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March 6, 2019 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

As Pisces As It Gets!

Neptune, the ruling planet of Pisces, spends approximately 13 years in its home sign during its 165-year swim around the zodiac. It dipped its toes into Pisces in 2011 and doesn’t completely leave this sign until early 2026. You’d say that sounds like 15 years but you’d be fooled (a Neptunian pitfall) in that assumption. Because planets appear to move backward in the zodiac (an optical illusion called retrograde motion due to the earth also being in motion), slow planets take 1-2 calendar years to transition between signs.

In 2019, we’re just over halfway through this important period when this sign and planet reinforce one another and their shared traits and inclinations are exhibited most powerfully. And when the union of the Sun and Moon at a New Moon occurs close to Neptune, these tendencies are accentuated even more.

During Neptune’s time in Pisces, there are two New Moons just two degrees from Neptune (2/21/12 and 3/13/21) and one Solar Eclipse New Moon only three degrees from Neptune (2/26/17). The New Moon on March 6, 2019 gets the award for closest to Neptune, less than half a degree away, and that’s as Pisces as it gets!

What can we expect in the coming four-week lunar cycle? A big dose of everything related to Pisces and Neptune.

This sign and planet are not known for being straightforward nor transparent. Instead, they operate in round-about ways, in the realm of illusion and mysteries. They deal in dreams rather than reality, in impressions, wishes and fantasies rather than facts. Their domain encompasses fog, veils, and whatever goes on behind the curtain or behind your back. Their associated territory in a chart is the Twelfth House, a place indicating hidden enemies, imprisonment or confinement. This is also the area of our connection to the Divine (however that’s defined) and our need for retreat and rest. Neptune and Pisces are affiliated with sleep, healing (which takes place during sleep), the medical field, medications and self-medicating, including alcohol and recreational drugs. In the body, the related areas are the feet (containing reflex points that impact one’s entire physiology) and the immune system. On a psychological level, projection, escapism and delusion come into play, as well as pathological lies and playing the victim. Positive expressions of this energy are visualization, prayer, empathy and psychic ability. This is the sign and planet most connected to fear and faith, the opposite side of fear’s coin.

We may be in for extra confusion in the current period courtesy of Mercury, the planet of communication, traveling in reverse in Pisces. This can feel like swimming in circles (the fish chasing its tail). The retrograde began on March 5 with Mercury at 29° Pisces, a degree of selflessness and sometimes of suffering. This likely makes this bout of Mercury Retrograde in Pisces more challenging than some Mercury backtracks in this sign. In addition, Mercury passes by Neptune three times: February 18-19 (depending on your time zone) in the approach to its back-up, March 24 while Retrograde, and April 2 when leaving the back-up range. These are apt to be peaks of Piscean problems or possibilities. Jupiter, which magnifies whatever it’s involved in, is roughly 90 degrees (“square”) Neptune during this time (exact January 13 and June 16) and Mercury will feel Jupiter’s amplification when Mercury is square Jupiter on February 22, March 15 and April 12. The final connection may be most difficult since Jupiter turns Retrograde on April 10 and thus is motionless and exerting additional force.

Other important links for Neptune in this period (which Mercury will also replicate) are a jarring 45-degree “semisquare” with Uranus (exact December 15, 2018 and May 1, 2019), a planet famous for shocks and surprises, and easy 60-degree “sextiles” with two planets in practical, grounding earth signs: Saturn in Capricorn (exact January 19 and June 18) and Mars in Taurus (exact March 10). These sextiles with planets in earth signs are likely to be our saving grace to keep us from going off the deep end. Pisces and Neptune don’t incline us to stick to something but Mars in Taurus won’t let go or give up.

Recommendations for handling these energies:

To satisfy the Uranus-Neptune semisquare, break away from your comfort zone or old established ways and surprise yourself by reaching for a dream. To honor Saturn’s need for maturity and wisdom, don’t go crazy; have a plan or at least a realistic goal. Then bring in the assistance of Mars in Taurus by being persistent and steady in heading toward the finish line. In the process, trust your sixth sense since Mercury in Pisces isn’t good at logic. Use the positive visualization feature: “believe to achieve” and “see it to be it.”

To learn more about Mercury Retrograde in Pisces, watch the February episode of LOOKING UP entitled “Swimming in Stormy Seas.” Some of the other phenomena mentioned in this blog are also addressed in the March episode “Shift Into Spring.”

One more thing: we shouldn’t ignore another major astrological occurrence on March 6, 2019: Uranus enters Taurus for a visit of approximately seven years. It made its first foray into Taurus on May 15, 2018, with Neptune at 16°10’ of Pisces, only one degree from a precise semisquare. At Uranus’s re-entry into Taurus, Neptune is at 16°9’, a nearly exact duplication of the prior set-up. On May 15, 2018, the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii began, a very apt symbol for the shift from a fire to an earth sign for the planet related to volcanoes and explosions in a tension relationship with the planet of the oceans. Literally fire went into the ocean and then created more land (earth). Over the next seven years, expect Mother Nature to give us some significant wake-up calls as Uranus, the “alarm clock” planet, travels through earth sign, Taurus.

January 1, 2019 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

2019 Gets Off to a Jumpy Start in January

The new year promises a lot of hope and opportunity for growth. Jupiter is in its sign of rulership, Sagittarius, for most of 2019 (11/8/18 – 12/2/19). This is the planet of optimism in the sign of expansion. Yet there are precarious periods when it’s better to lay low than forge ahead. January is such a time.

As January gets going, two planetary turning points pack a wallop. When planets begin or end their apparent backward motion (retrograde), they seem to stand still for days (called “on station”), which intensifies their influence. Uranus, acting like an alarm clock to shake and wake us, shifts from reverse to forward motion on 1/6, less than 24 hours after a Solar Eclipse New Moon on 1/5. On 1/10, dwarf planet Eris, known for being warlike and disruptive, does likewise. In between, the most trying combination of the year kicks into high gear, the Jupiter-Neptune square on 1/9.

It may help that the New Moon is in stable Capricorn and very close to (less than 3° from) Capricorn’s ruling planet, Saturn. This influence offers grounding in common sense and tradition, or restraint by virtue of rules. Saturn keeps Jupiter reined in (at least a bit) via a mild semisextile (30°) connection. Neptune two signs from (sextile) the Sun, Moon and Saturn contributes a touch of softness but can’t be very helpful since it’s in a jarring relationship with Uranus (see next paragraph). A nice Water sign trine (120°) from Venus in Scorpio to Chiron in Pisces supplies sympathy and could help reduce the impact of financial bumps. Venus is one of two money planets while Chiron is an asteroid with a healing “repairman” function. But they’re up against some heavyweights.

An insidious influence from two slow-moving planets sets a snare into which quicker planets fall. From the second half of 2017 into the first half of 2019, Uranus and Neptune form a grating connection (semisquare) five times. The most recent instance on 12/15/18 is still reverberating. These two planets are within 1° of their exact 45° relationship from 11/13/18 to 1/27/19. (The next occurrence is the finale on 5/1/19 (with a repeat of their 1° range this spring from 3/19 to 5/30.) Uranus brings shocks and surprises. Neptune acts out of sight and sneaks up on you. Their combined effect spawns great confusion and instability. For instance, the 2018 Janet’s Plan-its warned of “volatility in commodities and the stock market” from their interaction. Well, we’ve been having that! Big Jupiter amplifies the problems when it interacts with Uranus and Neptune on 1/9 and 1/13, respectively (as it will again 6/6 and 6/16). Speedy planets join the fray: Venus and the Sun, traveling 45° apart, form a tangled mess with these three 1/18 – 1/22 (including at the Lunar Eclipse Full Moon on 1/21) and Mercury follows suit 1/23 – 1/24 for a wild roller coaster week. Situations come to a head at a full moon, even more so at an eclipse.

Eclipses occur when the Sun and Moon line up with the lunar Nodes, the directional indicators showing our path for spiritual or cultural development. Currently the North Node in Cancer aims us toward caring for home, family and nation, moving us away from the domination by corporations and government associated with the South Node in Capricorn. Uranus is halfway in between, forming a T-square (which marks a turning point) with the Sun, Moon and Nodes. Their effect is not a gentle nudge but more like a slap in the face. The question is whether Neptune’s collaboration will bring empathy for desperate situations or signal an escapist ignoring of troubles. Think of how Al Gore warned us years ago of the “inconvenient truth” of global warming and how still some people think there’s no problem or that we have all the time in the world to save our planet from devastation. We’re hearing from the scientists now that we do not. It’s time to raise awareness, maybe through a march or something like a Climate Aid concert. Or Mother Nature may supply inspiration through a calamity.

Maybe we can muster up a sense of urgency. Mars, the planet of action, is in its sign of rulership, Aries, from 12/31/18 to 2/14/19, bringing agitation and impatience. There’s also a tendency to jump the gun (and perhaps toward more gun violence since Mars and Aries rule weapons and attacks). Fortunately, Mars does not interact with the Uranus-Neptune semisquare or we’d be on the lookout for trouble from religious rebels. (Uranus rules revolutionaries and Neptune rules belief systems.) Instead, at the lunar eclipse, Mars is in harmonious relationships with Jupiter (trine) and Neptune (semisextile), mitigating the difficulties posed by the Jupiter-Neptune square. Neptune is related to fears on one side of its coin and faith on the other. When Jupiter expands these in January, we’ll see extremes of both expressions, twisted weirdly as a result of the involvement of Uranus, planet of the unusual. Mars encourages us to take action rather than being frozen in apprehension. See if you can figure out something positive to do to help in the areas in which you’re involved. Together, we can make a difference.

Although, the new year holds some good prospects, carefully choosing when to act will help ensure success in your endeavors. Take advantage of the recommendations in the Janet’s Plan-its Best & Worst Days of 2019 list, a free downloadable PDF. And mark your appointment calendar with the Janet’s Plan-its 2019 Day Ratings or print the free 12-month list to carry with you. Add luck to your plans using the power of the Plan-its!

November 29, 2018 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

LIVING WITH MERCURY RETROGRADE

Sooner or later, everyone has to deal with Mercury Retrograde (explained in detail in my article Mercury Retrograde). The general recommendation is to keep your wits about you and be willing to revise or redo.

Every three months or so, the “trickster” planet Mercury appears to move backward through the zodiac for about three weeks. Since it’s the planet of communication and local transportation – key matters in our everyday lives – it can have a strong impact! Sometimes, you’ll hardly notice its effects, but when the range of degrees where it backtracks connects to your chart strongly, you’ll definitely feel its influence. The most intense effect occurs at the degree where Mercury appears to stop to change direction, called the “station.” For about a week centering on the date of the directional change, Mercury remains nearly motionless in that degree. [Check if any Mercury station degrees hit your chart using the Janet’s Plan-its “On a Page” bar graphs.]

The time frame for Mercury’s discombobulating effects is not just during the three weeks it’s actually moving in reverse. It also includes a period of about 2-1/2 weeks before and afterward as Mercury moves forward through the range of degrees of its retrograde. These are known as the entry and exit “shadow” periods. Actions undertaken in the shadow before the retrograde (entry shadow) often require revision or modification in the retrograde back-up period and in the shadow following the backtrack (exit shadow). When Mercury links to your chart, it makes three “hits” – one before the retrograde, one during and one after. So the overall time frame lasts for about two months altogether, with about two months free and clear between bouts.

Things that occur during a Mercury Retrograde can have a long-lasting impact. One important example that comes to mind is the US presidential election of 2000, which occurred as Mercury stood still ending a Retrograde backtrack. The recount mess during the exit shadow resulted in a Supreme Court ruling decided by one vote that resulted in denying Al Gore his victory. Think of how different our world would be now if we had had an environmentally friendly president at the start of this millennium!

When we take into account the weeks and months before and after a person’s birth, long-term experiences of Mercury Retrograde come into play. The astrological technique called “progressions” correlates the consecutive days after one’s birth with the consecutive years of one’s life, on a day-for-a-year basis. (See “Making Progress – Astrologically” in the Study Booth Articles.) With this forecasting system, if you are both during a Mercury Retrograde, sometime in your first 22 years, you move past its strongest effects, but it still takes another decade-plus to get out of its “shadow.” You could be live through decades when your progressed Mercury goes through the entire cycle of entry shadow, retrograde and exit shadow. If you’re born just after an exit shadow, in your later life you enter a shadow. The only people who avoid any extended period of Mercury Retrograde or its shadows by progression are those born after an exit shadow and who die before the next entry shadow. So chances are, you’ll have to live a while with some influence from a Mercury Retrograde.

The extended, progressed version of the Mercury Retrograde cycle is not easily observable on a day-to-day basis. Long-term trends or projects are where we see it at work. Since it’s an influence inclining us to re-do or go back to something, the progressed Mercury Retrograde is a period to undertake an activity or project you wanted to do before but didn’t get around to, or to complete something that was unfinished. Mercury is associated with the hands, so the Retrograde is a good time to learn something new that’s done with the hands, such as a craft or playing an instrument.

I can say for myself that I have progressed Mercury Retrograde from 2002 to 2022. I always wanted to be a writer and during this time, I created my Janet’s Plan-its calendars and they grew to be quite a detailed and involved annual book. Since they became a lot of work that is only meaningful for a brief period of time (a year), before I finish my retrograde I want to complete a book that won’t “expire.” This is a key reason I decided to forego writing more calendars and focus on other writing and other means of communication. Another thing I attribute to my progressed Mercury Retrograde period is that for the past few years, I’ve noticed I frequently, unconsciously hold my lips closed and retract them inward. For someone who’s been pretty “big-mouthed” most of my life, this is an interesting change!

If you want to learn about your natal and progressed Mercury, you can look in an ephemeris to see what was going on in the months before and after your birth and compare Mercury Retrograde station degrees to your natal chart. In a full general reading, I always look at that for a client, or it can easily be covered in a mini-reading with me. (Contact me and we’ll set something up.) We’ll discuss how you can “live with Mercury Retrograde.”

July 27, 2018 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

Making the Most of Mars Retrograde

Once in every two-year period, we have a two-month backtrack of the planet of action, Mars. Usually Mars wants to propel us forward but when it goes backward itself, it signals a time to step back and repeat a prior activity or do a reversal in the ways you’ve been doing something. You will experience its tug strongly if it connects to a planet in your birth chart. In that case, whatever that planet represents shows the area in which you want a turn-around.

Mars and the Sun are exactly opposite on July 27, marking the halfway point of Mars’s retrograde June 26 to August 27. If you take into account the time frame during which Mars moves forward through the range of degrees of its backtrack before it’s in backward motion (called the entry “shadow” of the retrograde) from May 12 to June 26, and the time when Mars proceeds forward again through that range after backing up (called the exit “shadow”) from August 27 to October 8, there are about five months when it hangs out in the same 11-degree part of the zodiac, and thus the same portion of a chart. That’s plenty of time to figure of what you want to do differently! It also seems like a long time to be stuck in one place.

The back-up sector is between 28 degrees of Capricorn and 9 degrees of Aquarius. Mars’s sign change gives us a hint of its effects and how to use this energy. Capricorn represents the old guard and established, tried-and-true methods while Aquarius leans toward experimentation, individualism and all that’s modern. Mars was in Capricorn March 17 to May 16. The retrograde began in Aquarius, showing we were heading for something new, but as it returns to Capricorn (August 12 to September 10), we need to go back to old ways and see either what we can glean from them or what about them we want to reject. When Mars returns to Aquarius September 10 (until November 15), we can take the best of the old and blend it with the best of the new.

A key interaction in Mars’s back-and-forth dance is a 90-degree link (called a “square,” known for friction) with unpredictable Uranus, the ruling planet of Aquarius, where Mars is located as it connects to Uranus. This combination gives rise to temper flare-ups and sudden motions (because of which, it signals increased accident potential). The three times this contact is exact are May 16, August 1 and September 18. Exercise extra caution around these dates, perhaps especially when exercising since Mars rules muscles and athletics. Uranus rules ankles and shins, possibly a weak area at these times.

From July 7 to September 24, Mars is in a condition called “out of bounds,” meaning it’s off the “regular playing field” defined by the Sun’s apparent path around the earth. It’s riding particularly low in the night sky. This strengthens, or leads to extremes in, Mars’s traits of impatience, anger, impulsiveness, solo action and confidence. It’s not all bad – Mars can help you be brave.

If you think Mars is looking particularly large, bright and red lately, you’re right. It’s closer to earth than it’s been in 15 years. (Its next close approach is in October 2020 – see this article from NASA.) The 2003 approach was the closest in 60,000 years! That year, the US began the Iraq War. I’m hopeful we won’t get into a new war this time around. Aggression seems to be greater in years of high sunspot activity (which 2003 was close to) and we’re currently at a low point in the sunspot cycle. Fortunately, our President’s natal Mars (named for the god of war) is not contacted by Mars in this retrograde cycle.

May 15, 2018 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

Fighting For Freedom with Uranus at the Aries/Taurus Cusp

The new U.S. embassy opened in Jerusalem amidst Palestinian protests. This should be no surprise to those following astrology as Uranus – a planet of prodding, shock and progress – enters Taurus, the Sun Sign of the nation of Israel (founded May 14, 1948 by a United Nations resolution). Israel turned 70 the last day Uranus was in Aries. When Uranus returns to this degree on Election Day, November 6, 2018, perhaps moving the embassy and any resulting turmoil will be an issue in the mid-term elections. Or there may be a connected development around then.

Early in Uranus’s visit to Aries, the “Arab Spring” brought shifts in power in parts of the Middle East. If we look at the globe from a “geodetic” viewpoint (which assigns the 360 degrees of longitude, east from Greenwich, England, to the 360 degrees of the zodiac), we see that some of the Arab world (most of Algeria, all of Libya and part of Egypt) falls in the first 30 degrees ascribed to Aries. But more of the Middle East is in the Taurus sector (longitudes 30 to 60 degrees East, covering Syria, Israel, Iraq, the Arabian peninsula and most of Iran). It’s likely things will heat up in this region over the coming seven years as rebellious Uranus passes through Taurus. Even though as a sign, Taurus is resistant to change, Uranus is an unstoppable force.

The final degree of a sign brings a karmic test. For Uranus in Aries, it’s about people being free to make their choices and even just to survive (a key Aries activity) – it’s existential. Hence the Palestinians protesting the encroachment of the Israelis into the land they view as theirs. And now the United States is taking sides in the dispute. There will be consequences, although those will take some time to play out. The initial hints may come immediately as Mercury, the messenger planet associated with news, reaches 5 degrees of Taurus (the geodetic location of Jerusalem) on May 16, concurrent with the exact Mars-Uranus square (90-degree stand-off), which on its own indicates “the natives are restless.” The bigger changes will come when Uranus passes through this degree (6/13/19, 10/12/19 and 4/2/20 – three times because of retrograde zigzagging).

Meanwhile, also on the last day of Uranus in Aries, another example of people fighting for their survival hits closer to home. The LA Times reported, “Hundreds of poor and low-wage workers, clergy and activists were arrested Monday outside the U.S. Capitol and at statehouses across the country as they kick-started a revival of the Poor People’s Campaign — the civil disobedience movement founded 50 years ago by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.” Rev. William J. Barber II, the “Moral Mondays” pastor from North Carolina and the campaign’s co-chair, called for a “revolution of values.” Well, that sounds exactly like Uranus, planet of revolution, in Taurus, the sign of values! I couldn’t have said it better myself.

As Pisces As It Gets!

2019 Gets Off to a Jumpy Start in January

LIVING WITH MERCURY RETROGRADE

Making the Most of Mars Retrograde

Fighting For Freedom with Uranus at the Aries/Taurus Cusp

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