Pisces New Moon 2018

2018
MAR
16
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology, New Moons | 2 Comments

Chart cast in Astro Gold

The Pisces New Moon occurs Saturday morning March 17th, 8:14am in Chicago. It features a square to Mars at the last degree of Sagittarius, which can reflect an uneasiness about the dissolution of whatever adventures we've been on as we need to begin the work of building upon what we've learned from them. As this New Moon is also conjunct Chiron and trine to Jupiter in Scorpio, the work we have to do is connected to healing our souls. It's a great time to begin or deepen practices of inner journey work, energy medicine, depth psychology.

Whatever opportunities life is bringing up for us, including any apparent chaos or challenge, we can find that a simple adherence to seeing them through yields a profound sense of transcendent guidance, a realization that a compassionate hand is always at play in our lives, seeking to help us secure our faith in a divine order that works for us so long as we accept it.

Continue reading →

Jupiter Retrograde in Scorpio: Shadows and Shades of Inner Power

2018
MAR
09
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology, Retrogrades | 2 Comments
Jupiter in Shadow

Image courtesy NASA

Jupiter entered Scorpio this past Fall and among other things is correlated with the #MeToo movement, as this transit tends to out secrets, deceptions and abuses of power. Conversely, Jupiter in Scorpio provides a safe haven for entrenched powers, making them appear more brazen, with greater scope and breadth (Russia, Trump, Assad). The Stoneman Douglas school shooting is a prime example of the contradictions inherent in this transit, as Jupiter gives an expanded sense of power to a mass murderer and keeps him safe from death (for the moment), yet this tragic event catalyzes a political movement based on deeply held moral principles that will have enormous future impact.

(Side note - The students of Stoneman Douglas high school are of the Pluto in Sagittarius generation. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter and Pluto rules Scorpio. This confluence of planet/sign affinity indicates we're seeing the beginnings of what may very well come to define this generation.)

On a higher level, Jupiter in Scorpio is the shaman, the wise woman or man who journeys between worlds of dark and light, acting as a guide to others and bringing back wisdom from hidden places. Jupiter in Scorpio is also the "blessing in disguise," the greater good that comes from an initially painful loss.

Continue reading →

Sun Shrouds Over Empire: The American Eclipse of 2017

2017
AUG
07
Posted by Brian Allemana in Eclipses, General Astrology, New Moons | 5 Comments
Path of the Aug 21 2017 Eclipse

The path of the Aug 21 2017 Eclipse as it crosses the United States. Image courtesy of NASA.

Astrology is predicated on the idea that there is an intrinsic link between the orbital cycles of celestial bodies and the cycles of human consciousness. Everything is made of the same essential matter sprung from the same atomic well, forged and re-forged in stellar furnaces since the beginning of time, so it is reasonable to presume that the outer clock of planetary orbits and the inner clock of human experience follow a singular timetable.

Eclipses mark important moments on that celestial clock. Like clock hands joining at the stroke of midnight, the Sun, Moon and Earth all line up to sound the toll of a cosmic bell that signifies the time has come to begin a new hour of being. A substantial cycle is ending as a new cycle begins.

Continue reading →

Upset of Upsets: Astrology and the US Presidential Election

2016
NOV
17
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | 4 Comments
Image by boozker.

Image by boozker.

It seemed unbelievable at the time — Donald Trump elected president of the United States. A man who was laughed at during his initial bid for president, derided by everyone connected to societal establishment, including the media and even his own party. And then he won. How did so many people — liberals, pundits, dyed in the wool Republicans, and even the astrologers that analyzed all the relevant charts — get it wrong?

Now that the dust has begun to settle, we can see a bit more clearly how and why Trump made it this far. We can look to the suffering of great swaths of the American people, including those who voted for Obama in previous election cycles, who gave priority to venting their anger at the entrenched powers over the integrity of their nominee. The message seems to be: When you are facing financial ruin, possible homelessness and hunger, and a bleak outcome for your children, any change is better than more of the same. Whether that actually works out for the country's benefit in any measure is a topic for another day.

What perplexes me as an astrologer is how clearly Trump's win was spelled in the stars and yet how wrong the astrological community was in predicting a Clinton win. It speaks to me of the deluded mental placation that so many of us were under that such a wild card as Trump couldn't possibly make it to the top. For myself, when I first looked at the astrological maps in May of 2016, after Clinton and Trump took the nominee positions, I felt very strongly the outcome would go to Trump. But after listening to talk after talk by astrologers giving the outcome to Clinton, I fell for the delusion, setting aside the clear public message of desire for political revolution, evidenced by the fact that Sanders should have won the Democratic ticket to battle fellow outsider Trump.

So what do the stars tell us about Trump, Clinton and this election?

Continue reading →

Note to NASA: The zodiac has not changed

2016
SEP
27
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | 7 Comments
Ophiuchus from Urania's Mirror, courtesy Wikipedia.

Ophiuchus from Urania's Mirror, courtesy Wikipedia.

There's a lot of hullabaloo on the web right now with respect to an article from NASA that claims that the zodiac has changed and that there is a heretofore unaccounted 13th sign, Ophiuchus. This all supposedly throws astrology into chaos and plants a final nail into its coffin as anything but charlatanism.

The truth is this, and I can't state this emphatically enough: Astrology has known about the precession of the equinoxes and the constellation of Ophiuchus for thousands of years. There's nothing new here, nothing has changed, your sign is still your sign, and NASA is, in actual fact, wrong.

Continue reading →

Astrology & Creativity, Part 2

2016
JUL
17
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | Be the first to leave a comment
© Agsandrew - Inner Life of Music

© Agsandrew - Inner Life of Music

This article is a prelude to a workshop I'll be giving at Life Force Arts Center, 1609 W Belmont, next Sunday the 24th from 1-4pm. Details and registration here.

Please see Part 1 for the natal signatures that speak to creative ability along with some famous chart examples.

Creative Timings

Certain transits and progressions can indicate when creative inspiration and opportunity for cultivation and expression is at its peak. For day-to-day and month-to-month analysis, look to the Moon for cues on when you're likely to be most "tapped in" to your creative muse. When the Moon transits your 5th and 12th houses, or makes major aspects to your Sun, Neptune, Venus, or your 5th and 12th rulers, can be high times for creative practice and cultivation. When Venus trines and sextiles those same points you may feel a greater affinity and sensitivity to those energies and you might want to cozy up to the planet or house in question and explore its mysteries. Jupiter transits will expand those points and fuel your creative drive and output when transiting the 5th and 12 houses. Uranus and Pluto transits to your natal planets and angles, which are very long term, can actually awaken latent talents you didn't even know you had.

Continue reading →

Astrology & Creativity, Part 1

2016
JUL
17
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | Be the first to leave a comment

This article is a prelude to a workshop I'll be giving at Life Force Arts Center, 1609 W Belmont, next Sunday the 24th from 1-4pm. Details and registration here.

What creates us, moment to moment? From the pairing of tiny gametes to the full ripening of our being, there is a mysterious power of creative will that animates our life from beginning to end. We are at once a vessel and arbiter of this creative power. There is nothing that we do that is not creative, since all action, no matter how small, serves the creation of the world we live in. We are created beings, thus we seek to create.

When speaking of creativity, many people think of art, music, theater, writing or various forms of craftwork. But if we take a closer look, we can see that even our most basic day to day activities — speaking, working, cooking, parenting, how we dress, how we decorate our homes, how we treat our partners — all of these things have a creative element to them. Being creative does not have to mean doing something lofty or as a profession. We can be creative by simply doing anything that gives our life meaning and purpose.

Astrology looks at creativity as a force seeking to express itself through every area of the natal chart. The astrological symbols most often linked with creativity are the 5th and 12th Houses, their cusp rulers, and the placements of the Sun, Moon, Venus and Neptune. These areas are where we find creative drive, sensitivity to beauty, visioning and power of expression.

But creativity is not limited to any particular set of symbols. The entire chart is a mandala of creative energy, and any prominent planet, sign, and house combination can be a focal point for creative expression.

Continue reading →

Cancer New Moon 2016 – Feeling Together

2016
JUL
03
Posted by Brian Allemana in New Moons | 6 Comments
CancerArt by Josephine Wall.

Cancer
Art by Josephine Wall.

This year's Cancer New Moon occurs on Monday July 4th at 6:03am central time. As always, New Moons herald the start of a month long phase of emotional development, when emotions are symbolically hidden from view so that we can utilize our power of will (the light of the Sun) to help direct where our emotional development is taking us. When the sign is Cancer, the Moon's home sign, our focus is on family, home and history, the past conditions that have conditioned our current state.

This New Moon day is also Independence Day here in the USA, putting emphasis on the issue of the country's security. As Pluto marches to conjunction to the USA's natal Pluto (the country's "Pluto Return"), we are seeing appropriate issues arise with respect to the revealing of corruption in politics and infrastructure, and the erosion of freedoms out of fear of insecurity. If the USA wants to be a leader of a societal model of liberty and innovation (the USA's South Node in Aquarius, 1st house Uranus), it must confront the risk of attack by way of commitment to openness, rather than tightening its grip on itself. Embracing other cultures and beliefs can only make the country stronger.

To wit, the New Moon includes a wide conjunction to Venus, which is asking us to remember that being nurturing towards others, no matter how different a person or nation may be, is necessary for our security and well being. This requires that we share how we feel, even, and especially, if that feeling is vulnerable. If we are too protective of our emotions out of fearing their exposure then we become deadened to them and lose the richness and depth that a full emotional life offers. When an entire nation of people walls off their emotions in this way, that nation becomes hardened to the rest of the world, building borders and reinforcing self protective boundaries, cutting itself off from the boons of diversity and collective well being.

On a personal level, this New Moon can actually break us free momentarily from the bigger concerns of national security and world drama while softening any personal dramas. A truce between battling parties, or a deepening of more relaxed ties, is available to us through the recognition of our common needs.

Continue reading →

Gemini New Moon / Grand Cross: Move It and Gain It

2016
MAY
30
Posted by Brian Allemana in New Moons | 13 Comments
Artist Unknown

Artist Unknown

We have a rather momentous New Moon coming in the sign of Gemini on June 4th at 10:01pm Central Time. This New Moon occurs as part of a Mutable Grand Cross, which is an astrological configuration created by having one or more planets in each of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) at similar degrees. The Mutable Grand Cross is a powerful energy pattern that puts us in the center of great change and transition, clearing from our path whatever impedes our growth while requiring us to manage many shifting energies at once. It can be a busy, disorienting time, but an allowance of the process with a strong focus and resolute faith will see us through with great results.

The key advice is to keep things simple and stay flexible. We may have to change ourselves to adjust to what is changing in our outer world, be it physical resources, relationships, family or work demands or geographic location. Or we may have to adjust our outer life to match a new subjective awareness that is changing us from within, such as the release of old emotional baggage, old ways of thinking, belief systems or psychic energy fields. Either way, what we lose or receive is always in accordance with our highest growth, and the more we can move with the currents, the easier the process will be.

This Gemini New Moon includes a tight conjunction with Venus, which suggests that we are renewing our perceptions of others, taking in new points of view and altering how we think and communicate to accommodate the world around us. Ruled by Mercury in Taurus, we may still be working on how we perceive our relationship to material resources as an expression of our relationship to ourselves. If you're having money issues right now, you're being asked to look at how you either attach too much or too little importance to your physical needs. If you grip money too tightly, it'll slip through your fingers. But if you don't communicate and assert your value, others will over-demand from you. As always, a balance is being made. The question is never "how can I be more assertive or scheming to make money," it's "how can I better love and value myself and my needs so that no matter what my circumstance I am always secure in myself." When that inner security and love of self is strong, then we give ourselves the best chance of generating the material resources we need to thrive.

Continue reading →