New Moon in Taurus- The Price

Banksy in Boston: F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED, Essex St, Chinatown, Boston by Chris Devers, CCL

Helios says:
“That’s the cost. That’s the price. Get ready, because when you crush the humanity out of humans, you’re left with humans with no humanity. In other words, you get what you pay for, motherfucker”
― Rick Yancey

Well, we survived that Full Moon in Scorpio- It may not feel like it, but we made it through. This one was rough, rougher than most; and for Scorpio that is SAYING something. Luckily the torture left us with a gift- It exposed our souls. Parts of you that you have given up for dead long ago got the chance to breathe again. Through the pain and the fire, you were able to take the first steps and see where you COULD heal, if you so chose.

It's never quite that easy though...

Over here, we are quite fond of berating you and beating the idea of knowing yourself and what it is that you truly want, your hearts deepest darkest desires into your thick skulls, but now this astro has whispered a question- what are you willing to do to get what you want? What will you sacrifice? How will you settle your debt? I assure you there will be a price to pay to see your dreams come true. This tells us something important- What you want CAN be brought to reality, and you can make it happen. It is within the realm of possibility. Then again, so is either myself or Artemis getting hit up by Emma Stone for a quickie- possible, sure within the multiverse and infinite possibility, but probable?

The astro gives us a chance though, an in. It always does. Each time we write one of these things its always an opportunity- For YOU! It's up to you to act on it though...

Artemis Says:

CARDS:
MOON:  4 of Swords
SUN:  The Hermit
Mercury:  Ace of Swords
Venus:  The High Priestess
Mars:  4 of Cups
Jupiter:  King of Cups
Saturn:  King of Pentacles
Uranus:  7 of Pentacles
Neptune:  6 of Swords
Pluto:  7 of Cups

“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”  ― E.B. White

Taurus is such a lazy piece of shit sometimes.  No, seriously!  You Taureans are one of my greatest delights.  I seriously adore you guys and always seem to be surrounded by your bullheaded presence.  The earth sign Taurus is ruled by Venus, who is the embodiment of love, pleasure, and fortune.  Gluttony, sloth, and lust are my favorite sins, and Taurus and her Venusean sister, Libra, wear those sins like a summer dress.  You can make it all look so good, Taurus...

 But you're lazy as fuck.

With my natal Mars in Taurus, I COMPLETELY get it.  I would rather be lying on furs, eating chocolate covered strawberries and screwing all night, but I also have to pay my earthy masters their due (bills bills bills).  Fortunately, Taurus is here to teach us that work and the physical world do not need to be like Chinese water torture (where every day just slowly drives us more and more insane). 

H: The Sun and Moon- In this lunation, the isolation that has been a theme in the past few moons is taking its toll. You feel that no one is on your side and that you are trying to scale the highest peaks on your own, with no climbing gear and no safety net. Your resources are painfully scarce and allies are few and far between, let alone ones that you can count on. This is A perspective; another way to see it is that you are pulling out ahead of the pack, and making a name for yourself. Use what you have at your disposal, and dont give up, just when things are getting interesting! You can do this, if you still want to. If your goals no longer match the path you are on, now is the time to break off of that course, before you are locked in- and it is very close to being that time. Change your mind before it is changed for you.

A: For the Sun, I pulled The Hermit.  That Scorpio full moon sure did a number on us, and 5 planets in retrograde surely didn't help.  We retreated.  We went away and exposed the deepest parts of ourselves to our inner eye.  Only through crossing Scorpio's dark void can we be reborn.  Unfortunately, when we gain a new understanding about anything (especially about the self), there comes an equal backlash of isolation.  The Hermit teaches us that once we go up the holy mountain, we wont come back down as someone people will initially understand.  We are seeking our inner truth.  We realized that the only way to live is from this inner truth; fuck these illusory reasons society feeds us from birth.  Things look different now under this new light.  Don't fret if you are misunderstood.  Hold your ground stubbornly, says the Taurus Sun, because once you start shining, the whole world wants to bring you down.  Shed all the shit you don't need for this spiritual journey.  Only keep the things that feel good in your heart and make you feel lighter for your long pilgrimage. 
For the new moon in Taurus, I pulled the 4 of Swords.  Ugh, Taurus is laying the laziness on thick.  She knows we are tired as fuck right now.  So rest up, darlings.  Indulge a little.  Eat some cake.  Make love.  Laugh.  Sing.  Get some sleep.  Give yourself a little break, because the past few weeks have been ROUGH.  Pull back from the people who are causing you anxiety, regroup, recharge, and sketch up your next plan of action.  This is some beautifully lush energy coming in, but even though we will be taking in life's simple pleasures, we will still remember our goal and where we are going.  Relaxation and regeneration doesn't hinder one from getting to where they are going.  Hell fucking no.  It makes life worth living, it strengthens us (body, mind, and soul), and it gives us an opportunity for release.  So, lay back... let go of your worries... just for a bit. 

H: Mercury, Venus, Chiron and Uranus- You are struggling with issues regarding what you are worth and what you deserve. You must overcome your reflex to cut yourself off at the knees. You were not born to prostrate yourself before others, narrow-minded fools who cannot see the scope of your vision- You are here to do so much more than you have yet. The setbacks and challenges that are in your path now are not here to overwhelm you, they are here to be overcome by you, to make you stronger. It is not time to give in yet, you have miles and miles to go before you rest.

A: For Mercury, I pulled the Ace of Swords.  The regenerative moon is going to give us access to our ideas and our words again.  Even though we may be in retrograde at this time, the conjunct with Mercury/Sun/Moon will give us a great deal of elation and bull headed poise.  But be careful!  Mercury in Taurus makes us blunt and sometimes all too harsh with our words.  Truth is a double edged sword.  Are you willing to bleed for what you're about to say?  This is probably a good time for work involving words and the intellect.  Our minds are sharp, poking at all the tiny details (which can lead to a fuck ton of anxiety, so try and slow down a bit and take care of yourself).  Just remember, don't get too caught up.  Harness this powerful, kinetic energy but don't let it get you carried away. For our darling Venus, I pulled the High Priestess.  Sneaky, sneaky, Venus.  It seems that she has been fatefully weaving again, and she's not talking.  This is another indication that we need to STOP and BREATHE.  The High Priestess has many secrets.  She is intuitive power, perception, the seer, knowledge that cannot be acquired by the intellect alone.  What are the things you seemed to "know at first sight?"  In Venus in Taurus, she tells us that through the lips of joy, we will hear our answers.  Follow your initial instincts, no matter how strange they may seem to your rational mind.  There are forces at work that we cannot see, so we must be silent and listen.  It may seem strange, but through your ability to relax and enjoy yourself - to have pleasure in the company of those that make your heart warm - you will find the answer to a great mystery.  Shhhh, just listen.  This is also a good indication that this is the perfect time for magickal workings - especially in regards to Fortune and Love.  For Uranus, I pulled the 7 of Pentacle.  More blah blah blah, reap reap reap.  The outer planets are incessantly giving us this message.   Make sure that you timing things correctly right now.  All of your hard work can and will go to waste if you are not watching for the right times to initiate.  Uranus knows that sometimes you need to strike like lightening and do things in spontaneous flashes.  Go with your hunches.  When something feels like it's ready to go, then get going with it.

H: Mars and Neptune- Here is where the debt racks up: With 5 planets retrograde, and in Taurus season, forward motion comes at a premium. The way will be unclear whichever way you turn, and every action will come at an exorbitant cost. What that price will be depends on the action and how much ground you are willing to take right now. The gains you make in one area of your life will be offset by losses in another. You must be willing to get into the flow- fighting it and swimming against the current will only increase this cost and make the cuts all the deeper. This is a sky for opportunists, those who are willing to wait for just the right moment. Or wait for a different sky altogether.

A: For our buddy Mars, I pulled the 4 of Cups.  Ugh.  We get it.  We're tired.  We need to rest.  We need to meditate.  Mars in retrograde right now means everyone is still in double asshole mode, so try and retract this energy as best as possible.  Don't let the apathy eat you alive.  Our energy is drained, we are contemplating throwing in the towel because this shit that is stacking up against us is getting very fucking high.  Don't miss opportunities because you feel like you can't take them on right now.  Be playful.  Look at things you wouldn't have looked at before.  Look AWAY from yourself.  Your energy is creating a giant  friggin MIRROR and perhaps all you have been seeing lately is yourself.  Step out of your Martian ego.  Inspiration is desperately needed right now, and this card is telling me it is literally right under our noses.  For those of you who have the ability to duel with your ego, get ready for some epiphanies. For Neptune, I pulled 6 of Swords.  It looks like the spiritual world is putting us through some spiritual trials right now.  Jeez, thanks, like we didn't notice that one...  It seems all of our bullshit right now is karmic, and that's ok.  Deal with it now and swiftly before it submerges your ship.  Although we have had a tremendous amount of misfortune lately, this is a clear indication that we are moving on from that.  Things are going to get crazy with the grand cross and the Eris/Uranus conjunct, sure, but at least this last karmic phase is starting to close up.  What awaits us on the other side?

H: Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto- Most of all, you are struggling because you are trying to find meaning, a reason to keep moving through this storm of insecurity, self-doubt, and your own insignificance in the world and the cosmos. Make no mistake, these are big, cold, uncaring energies- They will crush you underfoot without a thought if you let them. So you have to make them take notice of you! You must find something, anything, to cling to- Anything that brings you a small bit of comfort or meaning, no matter how small or banal, and you must hold that you like it is the key to everything, life's greatest secret. Once you have it, you can use the Titan's energies to their full strength, bringing the cosmos to bear for you rather than against you.

A: For Jupiter, I pulled the King of Cups.  It looks like Jupiter is going to be the jovial king he is suppose to be.  At the time of the New Moon, he will be 2 days away from being direct again (HALLEFUCKINLUAH).  He is also going to be a part of the magnificent Grand Earth Trine that is happening smack dab in the middle of our cruel Mercury Retrograde.  He is here to offer us what we want, so what will you ask for?  This is a wonderful time for expansion, for relaxing, for a bit of laughter and relief from all of this craziness going on.  If you have been thinking of launching a project or an idea, this is the perfect time.  Luck will be on your side. For Saturn, I pulled the King of Pentacles.  Yeah, yeah, we get it.  Saturn is still telling us that even though we have this little bit of relaxation coming our way, we still need to prepare for what is ahead.  He is always such a friggin drag.  3 of the 4 planets that will be participating in the grand cross in June are already in place (forming a dreaded t-square in the sky).  Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn are all putting pressure on each other and waiting for the Sun to hit the mid point of Gemini (Grand Cross is on 6/6/16).  So get your ducks in order.  Saturn is still in retrograde, so continue working on those loose ends and build your fortified walls.  You must become the master of your domain in order to use the grand cross that's coming as a spiritual evolutionary gateway instead of a baseball bat to all of your hopes and dreams.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  For Pluto, I pulled the 7 of Cups.  Ugh, screw you Pluto.  He is throwing so much shade our way.  All of the bullshit you keep in your head is coming out louder and louder to haunt you.  No one likes digging up more skeletons, but at least this card is indicating to us that it is all just illusions trying to bring us down.  All those things nagging at you and giving you anxiety are shit that have been put in your head by others.  Proper behavior.  Career goals.  Relationship goals.  Blah blah blah.  Look away.  Don't get blinded by all of the things people tell you that you should have and fucking get Plutonian and DESTROY that shit.  Once you have demolished the buzzing bees of societal expectations, you can finally hear the voice deep inside.  Then you will know what you truly want.  This will be the rebirth you need before the coming Grand Cross.

Pluto Retrograde- Cocytus

The Wraith by Jay Parker, CCL

Effective Date- 4/17-9/25/16

Helios says- Close your eyes. Do you feel it? That overwhelming emptiness, barely kept out of your thoughts. You distract yourself from the ache, piling on obligations, frivolities, drugs, and meaningless sex, what have you…  But every time you blink, or rest your eyes, and breathe again, there it is- Always hovering at the edges, threatening to swallow you whole.

You fear it. You are afraid because you know it is powerful, you know that it cannot be stopped. It is pervasive and it never sleeps. It dwarfs your own mortality. It whispers dark lies to you in the quiet- that you are ugly, that you do not fit in, that you never were good enough and you never will be, no matter what you do. It whispers that your loved ones do not love you back, and that you cannot trust them, they will only betray you in the end.

It whispers to you that you are alone in this world.

It whispers that in the end, all you truly have is it, the emptiness- Your last stalwart companion.

This is Pluto Retrograde. He will summon shades of the truth; never the whole picture, that’s not his style- not when just a bit is enough to have power over you. He knows your fears and he will play on them. He will conjure up ghosts of your past to terrify you, forcing you further within yourself so that you are further and further isolated from anyone who can help you, leaving you with only the darkness to whisper in your ear.

You must not let this happen. I understand this temptation better than most- The darkness knows secrets beyond mortal ken, and will tempt you with this occult knowledge just as much as it will try to terrify you into submission (Pluto is nothing if not an extremely skilled Dom, with intimate knowledge of your weaknesses and just how far you can be pushed), and you will walk into this thinking that you can flirt with the darkness for a weekend and come out unscathed, because you have before. Before you were brought to the edge, and it gave you an amazing rush, just enough to remind you that you are still alive. Ever since, you have pushed further and further, dancing ever more erratically on the knife’s edge. You have grown careless and overconfident- because you have not faced any true consequences yet, you think that you never will. I am telling you that if you dance with the devil this time around, he will take his due.

That is not to say that you should never go out dancing again, far from it! I am just telling you that this time, decline the invitation and make the bastard work for it. You have become far too easy of a date, and you need to play hard to get! It’s time to make this relationship with the darkness work for you, rather than it be all on his terms! Dance on your own if you have to- don’t be so predictable that you will wait around for a partner, because he can smell that desperation a mile away and will absolutely prey on it.

Oh, and stop responding to his booty calls. Leave the bastard blue-balled for a bit- It builds character.

Artemis says- CARDS:  4 of Swords AND 6 of Swords

Rune:  Thoronzon

“Sometimes I feel like a Buddhist and I need to chant; sometimes a Baptist and I need to holler and shout; and sometimes I need to be a Catholic and need to purge my sins and confess. It just depends on where I am.” - Jill Scott

Pluto retrograde is a scary fucking time.  I mean, Pluto is already a scary fucking planet.  He is the dude that tells it like it is no matter the costs.  Those with prominent Pluto in their charts seem to carry around mega speakers and KABLAM energy anywhere they stomp.  This is because they are the reckoning.  They are the transformer.  They are death, the destroyer of words.  Get ready for nuclear bombs to set of inside your brain.  Pluto retrograde is on the horizon, and it’s in that devil of a goat of a sign ruled by super serious scary Saturn; Capricorn.

The one rune I pulled, Thurisaz (the thorn), is very clear with its meaning in this situation; total and utter war with the self + tilling of the soil.  You can’t plant new seeds if the soil is not fertile – if there is some harmful insect ready to eat anything you attempt to grow.  It’s going to be uncomfortable and it’s going to feel hollow, so I suggest you carry around a little light with you wherever you go – like a lantern.  Bring something or focus on something every day that brings some form of joy in your life.  In a lot of mystical circles it is tradition to purge before initiation.  Actors do this before they begin to learn a new character.  They must purge themselves, destroy the old character and rebirth into the personality of the new. 

It seems Pluto wants us to purge and become the next version of ourselves.  Hopefully it’s someone you WANT to be as opposed to someone you are being forced to become.  Unconscious forces will be magnified, and psychological issues may erupt more than usual.  You can expect a lot of people to be snapping due to aggression, especially when Mercury retrograde and Mars retrograde join this Pluto retrograde.  Please realize that a lot of your aggression toward other people may be due to miscommunication and everyone dealing with deep psychological issues during this period.

Because Pluto rules in the macro sphere as well, this is likely to be a period of mass corruption and secret warfare.  I expect a lot of what is going to go on here will be purged out and emerge for the public sphere when Pluto goes direct in a few months.    

The things that you really want, like money or power or fame or love, you will start to see all of the shadow reasons why you love these things.  You will see the rot that surrounds the edges of everything, and you will bring it out and transform it.  Or you will become more crippled and dead than before.  It’s your choice.  It’s always your choice.  Pluto is the god of the underworld and the reflection that being in this underworld brings, and these reflections are going to get violent. 

The two cards I pulled for Pluto Retrograde are both Swords; 4 of Swords and 6 of Swords.

Swords represent air and the season of winter.  They talk to us about ideas, the intellect, communication, truth, power, deception and violence.  With two of these cards playing off of each other, this Pluto Retrograde is going to be extremely cerebral.  I would say that if you have issues with anxiety or depression, you should build some safety nets for yourself for this 5 month period.  If you can anchor yourself in correctly and narrow in on one issue at a time and truly dive (with support from those you truly trust to watch over you), you will succeed in purging the demons holding you back from taking your next step.  If you really don’t trust a fucking soul, you’re going to have to grit down big time right now.  It’s going to be a rough fight, especially with these other retrogrades joining Pluto (Saturn, Mars, Mercury).  You need to be hyper aware in this time because illusions will become thick.  If you practice, it is a good time to work with deities like Shiva. 

Where 4 of Swords is forcing us to heal our inner wounds, the 6 of swords tells us to move the fuck on.  Hello!  Your boat has taken off (probably without you).  Good job.  Now you’re going to have to swim out to it instead of sitting comfortably inside of it as you transit to the next shore.  We warned you about this boat in former sky watches – well there it goes.   Don’t let the things that you want vanish like a ship in the night.  Start swimming, face your fears, dive into the depths and get on that boat and move the fuck on.  If you don’t, you can bet you’ll be trapped in last year’s karmic wheel.  You don’t want to go through all that bullshit again, do you?  It’s time to illuminate, destroy, and transform.  I wish you all the best of luck.