun) that this Seed Moment happens not only between eclipses, but half way between them. The times between eclipses, which happens usually twice a year, is said to be when the wheel of fate turns. We can hear news of sudden comings or goings. So when a Seed Moment happens between eclipses, this could imply that we are now processing unexpected news and planting seeds or ideas which may first sprout, or show results, the next time Sun conjuncts Mercury, on or around January 18, 2013, when Mercury is orbiting in direct motion.

The second case of symmetry I saw is the December 21 Winter Solstice moment occurring midway between the two Sun-Mercury conjunctions which I just mentioned above. The Winter Solstice moment is important in that it is a turn of events. From this moment, in our Northern Hemisphere, the days turn from being shorter and shorter each day, to getting longer and longer each day. This year the Winter Solstice is particularly newsworthy as it is associated with the ending of a portion of the Mayan calendar. No matter which way we look at it, the world is not ending, but a paradigm shift is in place.

I started to think about what effect symmetry can have in a structure. The symmetry of our human bodies helps ground and balance complex our complex human existence. Similarly, the symmetries in timing may also help ground and balance deep transformational lifestyle changes we are experiencing here on Earth. In the face of challenges, any pattern in a structure can help to make sense of what can seem chaotic.

To tie all of the astrology together, Jupiter, the good luck planet will station forward on Jan 30 at 7° Gemini. This is the same degree as the November Lunar eclipse. This brings another connection between November and January. Just as the November seed moment hatches in January, this seems to be when projects seem like they may float or even fly. One of the few ways that Jupiter is like a cat, is that Jupiter always lands on its feet. Unlike a cat, Jupiter can also add an optimistic boost to our emotions and outlook so it is important to keep our thoughts positive and our morals high.

2013 is just around the corner. We know now what paradigms are shifting, and the magic of how we get “there” is so close and yet so far and yet unfolding anyway.

And so I close again with a quote from Louise Hay, the master goddess of postive thinking:

“All of the barriers in my life are dissolving. The gateways to wisdom and learning are always open, and more and more, I am choosing to walk through them. Barriers, blocks, obstacles, and problems are personal teachers giving me the opportunity to move out of the past and into the Totality of Possibilities.” — Louise Hay

Solar Eclipse: Nov 13, 2012. (new moon)

Lunar Eclipse: Nov 28, 2012. (full moon)

The two weeks between eclipses can be an intensified passage of time. This eclipse passage links a new Scorpio moon with a full Gemini moon, indicating a passage from the deep, silent and emotional to a process of ease in finding the words to process and release our emotions.

As Mercury is currently retrograde, there is material to collect from our past. On Saturday Nov 17, Sun and Mercury will conjunct at 25° Scorpio, creating a seed moment midway in the eclipse passage. We may be seeing results from this seed on Jan. 18, 2013 when Sun conjuncts forward-moving Mercury at 28° Capricorn. The connection from Scorpio to Capricorn can be described by a connection from dark to light, or from the secretive to going public.

It is rare for a pair of eclipses to overlap the Mercury Sun seed moment and can indicate a period of accelerated change before us. Considering too, that the winter solstice will occur halfway between the two Sun-Mercury conjunctions, it emphasizes the momentum which is building toward mid to late January.

During times of accelerated change it is especially important to keep our thoughts positive. For this I will end this post with a quote from one of the masters of positive thinking:

“Deep at the center of my being, there is an infinite well of love. The more love I use and give, the more I have to give, and it returns to me multiplied. The supply is endless!” — Louise Hay

This weekend we can remember to cast our awareness around planting tender yet strong seeds for the practical results we want to see, or experience  around mid to end of January.

This week’s climate is most advantageous for creative projects, especially projects that include anything from the past, like collaborating with people from the past, or bringing a partially started project back to life.

Where there are a lot of little pieces floating around, this is the energy to find the most beautiful way of editing those pieces into a song, a painting or a novel. This is also a very good week to pray or to state intentions remembering that the essence of our soul is unconditional love.

Mercury is turning retrograde on Tuesday evening and Neptune is turning forward on Saturday East Coast time.

This fish, emerging from the mist, sees all the small details and extracts them into one image, like a stop-action composite from it’s entire life, the path to the future reveals itself.

Aries -  Relating with someone closely in a new way, helps get the communication to  good place. Allow this new way of relating to  support you with all the work you have to do, want to do and will do. You can have it all.

Taurus -  A new way of structuring your day might make you re-think work or school. Lots is going on with children and loved ones. Though there may be a sense of urgency, the slowest route may be the best, which luckily is one of your specialties.

Sometimes when planets station, a space in our lives or our minds may open for truth to come out. We may see something in a new way. Look for this from July 13 to July 15. The Uranus station was at 5:48 a.m. on July 13 at 8° Aries. The Mercury station is on July 14 at 10:15 p.m. at 12° Leo. As these stations happen in fire signs it may be as if the lights go on particularly in the way we want to make progress in the world and let our voice be heard.

Venus in 2012.

During a retrograde phase, reviewing the past can play an important role in clarifying our present moment. Venus is symbolic of love, values, women, money and beauty. During this Venus retrograde in Gemini, our next weeks may be filled with conversations that twist and turn around who we value, how we think, why we love and where we are in this sometimes surprising and circuitous story.

Sometimes a retrograde can have magnetic energy. We may hear from old friends from the past. We may look back on old pieces of art we made and reconsider how it fits in our creative process. We may find a birthday present we got last year and finally know what to do with it. We may become aware of shifts and adjustments in our relationships.

Between May 15 and June 27, Venus will pass through the degrees from 24° – back to 7° Gemini. This period may be like a review and may feel like a re-arrangment. On June 27, Venus will turn direct, moving forward again. From June 27 until July 31, Venus will review the path she just traveled twice, first from April 12 to May 15 forwards, and then May 15 to June 27 backwards. The period from June 27 until July 31 may be an assimilation or a beginning of a putting back together phase.

As Venus is in Gemini there could be a flurry of many conversations between neighbors, siblings, friends, lovers and family as we integrate new or old ideas around love, values and beauty. There may be many thoughts moving in different directions, as logical as a butterfly’s path — unpredictable and in constant movement — fluttering with talking. To hone in on meaning and siphon off gossip, a key may be keeping our hearts as open and engaged as the love letters we write and store in our minds.