Reality Bites
They’re coming at us right out of the gate, as 2021 begins: cosmic echoes of 2020. In astrology, the calendar year doesn’t have a singular beginning. Cycles overlap, bleeding one into another. New lessons begin against the backdrop of old ones. The cosmos is saying: You want to know what’s going to happen? Assimilate what you’ve just […]
Election
Whether he wins or loses, we’re not off the hook. First of all, Election Day won’t be just a day long, thanks to the GOP’s blood-curdlingly cynical campaign against non-existent “voter fraud,” their attacks on the post office and polling stations, and Trump’s Oh-yeah?-Make-me! approach to leaving the White House if he loses. These stunts […]
Oct 2020
The Makings of a Hero
There are two planetary stations this month. One of them features frequently in astro conversations; the other is an eminence gris. The more familiar one is Mercury retrograde (Oct 13th). This is a transit that gets a lot of press, possibly because of its frequency, immediacy and apparent relevance to everyday affairs. But it is […]
Sep 2018
Siren Call
A couple of oppositions this month will test our ability to balance the real and the surreal. The key is to honor both: the worldly Sun (9/7) and Mercury (9/13) in Virgo, and the other-worldly energy of Neptune in Pisces. One way of doing this is to voluntarily access the oceanic mind, whence all creativity […]
Sound and Fury, Part Two
Click here for Part One. Dr Decay Pluto is about death and putrefaction. If you’re looking for a breath of fresh air, it’s probably not the first planet you think of. But I would argue that it is the most refreshing of all cycles to track right now, because it forces us to take the long […]
Dec 2017
Golden Moment
2017 has been a preternaturally long year. The remarkable degree of strife and instability being felt right now, even by denizens of the relatively cosseted First World, is compelling us to come up with a response that’s equally extraordinary. We’re being dared to meet thus world moment with a degree of understanding to match. To do so, we have to dig deep within […]
Nov 2017
Kicked into Action
November features a flurry of activity starting around the New Moon of Nov 18th: Thanksgiving week in the USA. Back-to-back transits pop into action in one smooth riff. Even though each has its own separate themes, the proximity of these shifts gives them a cumulative punch. Sensitive souls may find it all a tad overwhelming… unless we glimpse the patterns behind […]
The Other Side, Part Three
Native Son (For Part Two, click here.) There are ways of looking at this appalling presidency that have nothing to do with politics per se. Those of a Jungian frame of mind, for example, might propose that Trump is a creation of the collective consciousness. A transpersonal astrologer, and even some historians, might say that he is not an aberration but an epitome. Uncle Sam’s Evil […]
Truth or Dare: Major Transits of 2017
Originally published in The Mountain Astrologer, Feb/Mar 2017 The opposition between Jupiter (understanding) and Uranus (shifts and shocks) will be asking Americans to get real in a new way this year. Worldwide, it will rattle complacencies. Starting in December ‘16, we saw an upswing of urgency against a backdrop of long-term crises. The confusion and chaos […]
Jul 2017
Dive Right In
Mars sets off the Cardinal Cross this month, igniting our gnarliest issues. Problems that have been dogging us for years make themselves known, daring us forward. If we’re smart, we’ll dive right into them. “Can you cook and sew, make flowers grow?” (1) Mars is now in Cancer (6/4-7/20), a moody, close-to-home placement. In this sign […]