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…

TNO Watch- Typhon

fire snake by mammalfingers, CCL

Oh man, I have been WAITING to do this one! I love all the TNO's and most of the asteroids/minor planets (meh on the Centaurs, Artemis loves those guys), but Typhon fascinates me to no end.

The Astronomy: 42355 Typhon is a scattered disc object that was discovered on February 5, 2002, by the NEAT program. It measures 162±7 km in diameter, and is named after Typhon, a monster in Greek mythology. A large moon was identified in 2006. It is named Echidna—formal designation (42355) Typhon I Echidna, after Echidna, the monstrous mate of Typhon. It orbits Typhon at ~1300 km, completing one orbit in about 11 days. Its diameter is estimated to be 89±6 km. Typhon is the first known binary centaur, using an extended definition of a centaur as an object on a non-resonant (unstable) orbit with the perihelion inside the orbit of Neptune.

The Myth: Typhon, also Typhoeus, Typhaon or Typhos, was a monstrous giant and the most deadly being of Greek mythology. Typhon and his mate Echidna were the progenitors of many famous monsters. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus: "when Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven, huge Earth bore her youngest child Typhoeus of the love of Tartarus, by the aid of golden Aphrodite (H: Reminding y’all ONCE AGAIN that Aphrodite is NOT a goddess, she is her own primal force that doesn’t give two shits about the Olympians, Titans, or whomever)". The mythographer Apollodorus adds that Gaia bore Typhon in anger at the gods for their destruction of her offspring the Giants (H: ...It was her anger at the destruction of the Titans which led to her creation of the Gigantes, and before that it was the imprisonment of the Hekatonkheires which inspired the betrayal and castration of Uranus. Gaea, you're kind of predictable). Numerous other sources mention Typhon as being the offspring of Gaia, or simply "earth-born", with no mention of Tartarus. However, according to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Typhon was the child of Hera alone. Hera, angry at Zeus for having given birth to Athena by himself, prayed to Gaia to give her a son as strong as Zeus, then slapped the ground and became pregnant (H: The mental image of this story alone makes it my personal favorite, as it is just SO Hera). Hera gave the infant Typhon to the serpent Python to raise, and Typhon grew up to become a great bane to mortals. The b scholia to Iliad 2.783, preserving a possible Orphic tradition, has Typhon born in Cilicia, as the offspring of Cronus. Gaia, angry at the destruction of the Giants, slanders Zeus to Hera. So Hera goes to Zeus' father Cronus (whom Zeus had overthrown) and Cronus gives Hera two eggs smeared with his own semen, telling her to bury them, and that from them would be born one who would overthrow Zeus. Hera, angry at Zeus, buries the eggs in Cilicia "under Arimon", but when Typhon is born, Hera, now reconciled with Zeus, informs him. According to Hesiod, Typhon was "terrible, outrageous and lawless", and on his shoulders were one hundred snake heads, that emitted fire and every kind of noise: "Strength was with his hands in all that he did and the feet of the strong god were untiring. From his shoulders grew a hundred heads of a  snake, a fearful dragon, with dark, flickering tongues, and from under the brows of his eyes in his marvellous heads flashed fire, and fire burned from his heads as he glared. And there were voices in all his dreadful heads which uttered every kind of sound unspeakable; for at one time they made sounds such that the gods understood, but at another, the noise of a bull bellowing aloud in proud ungovernable fury; and at another, the sound of a lion, relentless of heart; and at another, sounds like whelps, wonderful to hear; and again, at another, he would hiss, so that the high mountains re-echoed." The Homeric Hymn to Apollo describes Typhon as "fell" and "cruel", and neither like gods nor men. Three of Pindar's poems have Typhon as hundred-headed (as in Hesiod), while apparently a fourth gives him only fifty heads, but a hundred heads for Typhon became standard. A Chalcidian hydria, depicts Typhon as a winged humanoid from the waist up, with two snake tails below. Aeschylus calls Typhon "fire-breathing". For Nicander, Typhon was a monster of enormous strength, and strange appearance, with many heads, hands, and wings, and with huge snake coils coming from his thighs. Apollodorus describes Typhon as a huge winged monster, whose head "brushed the stars", human in form above the waist, with snake coils below, and fire flashing from his eyes: "In size and strength he surpassed all the offspring of Earth. As far as the thighs he was of human shape and of such prodigious bulk that he out-topped all the mountains, and his head often brushed the stars. One of his hands reached out to the west and the other to the east, and from them projected a hundred dragons' heads. From the thighs downward he had huge coils of vipers, which when drawn out, reached to his very head and emitted a loud hissing. His body was all winged: unkempt hair streamed on the wind from his head and cheeks; and fire flashed from his eyes." The most elaborate description of Typhon is found in Nonnus's Dionysiaca. Nonnus makes numerous references to Typhon's sepentine nature, giving him a "tangled army of snakes", snaky feet, and hair. According to Nonnus, Typhon was a "poison-spitting viper", whose "every hair belched viper-poison", and Typhon "spat out showers of poison from his throat; the mountain torrents were swollen, as the monster showered fountains from the viperish bristles of his high head", and "the water-snakes of the monster's viperish feet crawl into the caverns underground, spitting poison!". Following Hesiod and others, Nonnus gives Typhon many heads (though untotaled), but in addition to snake heads, Nonnus also gives Typhon many other animal heads, including leopards, lions, bulls, boars, bears, cattle, wolves, and dogs, which combine to make 'the cries of all wild beasts together', and a "babel of screaming sounds". Nonnus also gives Typhon "legions of arms innumerable", and where Nicander had only said that Typhon had "many" hands, and Ovid had given Typhon a hundred hands, Nonnus gives Typhon two hundred. Typhon challenged Zeus for rule of the cosmos. The earliest mention of Typhon, and his only occurrence in Homer, is a passing reference in the Iliad to Zeus striking the ground around where Typhon lies defeated. Hesiod's Theogony gives us the first account of their battle. According to Hesiod, without the quick action of Zeus, Typhon would have "come to reign over mortals and immortals". In the Theogony Zeus and Typhon meet in cataclysmic conflict: "[Zeus] thundered hard and mightily: and the earth around resounded terribly and the wide heaven above, and the sea and Ocean's streams and the nether parts of the earth. Great Olympus reeled beneath the divine feet of the king as he arose and earth groaned thereat. And through the two of them heat took hold on the dark-blue sea, through the thunder and lightning, and through the fire from the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing thunderbolt. The whole earth seethed, and sky and sea: and the long waves raged along the beaches round and about at the rush of the deathless gods: and there arose an endless shaking. Hades trembled where he rules over the dead below, and the Titans under Tartarus who live with Cronos, because of the unending clamor and the fearful strife." Zeus with his thunderbolt easily overcomes Typhon, who is thrown down to earth in a fiery crash: "So when Zeus had raised up his might and seized his arms, thunder and lightning and lurid thunderbolt, he leaped from Olympus and struck him, and burned all the marvellous heads of the monster about him. But when Zeus had conquered him and lashed him with strokes, Typhoeus was hurled down, a maimed wreck, so that the huge earth groaned. And flame shot forth from the thunderstricken lord in the dim rugged glens of the mount, when he was smitten. A great part of huge earth was scorched by the terrible vapor and melted as tin melts when heated by men's art in channelled crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things, is shortened by glowing fire in mountain glens and melts in the divine earth through the strength of Hephaestus. Even so, then, the earth melted in the glow of the blazing fire." Defeated, Typhon is cast into Tartarus by an angry Zeus. Epimenides seemingly knew a different version of the story, in which Typhon enters Zeus' palace while Zeus is asleep, but Zeus awakes and kills Typhon with a thunderbolt. Pindar calls Typhon the "enemy of the gods", apparently knew of a tradition which had the gods transform into animals and flee to Egypt, says that Typhon was defeated by Zeus' thunderbolt, has Typhon being held prisoner by Zeus under Etna, and in Tartarus stretched out under ground between Mount Etna and Cumae. Like Pindar, Nicander has all the gods but Zeus and Athena, transform into animal forms and flee to Egypt: Apollo became a hawk (Horus), Hermes an ibis (Thoth), Ares a fish (Se..Set?) ,Artemis a cat (Bastet?) , Dionysus a goat(...), Heracles a fawn (Nope), Hephaestus an ox (Done), and Leto a mouse (WHY WAS LETO EVEN THERE). No early source gives any reason for the conflict, but Apollodorus' account seemingly implies that Typhon had been produced by Gaia to avenge the destruction, by Zeus and the other gods, of the Giants, a previous generation of offspring of Gaia. According to Apollodorus "Zeus pelted Typhon at a distance with thunderbolts, and at close quarters struck him down with an adamantine sickle (Cronus' weapon)" Wounded, Typhon fled to the Syrian Mount Kasios, where Zeus "grappled" with him. But Typhon, twining his snaky coils around Zeus, was able to wrest away the sickle and cut the sinews from Zeus' hands and feet. Typhon carried the disabled Zeus across the sea to the Corycian cave in Cilicia where he set the she-serpent Delphyne to guard over Zeus and his severed sinews, which Typhon had hidden in a bear skin. But Hermes and Aegipan (possibly another name for Pan) stole the sinews and gave them back to Zeus. His strength restored, Zeus chased Typhon to mount Nysa, where the Moirai tricked Typhon into eating "ephemeral fruits" which weakened him. Typhon then fled to Thrace, where he threw mountains at Zeus, which were turned back on him by Zeus' thunderbolts, and the mountain where Typhon stood, being drenched with Typhon's blood, became known as Mount Haemus (Bloody Mountain). Typhon then fled to Sicily, where Zeus threw Mount Etna on top of Typhon burying him, and so finally defeated him. Oppian says that Pan helped Zeus in the battle by tricking Typhon to come out from his lair, and into the open, by the "promise of a banquet of fish", thus enabling Zeus to defeat Typhon with his thunderbolts.

The Astrology: Where do we even begin with this one? He is a monster, plain and simple, conjured up to destroy us for the mistakes we have made. Where have we heard that one before, hmmm? Every day we see this in our own minds, especially lately. So we find that he works in a lot of the same ways that Ceto does, but Typhon doesn’t hide- He doesn’t need to. He is overt, he wants his presence to be known. Fear is his weapon. Many astrologers also equate Typhon to natural (or man-made) disasters, where damage is caused to the earth itself. Gaea’s last child is out of even her control. Typhon tends to show up strongly around the time that empires crumble. However it is never all bad news- Even amidst the destruction people will come together to rebuild and ensure the survival- Look at post 9/11 (pre-iraq war II), the Fukushima disaster, Gulf Oil Spill,  the various Tsunamis and hurricanes that have plagued us as our climate changes . People come together after disaster. Sure, some will capitalize on the opportunity but when faced with catastrophe, we try to rebuild. Typhon also has strong connections to renewable energy, and the oil crisis. Typhon is definitely a TNO for the modern age, and will only grow in importance.

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 42355, for Typhon. Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Typhon affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

Pallas in Pisces- Bend

Beautiful Ballerina by Grace Trivino, CCL

Effective dates: 4/25-8/12/16, 12/30/16-4/3/17

Helios Says:
You know, I'm frankly getting tired of starting these off with a reminder of how bad things are right now. It's not like you guys don't know, you're living it just as much as I am. So why do I bother writing anything at all, you might be inclined to ask- Valid question, and one I ask myself often. While there are many reasons that I do what I do (and we do not have time to go into the deeper questions of purpose and meaning of life type of discussions in this particular post, that would give me an excuse to be even more rambling than usual), one of the main ones is to try and figure out the best way to move forward, regardless of how shit the conditions may be- for both my readers and myself. Luckily, that is where this particular gem of an asteroid comes into play....

Pallas Athene was the goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy. Keen-eyed readers will remember her from our recent post on Arachne. When she is not tormenting prideful humans (something she likes to do [Also revealing her fatal flaw, if you know what you are looking for]) she is the one you look to while everything is falling apart, even her father Zeus, chief of the Greek gods, trusted her counsel above all others. In short, she IS the way forward.

At this point in time, Pallas has just moved into Pisces. As everything falls apart around your ears and the very ground beneath your feet turns to shifting sand, our old approach no longer works, not at maximum efficacy anyways. Carrying yourself through this with nothing but affirmations, sheer force of will, and pure grit will not work- Keeping calm and carrying on is not the way. No, to get past this round you will need to get creative. You will need to *shudder* allow yourself to be vulnerable. With all of the retrogrades, and the torture the cosmos has decided to dole out, we are already exposed; we are cautious and afraid- And for good reason. Your first reaction is to turtle up, withdraw further within yourself to hide your soft spots. This could get you through, I won't lie- but it will only mean that you are fighting to hold your ground, and at best you will not lose any; at worst, you will lose everything. The only thing that is sure however, is that you will not go any farther than where you are at now.

What you must do is shed that armor, like a skin that you have outgrown and has become patchy and is already starting to flake off. It clearly doesn't suit you anymore (plus it's out of season anyway) so why do you keep lugging it around? Sure, it helped to shield you from a few hits back in the day, but you can't hide behind it forever! More importantly, it is holding you back from what you really want. With your masks and armor up, you cannot be seen by those who are looking for you and could be potential allies. In this time of uncertainty, authenticity is more valuable than gold. Removing your armor to show your true, authentic self will be frightening, but now is the time to unmask yourself. The time for charades is past. The challenge will be to actually do it.

Artemis Says:
“Everything in the universe has a purpose.  Indeed, the invisible intelligence that flows through everything in a purposeful fashion is also flowing through you.” – Wayne Dyer

Cards:  8 of Swords, Knight of Cups, 3 of Pentacles

 Pallas Athena sprung into life from the forehead of her father, Zeus, fully clothed in battle gear and ready to fuck some shit up.  She is the goddess of Wisdom, Victory and Strategy.  Warriors prayed to her for success in battle, and academics paid her homage so she could bring them illumination.  Through her, we learn how to connect information and use it to our advantage.  Athena teaches us how the pieces fit to form the whole.  Unfortunately for Athena, her fellow deities pretty much ignored her as a sexual object.  Because of this, Athena’s babies are the babies of the mind.  She shows us where our greatest ideas may take place, but she can also be obsessive.  What part of your life do you ceaselessly investigate in?  Where are you gifted with the ability to make swift connections?

So, what does it mean now that she is drifting into Piscean waters?  Pallas in Pisces is actually my natal placement for this asteroid, so I may be able to intuit a thing or two about this energy.  The combination of 8 of Swords, Knight of Cups, and 3 of Pentacles, tells me that this energy is the ability to see the spiritual building blocks of the world.  Pallas in Pisces tells me that we will be able to have confidence in our creative and spiritual connections.  The world political climate will become increasingly more idealistic (Pisces rules religion and spirituality, so expect more of that to be brought up as well).  The fantastic part about this energy is that Athena is forced to FEEL, not THINK in Pisces.  We go from over rationalizing our strategy to feeling out intuitively how we should move toward our victories.  This surge of creative intelligence will be amazing for unraveling old patterns that have us blindfolded in regards to our next move.  Pallas in Pisces coupled with the Knight of Cups tell us that your ability to charm your way out of a situation will dramatically increase.  This is great fuel for those who are already swimming in the waters of creative intelligence.

Pallas in Pisces will give us the opportunity to explore the architecture of our spiritual world.  I bet that we will be seeing a lot more synchronicities, more spiritual groups coming together due to realizing connections, and an overall merging of people’s spiritualties.  The fish make Pallas a lot softer than she usually is, giving her the ability to have insight on healing and creative interpretation.  This is the position of the mystic and psychic and the ability to see spirit where others do not.  This is where Pallas shows us how the spirit world connects to the bigger picture, and how fantasy and creativity play a role in bridging the causal and acausal worlds.

Full Moon in Sagittarius- Worst Enemy

Monster by *Nicole C, CCL

Effective Date: 5/21/16

Helios Says:  “The Edge... There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”- Hunter S. Thompson

Don't push me, because I'm close to the edge... that is very much the feel of this Full Moon. With the pressure of the multiple retrogrades, the mutable meltdown, and the looming specter of Uranus meeting up with Eris, who could blame you for being just done? Not a damn one of us, because we are all there. These times aren't just hard, they're ruthless.

And this is not the day where I tell you that it is all smooth sailing from here. No, we have miles and miles to go before we rest.

Artemis says:
“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Adventure.  What could be more holy than the very pilgrimage one embarks on to find the “light”, the “answer”, the “whatever the fuck it is we are looking for?”  There is always that insatiable itch inside of us that screams, “GO OUT THERE AND FIND IT!”  (Whatever “it” is.)  The world is so big and vast; of course the answer must be out there!  Well, let me let you in on a little secret.  God is like an onion.  Stay with me here.  God is like an onion.  You keep peeling back layers and layers, hoping to reveal something, but all you're really revealing is more and more of the same - all the way to the core.  As above so below.  We are the very fabric of what makes up this universe.  Explore yourself by exploring everything around you.  Your exterior reality is like a mirror.  Don’t be afraid to peer deeply.

H:The Sun, Moon, and Mars- Okay, so let's start with the good news. You finally have energy! You feel like you can take on the world and can do whatever you set your mind to! The bad news? You are being blocked at every turn, leaving you to pace back and forth like a caged animal. All that energy just gets dissipated and squandered, leaving you annoyed, and feeling like a failure for not achieving as much as you wanted, further adding to your annoyance and frustration. This can lead you to lash out at those around you, especially those who offer to help you or talk. Since you don't think there is anything they can do to help, you lash out in anger and frustration, driving away your allies and support network when you need it most. All you want is just to fly above the problems that assault you, but you are shackled by your obligations. 

A:Sun (The Fool), Moon (Ace of Wands), Mars (2 of Wands):  For the full moon in Sagittarius, I pulled the Ace of Wands.  What we imagine, we become.  We tend to build an image of ourselves and stick with that image like it is the one true god.  Guess what?  You can become whoever you want to be whenever you want to be.  Your imagination is even more powerful than you could ever imagine (ooo paradox).  We build the reality around us, which means you build your own prison by choosing to allow others to dictate your reality.  This card is reminding us that we are lit as fuck and there is nothing that can smolder our divine fire.  Don’t fear doing your work or finding your way.  Everyone is honestly just terrified – like, all the fucking time.  Everyone claims that they are looking for truth, but few are brave enough to look at it.  When you stoke your fires, so to speak, there will be people around you who will try and smolder your light so they aren’t forced to see.  Fuck these people.  For the Sun, I pulled The Fool.  Reset.  It’s time for you to do something you’ve been afraid to do.  It’s time for you to take that leap of faith and possibly tumble off a cliff to your doom.  BUT, if you do survive, and your instincts were right, you could stumble into some form of great personal enlightenment during this full moon.  With the 2 of Wands representing Mars in this reading, I would go on to say that a major decision needs to be made.  I know the Mars in retrograde energy has everyone aggressive and unmotivated, but if you can actually make a clear decision about your future actions – if you can develop a vision – you will be surprised by the surge of energy you receive to spearhead this vision.

H:Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto- This section deserves its own post, quite frankly. This is the source of the shitty astro of the moment- Mercury is about to go direct, but before he does he has one last, assholish trick to pull, and he has the Super Saiyan energy to pull it off. Mercury is going to throw up every nightmare and fear you have, and blow them way out of proportion: With Neptune and Jupiter they will be insidious and able to get under your skin like nothing else, while being exaggerated and overwhelming. Saturn makes sure that you are reminded every minute that you are insignificant, worthless, and no one wants anything to do with you, while Pluto makes sure that you are too terrified of your own shadow to do anything about it. You will not get rest, and you will not get respite. You will be a prisoner of your own mind, and these phantoms will be relentless. You will have a very hard time telling what is real and what is fake. What you really need to watch though, is your self-talk; now I was new to this concept until I heard @LordMoonstone talk about it in a video detailing his mental issues and suicide attempt-  You must be very careful of how you deal with your self, and how you treat yourself with all this chaos swirling around inside your own head. Just because something shitty is happening to you doesn't mean that you are in fact, shit. These guys do not need ANY help tearing up your mind and your ego, least of all you cheering them on. You are going to want to find an outlet, a way for you to cope with all that noise- And you don't want to turn to drugs or booze, because they will only exacerbate the problem, trust me.

A:Mercury (The Star), Jupiter (7 of Cups), Saturn (Page of Swords), Neptune (King of Wands), Pluto (The Moon):  We're about to drop off a very nasty cliff the next couple of weeks, so you better start learning to fly.  You also need to stop fighting the retrogrades.  Sorry, you can’t run from the forced introspection.  The planets have put a magnifying glass to your soul for a reason.  You can’t fucking hide from your own mind.  So you better get your adventure party together and quest to the center to face your own great beast.  With the card combinations present, it looks like the outer planets are gearing for some reality rattling.  For Pluto, I pulled The Moon, which means he is going to continue digging at you until you realize what subconscious forces have been pulling you toward the horrible chaos in your life.  You are choosing to march in these directions.  But why?  What inside of you keeps you circling back around to the trash piles of reality?  For Neptune I pulled the King of Wands and for Jupiter I pulled the 7 of Cups.  We are brimming with ideas right now.  Our heads are swimming with so many things we could be doing and experiencing, and our very urge to go and explore every nook and cranny is going to inflame our imagination.  This comes with a bit of a warning, though – check yourself at every step to see that the pieces are fitting together correctly.  Saturn being the Page of Swords suggests that insecurity is not over yet.  Saturn knows that we know how to assume our power in this world, but he also knows we need a big push to do so.  This is tough love, guys.  He fucks our shit up so that we can become stronger and wiser.  Don’t fear your knowledge.  Trust it.  Trust yourself and do what you need to do.

H:Venus and Uranus- Okay, so where do we go from all of that nonsense? Well, strangely enough these two might be the best antidote to the chaos I just talked about. All of those phantoms, spooks and nightmares have one fatal flaw- They only have any power if you take them seriously. Venus and Uranus right now have this great, heretical trickster energy, and it can cut straight through the dark, dank fears you have. The shadows fear laughter more than anything. If you refuse to give them any sort of respect, and just mercilessly ridicule them, they have no power over you. For instance- I saw an amazing tumblr post where a user was saying that from now on, their coping skill to deal with the anxiety, depression and negative self-talk was to imagine that it was coming from Donald Trump. Now as the Donald is a natural buffoon, and its impossible to take anything that comes out of his idiot mouth seriously, this is absolute genius. Make your fears afraid of you by refusing to take them seriously. Its just crazy enough to work, aye?

A:Venus (Queen of Pentacles) and Uranus (6 of Swords):  Venus is trying to tell us that in order to find pleasure right now, we must soak ourselves back into the earth.  Get outside.  Go climb trees and roll around in the grass and have a hike.  The crazy thing about nature is that it teaches us everything we need to know about pleasure and beauty.  It teaches us about the severity that is also necessary from time to time.  But, regardless of how horrible the severity is in any natural climate, there is still an awesome beauty to it all that cannot be denied.  Venus is telling us to find the beauty in the pain.  There are no mistakes.  Everything is a part of the greater echo system.  Take a different perspective.  And that is exactly what the 6 of Swords for Uranus is telling me.  It is time to move on from our old ways.  It’s time to come up with new methods.  Your habits of the past aren’t going to cut it for the next level.  The quest is long, we have no idea what is at the core, but I’m going to bet the infinite things we experience on the journey paint a mirror image of the destination.