Ceres in Aries- Kakodyl

Hot - Ashlea Louise - Great British Tattoo Show 2014, London by Darren Johnson/ iDJPhotography, CCL

Effective date of transit: 4/15-7/18/16

“There’s a tendency to mistake preparation for productivity. You can prepare all you want, but if you never roll the dice you’ll never be successful.” ~ Shia LaBeouf

Helios ASTROLOGICAL reading of Ceres in Aries- Look at that woman up there. She is confident as shit, swallowing a flaming stick, in nothing but (very provocative) lingerie, showing herself and her awesome tattoos. God, I think I'm in love... Anyway, this is your role model for Ceres in Aries- Be bloody, bold and resolute! (laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm MacBeth! [Sorry, can't help myself. Grew up more on a stage than in a house, and always had a special place for the Scottish Play- That line is burned into my memory. Its even a much used tag here! Go on, click it- you know you want to!])

Now, while Ceres was in Pisces, you were beat down pretty hard. Shit got heaped on you over and over again, and now you are buried under it, defeated and reeking to high heaven. You didn't know what to do to get out from under it or how to go about doing it, so you were paralyzed. You gave up, and let it happen. You did what you had to do to get through- You have to forgive yourself for that, stop tormenting yourself over the past; it is set in stone and done (well, not from a non-linear quantum/multiverse perspective, but still)- you have the present to worry about.

This transit is a major shift in the energy. This is what you need. This is where you start to stand up, shake off the merde, and get the fuck out of the quagmire you have become stuck in. This is action, this is unapologetic candor and unleashing the awesome that you have held back. If you wait to do so you will suffocate and die under your own guilt and regret. Do not allow that to happen- and make no mistake, indolence now is equivalent to suicide. Do not resist the flow by staying stuck where you are- Get out NOW, consequences be damned. Get to where you need to be to succeed. If you can't make it happen right this second, start planning ASAP. No one is coming to do it for you. No one else gives a shit. Go do it yourself or it WILL NOT GET DONE.

Let me regale you with a story that is not that well known about Ceres/Demeter. Now, if you have the faintest idea who she is, you probably know her from her supporting role in the Original Lifetime Movie that is the Persephone saga, but what if I told you that she had her own adventures while she was wandering the earth, looking for her lost daughter? WELL SHE DID. The one in particular I want to discuss is the Demophon story, aka the Elusian Mystery Cult.

Abridged version- Persephone flees is abducted from her extremely overprotective Mother who abandoned her in a random field. Persephone is taken to the underworld, to be Hades' bride, but no one but Helios and Hecate seem to know what happened and they refuse to speak because Zeus arranged this and swore them to silence. Ceres rants to Zeus, and refuses to allow the crops to grow, and all life on earth is threatened while she goes wandering the earth to find Persephone. In her wanderings, just as she is about to give up, she takes a break at Elusis, where she meets the queen, who just so happens to need a nursemaid for her son, Demophon. Demophon is sick, and Ceres takes care of him while his parents run the country or whatever. Now, they are kind of nice to her, so she decides to repay them by making Demophon immortal, because that's just something she can sort of do I guess... She takes him off of people food and feeds him solely Nectar and Ambrosia, the food and drink of the gods, which gives them their strength and immortality [partially]. The other part of the immortality process is a bit trickier though...  She plunges the poor kid into a blazing fire nightly, burning away his mortality. One night, as she was almost done with the process, the queen barges in, and understandably flips her shit, sending Ceres into one of her now-famous tirades. Meanwhile, Demophon gets left in the fire too long, and he burns to death, which of course Ceres blames on the queen for being a shitty parent. Right around this time Helios and Zeus decide its a good idea for a reunion between mother and daughter, and send Mercury off to facilitate it, leading to more wacky underworld hi-jinks and shenanigans, but before she leaves she teaches agriculture to a random kid, saving Greece and humanity from dying out the next time an insane, grief stricken mother goddess ravages the earth out of pettiness.

Even though he dies at the end, Demophon finds life as a central figure in the Elusian Mystery cult, a religion focused on life, death, rebirth ad the underworld. They believed this story (along with other secrets they held) could provide clues as to the method Ceres used to make Demophon immortal, so that they could do it themselves.

Ceres can burn away the impurities in you and raise you up higher than you ever dreamed. All you have to do is let her.

Artemis' TAROT reading of Ceres in Aries

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  ― Benjamin Franklin


Ceres is the mother.  According to myth, her mourning of Proserpina's return to the underworld is what brings us the cycle of the seasons; and therefore she is also the ruler of the great cycles in our life.  When floating through the arena of Aries, she becomes a fierce mother who teaches through action and fosters independence.  

Ceres in Aries is my personal natal position for the great mother, so her dark mama approach is very familiar to me.  She doesn’t take shit, she will push you into the deep end of the pool so you have no choice but to learn how to swim, and she will test you at every turn.  This is how a Ceres in Aries person teaches and this is how they learn.  Ceres in Aries will make sure that we are ready for this next step in our journey, and she will be our partner in crime along the way.  People ruled by this energy to not sit well with being told how to do just about anything.  They are happy to take suggestions and advice, but in the end you must KNOW that it is their choice what they do with their life.  And they want the same for you.

What does that mean for us?  Well, it means that a time is coming where we are going to start standing up for the things we want - no matter what other people might think of them.  That's a pretty amazing energy.  

For this ingress, I pulled The Sun crossed by The Hangman.  The rune that will clarify the energy is Hagalaz (hailstorm).  It’s time to grow up.  It’s time to regain our independence and our ability to drive our own fucking life.  We are familiar with all of the things we need to tackle and all of the things we need to get rid of in order to start our new life.  At our center, we know what we need to do, and we're finally ready to do it.  Something is urgently whispering, "There is no time like right now!"  You will finally have the drive to start taking action and pushing yourself, and those you care for, into more expressed versions of yourselves. 

The way toward thriving is to get up and take what you need.  Inaction and suspended ego are not going to work for you right now.  The Hangman is water, he is stillness, he is quietly peering into the next dimension.  He is willingness to let go of the ego, and he is not boding well for our ego infused happy sun energy that is trying to shine out.  Sometimes we need the ego.  Sometimes we really need it to puff us up and give us power to actually manifest shit in our lives.  Put yourself out there!

Because Ceres is entering Aries, I get a feeling that we are all being re-born as a new version of ourselves.  We are infants in this new stage, feeling out how to use our brand new powers.  The best way?  Ceres in Aries says just DO.  Play.  Act.  Take initiative and dive in.  It doesn't matter if you have a plan or not - do something.  It's the only way to learn how you need to proceed from here.

Compete playfully with your friends (this will be a great way to recharge during this period).  Look at the things in your life with child-like eyes.  This sense of independence and curiosity is exactly what we will need in order to keep afloat with the wacky energies coming our way the next few months.  Don’t fear.  Ceres in Aries doesn’t have time for fear in the midst of doing.  We WILL do this, and we will do this together.  The real question is...  Can you keep up?

TAROT READING:  The Sun CROSSED BY The Hangman

RUNE:  Hagalaz 

Uranus Conjunct Eris- War Drums

Kurdish YPG Fighter by Kurdishstruggle, CCL

Effective date of transit: June 1 2016- May 16 2018

Helios' ASTROLOGICAL reading of Uranus Conjunct Eris:  Here we are- The transit that keeps me up at night, and the one that I have been stressing about since basically I started writing, and have been warning you was coming for the last couple years: Uranus conjunct the dwarf planet Eris.

So why should you care? What is so special about this one single transit? Well, to answer that let’s look at the planets involved- First up, Uranus. Uranus was a storm god, actually scratch that- Uranus was one of the first forces of nature, of creation itself. He is chaotic, primal, and more force than god. He was the sky, the storm, aether, what have you. When he coupled with Gaia, the literal earth itself, it gave birth to the Giants, the Hekatonkheires and the Titans, all of whom, on their own, outclassed all the gods we know and love by far. However, it took five of the Titans, an unstoppable blade, and the literal earth herself to take him down a peg, as he could not be actually killed or stopped. He is cold, uncaring, and revels in chaos just for novelty.

Even so, he doesn’t love chaos as much as the next factor, Eris. She is the goddess of strife, chaos and bloodshed. She was a war goddess and one of the besties of Ares. A quote about her, from Homer- “Strife whose wrath is relentless, she is the sister and companion of murderous Ares, she who is only a little thing at the first, but thereafter grows until she strides on the earth with her head striking heaven. She then hurled down bitterness equally between both sides as she walked through the onslaught making men's pain heavier.” Most recently, she caused some strife and chaos when she was discovered in the cosmos, causing Pluto to be demoted to minor planet status and a redefinition of the concept of what a planet was. Remember the backlash and public outcry that caused, and how those wounds are STILL fresh for most people, all of whom have an opinion on the matter.

Now, these two are conjoining in the sign of Aries, AKA the least chill sign there ever was. War, passion, strife and chaos all combine in this sign on its own, and with these two heavy hitters, it’s a recipe for disaster. And let me remind you that we, (at least in America) are engaged in a bitter, ugly election battle and it seems no one will win, least of all the people- Not to mention that we are engaged in at least 5 wars at last count, and we are not exactly recovered from our economic crisis. Moreso, these events affect the rest of the world, and vice versa- Take for instance the low gas prices: Those are considered a boon in America, and a sign of our recovery, but these prices are DESTROYING whole countries and economies. In oil-rich countries built on the profits of expensive oil (and steeped in corruption) these prices have completely destabilized the economy, bringing them a hairs breadth from anarchy- black markets rule, and the national currency is worthless, and people are not getting what they need. Everything affects everything else now. That could easily happen here- and that could very well be the best case scenario.

You see, even with the best version of this transit imaginable, I see no way to avoid going through a LOT of upheaval and transformation- At worst? God, the worst case is pure nightmare fuel. I could easily see this becoming a civil war that spills out into the rest of the world at large, stopping global exports of food, relief, and what have you, descending multiple countries even further into chaos, and that’s only the ones that we don’t drag into the war with us- The lucky ones. You think im exaggerating? The last time this transit happened was in 1932, a year that set the stage for WWII. In 1848, there were major riots and political revolutions, old states dissolving and new ones rising from their ashes. 1764, more war. I could go back further but a trend emerges. War, taxes, riots… no matter what, the people suffer- They are downtrodden and taken advantage of.

Also to beware of is the fact that this will essentially be a resurgence of the Cardinal Crisis. Jupiter will be moving to Libra later this year, and will be opposing these two. With this in mind, it is taking place within orb of Pluto in Capricorn, if widely. So there will be a new version of the T-Square, with several times where Cancer is activated, rounding out the Grand Cross. So everything from 2008-14, with all of its chaos and upheaval, will be back in play in a brand new way. In fact, you could say that period was the warmup act for this one.

I don’t have motivation or a positive spin for this one, or how to best work it, guys. I can only warn you that its coming at the moment. More as it unfolds.     


Artemis' TAROT reading of Uranus Conjunct Eris:
“In chaos, there is fertility.” ― Anaïs Nin


So the very slow moving asteroid Eris (formerly known as Persephone - consort of Pluto) is going conjunct with our familiar giant planet of Chaos, Uranus.  And I pulled a fuck ton of fucking crazy cards.  Happy April Fucking Fools!  

Eris is laughing at us already.    She throws a golden apple into the center of our cosmic party.  "For the most beautiful one!  Kallisti!"  Are you the one worthy of picking it up?  Could you?  Should you? Probably not, because Eris is the goddess of motherfucking DISCORD and CHAOS.  Lower your egos down a notch, everyone.  She's going to sucker punch us all one by one, and we need to stick together here.  Shit is going to get rough for everyone, but seriously - we all need to stick together.  Eris has no mercy.  She will show you what you need to see, and she will show you violently.    

WHO THE FUCK INVITED THIS BITCH TO THE PARTY?  

Get out something to chew on or find a spot you can pace in, because this one is going to be rough.   

In all seriousness, this is a very serious post.  "Why so serious, Artemis?" Because the last time this conjunct happened, the Nazi party sprouted, FDR became president, and the initial rattlings of WWII started to become visible.  I know you can all feel it.  Don't bullshit me.  Don't bullshit yourself.  You can see it in the eyes of everyone around you.  We all know something big is on the horizon, and we can all smell the blood in the air.  We don't know exactly what it is... but our spidey senses are alarming the fuck out.

Birds can feel a storm before it comes and flock together (and they fly the fuck away).  Sensing danger is instinctual.  We don't even know we are doing it, but our subconscious mind picks up on the clues around us.  We can all sense when we are being lied to and culled.  We are being penned up, and they are about to take us to slaughter.  The thing is, animals know when they are about to get slaughtered.  And they start going MAD. 

Our political climate is set for it.  It is almost impeccable.  Whatever way we decided to tip, we have already set up the dominoes.  All Eris is doing is snickering and toppling them over.  She is the initial spark; the CHAOS needed to get motion going.    

So what is Uranus doing in this reading?  He is saying, fuck this shit, stuff is going to start changing around here!  Like flashes of lightening, we wont see it coming and it might be a little disturbing at first.  The outer planets like to deal in the macro.  They talk in politics and mass human behavior.  Uranus likes to talk about revolution and innovation.  It looks like some massive inventions might be on the horizon this year.  Bold new plans.  Bold new uptakes.  Bold New World.  Will it be for the better?  I don't know.  Was the invention of the nuclear bomb for the betterment of humanity?  Was the invention of cars for the betterment of humanity?  No thing in itself is purely good or evil.  Is it good for YOUR worldview?  Whatever the innovations will be, they will be an evolutionary step for humanity.  

Around and around we go.  You see, our sun (Sol) is rocketing through space at about 70,000 km an hour.  This means that the planets are trailing after it in a spiral fashion, creating a literal helix.  Sometimes the planets coast out ahead of the sun, sometimes they trail behind.  The sun isn't just sitting there as planets rotate around it in a static fashion.  Oh no.  We are fucking throttling through space right now at high speeds.  The world is in constant movement, spiraling outward, each rotation the same yet different.  We have reached another solar rotation of Uranus since 1932, my friends, and now he and Eris will be effecting similar yet different revolutionary change.  Notice the patterns.  As above, so below.  

It is time to seize opportunity.  Shit is fucked up.  It seriously is.  All around the world, shit is fucked up.  We see it clear as day, so why do we look away?  This energy is going to make a lot of us snap back to reality.  Things are happening HERE, where you LIVE.  Do you see the massive election going on?  It is one of the craziest we have had in decades.  Everything hangs by a thread.  America is a failing Empire, and the route we choose to take is extremely important right now.  Rise to the occasion.  This is our last chance.  We have the Ace of Wands next, indicating that a surge of power and heat will descend upon us.  People are going to get riled up.  It is inevitable.  How they decide to harness this surge of energy will be up to them.  Will we use it to destroy our enemies, or will we use it to destroy each other?  We end with the two of wands for Uranus, warning us against arrogance.  This combination props up revolutionaries who are working through truly Aquarian values; humanitarianism and group evolution.  We are BOLD right now - especially in the sign of Aries.  We want our voices to be fucking heard already!  Can you hear it?  All over the world, the people are roaring.  

 Chaos is, at first, seen as a shiney novelty.  We have our new thing, like the smart phone, and it is glorious.  This is like the butterfly effect.  The novelty gains popularity.  More and more people want it.  More and more Chaos ensues.  We source slave labor to make their parts.  We suck whole generations into a small screen so that we can program them easier.  Don't you see?  Chaos, at first, is a tempting seductress.  She eases our worry and shows us something innovative and great.  What we don't realize is that if we don't steer her OUR direction, that she will show us the folly of our ways.  She will show us just how we can abuse our power.  This is Eris' lesson.  

The cards I pulled for Eris are kinda ominous.  Why wouldn't they be?  It's fucking Eris, the goddess of Discord.  The information we are being fed is trying to stack things against us.  It is making us feel weak and stupid.  Be warned, Eris is going to take all of this down.  The wool is going to be pulled from our eyes, but it's not going to be very pleasant.  But hey, at least we will finally be getting some fucking truth, right?  The Tower card is indicating that there is mass corruption that is about to go down.  What is the most obvious metaphor for The Tower card?  Probably 9/11.  No one knew those towers were going to come down (well, I could argue conspiracy, but I've already rambled long enough).  It was seemingly out of nowhere, and it completely changed the culture of the United States.  Seemingly out of nowhere, something may occur that will rattle our very foundations as a country.  What could the unexpected be?  

I guess I really can't tell you, can I?  

The next two cards I pulled for Eris are the King of Wands and The Emperor.  The King of Wands is the King who cannot sit on his throne.  He is an action oriented king, and he is an innovator.  In my Hexen 2.0 Tarot deck, he is represented by Nicola Tesla.  The King of Wands is obsessed.  A new zeal will move about the political atmosphere; a fever of some kind.  This could be good, and this could be bad.  Really, people, it's all about your intent.  Bend the energy to your will.  The final card is The Emperor.  He is Mars, and he is industry and war.  This card in this position warns us that every little thing that we do now has larger repercussions in the future.  We are walking on a tight rope and we need to sway in just the right ways.  Do you really know what being in charge of your own destiny feels like?  The reigns are about to switch, and if we, as the people, cannot take them, then someone else will.  Who will rule?  Will the chaos that ensues put someone diabolical in that oval office, or will we be so fired up by this energy that we will storm the capital and take back what is ours?

Perhaps.  


Helios and I will continue reporting this conjunct as things move along.  Let's see how the patterns unfold, shall we?

Tarot Reading:

Uranus:  2 of Wands, Ace of Wands, 3 of Wands
Eris:  The Tower, The King of Wands, The Emperor 

TNO Watch: Heracles

Helios: You guys, lets not beat around the bush- Shit is TOUGH right now. Our challenges loom large on the horizon, threatening to swallow us whole. I wont lie to you- it IS more than we can do alone. We need help to overcome these obstacles.

Ladies and gentlemen, we need a hero.

The Astronomy: 5143 Heracles is an Apollo asteroid, Mercury grazer, Mars crosser and near-Earth object discovered on November 7, 1991 by Shoemaker, C. S. at Palomar Observatory. It was discovered to be a binary asteroid by Arecibo Observatory in December 2011. Heracles has an insanely erratic orbit (Not as bad as Damocles) of 2 years and 175 days, but can go from 3.24 AU to 0.41 AU! It spends the majority of its 2.48 year orbit in the signs Aquarius, Pisces, Aries and Taurus, and then goes through the remaining eight signs in less than a year. Sometimes it retrogrades back through as many as four signs before it turns direct. But, amazingly, not once in these 200 years is it retrograde in the signs Cancer through Sagittarius! In other words, in its present orbit, it never goes retrograde throughout one-half of the zodiac. (wikipedia and Zane Stein)

The Mythology: Come on, this isn't exactly one of my obscure ones, we're all at least vaguely familiar with Heracles, right? Heracles was named for the Greek god of strength, a son of Zeus and Alkmene, a mortal princess of Thebes who is better known as Hercules. Persecuted by Hera throughout his life for being Zeus' illegitimate offspring and endangered at times by his arrogance and ungovernable passions, Hercules performed numerous astonishing feats of physical strength, like his epic Twelve Labors, which he did to expiate the murder of his wife Megara and his children in a fit of madness brought on by Hera. He shot the centaur Nessus for molesting his second wife Deianira and Nessus, as he lay dying, told Deianira that a shirt dipped in his blood would restore Hercules' faithfulness should he ever stray from his vows. When he did, Deianira sent him the shirt, which stuck to his flesh and caused him to immolate himself on a pyre to escape his agony, after which he ascended to Olympus and was made a god.
The Astrology: Heracles in mythology is a gigantic figure- his myths abound! So lets break it down- Obviously there is his strength and courage, not to mention his sexual appetites, matched only by his father! But what else is there? Digging deeper, we see abandonment, having to succeed on one's own. Wild passions that are both a cause of strength and a source of self-undoing, if improperly channeled. Achieving greatly, but only after enduring more hardship than is reasonable. A grand quest to prove to one's own self that you are worthy. A life in service to others, never allowed to truly break free and find happiness for yourself. Not being in control of one's own destiny. To me, Heracles is a decidedly tragic figure, which is fitting regarding his connection to the Centaurs. I really like Mark Andrew Holmes' take, giving the keywords of contending or struggling with something, damaged or destroyed by one's own strength, passion barely in or out of control, prodigious feats, exaltation after death. Clearly he is a greatly flawed figure, but only by facing his flaws, and not running from the challenges that he was set. I can think of no greater role model and source of strength for us right now than the great Heracles!
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 5143, for Heracles. Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Heracles affect your life?

New Moon in Aries- Hostile Takeover

:) by Mark Lewin, CCL

Effective Date  for Aries New Moon:  4-7-16

Helios: Hope you enjoyed your break guys, because this one is going to be LIVE. No rest for the wicked this time, and man these are some wicked skies. Its like being shaken out of our stupor in the morning, 3 hours early, with an air horn. Nothing about this is kind. Nothing about it is easy. To get through this, you will need grit, you will need passion and determination- You will need to soldier up. You will also need to be just a little insane! Or maybe more than a little, it all depends.

Diving right in...

Artemis: "Coincidence doesn't exist and goosebumps never lie.  Your body already knows the answer.  All you have to do is turn down your spinning mind, and continue to follow all the signs.  Because you are always worthy of becoming your best and most actualized self."   - Victoria Erickson

Fuck, I hope you're all ready.  We're kinda out in the wilderness now  (astrologically speaking).  We've entered the rabbit hole.   This is the world of "when you thought you had one drink, you've really had two."  I don't know about you,  but the howling from that last full moon still has me a bit rattled.  Anyone else feel that crushing sensation?  Well.  Guess what?  It was needed.  That was the exact energy we were begging for to burst out of our suffocating hibernation.  Well, at least those of us with some backbone were asking for it!  For those of you who chose to follow your highest ideals, SALUD!  Congratulations!  Good fucking morning!  You've woken up into a new dawn.  2 Weeks after the Full Moon Eclipse in Libra, the moon wanes into darkness.  It's dark goddess time, and it's new moon Aries time.  That combination alone brings to mind a blazing, rumbling Volcano, exhaling the skeleton for new worlds over the ocean waters.  It's time to lay the foundation of our attitude for the next Zodiac cycle.  Are you going to do this?  Or are you going to lay back into the Piscean waters of 2015 cycle and get lost at sea until you wake up 5 years from now and realize you did nothing with your life again?  Sorry, gotta tell it like it is.  Don't shoot the messenger.  So.  Aries is the sign of the pioneer, and you wont be able to get into this new cycle of things if you aren't willing to explore and do a bit of battle.  Although the planets may be bombarding us right now, these tarot cards are definitely rooting for you guys.

Helios: Sun, Moon, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto- Yep. Its another Super Sayian lunation. Your feeling right now is that you are beset from enemies on all sides. To a point, you are right- but you are not seeing that your attitudes and perception is what is causing those people to oppose you, says Rhiphonos. You believe that you are in the right, that your way is the only way, and by design that alienates those around you who have other ideas and their own perceptions. Niobe confirms this, telling you that this is coming from a place of deep insecurity and self-loathing- those baboons with the smallest testicles yell the loudest. You are throwing your weight around, trying to assert your strength- but Sila-Nunam warns that you would be better served to stop, try and force yourself to let your insecurities about the situation go, and stay open to the ideas and input of those around you. It will save you from walking a lonely road in the future. If you do find yourself in a conflict, Icarus and Astraea beg you to get out of it, rather than engage those that you falsely see as an enemy. If you don't, or must engage, Phaethon warns that you will crash and burn, and you more likely than not will lose that person as a friend or ally for good. Battle lines are being drawn and there will be friends and family on opposite sides of everything right now. All is not lost though- after the conflagration, Deucalion will be there to help you rebuild, though it will take work, and you will need to prioritize what is important to you. No time for fun, get your work done. Interestingly though, even with all the sturm un drang, this is a time of beginnings, not one of endings according to Klotho. And the future, while terrifying, is nonetheless bright, and in that we have allies of Iris telling us that these stormy skies WILL clear, and Varda, who leaves us with this: Everyone is looking for the light, looking for a hero. Why not let it be you? Fill the void for others. Try being a paragon for once, instead of just a renegade.

Artemis: Moon-  For Luna herself, I pulled the Page of Swords.  Unsure little Page of Swords.  She's quite adorable.  And she's lost in the woods, just like fucking us.  I mean, we prepared.  We prepared a lot.  We were bombarded with some weird shit the past couple of months (make that year), and we really, really thought we were ready.  Well, we're in the game now, so we better start to learn how to play.  The Page of Swords represents an individual who has the knowledge necessary to complete the task at hand but lacks the confidence.  Eternally in a cautious stance, the figure in this card is intellectually mulling over their infinite options of action.  This card always reminds me of an uber nerdy kid feeling out of her element at a party.  She could crush the brains of everyone there, but lacks the confidence in herself to do so with any sort of flair.  Fortunately for us, we have a secret weapon.  It's Aries' personal mantra.  "Why the fuck not?"  We have all of this Aries energy.  What are we to do with it?  We are to wage war and slaughter the hordes of  enemies descending upon us.  You think I'm joking?  We need to reign in this Aries energy and use it to our advantage.  Don't let the ram roundhouse kick you off of the cliff.  Aries energy is not something that most can handle.  It is unpredictable.  It's powerful.  It's wild.  It's sexy.  It's completely and utterly bone headed.  In order to tame a wild beast, one must remain calm and poised.  We can take this lesson from the Page of Swords - calculation.  From here, we must move.  Don't forget to move.  Don't forget to act.  Don't get sucked back into the illusion.  You've got what it takes and intuitively understand what you must do.  Don't let anybody fucking intimidate you.

Sun-  For the Sun, I pulled 6 of Cups.  Lost things returned.  I saw two things when I looked at this card.  First, it is suggesting that in order for us to harness this Aries Sun energy, we must remember how to smell the flowers again.  When you're a kid (or when you're on psychedelics), you see the world through hungry eyes.  Try and look at your mundane world in this way, and the magic will begin to pop.  Are you sick of your routine?  There is a lesson in everything; even drudgery.  Why do you think the karate kid had to wax cars and Luke had to lug Yoda through swampland?  Find the magical flow, stop to enjoy things that can bring you some worldly pleasure, and something precious and lost may return to you.  The inspiration you seek will come to you from the dreamy, pleasure seeking behaviors you take.  Flirt with the world.  Seriously, give it a try.  It flirts back.  So, what was my second intuition about this card?  The past, the past, the past.  Are you slaying those dragons?  Are you telling your past to fuck off?  It's time.  Make like Lot and don't look behind you unless you want to see things you love turn into salt pillars.  Look back only with sweet nostalgia.  Forget the bitter.  Save that bite for what's coming and let dead things lie in their graves.

Saturn-  For Papa Saturn, I pulled Knight of Pentacles.  This is reminiscent of the Saturn Retrograde reading I did recently.  Daddy of Karma is telling us to get our shit together.  He is giving us this opportunity to rearrange and change course.  Use it wisely.  Especially pay attention to the things that you see every single day.  There may be re-ordering required that you hadn't noticed before.  This is a time for foundation laying.  Make sure the skeleton is sturdy, because we are building to the heavens.

Uranus-  For Uranus, I pulled the 5 of Swords.  Where the inner planets are all lovey dovey cups, the outer planets seem to be daggers and serious shit.  This could indicate that although we are connecting to each other at very deep levels on the micro, the macro is going haywire.  Uranus tells us that there is some negative energy brewing on the planet.  We feel disconnected from the world at large.  The powers that be have taken a selfish approach to our lives, and it looks like the growling coming from Uranus is his indication that karma is rolling back around.  Chaos is coming to break those of us who have taken selfish actions against those who selflessly trusted us.  Rebellion is on the horizon in the macro.  Perhaps we will soon start getting our fair share?    

Pluto-  For Pluto, I pulled the Knight of Cups.  Bloody idealism.  Pluto is giving the macro an idealistic fervor.  Unfortunately, this applies to all ideologies.  Plutonian transformation in your personal life?  It seems that once you drink from the Knight's cup, your eyes will be opened to bliss.  He tells us to let go of our mental restrictions and walk in the world of pure intuition.  Interact with people in your life at a gut level (and hold on tight, because the transformations that will happen because of this will be immense).  Pluto is going to force us to live up to our ideals or suffer.  I don't know about you, but I'm done suffering.

Helios: Mercury, Venus- Okay, so this is a throwback energy. No, I don't care that Mercury is in Aries and looking forward- At the end of the day he is still going to go Retrograde shortly. For this, you will need to do some regression. You have grown as a person, that is undeniable. To get through this, you will need to salvage parts of you that you had killed and buried. There is a certain savagery that is needed, and you once had it, but have moved past it. It is waiting for you to reclaim it, and now you must for what lies ahead. Crantor and Makemake show that your very survival is at stake here. You fear what you once were, and you fear being a slave to it, but there is gold in the cave you enter- Not to say that you don't fear for good reason- You have to choose between your progress and your future- Not everyone is up to making that choice. It is tough, it is not fair, and it will not be decided by avoiding responsibility in making that decision. Even if you have no good choices, you still have to choose. I could give you platitudes about how you will be able to stuff your monster back in its cage, but I can't make that promise. Each of us have a different fight to win, and not all of us will. At least not right away. Quaoar and Huya tell us that all is not lost because of this compromise- in fact it could very well be the key to your future success! You have had time away from your dark side and it has been great for you- Your darkness may have grown as well, for good or ill. Either way, the way forward is to reintegrate and USE it. Even though when you cut it away, it no longer served you, that doesn't change the fact that it is still YOURS. It it YOU. Bring it in from the cold.

Artemis: Mercury-  For Mercury, I pulled 3 of Cups.  This card represents good times with friends, drinking and merriment, time with your tribe, and spontaneous pleasurable happenstance.  Those that speak your language will be very important right now.  Who can you speak from the heart with?  Stick to those people.  They will lay the foundation for ideas to start blossoming.  If you need to get unstuck, talk to those who bring about this joyous, inspirational, and freeing energy into your life.  Healing will come from our "tribe."  Find each other.  We need each other.  Especially right now.


Venus-  Well, for Venus I pulled the 2 of Cups.  I dunno.  It's spring.  Our blood is pumping again.  Beltane (May Day) is a month away, and this isn't the season to sit and stay.  Run around and play.  Fall in love with something.  Someone.  I don't know.  This card has a lion on it and two lovers sharing a cup.  It takes great strength to be vulnerable with someone else; especially at the level this card is speaking of.  The lovers are sharing their lifeblood; letting each other drink of their personal truths.  Affection and openness can save you now.  Find those that you can meld mind and heart with, and allow the truth to flow and become the foundation of this year's values.  Venus is, after all, the planet that rules over personal values.  You may come to some powerful realizations about the importance of certain people in your life, or experience the emergence of some electrifying personas.  Gravitate toward these people!  If you don't have anything like this in your life, say GOODBYE ASSHOLES to the imitation pieces in your life.  Seriously, what's the friggin point of existing in that mundane hell?  You will understand when you ditch the basic and upgrade to those who speak your language.  For those of you who already have met your tribe, cheers!  You will truly feel the benefits of those relationships right now.      

Helios: Mars, Neptune- Water + Fire = Steam. Harness it and move forward, or do nothing and be boiled alive. Tempers and Passions are already at a boiling point and ready to spill over. You must not be the one to stir the pot and allow this to happen- Especially not with Eros in the mix. Isis shows us that if you are, you will be the one who has to pick up the pieces of what it once was, and it will never be the same. Luckily, Asbolus and Kassandra help you see flashpoints from a long way off, even if no one else does or will listen to you. Altjira echoes the prior warnings, avoid rather than engage, even if it means looking as though you are weak or indolent. Better that than getting bogged down in an unnecessary conflict. Of course, this time to escape you may need to go under, rather than above, with the underworld goddesses Eurydike and Persephone in play- You don't know all the facts in these situations. Vital information is being consciously withheld from you, and the only way to go forward is blindly, as best as you can. Make sure that you cultivate an air of confidence and assure everyone else that you are in charge, as Juno will not let the peons forget who is actually queen around these parts. Work with her and not against her.

Artemis: Mars-  For Mars, I pulled the Lovers.  Well, sounds like everyone is gunna get laid?  Mars and The Lovers together obviously implies a lot of sexual energy.  Coupled with the rest of the inner planets (3 of Cups for Mercury, 2 of Cups for Venus), it seems we are brimming with emotional drunkenness.  Oh god.  Careful out there.  Hmm...  Perhaps this is indicating that the push we need to succeed and to jump into our calling will come from those we share intimate connections with?  There needs to be a melding of mind and body right now.  Mars is the god of war or whatever, but right now he seems to be a bit subdued (perhaps due to his retrograde coming at us on April 17).  TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS!  War god is only sweet when he has physical indulgences.  We had some abrupt changes in partnerships in our lives lately.  There were a lot of painful hits to our friendships and relationships, but now is the time to meld again.  There is opportunity to form some incredible partnerships if we jump at opportunity like a Saggo.  If you have been sitting on your feelings, now is the time to make a move on it.

Neptune-  For Neptune, I pulled the Magician.  Here we go, guys.  Nothing is as it seems, so we might as well take advantage of this.  The veil is thin right now, so work your magic.  Put your intentions into everything you do.  Push your emotions through your eyes, your words, and your touch.  A magician understands their environment and how to manipulate it to their advantage.  This may be a great time for dream magic and divination, art and seduction.  This may also be a good time to severe addictions, as you may come into power over your illusions.

Helios: Jupiter- Again, Papa Jupiter is off by his own. Probably for the best- If you are watching the US elections, Trump is the perfect example of Jupiter gone horribly, horribly wrong, with no checks or restraints. Luckily, that's not the case at the moment. Jupiter is perfectly poised to help us create our wildest dreams of what could be, and bring them into reality. The scary part is when that power is actually used- For many people, what Trump is espousing is paradise, to continue the analogy. One man's heaven is another man's Hell. Therefore, Vesta and Cyllarus say you must use this to carve out a slice of heaven for yourself, and no one else, in line with your ideals and no one else's. You must be a bit cold and calculating with this, and wait for the right moment to make this a reality, according to Thereus. Yes, overall the time is ripe to do so, and now is the time to act, but your situation will provide an opportune moment that is impossible for me to narrow down in a general scope like this- Call me for a consult instead. Siwa confirms this, reminding us that everything has a moment, a season- working with the cycle produces success, going against it causes only heartache and struggle. Be smart about this- Do for you before you try to do for anyone else, this gives you a much better platform for maximum affect in both your life and anyone you try to assist.

Artemis: Jupiter-  For Jupiter, I pulled the 6 of Swords.  What losses are you grieving?  It is time to let go and get to the other shore.  Heal.  Move on.  Jupiter asks us to expand away from this grief and come into joy.  There is a karma coming to haunt us from the past (thanks Saturn retrograde), but please don't let it sink your ferry.  Ghosts are eternally hungry, and we don't have enough food on this boat to feed them and us while also managing to get to the other side alive.  There is only room on this boat for the living.  We are in a transition period.  Things are going to be hostile and your enemies are going to try and overtake you.  You need to destroy their thunder by not giving a fuck.  Seriously, you will find your power when you realize you can walk away at any time.  Don't let melancholy overtake you when you have so much beauty around you if you just step outside to see it.

Cards:
Moon:  Page of Swords
Sun:  6 of Cups
Mercury:  3 of Cups
Venus:  2 of Cups
Mars:  The Lovers
Jupiter:  6 of Swords
Saturn:  Knight of Pentacles
Uranus:  5 of Swords
Neptune:  Magician
Pluto:  Knight of Cups

Mercury in Aries- Roar

Helios:
Originality is independence, not rebellion; it is sincerity, not antagonism.
-George Henry Lewes

*Breathes in deeply* Smell that, you guys? No, not that, I mean Aries! It's in the air, all around us. It may not quite be here yet (Pisces won't let us go that easily) but Aries is rising up, coming up from below to rip free of Pisces' hold on us. Mercury is our vanguard into the full glory of Aries, running ahead of the Sun to get us ready for the fight ahead.

This Pisces season has been awful. We have struggled with feelings of powerlessness, worthlessness, and an overwhelming fatigue. We are jaded and have given up almost all hope- almost. It is the moment after a crushing defeat, right before your opponent lands the final blow, taking you out for good- This is what we face. But it's not over. You see, in each of us, there is one tiny little glowing ember; one last place in our very souls that we have refused to give up on. These last moments before it all goes out are yours to claim.

So it falls to you- Do you have one last round in you? Can you get up again? Is there anything left to fight for? Or have you truly given up, once and for all? Is this how your story ends? And what of those who stood with you, fought in the trenches with you- They look to you to see what you will do next. Will you you fight for them, if not for yourself? Or will their efforts and sacrifices be for nothing?

Listen, I get it. I know how tempting it is to just give up. I know how tired you are, and how sick you are of taking loss after loss. What you are feeling is completely valid. But the work is not done yet, and you have miles to go before you sleep. The stakes have never been higher, and it is an uphill battle for you. Any ground you take will cost you, deeply. You cannot afford to make any errors. You have everything to lose, but everything to gain. This round is for all of the marbles, and its your last move.

So what's it going to be?


Artemis:
Cards:  4 of Pentacles CROSSED BY Page of Cups

"You can call me a sinner
You can call me a saint
Celebrate me for who I am
Dislike me for what I ain't
Put me up on a pedestal
Or drag me down in the dirt
Sticks and stones will break my bones
But your names will never hurt"  

Mmm our first taste of Aries!  Who doesn't love this self assured energy?  As we all surely know, Mercury is the planet of communication.  It's ingress from an elusive water sign like Pisces into a fire sign like Aries will bring much needed straightforwardness into our communication.  Aries in Mercury is self assured talk, regardless of what they talk is about.  This fire sign believes in his ideas, fervently and with strong possession.  I pulled 4 of Pentacles for this ingress, meaning perhaps we will be TOO strongly rooted in our opinions.  Be careful here.  Aries can be a bit brash and speak out of line.  They are not known for their tact.  You may have a hard time distinguishing between the truth and your opinion.  You may attack others when you are feeling vulnerable about your ideas with far too much force; watch your temper and arrogance.  Seriously, there is a very big difference between confidence and arrogance.  Don't let this huge surge of energy control you!  Be like Aries and control it!  The positive aspect behind this card is that it sets a sort of protection over our mind.  If there is an idea that you truly need to solidify, this will be the time.  You will have the confidence to say exactly what you need to say.

There is a sensitivity to Aries that is never quite realized because of their firestorm energy.  Let me let you in on a little secret (shhhh).  Deep down inside, they are sensitive little lambs.  They are sensitive about their ideas, their presence, their station in life, etc.  But there is something magical about how they deal with this sensitivity that we can all learn from.  They say, "No.  I know who I am.  These fuckers don't know shit about me.  I'll fucking show them!"  This is exactly the kind of energy we need after unsure Pisces.

"This is who I am
You can - Like it or not
You can - Love me or leave me
Cus I'm never gonna stop -No no
Cleopatra had her way
Matahari too
Whether they were good or bad
Is strictly up to you" 

The next card I pulled for this ingress (crossing our original card) is the Page of Cups.  She is tender and gentle.  Wow, what an opposing force!  She is here to warn us that although we may start to feel fired up, we need to be gentle with our fire.  If you turn the burners up to high on your stove, you are going to burn your food.  If you set the heat at just the right temperature, you are going to make something delicious.  Aries says a million things in just one word.  This is, surprisingly, also the Page of Cups.  She says more in a glance than one can sing in a whole song.  Use the Aries bluntness and charm to get what you want in a playful manner and not an aggressive manner (Aries is ruled by Mars, after all, so watch out).  Grand displays will be important right now, but make sure they are there to empower you and those around you instead of just to feed your ego.  With great power comes great responsibility.  With fire driven inspiration in our voices, we must be careful not to turn into dragons.  

"Life is a paradox and it doesn't make much sense
Can't have the Femme without the Fatale
Please don't take offense
Don't let the fruit rot under the vine
Fill up your cup and let's drink the wine" - Madonna

Full Moon Eclipse in Libra - Bloom

Full Moon Eclipse Libra  March 23, 2016

Helios:  THANK GOD ITS ARIES SEASON! There is no ingress I look forward to more than this one! Especially after the clusterfuck that was this last Pisces season, and all its pileup. Unfortunately most of the planets are still in Pisces, giving me an ulcer, but are we going to let that stop us from squeezing out every bit of Aries that we can? Hell no!

And good lord, we are going to need everything we can get...

Artemis:  

"Who dwells at the core of my being? I am calm itself and he is the storm." - Hafiz

This is the final eclipse in a long series of Libra/Aries eclipses. We wont see an eclipse in this sign combination for another 7 years. This, in itself, feels very significant. 7 is the number of Venus, the goddess of fortune and love, and also the ruler of Libra. This may be an especially significant time for those born under the scales.

Libra, the centerpiece of the zodiac, always reminding us that perfection is non-existent and life is in constant adjustment for balance. Like a see-saw, she teeters between hot and cold / dark and light / love and fear / war and peace. Where Aries is exploratory and impulsive action, she is stillness and assessment. As an idealistic air sign, Libra will toil endlessly for a justice that can never be fully attained; bringing to mind Sisyphus.  Perhaps this is Libra's punishment from the gods for being so fucking indecisive. The scale will always tip one way or the other, regardless of how balanced we may perceive it in the moment. The great work is never over.

"Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun." - Alan Watts

Helios:

The Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars- Despite what I just wrote, I am going into this completely uninspired. I've tried to fake and force the awesome for hours now, and just kept running into a brick wall. Hopefully if I just keep rambling and writing I'll stumble into some sort of genius insight- if not, there's always tequila. Anyways, that is very much the feel of this: Think back to this time 2010-11, and how on fire you were, ready to take on whatever came your way, heaven help anyone who got in it. Where did that go? Where did you fail? Where did you lose? More importantly, when did you give up on yourself? Find that moment between then and now, and learn from it. Learn your lessons, forgive yourself, and MOVE THE FUCK ON. Its well past time to get back into that mode. That moment is holding you back, trapping you in its maelstrom, and if you don't escape it you will NOT survive the storm that is coming. And it will make landfall very soon, you NEED to be ready. You need to get back to your original mission, whatever that may be. There is a reason you decided to go down the path you explored, but there is a course-correct coming. Make the choice to change now or watch it be made for you. This energy is completely aligned with the greater year energy of the Fire Monkey, so now is the time to get aligned. If it doesn't bring you toward achieving your goals, get rid of it!

Artemis:

THE MOON: For the moon, I pulled The Hangman and Sowillo, which is the exact same combination I pulled for the last eclipse. This is auspicious. We have reached the other side, reflecting the last new moon in Pisces like a mirror. We have crossed some sort of strange, dimensional rift, with illumination resting firmly betwixt. Like Libra, the hangman is the centerpiece. He sits smack dab in the middle of the major arcana of the Tarot, suspended between two worlds. This book end situation is a new sort of experience for Libra. All endings breed beginnings, and Libra is consistently stuck in the middle of the story. Both the ideas of starting and ending seem foreign and dizzying. This whole transition from new moon to full moon has been like sitting on a fence; something Libras are very good at. It is finally time to step off and go see the greener grass on the other side. Unfortunately, while Libra has been sitting around contemplating, her Aries neighbor has erected hedge statues and planted gardens and a built one of those stupid fountains. Spring is here, and the scales have finally tipped. Sowillo, the sun, has arrived. The funny thing about the sun, like illumination, is that you can never look directly at it but you see it's presence all around you.  The hangman has lost his ego. He is in a position where you could throw a rotten tomato on him, kick his head, or give him a hug. Who knows. He has taken the leap of faith. It's time to give everyone the big fuck you and bloom how you choose. You get to be whatever kind of fucking flower you want to be. You inherit yourself.

THE SUN: For the sun, I pulled 5 of Swords and Kenaz. 5 of Swords represents self interest, which makes perfect sense for a sun in Aries. You're going to have to defend what you believe in. People are going to disagree with you. They are going to fight you and kick you when you are down. Don't fucking let them. Seriously, punch them where it hurts most and move the fuck on. We have to let things go and become light and fly now. The rune Kenaz, also known as the "torch," tells us that you will "surpass the master." This is where we make a choice, punks (sorry, Libra). What is the story you are going to choose to tell? Are you going to keep telling the same old fucking story, or are you going to take what you want? Are you the master of your own fate, or will you allow the illusion to suck you back in? There is also a warning here. This card tells us it is not in our benefit to be wholly selfish. It's like Libra is scolding Aries. She tells him to do what is right and to do it with the fullness of his unique intensity. I'm sure Helios and I can both agree that there is nothing more glorious to behold than an Aries with a righteous goal at his back. Kenaz represents controlled transformation. It governs apprenticeship, study, and the search for enlightenment. What drives you? What is your end goal? Look beyond everything. What is the sun of your life?

MERCURY: For Mercury, I pulled The Devil and Algiz. This is a fascinating combination. They call Algiz the rune of connections. What kind of connections? In particular, the kind between us and the gods. Algiz represents the higher self and courage. It is used as a protection rune and is charged with giving us courage in the face of fear. People are going to say what they need to say. That'll be nice, wont it? There is this idea of "personal gravity" which I found interesting when studying this rune. Movement is key, so find your rhythm. Mercury is the planet of communication, so Algiz in this position tells me that the full moon will be a glorious time for getting in your creative zone and just letting work come out. We also have the Devil archetype to deal with here. This card warns us that people (including you) may have an easy time influencing us with their words right now. Listen carefully to the way people speak to you, from the friends in your micro, to the politicians in your macro. What does everyone really want? It's an easy time to figure this out due to Mercury's connection to Algiz, the god whisperer, and The Devil, the impulsive egoist.

Helios:

Venus and Neptune- Okay, so these two annoy me. These are my least successful/integrated energies. Luckily, they work together exceedingly well, and with Neptune still in Pisces (don't remind me) it lends itself to a lot of customization and experimentation. Let me tell y'all about a little trick I learned from acting and my Pick-up Artist days- it's called Mind-shifting. What you do is you visualize your success (whatever form that might take) and marry that to an intense memory of achievement. Connect yourself as much to that memory you can, using your senses. Overwrite your insecurity and doubts with the emotion in your memory and use it to convince yourself that you already have succeeded, and really BELIEVE it. Once you swing that, all that's left is the execution, just actually doing it!

Artemis:

VENUS:  For Venus, I pulled The Star and Hagalaz.  Again, a fascinating combination.  The Star (card #17) is hope, the light, healing and escape after the collapse of the motherfucking tower (card #16).  The Star is Aquarius, who is ruled by the circulatory system.  It is the idea of connection at a mass level - the spider who weaves the threads between the stars.  This is a great combination.  It tells us that we are finally shedding the bullshit, letting the hail storm knock away all that isn't fastened securely to the truth.  Really, guys, this is good.  Venus represents what we truly value.  It's time for that to be clear for us.  Venus is giving us our speck of hope, and really there is nothing more perceptible in the sky than the wandering star Venus.

NEPTUNE:  For Neptune, I pulled The Lovers and the blank rune (fate rune).  Neptune rules over our temptations (thus the planet of alcoholism, YAY).  She is all the things we cannot see that are creeping around in the other world, influencing us in some wyrd way.  The blank rune sure shows that here, standing in for the idea of "fate" itself.  There are going to be a lot of magical moments, strange things coming into fruition that we may be blindsided by.  You see, Neptune represents that which is barely on our peripheral.  She also represents the higher form of love.  The lovers in position here tells me that higher connections are coming into manifestation in our lives.

Helios:

Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Pluto- Okay, so this is becoming less and less Super Saiyan energy and more the 12 labors of Heracles. In which case, we're at the 3rd labor (yay us!), seeing as how we already overcame the Nemean Lion (brute strength) and the Hydra (overcoming multiple issues at the same time, balance). This labor would be that of perseverance, and humility. In the third labor, Heracles is tasked with catching the Ceryneian Hind, a stag that could run as fast as lightning. Heracles came across it by chance, then chased it over a year without catching it. After he kept running and chasing it, he ran into Artemis, who told him to leave it be, as the stag was hers, and go back to the asshole king who tasked him with the labors to say that he had caught it, and it would all work out. As he is walking up the steps to the palace, Artemis brings the stag to him, making him promise to return the stag to her. The king is ecstatic, but he wants to keep it for himself. Heracles realizes that he cant allow this to happen, he agrees, under one condition- The king had to come out to get the stag himself. When he does, Heracles released the Hind, and it escaped, and Heracles told him coyly that he had just been too slow.

Artemis:

JUPITER: For Jupiter, I pulled Justice and Inguz. So we have the rune of growth in the planet of growth. Hmmm. So what the hell are we growing? If Jupiter is the planet of joy and abundance, it looks like we are growing what we want through righteous action; aka Justice. Inguz rules subtle action, and Jupiter is being ruled by the Queen of Detail - Virgo. There is something waiting for you, a reward to reap, if you focus on the details. Once you find it, there will be an explosion of abundance available to you. Get your flashlights out, guys. This is a good time for workings involving money. Unfortunately, if you have been sowing bad karma along your path, get ready to eat shit.

SATURN: For Saturn, I pulled the The Hermit and Jera. So the Hermit is associated by the zodiac sign Virgo, and Jera represents the harvest, and Saturn has a big scythe he uses to reap.  This is a dire warning for us. Saturn goes into retrograde on March 26, 3 days after the Full Moon Eclipse in Libra on the 23rd. When Saturn decides to cycle back through the field, he brings double karma along with him. I'm sorry to terrify you. Remember... the pendulum has begun to swing.

URANUS: For Uranus, I pulled the King of Cups and Gebo. The King of Cups is a highly creative individual with great emotional depth. He sits in the storm of Uranus, calm and composed, his emotions reigned in. This King is aware of the flashes of insight coming from Uranus - the powerful jolts in our day that rattle our very foundation. The important thing is that the King of Cups sees them and becomes aware of them. He then responds in a composed manner. The King of Cups is emotional understanding, and he has a healthy balance between his intellect and his emotions. Gebo is the divine balance. There is great ability for you to make inspired partnerships with the people around you. This is encouraged. Follow the flashes of lightening, and do so generously. Share your fire. There is a lot of reciprocation in this combination. The King of Cups is very giving and generous, and Gebo literally translates to the gift.  Get ready for lots of gifts of insight as well.

PLUTO:  For Pluto, I pulled the 7 of Pentacles and Berkano.  What is with this card?  It keeps fuckin' showing up, left and right, and it's beginning to make me very curious.  The 7 of Pentacles is all about that moment when we decide to change.  Something has finally been completed, and now it is time to choose our direction.  Pluto is the planet of regeneration, and our lives are very much being pumped with new life blood as we speak.  Thanks for the juice, Pluto, because we are really going to need it for all these fucking retrogrades about to beat us down.  Berkano shows up for us, under the planet of legacy coupled with the 7 of Pents.  This probably means it is an excellent time for money manifestation.  You can truly have what you want, you just need to have the guts to change yourself in order to get it.  Don't just sit there.  Either harvest what you have in front of you and make something of that, or take what you need and begin your new life.  Decisions, decisions.  You're going to be forced to change, so it's time to choose a route or smash face first into the median (sorry again, Libra).

Planet - Rune -- Tarot
-----------------------
Moon - Sowillo -- Hangman
Sun - Kenaz -- 5 of Swords
Mercury - Algiz -- The Devil
Venus - Hagalaz -- The Star
Mars - Eihwaz -- Ace of Pentacles
Jupiter - Inguz -- Justice
Saturn - Jera -- The Hermit
Uranus - Gebo -- King of Cups
Neptune - blank rune -- The Lovers
Pluto - Berkano -- 7 of Pentacles

New Moon in Scorpio- Savages

big savage tunnel 1911 by Nessie Grace, CCL

These are some psychotic skies, you guys.

I mean, limiting Saturn in expanding  Saggo, while broad-strokes Jupiter is in nitpicky Virgo, Uranus moonwalking backwards on the shag carpet, shocking everyone; and Neptune vaping up a storm, making everyone else choke and so it’s impossible to have any idea what the hell is going on (we get it bro, you vape!)… it’s enough to make a lesser AstroBro hand in his official Augury card! Luckily, you are in the hands of a professional.

Now, for this round the thing is fear. You have a unique opportunity this go-around- You will be aware of your fears, in crystal clarity- But for one brief and shining moment, you will not be a slave to them. This time around, you can make new choices, set new patterns, and break free where you have been held back before. It will be extremely tempting to give in to the temptation of following the same old paradigm, but I swear to you, this is the opportunity you have been waiting for and you will never forgive yourself if you miss it. Hell, the Cardinal Crisis did not spend so much time breaking you and reforging you in its fires to have you go back to the same old rut! No, it did what it did with purpose, and direction- To bring you up to a level that you have never seen before, and to unleash the full potential of what you could become, here and now.

And that’s to say nothing of the trial that is to come…

The Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Chiron and Uranus- Okay, so I love this Astro, I really do. Reminds me of that orgasmicly Aries-Uranian energy we had going, god I wish I could bottle that. Anyway, the main thing you want to look at here is the interplay of Jupiter quincunx Uranus. Now, most readers would see this as an awful and trying aspect- and it is, but only if you aren’t creative enough to see the potential inherent in the challenge. Chiron is also in the mix with those two, as is Eris- now typically these four would be a recipe for disaster, but somehow this particular blend gets it just right. With this Astro, Uranus drops a blessing disguised as a problem in your path and you pause before reacting; Chiron gives you the awareness to see where you have made the mistakes before- Jupiter helps you see what you should do instead, a better way, and Eris gives you the guts to step out of your old ways and into a better you. All the discordant parts moving in harmony for once, and just for a second, you get a glimpse of how your life could be. Make that change, take that plunge- stop relying on your old tricks and get a new one already! Find a better way, and actually make some headway toward your greater goals instead of sitting on your ass and complaining about how you are trapped and not going anywhere! Do better!

Mercury and Pluto- And this is how you do it. When these two get together, it’s pure dead magic; Literally, it’s usually Necromancy (or at the very least, Alchemy). These two are the ones to look for when you want to change everything around and/or within you. Think your way out of your problems, rely on your wits for once- You know exactly how to, think back to when you used to be more desperate and had to make something out of nothing. Make it work. Spin that straw into gold, you know you can do it again! Also, just because All Hallows is over, that doesn’t mean those loved ones who have passed cant still teach you a thing or two, point you in the right direction, if you only honor their memory…

Venus, Mars, Saturn and Neptune- Finally, good relationship news! Venus is no longer dead to me, because frankly I no longer care what she throws at me. This is a very calm and composed Venus we see, not like the bitchy and vindictive one we’ve been treated to as of late. She is riding the afterglow of her conjunction with Mars, so I’m sure that helps. But she’s also getting some good advice and tea from Pallas Athene, and miracle of miracles, our girl is actually LISTENING to what she is saying for once! I honestly never thought I would see the day.  Saturn and Neptune are in the mix as well, Neptune urging her to give up on these booty calls and find the ONE, and Saturn nonchalantly deleting her dating apps while she isn’t looking. The interesting player here is Lilith. She is not sowing chaos for the hell of it, as per usual, but this time she is actually taking the chaos and helping you to synthesize it within yourself so that you can… you know what, it doesn’t matter. What I just realized is that this Astro boils down to one thing- You have a second chance. The failures and setbacks you endured in 2009-2012, the first half of the Cardinal Crisis, before Saturn went into Scorpio- That is what you have a chance to correct. Right now, in 2015-2016. This window will not last forever, so move NOW! Get your shit done, do whatever you have to do- This is your moment to reclaim what you lost, reset your score.

Make it count, guys.