Welcome To Evolving Astrologer

I just wanted to talk a bit about Mars in Cancer.

I have been reading and listening to a lot of astrologers getting really glum and anxious about the astrology of September and with sound reason. But i also know that it is the stories we tell ourselves and each other that lay the seeds for the future.

Any of you who work with me, read me, or looked at my chart know that i am simply not a "flight into light" kind of person. So i am definately not going to ever tell you that things are rosy - they aren't. We all know this. We also all know that the issues and problems we face as a species, socially, emotionally, environmentally - pretty much on any front you care to examine closely - are epic. And while many are becoming addicted to astrology to tell them how to prepare, i think this is a very poor use of this amazing tool. A hammer can help bash your thumb or help build your house. Astrology is the same. We wield the tools. We are the story tellers. It's kinda the definition of human don't you think?

And so, yes, Mars in Cancer is super emo. It isn't seen as a favorable placement for Mars for obvious reasons. Ramping up emotions isn't always a good thing these days - especially if we are on a hair trigger, waiting for the shoe to drop, not being present, afraid of feeling our feels. And so these reasons are why folks are approaching Mars in Cancer this way.

But as a story teller and tool wielder, i want to offer another astrological perspective to consider. What if the point of Mars in Cancer is to give us courage and willingness to feel our own tender places, acknowledge our vulnerabilities? What if we were all more willing to be present with our shadowy murky waters whose tides ebb and flow? Might that not act as medicine to all the rage and violence and greed and apathy rampant in our world? What if we were willing to dive into ourselves and bravely hold our ground in own wild hearts to actually face our fears and overwhelm instead of running from it? Anger is always a reaction to fear, just as rage is always a reaction to grief. It might not look like it, and we might have lots of ready counter arguments, but anyone who has done depth work with these emotions inevitably finds fear and grief at their roots. When we fail to show up for our fear, just like when we abandon ourselves in our grief, Mars is very happy to help us along in often not very evolved ways. But this isn't inevitable. He is just as happy to lend us courage and staying power. Cancer more than any other sign likes to go within. Mars in Cancer's super power is its ability to feel our feelings deeply and without flinching or a need to excuse them. This is the first step on the healing journey. And we all could use a bit more work on this front.

If there is something that you know you have to work on and unpack and own - this extended period of Mars in Cancer can really help. Yes of course you can find things to throw a pity part over and yes, you will have plenty of moments to have someone or something get on your very last nerve. If you want to tell a story about how your back got broke, hay bales will abound that you can load onto your hump. But that is the point - what story are you interested in telling? Are you in enough pain and do you see enough misery in the world that you are willing to do the hardest thing? Let go of the old story.

For most of September, Mercury is in Virgo - the sign of rulership and exaltation and the ruler of Jupiter in Gemini. What energy better understands how to tell both sides of a story but Gemini? What planet better rewards noble efforts by expanding the results but Jupiter? What planet is the quintessential storyteller, who can travel freely both in the upper and lower worlds, for whom no door is locked, but Mercury? What energy most asks us to pay attention to the detail and to learn discernment, but Virgo?

Astrology tells us that the nativity is important. What was where, and how all the players are playing together when something begins. When Mars ingressed into Cancer, where was his planetary partner Venus? She was in her ruling sign of balance and inclusion, sandwiched between the Moon and the South Node. This tells us that intuition (Moon) and karmic patterns (South Node) were on the table when it comes to how we relate (Venus) and all were in a dance of inclusion and balance (Libra). Libran energy is not so much the energy of the scales as it is the energy of the fulcrum - Libra knows how to find the place between disparate and conflicting things, because it gives everything a voice and thus widens the scope of possibility. Similar to Mercury, Venus will also be in Libra for most of September.

And let us not forget that Retrograde Pluto and Retrograde Uranus are forming a trine. Pluto wants us to evolve and become more conscious and Uranus wants us to change and individuate. In Capricorn, Pluto is pointing to deep systemic changes in the way we honor and work with facts. In Taurus, Uranus is asking for tangible changes to how we embody our power and use that power to influence and build the world around us.

There are lots of ways to use a hammer, and there are lots of ways to tell all kinds of stories. They'll tell you in AA "if you keep doin what you are doin, you'll keep getting what you've got". The metaphysical farmer in me says "if you plant potatoes, you will get potatoes - if you plant roses, you will get roses." We are the stories we tell. Tara Brach says 'the wave only thinks its separate from the ocean.' We have to sit inside ourselves long enough to remember that we are the ocean. Mark Nepo writes "to listen is to lean in, softly, with the willingness to be changed by what we hear." Personally the story i am going to pursue is the one where Mars in Cancer is here to help us not only bravely plumb our own murky depths, but offer us the force needed to shift the bedrock of the stories we ourselves tell about it.

It's funny how if you were to ask any astrologer "who rules the will?", they would all immediately say "Mars". Similarly if you asked astrologers which planet rules "power" or force, very nearly all of them would again point to Mars. And yet, rare is the astrologer that honors Mars by attributing him with "will-power" - the very words that most describe him. He is always the hot head who we need to monitor and be super careful with. I have Mars conjunct my Sun. Yes, i have had a lifetime of personal study with rage and anger, as well as fear and grief - in helpful and unhelpful ways. And personally, i give thanks to that beautiful feisty planet. My capacity for all of those difficult emotions are HUGE - meaning, i have a large vessel. I have both the will and the power to contain these waves however violent and stormy. I can use my will-power to ride the waves, until i remember that i am the ocean.

One needs great courage when diving deep into the vulnerable waters of Cancer. One needs great will to stand strong and unflinching with a wide open heart. One needs tremendous power to shift the lead weight of those unhelpful stories we have bound ourselves too.

So just some thoughts... you wield your tools and tell your stories the way you want. May you find nourishment from what you choose to plant in your garden.

August 2024

All Times are Local Bilpin, Australia Time

• New Moon - Leo – 4 August 2024

• Full Moon – Aquarius (Sun in Leo) – 20 August 2024

• Mercury retrograde (6-29 Aug – retroshade through 12 September)

How did the Mars-Uranus conjunction go for you last month? Did you claim your truth or did some truth claim you?

This month finds Mars moving steadily through Gemini to meet Jupiter on August 15^th. This can be a time when our strongest Will and our highest Wisdom join or it can be a time of great hubris and the belief that might makes right. Give an orb of about 5 on either side. This alignment might find its trigger point on the 18^th when the Moon conjoins Pluto. Similarly watch what is happening in the world at large as when Mars and Jupiter are exact. Forming both a tight square to Saturn in Pisces and an opposition to the Moon in Sagittarius, makes for spiritual maturation lessons coming to a head. If we lead with our heart and aim for the Big Picture we can get some real perspective and insight on how to make our highest aspirations manifest. Or we can just choose to lean into our most infantile urges with a lot of emotional self-righteousness claiming questionable high ground. How many have died and committed great atrocity claiming that ‘God was on their side’? Last I checked Unconditional Love means that there are no ‘sides’.

Before that however, our first lunation stimulates this upcoming Mars-Jupiter conjunction, while Mercury is one minute from stationing. So this New Moon sets the stage for that conjunction. A good use of this Leo New Moon would be to honor your own authentic self and choose to stop trying to pretzel yourself into some imaginary improved version of you...whether that version is coming from inside of you or outside of you. With the Mercury station it is less about roaring and more about listening. Use this time to piece together clues you might have missed. It is about pausing and taking stock. TRUTH is far too big for any one person to carry – we each have just a piece of it – and the only one who can hold up your end of it IS YOU! Imagine what we might manifest together if we all showed up in that spirit as true ourselves? Go Team!

When Mercury is retrograde, the rule of re’s rule. It is a time to review, revisit, renew, revise. So slow down and remember to take a beat when you feel the heat. Its a great time to return what does not belong to you and to remember to pick up what does.

The Full Moon finds Mars slowly separating, but still active especially if you have anything natally around that 17 degree mark of the mutable signs. Full Moons are about acknowledging where we are – where we have come from and where we have yet to go. It requires that we release what no longer serves so that we can make space and refocusing our attention to what we have yet to do. This releasing is key for the 2 weeks that follow any Full Moon as it is what makes room for the New Moon seed planting. Think of it as preparing the soil. The natural opposition of the Lunar and Solar energies is what provides the perspective and insight to see what is needed in the next phase.

This lunation is co-present in Aquarius with Pluto. Retrograde Mercury conjoins the Sun in opposition from Leo, so together they all form a T-square with Uranus in Taurus. So its about the opposition of Leo and Aquarian energies – fire and air, being hit sideways from Taurus - earth. Oppositions provide tension, but they also give perspective. So Aquarius can teach Leo how to better individuate and Leo can teach Aquarius how to put more heart into what it seeks to accomplish. Leo can listen too much to the crowd and loose its own authentic thread and Aquarius can be too cold and aloof for its networking aims to really take root. The squaring element is a challenge, a lesson, a need to broaden perspective. T-squares take the two dimensional aspect of an opposition and force it to grow through the addition of a 3^rd point. And when Uranus is the squaring energy we should definitely expect something from left field as he is the Change-maker and the god of Surprises. One of the best ways to activate a T-square is to enter them through the polarity point of the squaring energy – in this case, Scorpio. So for this Full Moon, pay attention to the underbelly and at the thing you naturally cringe or shy away from. Uranus in Taurus is about a reality check. Fixed earth truths, that surprise and upset the stories we have come to tell ourselves. Truths like: Resources are finite. Everything matters. There is no planet B. Our insistence on human exceptionalism is a big part of the problem. So the challenge here is to look at the truths we have been avoiding our our role in it. Lean hard into Scorpio and own that not only does your shit stink, you poop a lot too! By doing this we can rise to meet the challenge Uranus presents and use that opposition of the Lights (Sun and Moon) to really grow and see what is needed to address where we have been slack or misguided. By doing so we raise the bar and activate our own spiritual evolution.

Neptune is in the anaretic degree of Pisces, which while considered a wide orb by some, is in any case beginning to be activated by these planets in the 27^th degree onward. This will be the case going forward until Neptune leaves the anaretic degree of Pisces and moves into Aries. The 29^th degree is always the final exam for any energy and Neptune in Pisces is the most holy of holies. Can we meet the challenge of spiritual maturation? The clock is ticking Team.

July 2024

• New Moon - Cancer - 6 July 2024

• Full Moon - Capricorn (Sun in Cancer) – 21 July 2024

We are well into Cancer season at the start of the month, with the Sun auspiciously squaring the nodes. Cancer energy is about nurturing and creating safe space, though when it's in its unhelpful expression, it tends to take care of others to avoid taking care of itself. When Mercury opposes Pluto on 3 July it will be a day to get some perspective on our shadow. Particularly the ways we bend and twist our thoughts and words in order to belong and receive approval. The questions are: What part of your authentic self are you short-changing to feel part of the group? Where are you in your shadow expression because you are reluctant to speak your truth elsewhere? Use the perspectives those questions offer to plant a seed on the New Moon that reflects an intention of wise Cancer energy of good boundaries and necessary self-nurturement, so that we can show up in compassionate, meaningful and healthy ways for those we love. Mars sextiles Saturn on this day, so there is also drive, courage and longevity available to carry this seed into fruition.

The 13th finds Venus opposing Pluto, so we are still looking at our shadow but this time through Venus’ lens of relationships and power dynamics. Mars moves into conjunction with Uranus (exact on 16^th). This conjunction historically is noted for accidents and mishaps, things getting suddenly broken and things getting accidentally pierced. Pay close attention if this is aspecting your own chart directly. Due to the orb of influence, use that entire week to practice moving slowly and methodically, making an added effort to show up in ways that reflect your most rooted aspirations.

This Full Moon is a powerful one, aspecting Pluto, Neptune and Uranus. We are being asked to take stock of how our personal choices manifest in the collective. We are all “influencers”, because we are all connected in a huge web of inter-being. It's not about becoming our ideal and fixing things. This work is something we are doing together with the whole of all creation. Our task is to show up as authentically and compassionately and mindfully as we are able, and to trust that what made us might just know a bit more about how it all dovetails together.

June 2024

• New Moon - Gemini - 6 June 2024

• Winter Solstice - 21 June 2024 (6:50am)

• Full Moon - Capricorn (Sun in Cancer) - 22 June 2024

June begins with Sun, Venus and Jupiter all having ingressed into the mutable air sign of Gemini. Gemini is associated with movement, information, speed and youthfulness. Its vibrant, moving, curious and heady. Jupiter, while not super comfortable in Gemini, always asks us to step up our information game. He trines with Pluto suggesting there’s something uncomfortable whose time is ripe for acknowledgment. Jupiter seeks wisdom and joined with Venus and the Sun, really focuses our attention on our relationships - the ones that feed us and the ones that don't. The Sun is not only asking for our conscious attention, but is about our personal gravitas – how we shine and how we embody our own true nature. Pluto in the trine, encourages emotional honesty and asks for ownership of the darker elements of our wounds and obsessions. Trines are supportive aspects – which does not necessarily mean beneficial. If our avoidance techniques are supported, well our addictions can take a deeper root. That too is the way a ‘supportive’ or ‘easy’ aspect can play out. The Gemini influence can give us the vibrancy and optimism to leap, but if we only want to maintain an infantile relationship with our shadow or stay focused on all the ways we don’t have what we want, then with this energy we might simply run around whinging and blaming others, scattering the tremendous possibilities available at this time, rather than hone in on what we truly want and make connections that could foster our growth and interest. Taking responsibility is often key when Pluto and Gemini energies are interacting. Jupiter will always enlarge whatever he touches. So what we do at this time will have big repercussions for good or for ill.

Mercury joins the Gemini party early in the month, lending more speed and vibrancy, amping up our intellectual and communicative acumen. The first week of June we can really benefit by making some long term plans. Not anything set in stone, mind you, but sketching outlines. Now is a very auspicious time to pick one or two things to begin fleshing out ideas and game plans on. This has two benefits – it helps to narrow our focus to consolidate that restless and abundant Gemini energy so we aren’t moving in too many ways at once. It will also lay a key foundation stone for the next 12 months. Things seeded during auspicious Gemini times will carry an innate vibrancy and optimism, as well as the ability to make creative leaps. The New Moon falls during this first week when Jupiter-Mercury-Sun and Venus are all huddled together making a game plan. New Moons are times to symbolically plant seeds, and this one sweeps into that Gemini stellium, really making it feel like GO time. Gemini is unafraid of polarity and undaunted by paradox – in fact that is where it thrives. So this energy helps us bridge divides, imbuing us with the optimism that innately arises when we see possibility rather than limitation. The key word for Gemini is curiosity. Remember sharing information and listening are its two separate wings. BOTH are required for flight. Share ideas and then listen to what comes back. Use that as a spring board to see your dream from a whole new perspective. Do you best not be attached to your routines or your patterns. Dare to let go, be curious and explore. Its ok to get lost, Gemini energy will always find a path – probably not the one you initially set out to walk down, but rarely one you will regret taking. Look to the house where Gemini falls in your chart to give you clues as to what areas in your life you need to make YES your default response.

This Winter Solstice finds the Moon in Sagittarius, with Venus and Mercury attending the Sun in Cancer and Pluto opposing Vesta in Leo. The Longest Night is the time of our Solar reset. We begin a new ‘conscious’ pattern. Our Yang or Day self completes a cycle and begins a new one. It is always a good time to pause and acknowledge where we have been and consciously let go an idea or pattern we’ve held. This helps to make room for something new that we can invite in. The Pluto-Vesta opposition emphasizes the need to look deeply at the flame we are tending and be honest about where we might be sacrificing our authenticity for a misleading story of it being for the 'greater good'. It is time to acknowledge how this actually keeps a wider communal dream from taking root. It could also be that we need to own how we have become selfish and petty, afraid to embody our own true desires and so we rebel against things that don't really mean much in the big picture and instead negatively obsess about the success and dedication that shines forth in others. Our lack of personal ownership and embodiment is instead actually contributing to keeping a larger collective evolution from happening. Remember: we are the ones we have been waiting for. Pluto's presence in Aquarius asks that we step fully into our own authority for the sake of the collective. He says "Pick up what belongs to you and carry that. Put down what is not yours." When we carry what doesn't belong to us, it means that neither self nor other can fulfill our life’s contract nor embody our full potential. Birthing a new paradigm, requires all of us.

The very next day, the Moon is Full in the first degree of Capricorn, highlighting responsibility, duty, determination and self sufficiency. With Sun-Mercury-Venus all opposing from Cancer, it suggests we get to have some perspective between the polarities of nourturement and discipline, vulnerability and stoicism. The care we seek to embody, means we must take up the mantel of duty. We actually have to stick our necks out and quite possibly tolerate some discomfort. By month’s end Mars sextiles Venus in Cancer from Taurus and Saturn trines from Pisces. This echos that Full Moon theme. Of course every high vibrational opportunity has an equally available counterpart. So here the garbage can looks like ferociously digging in our heals to protect what we feel is our right. Its that spiritual by-passing that says “I deserve wealth and abundance, so I have a right to do what (ever) I need to do to manifest this for myself”…even if it means ignoring poverty and needs pleading to be heard all around us. This configuration when in its unhelpful expression is powerfully impervious and twists ideas of compassion towards very selfish ends. But why go there? Mars can instead give us drive and will power to build something lasting and actually enjoy the hard work it takes. And Saturn can offer us the wisdom and determination to manifest our highest spiritual aims. While Saturn is in Aquarius the high road is always spiritual adulting. This configuration helps us to put our money where our mouth is and gives us the energy and support needed to do so.

May 2024

• New Moon: Taurus, 8 May

• Full Moon: Sagittarius, 23 May (Sun in Gemini)

 May will probably feel like a recovery/clean-up period from April. While we’ve crested the big Jupiter-Uranus astro-event of the year, things are still mighty unsettled. Some of our foundations have been knocked about and ‘building collapse’ is still in the cards. April ripped an opening, now we begin the tentative process of sifting through the rubble. Remember: the point of this chaos is to bring us into more freedom and authenticity, so don’t despair. The emptiness of loss is a gift.

The month begins with a Venus-Pluto square. Sometimes our shadows can only be seen if we project them directly onto others. Try to stay curious, even when it hurts. Own what you can. Though Mercury went direct at the end of April, it is still in its retro-shade period until May 13, so take it slow. Mars is feeling pretty angsty, but rushing to get on with things (and away from our discomfort) will not be as beneficial as bravely holding our egos in check and being powerfully deliberate with our words and deeds. There are still heavy Taurus and Aries energies at play, meaning we can play “rush and grab” letting fear rule or we can choose to build a better tomorrow, by moving slow and closely tending our fire to burn hot and clean.

With the New Moon highlighting Taurus season there will be a sense of taking a deep breath. Most of May will offer a calm space for us to take advantage of. With so many planets in Taurus (Venus, Moon, Sun, Jupiter, Uranus) it is very much a time to slow down and feel into our own bodies. Taurus energy is tactile and animal. It wants what it wants because it smells good, tastes good, feels good to our bodies – which is very different than our minds or even our hearts. With Jupiter here we can over indulge or be overly optimistic, but I want to emphasize this idea of keeping our awareness that this is a period of time to gather and reflect, the whirlwind is far from over, so its less about celebrating and more about taking a beat to feed yourself for the next round. This Taurus New Moon has Venus in rulership, but she is combust so there is definitely a lot was are not seeing, particularly within the realm of relationships, money, finances, power and pleasure. Another good reason to TAKE IT SLOW.

With Mars finally moving into Aries and Mercury direct but creeping out of its retro-shade and Jupiter moving into sextile with Neptune we can allow fantasy and optimism call us into to rash and spontaneous behavior, but again remember that Venus square with Pluto at the start of the month – she was combust then too, there is a lot that is subtle and shifting and much of it has to do with deeper psychological underpinnings.

This theme of things not quite being what they seem only continues later in the month, when Jupiter and Venus conjoin to sextile Neptune for the Full Moon in Sagittarius. This is definitely it is a time where we are supposed to dream big and be inspired with capital letter ideals like Truth. Allowing ourselves to sink into the optimism and comfort available is necessary for we cannot manifest a better tomorrow if we can’t envision it and Neptune really helps open the doors of possibility for our dreaming selves. The point of Neptune aspects is to help us to step into new paradigms. If we keep our hearts open and tune into our higher self, we can begin to embody bigger and more wholesome dreams for ourselves. But ‘Trickster-Neptune’ also, always offers us easy ways to check out and escape into sheer fantasy.

This Full Moon is also has the Moon sextiling retrograde Pluto (which means the Sun trines). Sextiles energize and trines support. Having our shadow and our unconscious wounding energized and supported may not be all that helpful despite whatever optimism we happen to be riding. We humans are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, and our fears and pains often make us real stupid, so its not always easy to tell the high road from the low one. ‘Teacher-Neptune’ asks that we ground in compassion – for self and others. If that is the foot we step off with, then even if the high road is not where we thought it was, our angels can usually throw us a lasso of silver lining to get us where we need to be. Think Taurus – slow and steady. Ask your guts. Be in your body. Aim to be deliberate and center love and honesty this month.

While Venus is combust all month and so not necessarily going to seem as powerful as she usually appears while in Taurus, because she is in her sign of rulership she has a special dignity the ancients called Chariot or being in her Chariot. She is protected and so while she may not be visible, her powers are guiding us behind the scenes. If we work WITH or in the interests of Venus at this time it can be have long term stable rewards. Mars is also powerful in his ruling sign and so lets not forget him. Mid month he conjoins the North Node and by months end conjoins Chiron. This combo of Venus in her Chariot and Mars dancing with our karmic medicine and our wounded stories speaks to me of VALOR. We are being called. It will be subtle and quiet, but the question remains – are you bold enough, courageous enough to answer the call when you hear it? Let us all grow a bit more quiet and turn our attention to that what really matters to us. Let us hear our own abandoned heart and the parts of our true nature that we have turned away from. Let us trust what made us and recognize that we are here at this time, in this body, in this place, in this set of circumstances – and it is no coincidence.

By month’s end Mercury will have cleared its retro-shade, and Jupiter along with the Sun and Venus will move into speedy Gemini. So take the time offered you now, for over the next 12+ months, Jupiter in Gemini will not only grow our curiosity, expanding our pace, speeding up communications and increase our flexibility to put our foot in all kinds of Mercury places where it might not belong– particularly around themes of the Gemini houses in our charts. Gemini is ruled by Mercury, and so Jupiter will also be activating our Mercury and those house themes as well. Jupiter in Gemini dares us into philosophical parkour. So use May to stretch, to sift, to work some knots and kinks out of your body and your routines, take the time to bring your attention to your loves to be in gratitude and right relationship.