Full Moon in Sagittarius- Caelestis

Lightning Crashes by dollen, CCL

Effective Date- 6/20/16

Helios says:

Wait, hang on- didn't we just do this one? *checks files in a mad flurry, throws papers and ephemera around the room* Yeah, I'm NOT crazy!! Take that therapists! So this is the second full moon in Gemini season, at the absolute tail end of the sign- And despite my best efforts, it is hopeful as shit. That's Sagittarius for you- The moment things look darkest, there he comes riding in, looking perfect and with just the right wink to assure you that he has a plan, even when you both know he's just winging it. It makes you want to kiss him and punch him right in his smug face, just so he doesn't get too full of himself. It's aggravating and comforting in the same breath. It gives you that second wind, and a reason to fight on in the gravest circumstances.

And if you cry out to heaven for help now, it just may be your lucky day...

Artemis says:
"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. " -Joseph Campbell


O man O man, I don't know if it's the huge bowl of assorted liquors that I just drank, or this full moon is going to be fucking great.  Here I am, sputtering this away as best I can while my vision is fading, but what other way could someone write about Saggo full moon than plastered drunk at 3 in the morning (especially after pulling the 9 of Cups)?  Right as we are about to shed into Sun in Cancer, a surprising second moon in Sagittarius is going to be supplying the fire for our transformation.  This is a very special full moon indeed (as if we weren't having a fuck ton of weird and special astronomical events happening this past year already).  Halfway through this full moon, Luna will be switching from Sagittarius to Capricorn.  This makes it a duel ruled full moon.  This is a clear metaphor for metamorphosis.  It is brimming with electricity and excitement and lots of "push" energy.  This is a clear indicator that you need to just fucking jump into it and do it.  The self made person doesn't manifest their existence by observing the universe but by acting and actively seeking their destiny.  What is it that the Christians always say?  God only helps those who help themselves.  Yeah, I would say there is some truth to that.  It's time to make that critical move.  But hey, be playful about it.  Maybe drink an entire bowl of assorted liquors like I did, or hell, I dunno, run screaming into the hoard singing because we've fucking got this good good energy!

Helios: The Sun, Moon and Venus- To move forward, we have to look back. Think back to what you have already overcome to get to this point- Not to rest on your laurels or pat yourself on the back, but to see how you can build on your past successes as you are increasingly pushed out past your comfort zone. No, you will not always know the right play to make, and you will make some mistakes. But mistakes have brought you here, for better or for worse. As we broke down in the Venus post (click on her if you missed it) the road immediately ahead of us requires some vulnerability- the hard edge you have cultured since 2011 needs dulling- not all fights need to be fought (just don't let Mars hear me say that!). There is a storm within you, and it can either empower or destroy you- it all depends on how willing you are to dodge some lightning bolts! You must embody both your earthly self and the greater self that transcends this meager reality, with both power and humility. Be both the storm and the eye. You must also be honest with yourself about what it is that you want, and you must demand it from life. Not receiving what you don't ask for is your own damn fault. (Minor Planets- Juno, Lilith, Teharonhiawako, Logos, Isis, Terpschiore, Klotho, Pelion, Kassandra, Tantalus)

Artemis:  Sun (5 of Cups), Moon (9 of Cups/Ace of Pentacles), Venus (4 of Wands):   DRUNKENESS!  AND IT'S NOT JUST ME!  I pulled the 9 of Cups into the Ace of Pentacles for the full moon in Saggo/Capricorn, so it looks like there will be a lot of joy and insight brought by Luna.  With Venus in sensitive Cancer when this lunation takes place, there will be an opportunity for ecstatic states of vision and happiness available to us if we can move past the fact that nothing will ever be absolutely how we imagine it to be.  If we can realize that no situation can be perfect, nor will it ever be perfect, we can actually make due and ENJOY what we have.  I know it's hard to realize that dreams don't always manifest the way that we want them to.  We spend countless hours daydreaming about what our perfected actions could sprout into our world, but it takes a special kind of courage to realize when something is not right for your path.  It also takes a special kind of person to look up from the mess around them to see what is still standing.  We can imagine ourselves happy in millions of scenarios in our head, but we must also realize that what we are imagining is limited in scope.  Life is full of disappointments left and right, and finding out that something we fantasized so deeply about is going to crumble in our hands is a hard fucking thing to swallow.  The thing is, if we take the energy of this full moon and just let the fuck go, we will be gifted with eyes to see the REAL opportunities.  The expectations that we build will ruin us.  The things we demand will enslave us.  Saggo is all about the vision.  It never actually comes from him, but from the summation of everything around him.  This is why it is a vision.  One must be able to drop their own ego in order to receive what is truly the best course for them.  Sometimes we don't realize what we actually wanted - what was actually good for us - until we take that leap of faith.  Sagittarius craves an ecstatic state, and from this ecstatic state of vision, he moves his plan into the hands of Capricorn.  This full moon is all about the realization of destiny, and knowing that we must look up from the spilled milk to see it cross our path.  Sometimes broken things may be a vehicle for our destiny, but how high we climb the ladder our particular culture hands to us at birth has nothing to do with the real myth inside of us.  Saggo coming into Capricorn tells us that our work must be fueled by vision separate from the ego.  If we do not feel a fire from our work, then it is dead work.  Plain and simple.  Only through the fire shall find true fortune.  We must match our rhythm with that of the world around us.  Only then will we find the flow and stop fighting our eternal transformations.  You must LET GO in order to change.  We must allow ourselves, and the ghosts of dreams rattling in ours ears, to die before we may be fully renewed by the fires of this full moon.  Open your eyes to the people around you.  From the Gemini new moon onward, we are getting a push to alchemically meld with those in our tribe.  It is time for us to come out of the inner cavern of the past few months and celebrate and explore with others.  I am getting good signs in regards to love and friendship from this reading.  That is...  as long as we can look up from our egos and recognize that no vision is the the one vision.  We must juxtapose, and in order to do that, we must relate with openness.  So, in short, what this full moon is telling me is to let mutable Saggo melt your old expectations so that your real abilities may start to shape a more stable, realistic, far more adaptive future for you and those in your tribe.  As Mark Twain said, "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

Helios:  Mercury, Saturn and Neptune- Ooh, now this is some fun- and great news for us, right now. Neptune is the grand vision, Saturn is the work and the reality of the situation, and Mercury is the details that get handled to align the two. These three can be used to bring your wildest dreams into reality right now, all you have to do is be bold enough to state your desire. Oh, and do the work required of course. What that entails varies with each vision, but that will be made clear to you- Just not all at once. You have to be willing to take that great leap, even if you don't know where you will land. None of know where we are going to end up in the end, and it wouldn't be any fun if we did! (Minor Planets- Hidalgo, Toro, Asbolus, Astraea, Hekate)

Artemis:  Mercury (Page of Swords), Saturn (5 of Pentacles), Neptune (5 of Swords):  Well, this is an interesting combination.  The great thing about the 5 of Pentacles in Saturn is that it tells me that we will be forced to experience vision even if everything needs to be torn away from us for this to happen.  Don't let it get that far.  Do you hear that voice deep inside of you that has been tugging you a certain direction your entire life?  Yeah, follow that bliss.  If you don't follow that bliss, you will be met with challenge after challenge until you are so broken down, so impoverished that you are forced to look.  From rock bottom, you can't avoid seeing everything.  Again, don't let it get there.  Jump and leap now, follow your vision but please heed another warning; do not trample on others to do so.  Again I am getting a message that we must remain extremely open to other's opinions right now.  No-one is an island, so sail the seas that connect us and bring a greater vision to yourself and others.  Don't get so trapped in your own ego that Saturn needs to pwn the fuck out of you for you to finally see everyone you have been hurting with your viciousness.  When we are scared of the fragility of our vision, we attack.

Helios:  Mars, Uranus and Chiron- It's not enough that we have Uranus and Eris to deal with on this one, that we have to add in Mars and Chiron too? You are jumping at shadows, raring for a good scrap- You don't trust anyone around you, and you trust yourself least of all. You are still grappling with your own mind, and your base nature is coming out- the cracks on your facade are showing, and you are long past caring who sees; you are wearing your scars proudly, but is that getting you anywhere? What do you gain by continuing to play the victim? We all have wounds, its time for you to pull yourself together. Yes, there is a lot going on in your life, but its time to start taking care of your shit now- you have left it go far too long. Remind those around you that you are a force to be reckoned with. (Minor Planets- Eris, Ceres, Sedna, Varuna, Quaoar, Ixion, Psyche, Typhon, Apophis)

Artemis:  Mars (10 of Pentacles), Uranus (King of Cups), Chiron (The Fool):  Well daaaamn, the cards are letting me in on a little secret here.  You know all that bullshit you have been battling inside of you?  Uranus is not going to let is sit on that.  It's time to let it explode and do something with it.  With The Fool as Chiron, our ability to transform this deep hurt inside of us into something new and helpful will be at it's prime during this lunation.  Uranus is not going to sit there quietly while we bottle things up some more, noooope.  And Mars is going to help him dig out all of the gunk once and for all (until the next cycle, that is).  This is good.  Unless there is some fucked up shit that you are working on that may disturb your reputation, but in the end, it needs to come out for your own sanity.  Be prepared for exposure, but be aware that this is a great opportunity to use your past hurt to heal others setting out on similar paths  Again, this is a very tribal moon.   

Helios:  Jupiter and Pluto- Now here is a showstopper for the finale! Paradoxically, these two are the source of the great hope that tinges this whole lunation. Yes, the moon's ruler Jupiter is at full power right now, direct and heading towards Libra at full tilt, but its not just him- Pluto is winning hearts and minds of his own, and its all about what he promises that Jupiter can never deliver on. Jupiter, for all of his best intentions, will always fail to fully deliver on his promises. It's just his way- he will promise you everything, and you may get some of what he promised, but never all. Pluto on the other hand, promises you nothing but will leave you with greater treasures than you can imagine. He will strip away your illusions and leave you face to face with the truth: And it will hurt, unimaginably so if you have never fully worked with him- But it is worth it. In the sense of authentic power, he wins against his brothers every time- yet he continually is marginalized and stuck in the underworld, far from lofty Olympus. Why? Why do you let others marginalize you and stick you where you don't belong? Why do you accept this as your fate? Power and authenticity alone will not help you achieve your goals though- In the end, you have to inspire others, there must be a reason for others to join you in your aims. It cannot just be you. Isolating yourself and working towards your own glory is a recipe for disaster- ask Hillary Clinton. You must embody both Jupiter and Pluto- Carrying both Heaven and Hell within you. Only then can you see your dreams come to life. (Minor Planets- Vesta, Deucalion, Ceto, Bienor, Cyllarus)

Artemis:  Jupiter (Ace of Swords), Pluto (King of Wands):  Well isn't this lovely!  Jupiter is like Excalibur right now!  He is leading the way, pointing us to the exact place we need to go.  This is truly a visionary moon.  Get your thinking caps on, because now is the best time to implement what has been resting in your head.  Luck and fortune are here for us, and whatever we ask for will manifest very quickly.  With Pluto being the King of Wands, you can't do anything but thrive in your vision.  The god of the Underworld is demanding that we use our power to change things, and Jupiter is telling us that we are heading toward that change with a jovial heart and BLISS in mind.  Again, follow your bliss.  This seems to be the clearest message of all.  There is bliss in destruction just as there is bliss in creation, and Pluto teaches us that we must destroy in order to create.  So what are you willing to let burn away once and for all so that you can march forth without shackles toward your vision?  You can't fly with the world sitting on your shoulders.

Venus in Cancer- Refuge

a woman of the world by piotr mamniemie, CCL

Effective Date: 6/18-7/15/16

Helios Says:

“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable.” -Madeleine L'Engle

Hello Cardinal Crisis our old friend....

That's right, its that time of year again- Back into the churn we go! But this time... are we really? Are we in for another round of shakeups and chaos and illusions being destroyed? I mean, most assuredly, but this one... it feels different. Like there is a purpose behind it, and that it will be less about wanton destruction and more about growth for once. Well, to be fair it has always been about growth, but this time it definitely feels more insistent and demanding, but subtly so.

If you cant tell, I have issues with the water signs- Much confusion. Many subtlety.

The good thing is that the aim of this transit is crystal clear to me- Since the Full Moon in Cancer, you have been about picking up the pieces of the shattered relationships and failed loves that have gone before. You have been taking back what has been lost to you, the shards of  your heart that you have given away- Now you that you have (more or less) done that, you have to start opening yourself up again. You will need to relearn vulnerability, while at the same time not forgetting the lessons of  the failed affairs from before. You cannot lose yourself in any of these new loves, or falling to obsession, nor can you remain icy and distant for long. You must strike a balance between the two extremes. Open and inviting, yet independent and strong.

From here on out it will be more of a mature love that will be expected of you, yet this is no less fun! All it means is that you will get hurt less (but no less hard) and will cause less damage to the hearts of others. This will require some very radical candor on your part, and you must be clear about what you want from your partners and in your life. You must realize that you cannot have everything and everyone, and for some of you this is harder to accept than you might think (casts pointed side-eye at mirror) but if you are willing to accept this you can stop wasting time and get down to the nitty-gritty of what it is that you actually desire. Most of all, you have to be honest with yourself first about what it is you really need. Once that bridge has been crossed, you may not realize when this round of the Cardinal Crisis hits, and those things you would have once fought so hard to protect will pass away without so much as a whimper!

Artemis says:
Cards:  The Lovers, 9 of Cups, 5 of Swords

“Only the united beat of sex and heart together can create ecstasy.” 
― Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus


The feeling of Cancer always reminds me of being nestled warmly under the roots of a big, old tree.  The Crab is a sentimental lover with big watery eyes and hands that are always reaching for yours.  There is an eternal coziness to Cancer, and snuggling up with one is like being surrounded by blankets right out of the dryer.  They are also needy as fuck and will suck you dry if you are an individual that craves freedom in relationships.  Sorry, Cancer, gotta tell it like it is.  You can't keep us hostage forever with your hot chocolate and tears.  I will dig my way out of the room with a fucking spoon, I swear to the gods.

The lesson we do learn from Cancer is that the heart is required for truly ecstatic states. You need to feel comfortable enough to melt and relax into someone in order to be taken to great heights.  With this card combination presented to me, we learn that a true merger of spirit to create something beyond the two individuals involved creates states of drunken ecstasy.  This sounds quite lovely.  The summer time is the perfect time for lusty romances, and without the constant threats coming from winter weather, we can fully focus on melding with individuals around us.  This floaty Cancer energy will be wonderful for tribal love.  You will find a softening happening all around you and stronger, far more open bonds developing between friends.  Cancer tells us there is no need for the harshness.  Summer is here and we have plenty.  Let us share.

The 9 of Cups reminds us that we have the capacity to love and feel fulfillment if we just looked around at what we already have.  We attract what we put out, so a jovial and fulfilled attitude only attracts others who want to propagate this attitude.  The 5 of Swords warns us that we must think of others at this time.  We have all been through weeks of hell with all of these retrogrades, Eris and Uranus finally coming into conjunct, and the grand cross only 4 days away (6/6).  So when Venus finally rolls into Cancer, we will be coming to heal each other with the vast mental resources we have scoured from the depths of our being.  Is your point of view really more important than the ties you have with others?  Before speaking, observe your tribe.  What do you all need to be strong?  It is always easier, far more fun, and far more interesting working with like minded friends and lovers than it ever is going at it alone and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.  We will be learning the meaning behind tribe, and the security and nourishment provided by the tribe.  Without this, we cannot grow into full individuals capable of taking on whatever is dealt our way.

In short, it's time to learn how to play trust games with those we love.  The only way to reach ecstatic states is to be able to trust and let go.  Don't worry if you are initially having a very difficult time developing these bonds with others, because it is literally one of the hardest things we will ever learn to do.  But it is also one of the most important.

Mercury in Gemini- Long Shot

card shark by twak, CCL

Helios Says:

“Scientists have calculated that the chances of something so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.” -Terry PratchettAfter what seems like a lifetime of plodding through Taurus, Mercury has finally decided to get his shit together and head into Gemini, the sign he rules, and it could not come at a better time. You see, Taurus is all about "Slow and steady wins the race". Incremental success is valued, after careful and consistently applied effort. Using that approach, a bird could peck away at a mountain with just its beak!

Of course the problem with this approach is that we as living beings have a finite amount of time, and who wants to devote that precious time to one, singular pursuit? Wouldn't it make more sense to just get a shitton of TNT and blow that damn mountain up?

In a nutshell, that is what he is pushing you to do right now. You have done all your prep work, you have been hustling behind the scenes for months now, and now it is time to make your move. Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed, as much as we would love for it to be- at the end of the day, whenever you take an action, there is a certain element of risk or chance. Mercury is all about speculation and luck, especially in Gemini. This is literally his deal. Sure, you may not come out ahead 100% of the time, but you will miss every shot that you don't take!

Let it ride

Artemis says:

Cards:  Temperance, Judgement, 7 of Wands

“Are you proud of yourself tonight that you have insulted a total stranger whose circumstances you know nothing about?”  - Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

I’ve been preaching a lot of compassion lately.  I believe that it is probably the most important thing in the world right now.  Only when we open our channels up to merging with others will we be able to make the vital connections that are necessary for conscious evolution of our kind.  Today (6/1) another immense event is taking place.  Uranus is going conjunct Eris.  The majority of the planets are in mutable signs at the moment, and a mutable grand cross is only days away.  There is no better time than now to choose how you want to climb the shifting ladder of ideas.  Spin your webs and get ready for what’s ahead.  

Mercury in Gemini has a very busy energy about it.  What is the essence of this archetypal combination?  I believe Gemini is constantly trying to make pairings and connections (hello twins), so I would say that intellectual conversation will be on a dramatic rise.  This is good.  We are being set up to help each other shift right now.  With Mars retrograding in Scorpio, you will have to fight back feelings of judgement and rashness with words.  Is it better to instantly judge a thing before exploring a thing?  Gemini would say that would be a spit in the face of the scientific process.  

We have a warning here.  It is extremely easy to make snap judgments and move on with our shallow interpretation of reality.  It is comfortable that way.  It’s hard to have to actually chew on things and process and merge with people.  Listen, you only have so many years to live in your short little mortal life (I mean, what we know of at least).  Sure, you can shut out everyone who dissents and tunnel your way toward a dead end, because that’s exactly what it is when you don’t take in all data (Gemini the scientist is being very serious about this).  Or you can explore people’s minds and find the undeniable connections we all share.  

This reading is giving me one more warning.  Mercury in Gemini energy is extremely hyper active.  7 of Wands is telling us to solidify our determination because it will be harder than ever to stay the course.  When so many things are coming at us right now, it is hard to keep our course on projects we have committed to.  Keep an eye on your agenda while making sure to leave enough flexibility to get the most out of this energy.  Balance has been the key in the past, and never will it not be the key.  

New Moon in Gemini- Serving Two Masters

Conflict by Anton Rehrl, CCL

Effective Date- 6/4/16

Helios Says:

Hope and despair. Power and impotence. Past and future. Heaven and Hell. Human and Divine. Head and Heart. Confidence and Doubt. Welcome to the edge of the storm. The crosswinds of the opposing forces within you are ripping you apart. You have moments before it envelops you- What is your play? Whatever it is, you cannot hesitate- You will only get one shot here, so you better make it count. We stand on the precipice of the challenge that the Cardinal Crisis spent years molding us for- And instead of being battle-ready, eager to take on whatever the cosmos can fling at us, we are running from the front lines as fast as we can! Those who can't run? Shaking in their boots, second guessing every decision in their life that has led them to this point, trying to figure out the moment where it all went wrong to lead them here.

It will do you no good to run- You couldn't possibly hide from this, because the battle you face is within yourself. Each of us will have our demons to face, but I promise you one thing- Helios and Artemis are here, with you, fighting at your back. We will get you through this, I swear it. This is what we have been training for, and it is OUR moment!

Let's go.

Artemis Says:“I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't.” -- Marilyn Monroe

Out of all the mutable signs, the strongest source of chaos seems to originate from Gemini.  Like Virgo, there is a sense of striving toward order but being stretched too thin.  At least Virgo is an earth sign, giving her a sense of grounding and purpose to her chaos.  Gemini is ruled by air, and this in itself gives him very little restriction.  Of course, this could drive a person insane and create a sort of split persona.  Perhaps this is why Gemini is represented by the Twins;  you're always talking to two different people when talking to a Gemini.  One person dwells deep inside and they are extraordinarily insightful.  This twin has a wonderful appreciation for higher intellectual pursuits, a keen eye when it comes to analysis of any kind, a whimsical sense of humor and an ability for the arts that can rival any other sign in the Zodiac.  The other Twin is kind of a piece of shit (or just really ridiculously flashy).  Oh shut up, Gemini, you all know it's true!  We never know which one of you to expect, and I bet you don't either.  This new moon is a lot like that.  What the hell is on the horizon?  What can we expect?  And who are we going to end up choosing to be?

H: The Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto- You read that right. All seven are counted in this. Let's break this down- The hot zone will be anything between 12-16 degrees of your chart, but especially the mutables. This is major change energy in the air- Yes, things have been stagnant and you have been at a loss as for what to do to surmount your obstacles. Overnight, it seems like these obstacles are melting away in front of you, and the ground has suddenly changed from quicksand to one of those horizontal escalator walkways that they have in airports for no adequately explored reason and that exist no where else- Only they actually have some speed to them, and its more than you can handle. The main players are going to be the benefics, Venus and Jupiter. This new moon is right on Venus and being squared by Jupiter; But in the background are Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. You are caught between your brightest future and your darkest past. Your secrets, mistakes, lies and failures seek to weigh you down so that you may never reach those lofty peaks you dream of- Your fears haunt you at every turn, and your insecurities take every opportunity to remind you how much of a piece of shit you actually are. They rake you over the coals for every misspoken word, every failed venture, and every chance that you didn't take. They will do this for as long as you continue to give them your attention- Engaging in that negative self-talk will only give your demons more power over you. In spite of the war raging in your head and heart, you have achieved so much, so quickly, and in ways that those around you never believed that you were capable of- But you cannot see it. All you see is your failures, because you are the only one who knows their full extent! You can get through this, but to do so you will need to forget the failures, and the losses. You need to get over yourself- No, your life is not perfect and blissful, and exactly the way it turned out since you planned it all out at age 10. No ones is. You are not that same person as you were back then, and thank god for it- if you insist on trying to gauge your success on that metric, your original plan, you will ALWAYS come up short. You have to let go of that dialogue that says that you need to get back to the original model- Unless you somehow develop time travel powers there is no way to do it (and then you run into causality, and bifurcated timelines... its a giant hassle); You have to deal with your situation, this world, reality as it is - Not how you wish it would have been. Most of all, you have to be honest with yourself- There is something in your past, or in your subconscious that you are desperately trying to hide from. This is keeping you chained to it, so that you can never escape it. Break your shackles and face the truth. Only then can you move forward. (Minor Planets in play- Psyche, Tantalus, Hopi, Teharonhiawako, Hidalgo, Osiris, Phaethon, Cyllarus, Bienor, Echeclus, Ceto)

A:  The Sun (ace of wands), Moon (3 of Pentacles), Venus (8 of Pentacles), Jupiter (High Priestess), Saturn (7 of Pentacles), Neptune (7 of Wands) and Pluto (Queen of Swords):

There seems to be a "split" in all the air signs.  Gemini is split by two personas, Libra is split by everything in fucking existence - trying fruitlessly to bring it all together, and Aquarius is split between the heavens and earth.  Unfortunately, this leads to a sort of dissociation in all three signs.  Who are they really?  Do you remember how I told you on the Sagittarius Full Moon that what we imagine, we become?  I pulled the same goddamn card for the moon again; the Ace of Wands.  It makes a lot of sense.  This time, we are tackling it from a far more personal side than when we were being pummeled by moon in Saggo energy.  Saggo asked us who we wanted to be in regards to the collective, and Gemini is asking us who we are going to choose to be in regards to our own daily life.

Marilyn is the perfect example of a Sun (and Mercury) in Gemini person.  Her friends would talk about how she could trigger different personas into existence at whim, and how she could effortlessly weave her way through conversations.  One minute she was Norma Jean; quiet, intellectual, serious, and plain.  People would pass her on the street without a second glance.  She would tell her friends to watch closely as she shifted into Marilyn Monroe.  The next minute she would "transform" into her other half with a little shift in posture and mindset.  People immediately began to notice her as she walked down the street.  This is Gemini's gift.  You can project on to them as much bullshit as you'd like, and the inner twin will always be just behind the scenes taking notes as the more theatrical twin is picking away at your defenses.  What you imagine, you become.  What others imagine we are, we become.  Instead of putting down the inner person who is clearly not the outer person, use the "image" others create for you as a weapon.  Theater is an important art-form.  Figuring out which myth people believe you are living out can come to your advantage.  Venus and Jupiter are going to be helping us chop wood and carry water, so to speak.  Jupiter is whispering to us that the secret to all of this lies in him, and that Venus is helping him construct this grand plan.  Both planets are sitting in Mercury ruled signs; Virgo and Gemini.  So, the answer lies with connecting to others who share similar views in regards to connection that we do.  How can we merge our ideas with others?  How are we all going to put together our little pieces of the puzzle with those who are working on the same puzzles as us?

While you are working with your allies, you need to prepare for your enemies.  How can you use the "idea of you" that they have to destroy them?

It's time to focus on how to use our skills, especially our personality, to get what we want.  Jesus Christ, I sounded so Gemini just then...  Although Gemini knows how to nudge people in various directions for their own benefit, there is always this underlying guilt they face.  Perhaps this is why they are constantly running in the middle of situations they have manifested?  This warns us to keep in mind that whatever you do to turn a situation into your favor, do so without nudging people off of their own path.  All in all, this is an extremely creative moon.  Use it to paint a beautiful new mask for this stage we call life.  The myths we create are a map of the underlying reality of things; which we are unable to truly communicate.  Sorry, Gemini, we know how much you like to communicate.  How do you talk about something that we really don't know how to talk about?  Art.    

While you are learning how to use your exterior self as an art form, don't get too lost in the being that you create.  You are never exactly what others say you are.  Your inner self also has some shit they are dealing with that needs focus as well.  The outer planets are digging under our skin to reveal to us the truth of our inner lives.  Sometimes love has to be tough.  Pluto has always had a bad reputation for being volatile when she should be tender (makes sense that I pulled the Queen of Swords for her).  Remember, there is a need for fire to clear things that are overrun.  There is an ancient wisdom to Pluto that tells us that to uncover what is buried inside of us, we have to dig deep and use big explosives.  It is a violent process.  Anytime false ideas about who we are come toppling down, it can't help but be a violent process.  Use this chaos around us like a ladder.  Gemini knows that when the pieces scatter, you can use them to create whatever fairy tale you wish to create.  The Mutable Grand Cross that is coming up in less than 2 weeks is going to be a big opportunity.  We are going to be able to re-arrange the pieces of our existence into a new shape.  Mutable signs like Gemini are like play doe.  You can pummel them into any form that you wish, but always keep in mind that it is not permanent.  We will be learning grand lessons of impermanence now, from crumbling social circles to crumbling ideas of persona.  Keep in mind that the truth of any individual can never be gleamed from one perspective of them.  We are like the eye of a storm; still and empty like a void.  Our exterior is always spinning and changing; picking up pieces of others as we move along our path.  We are both.  The person that you create to take on your exterior world has repercussions for the person living inside of you.  Remember this as you choose which myth you want to live out.       

H: Mercury and Uranus- As you are dredging up the mire in your head, your mind is supercharged right now, going a mile a minute trying to think up a clever way out of the situation your cleverness got you into. News flash- getting out of it, running from the problem? The least effective way to move forward. Your best way out is through. Note that I didnt say the ONLY way there- you can choose just about any way to move you want: Forward, back, up, west or at a downward slope. Doesn't matter. You will move, and if you dont harness the energy here for your own aims, it will run roughshod over you, and when it is done with you it will cast you aside in a random direction of its choosing- not yours. For some of you, this is what you really want- I get it, but if you can take control, why not do so? You will also run into the issue where you are afraid of what you want, that it is either not big or world-changing enough, that your dreams are too small and you cannot be enough for this world- that you have missed your shot at your best life. If you do, reexamine what you think you want. See if your goals are still in line with your path. (Minor Planets in play- Ceres, Borasisi, Hebe, Niobe, Hybris, Bacchus)

A: Mercury (Page of Swords) and Uranus (9 of Wands):  

Eek, we're up against the ropes and have no idea where to move from here.  9 of Wands indicates our huge sense of exhaustion, yet it also shows us that we have a lot of EXPERIENCE now.  These two cards show us that we are finally coming into a deeper understanding of our mental workings.  The Page of Swords is always poised to move but a little nervous.  She has all the knowledge she needs, just as the 9 of Wands, but where the 9 of Wands is exhausted and beat up, the Page of Swords is nervous and anxious.  You need to figure out a way to ground yourself and summon some strength.  Things are literally going to be able to go anywhere from here.  The Mutable Grand Cross and this Mutable sun and moon are telling change is here whether we like it or not.  Uranus is about to go conjunct with Eris (June 1), which is sending more CHANGE our way.  You can sit there and cry about how tired and nervous you are, or you can keep plugging away.  Venus being the 8 of Pentacles tells me that our route to fortune is going to be in the plugging away, regardless of the insanity coming from Mercury and Uranus.  Make a move.  

H: Mars and Chiron- With all of this, what can you actually do about any of it? Well, this is mostly going to be an internal struggle, primarily a mental one. The best thing to do is to focus on resolving your conflict, and not trying to rush it- You must not try to push forward quicker than the flow wishes for you. You can choose to do so, but I promise that you will be pushed back and knocked on your ass at every turn if you do. Or you could be patient and allow events to unfold in harmony (*cough cough* Fourth Law *cough cough*). The downside to following the path, the flow, is that right now no matter what course of actions you decide to take you will be forced to confront old issues that have not been resolved. Any shortcuts you have taken, anything unfinished will be thrown back up in your face. We have been down the chirotic path before though, so you know the territory- besides, the more you face the issues, the less power they have over you. Your freedom comes from this conflict, both within and without. You must not shrink from it- you have to fight through. Step up and fight for your future or watch it fall away (Minor Planets in play- Siwa, Varuna)

A: Mars (the Heirophant) and Chrion (6 of Pentacles):

Ugh, Mars is retrograding into Scorpio, meaning more skeletons popping up for us.  It's fine.  Every time these issues come around, they give us a deeper understanding of why they manifested in our lives.  Everything is not as it initially seems.  Chiron is the Wounded Healer of the asteroids and he is telling us we have to be willing to give as much healing as we are receiving.  To heal yourself, you have to help heal others.  The thing is, we have to seek the perfect balance right now.  Putting too much energy into others, or putting too much energy into yourself over others, is going to send you under.  Everyone's self esteem is struggling right now.  Build each other up as Mars in Scorpio brings back more unfinished business for everyone.  We seriously all need to work together.  Throwing others off the cliff is not going to make it easier for you to climb the mountain.  Sure, if it's one of your piece of shit enemies, knock that sucker to the motherfucking ground.  But if it's a friend, or someone you hardly really know, lend a fucking hand.  You are going to need people you trust holding the ropes for you, and vice versa.  There is something really strange about the Heirophant representing Mars in retrograde in Scorpio.  I get a sense of ancestors calling out to us.  Sit and meditate on this.  What unlived dreams of your ancestors do you need to address?  How are you an unknowing device for your ancestors to live out those dreams?  This is an important thing to keep in mind when we are manifesting a future for ourselves in the coming weeks.  Keep in mind what your dreams are juxtaposed against the dreams everyone has been feeding you plus the dreams that your ancestors never fulfilled due to giving up on their lives or any other tragedy that may have befallen them.  Gemini teaches us that we are never truly just one person, and we never truly serve just one master.  

Venus in Gemini- All That Glitters...

glitter 07 by Aschevogel, CCL

Effective Dates- 5/24-6/17/16

Helios Says:

"Because life is short and you are hot" -Steven Moffat, Doctor Who, Blink (2005)

You're tired. You're done- I get it, trust me. All you want is a reprieve, a way out of what seeks to oppress you. You feel the pressure from all sides, and you just want to run. That is the nature of Venus in Gemini- Screw the rules, fuck the future! Lets have fun today!

Of course, this attitude is unsustainable, especially with Saturn in Sagittarius- But after all we have been through, don't we deserve a bit of a breather? Especially when She will play a key role in the upcoming New Moon and will be active in the Uranus-Eris conjunction. Honestly, under Pluto in Cap, any bit of a reprieve is welcome- And those usually come during Gemini transits.

Yes it is super important to take the long view, and it is important to fix your mind onto great big thoughts, full of import and gravity- But if you neglect the moments in front of you, you neglect the chance to come up with your OWN wisdom to last through the ages. If all you do is parrot those who have come before you, and you have nothing new to add to the conversation, you will be forgotten. To make any impact, you must be present in the now, in the moment!

And goddamnit, you need to have fun. We all know that we have been needlessly kicking our own asses lately, because of a perceived lack of progress or a feeling of being off course. Think of this as a vacation from that (and good practice for Jupiter moving into Libra) You have to forget the big picture, at least temporarily. Gemini can run literally hundreds of scenarios in their heads at any moment, and will come up with the best solution given the variables, but can only do that from a relative perspective- otherwise key variables go unknown- In other words, you are the master of your fate at this juncture, no one else can tell you what to do because they have no idea of the reality of what you are facing right now. Sure, they can advise, but you're not going to give them the key secrets that could change the entire equation. Its just the way this time works.

During this time you will need to make key decisions about what is right for you, and no one else can tell you what to do. This is not helped by Chiron in Pisces- You will need to actually follow your instincts, and figure out what the hell it is that you really want. You will be distracted at several points by things that SEEM like they are great for you, and the logical way to proceed, but Venus doesn't do logic- everything here has to be the truth of the heart. If it doesn't feel right, you will shoot yourself in the foot to get out of it, whether consciously or unconsciously. Get it right the first time.

Of course, with Jupiter in Virgo, your natural reaction will be to deny this truth and run from it- I get it, its uncomfortable. Besides, i am the poster child for running away from the truth of my Self. You will think that you are not worthy of happiness, and blah blah, so on and so forth- Get over it. You will need to get these issues resolved before Jupiter moves into Libra, and you will not have a lot of time to do it. It is THIS YEAR folks. But in the end, time moves forward regardless of what we do and if we get it right- and that is the key to understanding Gemini- it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to work. Ideally, everything would be perfect, and harmony would be the de facto modus operandi, but what is perfect for me isnt necessarily what is perfect for you, and with 7 billion humans all wanting various things, their own versions of heaven, perfection cannot exist. A workable, functional future can, however- if you are willing to choose it.

Artemis says:

Cards:  Queen of Cups, Ace of Swords, 2 of Wands

“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Press on the gas peddle, it's fucking Gemini season!  Everything seems to speed the fuck up at this time of year.  And BAM, Venus is having her next ingress.  This one kinda hit me out of nowhere.  I was beginning to fall asleep from a Taurean induced stupor, cradled by ice cream and soap operas.  This is a welcomed fucking wake up call.  I feel like someone just dunked me in ice water and told me to get my shit together.  It's party season.  

Who hasn't fallen for a god damn Gemini (god damn fdsjlksadjf Gemini)?  Venus in the Twins is a charming muse who skips around blowing minds and bringing a flair of sophistication to any romantic interaction.  She makes you laugh, she makes you think, and then she leaves you.  And this is why we have all also hated a Gemini.

I absolutely love air signs in Venus.  It gives love a flirtatious, easy going nature (which is nice coming out of serious earth).  We are crawling out of a period of time where our emotions were worn on our sleeve.  The last couple of Venusean ingresses have brought to the surface the flood waters of our heart, revealing to us truer shades of our attachments.  Now that we have received our insights, it is time to dive deep into our connections.  It's time to view love from the Air sign's perspective.

Saturn and Venus are coming into opposition, so I suspect Gemini will give us epiphanies about the grand plan.  What do I mean by this?  It will show you just why you are connected to the ones you love, and just why you value what you value.  We have a primal attraction to what we are attracted to for a reason.  It's an eerie sort of fate, and it gets stranger  with a planet like Saturn involved.  Saturn is going to give Venus a lot of pressure to address her grand plan.  Saturn wants answers, and he wants purpose.  He likes structure and lines and containers, and love really rebels against all of this.  Love destroys any sense of "container."  The intellectualization of Venus in Gemini fighting a idealistic Saturn in Sagittarius is going to be quite the battle.  With these two signs, I imagine two girls fighting in a pudding or something.  Hey it's still fighting, and one of them has to win!  It's just going to be kind of a sexy fight.  As the fighting between these two progresses, love will address the structure of our life and the structure of our life will effect our love.  It'll be a tug of war for a while, but one of their influence will overpower the other in your personal chart.  However,  both will be forever changed from this interaction.  The mutable Grand Cross is coming, and big changes are ahead.      

How do air signs fall in love?  With our brains.  No, dead serious.  If we can find someone who makes connections in the same way that we do, regardless of their belief system, we find great value in this.  Gemini is the flirt for a reason.  She is always testing our minds, seeing how everything holds up and if we are able to contend with her.  This is plain and simple air sign behavior.  Get ready for a lot of this, in yourself and others.  Gemini is going to send us out into the world, exploring each other's paradigms and having a lot of brain sex.  Doesn't that sound awesome?

2 of Wands warns us not to fear the unknown.  Just go out there and find your vision.  It manifests when you are around similar thinking people.  You can solve this puzzle together and find out why we are pulled to the people we are pulled to.  Why are these particular loves in your life?  Insight is here, and it's electrifying.

TNO Watch- Orpheus

A boy and his guitar by Michael Taggart

You know, we have been way too stuck in the underworld lately. Im not a fan. I think its about time to bust out of this cage, dont you? Luckily I know just the man for the job...

The Astronomy: 3361 Orpheus is an Apollo asteroid that was discovered on April 24, 1982 by Carlos Torres at Cerro El Roble Astronomical Station. Its eccentric orbit crosses that of Mars and Earth, and approaches Venus as well. From 1900 to 2100 it passes closer than 30 Gm to Venus 11, Earth 33, and Mars 14 times. It passed by Earth at a distance of about 40 lunar distances on December 7, 2013. 3361 Orpheus is a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) because its minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is less than 0.05 AU and its diameter is greater than 150 meters. The Earth-MOID is 0.0139 AU (2,080,000 km; 1,290,000 mi). Its orbit is well-determined for the next several hundred years.The orbital solution includes non-gravitational forces.

The Myth: Orpheus  was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music, his attempt to retrieve his wife, Eurydike, from the underworld, and his death at the hands of those who could not hear his divine music. As an archetype of the inspired singer, Orpheus is one of the most significant figures in the reception of classical mythology in Western culture, portrayed or alluded to in countless forms of art and popular culture including poetry, film, opera, music, and painting. For the Greeks, Orpheus was a founder and prophet of the so-called "Orphic" mysteries. He was credited with the composition of the Orphic Hymns, a collection of which only two have survived. The most famous story in which Orpheus figures is that of his wife Eurydice (sometimes referred to as Euridice and also known as Argiope). While walking among her people, the Cicones, in tall grass at her wedding, Eurydice was set upon by a satyr. In her efforts to escape the satyr, Eurydice fell into a nest of vipers and suffered a fatal bite on her heel. Her body was discovered by Orpheus who, overcome with grief, played such sad and mournful songs that all the nymphs and gods wept. On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld. By his music he softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone (he was the only person ever to do so), who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. He set off with Eurydice following, and, in his anxiety, as soon as he reached the upper world, he turned to look at her, forgetting that both needed to be in the upper world, and she vanished for the second time, but now forever. Other ancient writers, however, speak of Orpheus' visit to the underworld in a more negative light; according to Phaedrus the infernal gods only "presented an apparition" of Eurydice to him. Ovid says that Eurydice's death was not caused by fleeing from Aristaeus but by dancing with naiads on her wedding day. In fact, Plato's representation of Orpheus is that of a coward, as instead of choosing to die in order to be with the one he loved, he instead mocked the gods by trying to go to Hades to bring her back alive. Since his love was not "true"—he did not want to die for love—he was actually punished by the gods, first by giving him only the apparition of his former wife in the underworld, and then by being killed by women. After returning from the underworld, Orpheus never took another wife, instead only taking the company of young boys from that point on. The women of the area, feeling spurned, went into a Dionystic frenzy and ripped him limb from limb- Even as Orpheus tried to calm them with his music, they could not hear it. And so he died.

The Astrology: Okay, so- it doesn't take an astrologer to see just how absolutely contrived this story is. Seriously, i've seen comics with less convoluted plots (actually that's a lie- Ive never actually picked up a comic in my life). Orpheus was history's first rockstar. Unfortunately for him (and his adoring fans) he had some... different tastes than the culture of the time was used to. The Eurydike story was made up as a cover for this fact. Now in terms of the astrology itself, some astrologers link this asteroid as the long sought-after indicator of homosexuality (possibly sharing this with Ganymed), but I would go straight for the kill and call it more likely to be an indicator of pedophilliac tendencies, at its most extreme. Obviously more study would need to be done, but that would be my take on it. However, drawing solely from its myth (regardless of how contrived it is) Orpheus should indicate musical talent, a love of being in the spotlight, tragedy in relationships, going to the ends of the earth for the ones they love, drama, and a direct link from the world of the gods to the world of man.The greatest message that Orpheus tell us however, is that if you nuture your gifts, and use the skills that you are given, you can move even the will of heaven and hell.

To find out where he shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom, there will be a menu of additional objects. Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 3361, for Orpheus. Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Orpheus affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

Lillith in Scorpio- Dark Desires

in your eyes, morbo by Colectivo movimente CCL

Effective Dates: 5/22-12/2/16

Helios Says:

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” -Paulo Coehlo

So much for feeling stuck, right? It seems like events started moving again, going from 0 to 60 overnight (Which in terms of car speed, is actually insanely slow, but in cosmic terms not so much), and it couldn't have come quick enough! The events of the last two months have been grueling, to say the least- being slowly ground down, like each planet was raking a sheet of sandpaper across your soul an inch at a time, trying to buff out your edges and exposing the flaws.

Well I have some good news and I have some good news; The good news is, the greater part of this process is over, and we are on the other side of the storm (specifically the feelings of being stuck and impotent) - The bad news is that now the real work begins, and you are going to have to put your money where your mouth is. You see, now we have Lilith to contend with, and she is not the one to let you sit back and let life be something that just happens to you, especially not since she is in Scorpio! Your grace period is over and you forgot to cancel your subscription.

This will be an uncomfortable time, especially at the onset with it being Gemini season- You have a conflict between what you THINK you should do and what you actually WANT to do. Lilith will be running around in your subconscious as you try and keep pace in your mundane life, and will buck every attempt you try and make to get her under control- and that is a good thing.

This energy of this year is straight out of Fight Club- No, no, not the obvious "You don't talk about Fight Club" reference, I'm actually onto something here. In Fight Club, the narrator knows he is dying a little more every day, and he is losing himself in the inauthentic nature of his life. In fact, the creator, Chuck Palahniuk wrote the story after he had a fight on a camping trip, and came back to work bloody and bruised- None of his coworkers brought up the injuries to him and their reluctance to get involved in any kind of "messy" personal details or trying to forge any kind of authentic human connection was the inspiration for the book. These last few months have been the equivalent to that camping trip, and now we are coming back to work, battered and bruised. You will be given the same treatment as Palahniuk was given- and it will open your eyes. No one else will care about what is happening to you, they are too wrapped up in their own bullshit. Your isolation will be a boon, even if it doesn't feel like one. You will be made aware of what needs to change, and will not be able to ignore it. You will know what you have to do.

Work with Lilith and she will save your soul. Fight her and she will leave you to rot. She doesn't have time to waste on the unworthy. Show her what you can do!

Artemis says:

“We are all born sexual creatures, thank God, but it's a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift.”  -- Marilyn Monroe
Cards:  The Devil, 8 of Swords, The Queen of Swords

You will hear me barking about mirrors all of the time.  It is one of my favorite topics.  We are all little mirrors running around, projecting our issues into the outside world and receiving projections from others.  Sometimes we forget where our reflection begins and where the reflections of others end.  Unlike a mirror you may use to look at your beautiful face, humans are living, lucid mirrors.  We are ever morphing like liquid, filling cracks, reflecting some more, creating labyrinths of the mind - projecting outward and beckoning our deepest, most repressed desires to manifest as people and events in our lives.  We take things in - traumatic events or hurtful words people say - and leave a void in the world.  This is where Black Moon Lilith comes in with her influence.

Who is the mirror of the moon?  Why, that is the Black Moon Lilith.  So what the fuck is that?  Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?  Why, Lilith gives no fucks about silly questions like that.  She is the "evil" queen, aka the wild, self owned woman who kicked Adam in the teeth and bore a bunch of demon babies in some myths.  She is not passive femininity like Eve, who is born of his rib and bound to her identity as a subplot of man.  No, she is as much of a full being as Adam.  She is associated with the dark sexual energy inside all of us that we unfortunately stifle due to the commands from "civilized" society.  And then we label those urges a "monster" or "demon."  How backwards is that?  "Exercise the beast, don't exorcise the beast," goes a famous Satanic saying.  You can't ever rid yourself of your primal side, so you better learn how to harness it and ride that dragon.  

Nature has no idea what the fuck we are talking about when we say shit like "good" and "evil."  It doesn't know "good" and "evil."  Nature only recognizes when things are out of wack and a horrible imbalance has crept into the fold.  With our actions, we create a pocket or a void in our life.  Back to Black Moon Lilith.  During this ingress of the Queen of mental darkness, Black Moon Lilith will show us just how tight our blindfolds are.  Shackles of various kinds lead to mental blocks that keep us from fully expressing our nature.  As the mirror of the moon, Lilith will show us what personality traits we have developed to repress our desires.  Scorpio is very heavy handed when it comes to transmutation.  Why are you so terrified to change?  You know that your job, spouse, whatever, sucks.  So why don't you leave?  Why don't you severe?  Because you are afraid of your own power.  Lilith left her position of glory because she did not love Adam and did not want to be his servant, as the Abrahamic god YHWH commanded.  That was some big fucking decision...  That means she wont take any of your shit excuses anymore.

It's time to change.  You feel it in the air, don't you?  All of the events the past couple of moons have been gearing us up for our ability to cut through this thick jungle of our mind.  We have witnessed deep misery.  We have witnessed the power of the cosmos and how we are mere peons when it comes to the force of nature.  The "dream" that society gives us is as fragile as glass when it comes to the forces inside of us.  Don't fight her.  Learn from her.  Lilith will crack you open and devour your insides.  She is ruthless.  Change is inevitable, and that realization alone is enlightening.  

Remember what I told you when Vesta entered Gemini?  Watch your mind.  You lie to yourself as much as you lie to others.  Those urges you feel in your gut, what do they say to you?  If you do not manifest what you truly desire, the demons in your external world will just get scarier and scarier.  And then they will seep back into your brain as anxieties and more trauma and back out like a horrifying wheel of death and destruction.  Break that fucking wheel!  This Lilith energy is very Kali, the dark dancing Hindu goddess of time, creation, preservation and destruction.  She is associated with Shakti energy, or feminine sexual energy that leads to Kundalini Awakening.  Creation and destruction are mirrors, and this is an ancient creative/destructive force we are dealing with.  The deep, repressed desires inside of you are your way to the light.  They only seem ugly because we are reflecting back the tremendous fear that society has for the wild.  The power inside all of us is tremendous and boundless.  Why wouldn't that terrify a handler?  

Lilith knows she was born a Queen, not a slave.  Let this lesson pass on.  Don't live your life in quiet servitude to those around you.  Transform, become one with your desires, let the fucking beast out of the cage.  Don't let them use your own mind against you.  Don't let them tell you what you want.  You know what you want.

Mercury Direct- Measure of a Man

Redemption - vance by Michael Taggart, CCL

Effective Date:  5/22/16


Helios Says:

Are you done?

Honestly, I truly want to know. The way you have been talking, and the way that you have been thinking lately, it sure sounds like you are! You sound like you have given up- That you cannot take another step forward. It would be absolutely understandable, knowing what we know about what has happened to you- All those secret struggles, every loss, the looming abyss that is the future expanding in front of you; with your position in it growing more precarious with every step that you take. No one could rightfully blame you, with all of that in perspective- No one but yourself, that is.

There is no harsher judge at the end of the day, is there? At some level it has to be that way, as a survival mechanism- If you are harder on yourself than anyone else can be, then that becomes something that you can control; No one can hurt you other than you. Pain can be managed, quantified and controlled- The damage inflicted is in YOUR hands, and taken from your enemies, those who would inflict the pain on you themselves. The obvious flaw in that logic, however, is that while you strip your enemies of their power to cause you pain, you turn that power immediately over to a more powerful enemy than you could ever beat, and knows exactly where to strike for maximum damage. You make an enemy out of your own mind, and then hand it the launch codes to your personal nuclear arsenal. Then, to preserve its power and its hold on you, the mind will start to jump at shadows, seeing threats everywhere outside itself, fearing its own intentions are shared by everyone that you meet. You spend all your energy and time on guard from allowing yourself to slip up, carefully selecting every word you say, every move you make- judging every interaction you have for possible exposure, or a chance to exploit a weakness exposed in another in case they ever try to come for you. Your mind is the true torturer: Mercury is far crueler and colder than Pluto can ever be, Pluto is simply more creative in his punishments.

Your real enemy, however, is fear. Fear is what caused you to first turn your mind's own sword upon itself- What caused you to commit treason against your own self. Through fear, you have allowed yourself to become less a man and more a beast every day. Fear has you hiding. Yes, fear is a completely normal and understandable response to the threats we face in our lives, and in the face of an extremely uncertain future, but allowing it to paralyze us is not. The longer we spend our time being frozen in fear of a less than perfect future, the more we assure that becomes a reality. Every moment we spend paralyzed is one that we lose of happiness. What we must do, of course, is face your fear. Now, we hear that a lot, it is a common thing to say and it is trite. What must be done in reality is that we must stop trying to run from pain, and instead turn and look it dead in the eyes. From there it will fling the worst-case scenarios at us. We must accept the reality that we will experience pain, loss and suffering- A lot of it. Such is life, and it is the way it has always been. Your mind will throw everything that it can at you to try and cling to its power, but you must be stronger than it- you have to withstand the onslaught. It will try to show you your failures, missed chances and opportunities, those you have failed along the way- These must be accepted. Throughout this process you will want to run from everything it shows you, but you have to remember that you are better than that- You have overcome so much already, and this is just another challenge, albeit one where your future is on the line, your present is untenable and your past is a weapon. Once you have stopped allowing your fear to insulate you from reality, and you accept it as it is, right now, you will win. Acceptance of what has come before, and bravery in the face of uncertainty will ensure that your future is a bright one, even if it takes a shape different than what you once saw for yourself.

Artemis says:

"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him."  -- Tolkien

Cards:  King of Pentacles, 8 of Wands, 4 of Swords

So, I have good news.  Those are powerful words aren't they?  It's a nice feeling, to sense things shifting in a different direction.  A slightly more stable direction.  Like, instead of rolling down a hill in a flaming car, now we are outside of the car and tumbling down.  This is better!  We were in a 6 planet deep retrograde period, and now that Jupiter and Mercury have gone direct, we only have to deal with 4 more wolves (Saturn, Mars, Pluto and Juno).

We have learned who our friends are.  The internal burrowing we have done, deep down into the marrow of our bones, has purged a lot of our demons.  So here's the thing.  After you are done fighting the demons inside of you, you naturally bring them outside of you.  Now that Mercury is swinging back into forward motion, those things are going to become projected into your external world.  They are going to manifest as situations or people in your daily life, and you are going to have to take what you have learned and swiftly defeat these ghosts of your anxieties.  Don't panic.  This is a good thing.  This is the only way to defeat them once and for all.

We are almost done with this intense wave of internal war, and the external enemies are going to begin to poke their heads out of the woodwork.  Be swift.  Don't waste your time.  You have come out of this Mercury retrograde period with a deeper understanding of the workings of your own mind.  It's a scary fucking place, yeah?   So now it is far easier to understand the way that the darkness behaves in your external environment.  Your brain is going to shift focus to the external world once again.

With this Sagittarius full moon on the horizon, this is going to be an incredible time of action.  Decisions are going to be made, coffins are going to be nailed shut, and ghosts are going to be put to rest.  And thank the fucking gods because some of these things have needed to die for a long time now.  Mercury being in Taurus will make all of your actions very purposeful.  Don't give into the lazy energy of the bull, because if you don't put the externalizing issues to rest, if you don't do battle with your inner demon become outer dragon, you're going to regress tremendously.  Getting your ass kicked by the personification of your anxieties is a very traumatizing experience!  That's like double PTSD...  So take what you have learned during the past few weeks of demon days and utilize it.

Full Moon Sagittarius Tarot Spread: The Seeker's Journey

Explorers! by Jason Costanza

"Well, there are two types of deed. One is the physical deed, in which the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life. The other kind is the spiritual deed, in which the hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human spiritual life and then comes back with a message."  -- Joseph Campbell


Artemis Says:
Welcome to the first of many full moon tarot spreads to come!  We will be featuring a new tarot spread that will reflect the energy of each full moon every single month.  These spreads can be used to divine what energies you must personally overcome to maximize each full moon.

What will you need to participate in each tarot spread?

1.  A deck of Tarot cards
2.  Your intuition

So let us begin!  What will we be learning about ourselves this month?  The ever cyclical Hero's Journey.

There is always an experience of seeking something higher than the self that is attached to the Zodiac sign Sagittarius.  The hero finds the courage to leave their home and venture out to find a great vision that they can bring back to their people.  This great myth is perpetuated in every single culture on the planet, and for great reason; we are all truly seeking to have those moments of transcendence that evolve us past our current stagnant state.

Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter, who is the Lord of Bliss and Joy.  What does this tell us?  Follow your bliss and you will find your higher vision.

Now shuffle your deck and pull a card for each of the following positions:

The Call:  What is the adventure we are being called to have?  What bliss do we seek?

Refusal:  What inside of ourselves is hindering us from taking up the challenge?

Crossing:  How will we find strength to begin our journey?  This card combats the "Refusal."

Allies:  Where can we find our strength and support?  How will we be mentored?   

Ordeal:  What will be our primary trail before we receive our insight?  What great fear will be exposed?  What great dragon must be slayed at the threshold?

The Great Vision:  What will be our lesson of transcendence?  

Temptation:  What inside of us will try and hinder us from assuming what we have learned?

Return:  What outside of us will try and hinder us from assuming what we have learned?

Atonement:  If your Great Vision is your sacred weapon, what is the beast in the Known World you must slay with it?

Integration:  How will you integrate what you have learned with your old world so that it becomes a permanent part of you?

Vesta in Gemini- Whispers

Shh... It's OK. I'll Lie by Lindsey Martin, CCL

Effective Date: 5/16-7/26/16

“Flirting with madness was one thing; when madness started flirting back, it was time to call the whole thing off.” - Rohinton Mistry

Helios Says: Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to stop. Stop thinking so much. Give yourself one second of stillness. Try and take that to a minute. 5 minutes. 10. As long as you can stretch it. Now what are the thoughts that flood your mind when you snap back to reality? Are they self-depricating? Do they tell you how shit you are for wasting your time on such a pointless exercise? Are they thankful for the reprieve?

These are the questions you must ask yourself. I have said this so many times- Your thoughts, your inner voice and perception of what is real, create what is real for you. This echoes the teachings of the old sages and masters. You must be on guard with what you think, even from yourself. Hell, right now that should be ESPECIALLY yourself.

You have not been kind to yourself as of late, bemoaning your challenges, and setting yourself up to fail so that you can further belittle and accost yourself for your ineptitude. That has to stop. You have to ease up on yourself, these times are tough enough without you stepping in. You have to strip down the background noise and get back to what really matters to you. Get away for a bit if you have to.

The main challenge during this time is not to waste your energy chasing down meaningless side challenges, but rather sticking to your larger purpose. Keep that Taurean energy and focus going, and you will see success.

Artemis says:

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”  - George Orwell, 1984

Cards:  the tower, the hierophant, 10 of swords

Fanaticism starts in the mind.  Watch what you say and how you say it, because words are a magical spell.  Your words, like seeds, weave intentions subconsciously; slipping themselves into your personal symbolism until one day they blossom and overrun your brain like dandelions on steroids.  Have you noticed the power certain ones have over you or a collective?  Call someone a “terrorist.”  Better yet, call a woman a “cunt” and see what happens.  Tell someone they “deserved” something.  The funny thing is, words are just puffs of air, blots of ink, or digitized nothingness.  They can’t really hurt you, can they?  I use to be a very sensitive kid.  I was very distraught over the fact that people weren’t kind to each other, and the smallest insult would send waterfalls down my cheeks.  My first grade teacher sat me down one day and repeated the words that just about every adult has said to a child, “Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you.”  She was wrong.

Words can sway entire nations.  Words can make you fall in love.  Words are the building blocks of the world, and no one knows this better than Gemini.  We give Gemini’s a lot of shit in astrology, but they really are the primordial power of air.  They are connection, tributaries, circuit board that brings all of the information together.  They are libraries and telephones.  They are the motherfucking internet.  Where Vesta in Taurus had us diving into what our foundations are, and our dedication to those foundations.  Vesta in Gemini will have us contemplating our dedication to certain ideas.  This is a combination for zealotry (hello hierophant surrounded by the tower and 10 of swords – both very destructive cards that alter our entire worldview).  Be very careful during this season.

If you built your idealistic foundation on something solid, then this ingress will have you developing its method.  If you are an artist of ideas and words, this is going to be a great time for dedicating yourself to your work.  Gemini is a mercurial sign, and therefore will not stop until every rock is overturned.  Their busy minds work like a locomotive, so use this time of mental dedication to develop your ideas.  Vesta is all about dedication and stoking one’s flames.  Without the eternal fire in our belly, there is no torch to guide us through life.  Vesta in Gemini will magnify our ideas and language and show us just how they fit into the ideology and passions that move us through life.  You will be shown just how powerful language really is. It is time to let false constructs fall, because building towers on shaky ground will only lead to complete devastation in the future (10 of swords) via fanaticism (hierophant).  The cards are heavily warning us here.  Please keep in mind that certain words can completely shut your brain off, while others can blast open a door of imprisonment.  Be careful to learn what makes up your personal ideology and what words have complete power over you when you hear them.  It could be someone’s name.  It could be whispering rumors.  To combat them, build weapons using your own words.  Ideas and words are the suit of swords in the tarot for a reason…