So much of my work as an astrologer aka living being is to attend to the present and make sure that the Astrology doesn't get in the way! Sometimes it feels like it's getting in the way, like today, so I left it out of this part. Astrology gives language and life-giving perspective to our lives, but it's just a tool. I could provide a lot of reasons why things feel dynamic and at times overwhelming lately, but I could probably always provide a lot of reasons for this, astrologically speaking, because we are never outside of being subject to the infinite forces of nature!
It's a strange planet, solar system. Nothing stops moving. As soon as I name something that's happening, it's changed. This isn't a metaphor! This is actual life, things don't stop moving, planets don't stop moving, human beings don't stop moving, even when it looks like they are very still. The other day my yoga teacher Diana May said, Resist the urge to fidget, to fix your clothes, to fix your hair. Just let it be messy. Aim for stillness. But you'll be breathing, so the body is not still. Genius. Even when we try to be still, we aren't still!
Sometimes it feels so urgent to look for the why - why do I feel like this, why is this happening, etc. And at times Astrology can greatly soothe us with some context for why things feel the way they do, which is part of its magic, and this is one of the reasons I choose to use it as a tool for healing. But so often, why just moves us away from what is in front of us, it ends up being another Very Compelling Distraction from what our purpose is in this moment. Who knows why?! HERE WE ARE, WITH THIS IN FRONT OF US. WHAT WILL WE DO?
The opportunity arises, over and over, to attend to what is happening right now with as much compassion as possible.
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This week I've focused the horoscopes on some of the relational things that come up for each sign, to begin to share more of my interpretation in this area. How a person acts in relationship to others has a lot to do with the placement of the Moon, Venus and Mars in the birth chart. For example if you have the Sun in Aries, but the Moon and/or Venus in Pisces, you will probably have a streak of independence but the way you want to connect to others is through emotional merging. There are as many combinations of needs and desires in relationship as there are humans on the planet. For this reason I am so excited to offer my first online class, HOW TO HAVE AN ACTUAL RELATIONSHIP. It's applying Astrology and Mindfulness to our romantic lives.
If you know the placement of your Moon, Venus and/or Mars, you can also read these horoscopes with those in mind. If not, just read about your sun sign as you usually would.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Question - When do you feel like you need to defend your independence?
Meditation - Balancing independence and connection with others.
Assignment - Aries tends to want to do things its own way, and this is an essential talent for so many ways we move in the world. But this independence can be in tension with relationship, how we connect and engage with others. Take notice of when these two impulses are at play for you - the impulse to move independently, and the impulse to connect to others. Notice especially when you are feeling that you need to defend your independence, and how that defensive energy plays out in relationship. Don't worry to much about doing something about it, just notice in a kind way and let the noticing change it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Question - How does your desire for comfort inhibit your connection to others?
Meditation - comfort can be an obstacle.
Assignment - Taurus takes great comfort in steadiness, things being the same. How does this show up in your relationships? When does clinging to comfort prevent necessary movement? Take notice of when your aversion to risk or change is present. How does this affect your connections with others? The paradox is that the lighter we can hold comforts, the more space our relationships can have to offer us comfort.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Question - How does your curiosity about everything affect your ability to connect deeply with others?
Meditation - breadth versus depth.
Assignment - Gemini can be so curious about everyone and then ends up on the surface so often that it feels something is missing. So it searches out the new more, and can stay in a loop of indecision and searching in too many directions, spun out. Take note of where your curiosity leads you, and specifically when it gets activated! When do you feel your attention is scattered? When does the promise of some new person or situation or project arise, and how often does it arise when the current one is hard or stuck? How might more awareness of this pattern allow for more / deeper connection with others?
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Question - When does your fear of vulnerability get in the way of connection?
Meditation - unconscious fear as block to connection.
Assignment - Cancer is so tuned into what's happening emotionally on a mass scale. This is a wonderful ability! But it can lead to absorbing lots of things that are not yours. And lead to confusion about what YOU are really feeling. Specifically it can tune in to group fears, which cause it to feel very overwhelmed. When Cancer feels overwhelmed, you want to retreat into a safe zone where you reveal nothing. How does this play out in your relationships? When you are feeling like you aren't getting enough energy from others, investigate this tendency. Sometimes just expressing the smallest amount of vulnerability or desire for connection, offering that connection to another, creates enough openness to receive all the care you need.
LEO (July 23-August 22)
Question - When does your need to be noticed prevent your noticing of others?
Meditation - attention as reciprocal.
Assignment - Leo has a strong need to be affirmed and noticed for its creative expression. It's able to connect to this need in others, to understand the humanness of this need. But sometimes it can get so wrapped up in this need, that it forgets to offer this noticing to others. Notice when this tendency to focus on your own needs comes up. What can you give yourself today that can help meet that need, so that you can be more available to others? When you are available to others in a sincere way, it creates enough spaciousness to receive everything you need, to see what you are already receiving!
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
Question - When does your desire to be helpful get in the way of actually being helpful?
Meditation - helping yourself first.
Assignment - Virgo's love language is all about being tangibly, practically helpful. You are so good at showing up for others! But the need to be helpful can get too attached to your identity, so that if you don't feel like you are being helpful, you feel bad about yourself. What can be helpful here (for you!), is noticing when this desire arises. What are the qualities of this desire to be helpful? Is it urgent? It is calm? Is it connected to a feeling that you need to earn your worth? Is it a nervous energy? Just take note. You don't have to stop being helpful, in fact that is not recommended. But a bit more mindfulness of the desire itself can help you see when and how it inhibits connection.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
Question - When do your thoughts about other people cloud the truth about other people?
Meditation - space around your thoughts.
Assignment - You tend to think about other people a lot. SO much! The recommendation right now is to notice when you are thinking about other people. When you can notice that all that is happening is that you are having thoughts, this provides a bit more space between you and the thoughts. The Libra mind tends to conflate its own thoughts about other people with the absolute truth about people. (Everyone does this, but Libras just happen to think about other people more than most.) This week, just try to bring in space around your thoughts with simple breathing while thinking. The more space there is around your thoughts, the more deeply you will actually be able to connect with others. When people feel that you are frantically thinking about them and trying to please them, it's much harder for them to actually be pleased!
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
Question - When does your emotional 'code' get provoked?
Meditation - openness of mind.
Assignment - Scorpio can have an emotional 'code' which has decided how people should interact with each other and when people violate that, Scorpio can be disappointed to the point where they cut the person off, or just radiate an emotional coldness. It's like the other person didn't get the memo, but should have, about how to be, according to Scorpios. Even if you don't act this energy out, you probably have felt it in your life if you have Scorpio in your chart. The task this week is just to notice this energy, reflect on how it figures in your relationships. It can be a powerful way to maintain boundaries for yourself OR it can be a way to build a tower of isolation for yourself - depending on the situation. Be gentle and notice, and then be gentle some more.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
Question - When does self-righteousness isolate you from others?
Meditation - investigating what "being right" means.
Assignment - Sagittarius needs to connect philosophically at some level with others, even if it's just over sports! The flip side of this is that if someone doesn't align with their philosophy, you might not let them in. Sagittarius is inspired by its own latest philosophy, but when this inspiration turns brittle, when it is clung to, it takes the shape of righteousness. When does this happen for you? When does it disconnect you from those you love, or want to love?
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
Question - When does your reluctance to share emotionally cut you off from others?
Meditation - the emotional spectrum of cold to warm.
Assignment - Capricorn feels more at home not taking emotional risks. It prefers to be matter of fact, to orient to life this 'safe' way. As a result, you can feel cut off from others. This is why temperature as a metaphor can be so helpful. How does the temperature of your connection to others feel in the body right now? When do you feel warm, when do you feel cold, what can you do to adjust this internal feeling?
AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18)
Question - When does your independence get in the way of your one-to-one connection?
Meditation - independence and co-dependence co-arise!
Assignment - The meditation is about seeing that we need the personal to create the impersonal, and vice versa. Aquarius usually wants do to things on its own, thrives in this place. This intense independence can be in conflict with connection on a personal, intimate level. Aquarius is good at connecting with ideas, ideas give you life. So meditate on the idea that independence is only possible through the interdependence made possible by humanity together, and notice how this meditation affects your relationships.
PISCES (February 19 to March 20)
Question - When do feelings cloud your perception of yourself?
Meditation - settling murky water for clear seeing.
Assignment - Pisces is so able to feel, as in, constantly perceiving the feeling of others. This perception of feeling can cause any clear seeing of what is yours to become murky. What are the things you do that help the sediment in the water settle, so that you can see yourself and others, and the boundaries between the two, clearly? Pisces wants to merge with others, or with a divine state of some sort. So it can get confused and think that feeling others' feelings is a way of connecting deeply. But this just stirs up the water, it doesn't actually connect us through clear seeing. It's helpful to perceive a clearly outlined self, in order to love what we perceive as an other. The easiest way to investigate this further is through asking questions about what is happening in the body.