Friday, October 8 through Thursday, November 18, 2010

What Is Venus Retrograde?
When Venus goes retrograde, she takes our hand and pulls us into the darkness of our relationships.  A retrograde period of any planet is a retrospective of that planet’s themes.  It is like going into the deep, dark cave of oneself in whatever area of life is covered by the planet that is retrograde.  It is a time of moving backward, perhaps of going back to pick up pieces lost in the past.  It is a retrieval, a turning inward, perhaps a letting-go.  Since Venus’ domain is relationships, this turning inward will happen in that domain.

The Tale of Eros and Psyche—Forbidden Love
The story of Psyche’s marriage to Eros, her loss of him and her journey to recover him, is an apt metaphor for the retrograde journey of Venus.  Here is her story.

Psyche, whose name means “soul,” was a mortal woman of great beauty, beauty to rival even Venus-Aphrodite herself.  People came from miles around to worship Psyche and bring her gifts.  This aroused the anger of Aphrodite, for no mere mortal deserves to be worshipped as a goddess.  Aphrodite sent her son Eros (Cupid), who represents living desire, to punish Psyche.  He came upon her when she was sleeping, and fed her the drink of Bitterness, then touched her with his arrow, that she might fall in love with the next hideous creature that came near.  But in doing so, Eros was grazed by his arrow himself, and he became struck with her beauty, so he gave her the drink of Joy also.

Psyche was now cursed.  Everyone wanted to worship her but no one wanted to marry her.  She was unloved.  Her parents consulted an oracle, which said, “she is destined for no mortal husband” and advised them to leave her on a mountain top where a monster would claim her.  While her parents were dismayed, Psyche herself submitted and went to the mountain top.  There she was swept away by a friendly breeze to a marvelous castle, filled with attentive but invisible servants.  There also she met her bridegroom, who was loving, affectionate, charming and passionate.  He visited her daily, but only in the dark.  He gave her everything and required only that she never ask to see his face.

Psyche was allowed a visit from her two sisters, who were jealous and concerned at the unusual marriage she had made.  “What,” they exclaimed, “you only see your husband in the dark?  How do you know he isn’t some kind of frightful monster who only wants to do you harm?”  Their suspicion persuaded Psyche to break her promise to her husband and make an attempt to view him in the light.

One evening, after a fabulous (but unlit) meal and the same splendorous lovemaking Psyche had come to expect from her mate, he fell asleep in her arms.  She gently crept out from under him and, lighting a lamp, held it over him to see what he looked like.  No one was more surprised than she to see that the being she was married to was not at all a monster who wanted to hide his face in the dark, but the very God of Love himself!  She fell into a reverie, feeding her hungry eyes on his features.  Just then a drop of oil from the lamp fell and landed on his perfect shoulder, scorching him and awaking him.  “Now you’ve done it!  Love cannot live with suspicion,” he cried, in anger and regret, as he flew out the window and into the clouds.  He went back to his mother, whom he had defied in living with Psyche.

This tale–and its meaning in your life–to be continued tomorrow . . .

Jupiter and Uranus have returned to Pisces briefly, on their way to moving into Aries for real.  Once in Aries, Uranus will spend 7 years there, while Jupiter will whip through in just 1 year.

Uranus:  Hey, this is a little annoying, to have to return to Pisces when we’d tried Aries out and it was so much fun.
Jupiter:  Yeah, but once you leave Pisces, it will be a long time before you cycle around to it again.  Remember, I’ll be back to visit Pisces in 12 years, but it will be almost 80 years before you come back to this sign.
Uranus:  That’s true.  And we’ll be off into Aries before you know it.
Jupiter:  Besides, aren’t there things you wanted to finish in Pisces before moving on?
Uranus:  Like what?
Jupiter:  Perhaps there are a few spiritual communities you’d like to ignite.
Uranus:  You mean the few that I missed before?
Jupiter:  Yeah.  And there might be some artists out there who need one last little lightning bolt of inspiration from you.
Uranus:  I could get excited about that.
Jupiter:  There are a lot of imaginative types that could really use some startling new ideas.  How about raining some lightning bolts down on Disney, Pixar and the whole film industry?
Uranus:  Ok, now I AM excited.  There’s still time for me to spark a groundbreaking movie that could be released later.  Maybe I’ll download some insights into the brains of independent filmmakers and spark an appearance at Cannes or Sundance next year.
Jupiter:  The gift that keeps on giving.
Uranus:  Would you please tell the studio audience why you made these particular suggestions?
Jupiter:  It’s because Pisces is the sign that rules the imagination.  Pisces represents artists, dreams, imagination and especially film.  When a person goes to the movies, he is diving into the collective ocean of all-experiences-that-can-ever-be-had.
Uranus:  I’ve noticed that human beings really like imagining the ways their life could be, sometimes to escape how it is.
Jupiter:  That’s because they’re not gods, like us.
Uranus:  Who’s calling himself a god?  (smacks Jupiter’s head playfully)
Jupiter (smacking back):  I’m bigger than you are.  I’m king of the gods!
Uranus:  But I was a god before you were born!
Jupiter:  You were a flash of primordial lightning before I was born!
Uranus:  And you were a dream human beings hadn’t even invented yet!
Jupiter:  Dork!  Geek!  Nerd!
Uranus:  Fattie!  Egotist!  Jerk!
As we leave the scene, they are wrestling and attempting to duck each other, quite obviously having a great time.

Will this transit affect you personally?
If you’re a Pisces, born in the last week of Pisces, which is March 16-19, it probably will.  It also might affect you if you are a Gemini born between June 17 and 20 or a Sagittarius born between December 17 and 20 or a Virgo born between September 18 and 21.

If you are feeling unusually restless and you’ve got the desire to bust out and make really big changes, you might want to have a reading to understand what it all means for you and how long it will last.

Contact Jamie to schedule a reading

This month Saturn and Pluto meet in a clash of wills.  This is the third—and blessedly final—pass of their difficult square, which began last November.  This square is causing people everywhere to feel as if they are caught between the proverbial rock (Saturn) and hard place (Pluto).  This pairing IS the recession, in a nutshell.  Here’s a scene to illustrate it.

Pluto and Saturn have caught a Human Being and put him in a vise.  Saturn is pushing from one side and Pluto the other.  The Human is in torment.
Human Being:  When will this pressure let up?
Saturn:  I won’t let up until you succeed in the way you’re supposed to.  I have high standards for you.
Pluto:  I won’t let up until you face your demons.  There’s a ton of repressed, buried, hidden psychological garbage deep inside you that I demand you look at.
Human Being:  I give up.
Saturn:  You’re not even allowed to do that.  Every day you have to get up out of bed, drag yourself to work and at least show your face.  If you can do more, more will be demanded of you.  You must become excellent under pressure.
Pluto:  Meanwhile, your darkness beckons.  How about a drink?  Are you craving something sugary and fatty?  How about some pot?  Or perhaps you’re ready for something harder and more illegal. . .
Saturn:  Don’t take that stuff.  No matter how it feels.
Human Being:  Why not?
Saturn:  It relieves the stress for only a short time and then you feel worse.
Human Being:  I’d do anything to feel better right now.
Pluto:  I’ve got the stuff for you!  How about sex?  Mmm, yummy hormones?
Saturn:  Believe me, you don’t want it.  You’re barely holding it together.
Human Being:  Hey wait a minute, guys.  I saw an astrologer the other day.  She told me that if I give you what you really want, you’ll let up on me.
Saturn (taken aback):  That’s true.
Pluto:  But you have to figure out what it is.
Human Being:  I’ve been studying up on this.  Saturn, you want me to take responsibility.
Saturn:  Yes.  Then I’ll stop the endless stream of self-judging messages I’ve put in your head.
Human Being:  And Pluto, you want me to go through a metamorphosis, right?  A kind of death-and-rebirth process?
Pluto:  Yes.  It has to involve an emotional purge.  And until you do it, your demons will nip at your heels.
Human Being:  This is a dilemma—how do I surrender to both processes at once?  How do I let go of attachments and face my uncomfortable cravings for Pluto’s sake and also hold to my promises for Saturn’s sake?
A light bulb goes off over Human Being’s head.  It glows brightly.
Human Being:  Hey, I’ve got it!  Saturn, I want you to build me a structure.  Make it extremely strong, strong enough to withstand even the worst Pluto can deal out.
Saturn:  Huh.  Ok.  How’s this?
He waves his hand and a giant cauldron appears.  It’s made of iron and has thick walls.
Human Being:  That’s perfect.  Now, Pluto, put your strongest phoenix-solvent into the cauldron.
Pluto cackles with glee and waves his hand.  A molten, fiery liquid pours itself into the cauldron from thin air.  The Human Being gulps in fear.  He takes off all his clothes and folds them carefully until he is standing, shivering and buck naked, before the cauldron.
Human Being:  Ok, here goes!
He jumps into the cauldron.
Human Being:  Oh God that hurts!
Pluto:  You did this to yourself, you idiot!
Human Being (sweating buckets):  Self-sabotage is the flip side of transformation.  I’m changing into a finer form of myself.
Saturn:  Honor your promises!
Human Being (weeping uncontrollably):  I’m doing that, even though it takes everything I’ve got.
Pluto:  Life isn’t fair—you deserve better than this!
Human Being (raging and flailing):  That may be so, but it doesn’t mean I get to act out in my friendships, my family, my marriage or my career.
Saturn:  When are you going to finally be recognized for how hard you work?
Human Being (laughing hysterically):  I don’t know, but I do know that if I respect myself, then others will respect me too.
His body is being cooked down, burnt to a crisp.  But something else is happening too—something miraculous.  He is beginning to glow with a preternatural light.  He is beginning to look angelic.
Human Being:  Now I understand!  Being the best me possible is worth the effort.  Not just for what the things it will get me, but for the power of knowing who I really am.  I finally feel like the real me for the first time in my whole life.  Now I truly have peace.
By now, the weird fiery liquid has subsided.  What remains is an ashy dust.  He steps out of the cauldron, a shining being.
Human Being:  Thank you.  Both of you.  That experience was exactly what I needed.
Saturn (to Pluto):  Do you think we succeeded in scaring him?
Pluto:  No, damn it.  In fact, I think he’s one of us now.  He’s a god.
Human Being (looking at the glow of his own hands):  Woah.

Let your integrity force you to do what is right during these trying times.  They are times of testing for us all.  Allow the pain of it to burn away everything that isn’t truly you.  You don’t have to destroy your whole life to make it through this process.  Your essence will emerge unscathed.

Are you feeling the pressure?  If you want to know more
about exactly how this challenging transit affects you personally,
you can find out in a reading with Jamie.
Contact her to find out more.

Other posts in this thread:
Saturn and Pluto Square Off: Discipline Meets Death

When last we saw Jupiter and Saturn, they were trying to reconcile their differences with the help of a Human Being who had climbed up onto Mount Olympus to talk to them.  Today they’re having an argument about whether optimism or pessimism is the right approach to life.  We catch them taking a break in the argument.

Jupiter:  Hey Saturn, last time we argued, we got a Human Being to help mediate.  How about we try that again?
Saturn:  That’s the first thing you’ve said that I’ve agreed with!
He scans the Earth, then points.
Saturn:  Look, there’s one now.  She’s just graduating from university and has a lot of important years ahead of her.  She needs to hear from me.
Jupiter:  And me!
The two of them turn into clouds of smoke and whirl down to Earth, where the Graduate is backstage, just about to give a valedictory speech.  When they appear before her, she nearly falls over in surprise.
Graduate:  Woah!  Hey, you’re not. . .
Jupiter:  We absolutely are!
Saturn:  Bona fide deities, at your service.
Jupiter:  We just want to help, but we get kind of tangled up sometimes. . .
Saturn:  Because we disagree so much.  It’s his fault.
Jupiter:  No way!  I’m always ready to agree!  It’s just that you’re such a pessimist.
Saturn:  I’m not a pessimist.  I’m a realist.  There’s a difference.
Jupiter:  A wet blanket is more like it.  You always see the downside of things.
Saturn:  That’s because I’m a problem-solver.  I spot what’s not working and fix it.
Jupiter:  Think positive!
Saturn:  Stay in touch with reality!  And look before you leap!
Jupiter:  He who hesitates is lost!
Saturn:  Be the diligent ant, not the frivolous grasshopper!
Jupiter:  All work and no play make Jack a dull boy!
Saturn:  Early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy and wise!
Jupiter:  Like Ben and Jerry said, ‘If it’s not fun, why do it?’
By now, both of them are shouting at each other across the Graduate.
Graduate:  I’m so confused!
They are starting to poke at each other, so she pushes them apart.
Graduate:  All right.  You came here for mediation, so here goes.  Now Jupiter, you have hope, right?
Jupiter:  Yes, of course.
Graduate:  And Saturn, you have long-term goals, correct?
Saturn:  Well, who doesn’t?
Jupiter:  Everyone other than you, that’s who!
Graduate:  Shut up, Jupiter.  I’m thinking.  And what I’m thinking is that you two actually have a lot in common.  You both like to think about what might be and move towards it.  You just do that in different ways.
Saturn:  Very different.
Graduate:  You, Saturn, see the goal, notice the gap between here and there and then critique yourself towards the place you want to be.
Saturn:  Nothing wrong with that.
Jupiter:  Says you!
Graduate:  And you, Jupiter, you are always filled with positive expectation, very focused on places other than the here and now, right?
Jupiter:  Yep.
Graduate:  And your approach is to be adventuresome, exploratory and expansive, right?
Jupiter:  Of course.  Why would I want to be different?
Saturn:  So I can believe your promises, idiot!
Graduate:  Chill!  I’d like a clear statement of purpose from both of you.  Saturn first.
Saturn:  If you undersell yourself, you will always be able to over-deliver.  This makes people take you seriously.  It garners you respect, status and power.  My way makes the world a better place—through hard work, self-discipline and integrity.
Jupiter:  But if you don’t toot your own horn, how will people see what you have to offer?  Aren’t you sick of being surpassed by people who aren’t better than you, but just have more self-confidence?  You’ve got to believe in yourself before anyone else can believe in you.  My way makes the world a better place by rewarding you for what you’ve done right instead of punishing you for what you’ve done wrong.
Jupiter and Saturn glare at each other.
Graduate:  Ah, I see where this is going.
Jupiter:  Life is a wide-open landscape in front of you.  The possibilities are endless.
Saturn:  So you’d better figure out what you want to do and get started fast because time’s a-wastin’ and the way to success is to get on track and stay there till you arrive.
A giant light bulb appears over the Graduate’s head, glowing brightly.
Graduate:  Now I get it!  Having both of you here is giving me much better advice about my future than either of you could give me alone.  Without you, Saturn, I’d have no purpose, no goals to strive for and I certainly wouldn’t have the strength of character and integrity to follow through on those goals.  But without you, Jupiter, I’d have no hope, no reason to get out of bed in the morning and I’d forget why I do it all.  Life would have no meaning.  So I’m afraid you’re going to have to get along with each other, because I can’t choose between you.  I need you both.
Graduate gathers both deities together for an uncomfortable group hug.  She gives each a giant kiss on the cheek.  Jupiter puffs with pride, Saturn contracts bashfully.
Graduate:  God, suddenly I feel like I’m in a buddy movie.  Now go on, you two—other people need you too!
She gives them a push.  They grin and go up in individual puffs of smoke.  The Graduate smiles to herself, then turns and walks onstage to give her commencement speech.

Previous post in this thread:
Jupiter Opposes Saturn: Expansion vs. Contraction
The final post in this thread will happen in March of 2011.

When last we saw Jupiter and Pluto, they were just dragging themselves shakily away from a crash landing.  Today we find them in Jupiter’s (very messy) living room, occupying a stuffed chair and outdated, falling-apart sofa, looking at some objects on the coffee table.

Jupiter:  Pass me the pipe.
Pluto passes the pipe, after stuffing it with high-grade but indeterminate stuff that could have come from any country or century on Earth.  Jupiter takes a big puff, then emits giant, deity-sized smoke rings.
Jupiter:  Ah, this is the life.
Pluto:  But how about the death?
He’s closely examining some harder drugs that are lying around on the coffee table, along with several baggies of miscellaneous pills and some half-finished bottles of the hardest liquor available.
Pluto:  What do you think would happen if we took all these at once?
Jupiter:  We’d die.
Pluto:  I could swear we’ve already established that we can’t do that.  We’re gods.  So, really—what do you think would happen?
Jupiter:  Dude, you always ask me questions like that.  You know I’m not the guy to stop you.
Pluto (smirking):  Yeah, leave that to Saturn, the old prude.
Jupiter:  But he’s not here!
They give each other the high-five and go back to the drugs and drug-taking paraphernalia.
Pluto:  Hey, how about we take all these, then go find a bunch of nymphs—
Jupiter:  How about a LOT of nymphs?
Pluto: —and then try to jump out a building?
Jupiter:  Been there, done that.
Pluto:  Then what’s left?
Jupiter:  I really don’t know.
Pluto:  It’s a good thing we don’t have mortal bodies.
Jupiter:  Yeah, because we sure know how to abuse them.  What makes us do it?
Pluto:  I’m drawn to intense, edgy experiences and you love adventure for its own sake.
Jupiter:  Yeah, but why do you have to be so extremely dark?
Pluto:  Can’t help it.  I’m the Lord of the Underworld.  Don’t really like the sunlight.
Jupiter:  I think I’ll find my limit before you do, and that’s saying something.
Pluto (with an evil grin):  Race you!
Jupiter:  You know I can’t resist a challenge like that!  On 3!
Pluto:  One. . .
Jupiter:  Two. . .
Pluto:  Three!
They quickly stuff everything edible into their mouths, chasing it with the alcohol, then smoke everything smokable and snort everything snortable.
Pluto (reeling dizzily):Oh wow!
Jupiter:  Wow-de-wow!
Pluto:  And double-wow!
Eyes rolling up in their heads, both collapse on the floor.  Several centuries later, Jupiter begins to stir.
Jupiter (rolling over and smacking Pluto on the face): Hey, Pluto, wake up!
Pluto:  Hunh?
Jupiter:  What just happened?
Pluto:  Unh.  Dunno.
Jupiter:  Wake up, Pluto, I’m bored!  What can we do next?
Pluto:  When my headache goes away, I’ll think of something.

This is part 2 of what will become a 3-part thread about the current Jupiter-square-Pluto.
Part One is here:  Jupiter and Pluto Go To Extremes

These two obviously have a lot of potential for stirring up trouble when they get together.  But while Pluto’s addictive and self-destructive tendencies tend to be accelerated by the presence of Jupiter, it’s well to remember that Pluto rules not only the lowest lows, but also the highest highs—and Jupiter is capable of accelerating those as well.  The final installment of this thread (which will be posted in February of 2011) will look more closely at those highest highs.

It’s the question everybody’s asking–when will the recession end and hope and prosperity be restored?  There are not one but several very difficult planetary combinations happening in the sky this year and they are contributing to a blanket of gloom.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that the worst of these combinations is ending this month.

What’s happening is that 4 planets are forming a giant T in the sky.  They are Pluto (death & rebirth), Saturn (responsibility & duty), Uranus (paradigm shift) and Jupiter (the magnifier).  So Pluto is demanding that we die, so that we may be reborn, which is heavy enough without Saturn simultaneously demanding that we act like a grownup while our life is melting down.  Add to this the Uranian tendency towards restlessness and sudden insights that upend our whole world view and then throw in Jupiter, whose effect is to magnify everything else, increasing the sense of oppression and restlessness.  Really huge changes are afoot for many people.  Chances are excellent that you are one of these highly stressed-out people or that you know one.

There were two peaks in the activity of this massive event in July:
Jupiter squared Pluto on July 24: Going To Extremes
Saturn opposed Uranus on July 26: Saturn and Uranus Finish the Fight

And there will be three more in August:
Jupiter and Pluto meet again and Go On A Binge (Look for this article on Aug 3)
Jupiter opposes Saturn: Optimism vs. Pessimism (Look for this article on Aug 16)
Saturn squares Pluto: Contents Under Pressure (Look for this article on Aug 21)

But the really good news is that the second-heaviest part—Saturn opposed Uranus—ended in July and the heaviest part—Saturn square Pluto—completes its final pass in August.  OVER and done!  Whew!

This is all ushering us into the square of Uranus and Pluto, a revolutionary period which we haven’t seen the likes of since the 1960′s.  That begins in June of 2012 and lasts for a year and ¾.  This will be a really big deal and it’s likely to bring massive, sweeping change.  If some of us are feeling it creeping up even now, that’s no surprise–after all, the last time these two met in the sky it defined a decade.  Social changers, your day is coming, and soon.

Solutions for Water-Gone-Wrong

In my recent post Personality Flaws of the Four Elements I described ways the 4 Elements can go wrong, each according to its own nature.

How To Know If You’re Drowning In Water
Water is arguably the hardest element to get right, because in the modern world our capacity to feel is misunderstood, derided and ignored.  Many of us grow up with a poor understanding of our emotions.  Your Water has gone wrong when:
•    People around you call you a “drama queen.”
•    Your sensitivity has you attempting to control everyone around you so you can feel better.
•    You overreact to events around you and cannot separate what actually happened from how you felt about it.
•    You absorb other people’s feelings so easily that you lose yourself.  This may make you prefer to avoid people which is a shame because your powers of empathy are enormous.
•    You are filled with bitterness, resentment and other feelings that have long gone unexpressed.  You habitually repress them because you don’t know how to let go of them.

Solution One:  Balance Water With The Other 4 Elements
If your Water is distorted, the other elements can help restore balance.  Fire’s self-assertion is a wonderful foil for Water’s tendency toward self-sacrifice.  When you’re lost in Watery feelings and can’t get out, try cutting straight through the bullshit.  Fire says, “Things are really not as complicated as they seem.”

You can count on Air to bring in logic, rationality and a factual approach.  Air helps you get out of the feelings and become more dispassionate—which can be very helpful when you realize you’ve become over-involved with somebody who is taking advantage of you.

Earth’s practical concerns form a helpful check-and-balance to Water’s subjectivity.  Earth reminds Water that overwhelming feelings must be balanced by the need to feed, clothe and shelter oneself and one’s family.  Water says, “I care about myself and others,” while Earth says “. . . and I prove it by making myself useful.”

Solution Two:  Emphasize Healthy Water
Expressing Water in a healthy way can allow negative expressions of Water to fall away naturally, with ease and grace.  You might call this “Water-Fu.”  Here are some ways to try it. . .

•    Notice your intuitions.  Validate them.  Use them.
•    Your feelings are there to connect you with other people.  Get good at noticing what others feel and what you feel.  Develop healthy emotional boundaries and enjoy deep relationships with those you feel sympathy or empathy towards.
•    Find or create places in your life where you can afford to feel fully, to express your feelings and to be as sensitive as you really are.  Hang around people you can be your true self with.
•    Practice healthy self-care, which is not the same as being emotionally armored nor emotionally over-exposed.  When you take care of yourself, others do not seem like a drain.
•    If you are preoccupied with negative feelings, learn to let go of them.  Focus on the positive, uplifting things in your life.  Nurse joy instead of anger.

The Four Elements are an incredibly rich vein of astrological knowledge of which this article series only scratches the surface.  Using the elements alone, even a novice can gain tremendous insight into herself and other people.  I hope it inspires you to learn more about the elements, about astrology and about yourself.

The Four Elements are a fascinating part of human temperament.
Find out about yours in a reading with Jamie.
Contact Jamie to learn how.

This has been part 5 of a 5-part series on the 4 elements.  The other parts can be found here:
Personality Flaws of the 4 Elements
Is Fire Burning You Up?
Has Earth Grounded You—Permanently?
Does Air Have You Lost In A Cloud?
Are You Drowning In Water?

Solutions for Air-Gone-Wrong

In my recent post Personality Flaws of the Four Elements I described ways the 4 Elements can go wrong, each according to its own nature.

How To Know If Air Has You Lost In A Cloud
Air is the intellectual element and we all know that a mind is a terrible thing to waste—yet it is also possible to use your mind too much, for example in times when your heart or body would serve better.  Your Air has gone wrong when:

•    You retreat to your head so much and get so abstracted that people around you wonder where you’ve gone and call you an “absent-minded professor.”
•    Physical reality annoys you.  You are frustrated at how hard it is to turn a theory into a reality—why can’t things just be the way you think they should?  And so you criticize things and people that don’t live up to your ideals.
•    Your need to appear smart has overreached your ability to actually converse with others, share ideas and be genuinely curious about perspectives that differ from your own.  This alienates you from people, which is a shame because stimulating conversation is exciting to you.
•    Your school success didn’t translate into the world beyond academics and you are still wondering why intelligence and problem-solving abilities aren’t enough to bring recognition and success.
•    People call you cold or unapproachable (even though you have a sparkling wit) because you have little warmth.

Solution One:  Balance Air With The Other 3 Elements
If your Air is distorted, the other elements can help restore balance.  The natural antidote for the coolness and excessive objectivity of Air is the warmth and emotional approachability of Water.  When your Airy side causes you to distance yourself from events around you, draw on your Watery side and involve yourself emotionally in what you are experiencing (even though your Airy side may find this uncomfortable).

Earth helps Air move from the theoretical to the practical.  Earth demands that Air’s ideas be implemented in ways that are useful and pragmatic.  Earth physicalizes Air’s theories, tests them and proves their effectiveness.

Fire brings to Air a much-needed enthusiasm.  There comes a time when thought necessarily leads to action and while Air could sit around the planning table endlessly batting ideas about, Fire will leap in and begin a thing.  This may lead to failure the first or even the hundredth time, but Fire knows the importance of taking action.

Solution Two:  Emphasize Healthy Air
If you emphasize healthy Air and fill your life with ways your Air is positively expressed, there will be no room for unhealthy Air.  This elegant solution gently allows negative Air traits to fall away as a side-effect of your emphasis on positive Air.  You might call this solution “Air -Fu.”  Here are some examples:

•    Be endlessly curious.  Become a reservoir, a roundhouse for information.  Regard all data as potentially useful.
•    Air may not be very warm and fuzzy, but it is very social.  Make friends—lots of them—and bond with them around mutually interesting concepts and theories.
•    Share ideas with absolutely everyone, regardless of how “smart” they are.  Treasure each new nugget you learn.
•    Use your capacity for distancing yourself to help you connect with others, not push them away.  Because intimacy includes appropriate space, you can find the right distance to make you comfortable with intimacy.
•    Meditate.  It gives the brain a much-needed break.

The Four Elements are a fascinating part of human temperament.
Find out about yours in a reading with Jamie:
Contact Jamie to learn how.

Coming up next:  Are You Drowning In Water?

This month, Saturn and Uranus finish their epic battle, which has been going on since November of 2008.  They have spent most of this time with Saturn in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces but now Uranus has moved into Aries while Saturn has moved into Libra.  Their tussle reaches a fever pitch in these more volatile signs.

Saturn:  Hey Uranus, since you moved into Aries you’ve become a lot more pushy.  Why can’t you be reasonable?
Uranus:  Because you ask too much.  You want life to always be fair and it just isn’t.  Sometimes it makes me so mad!
Saturn:  You’ve got to control that anger—it could destroy everything.
Uranus:  I wasn’t made to be reasonable.  Not in Aries.  I’d like to blow it all to smithereens!
Saturn:  If you’re willing to negotiate calmly, we could accomplish something here.
Uranus:  Who needs negotiation?  I’ll just push till I get what I want.
Saturn:  Then I’ll have to continue fighting you because I’m not going to allow myself to get run over.
Uranus:  Why do you bother with me?
Saturn:  Because I earnestly believe that we can both have what we want if we live into our best qualities.  Let’s get some outside help.
Levelheaded Saturn-in-Libra scans the Earth and points out a Human Being.
Saturn:  Look, there’s someone who may be able to integrate us.
Uranus:  Huh.  Ok.
Uranus waves his hand and the Human Being is magically transported to Mount Olympus and into the presence of the gods.
Human Being:  Woah.  Are you . . . actual deities?
Saturn:  Yep.  And we need your help.
Human Being (kowtowing):  I’m not worthy!
Uranus:  Then you’d better get worthy because we need you.
Human Being:  Yikes!  Ok.  Sitting up straight now.  Paying attention.  What can I do for you?
They quickly download into his brain their whole mighty struggle of the last year and a half.  He sits down while absorbing it.
Human Being:  Hmm, pretty touchy struggle.  Saturn, I think you’re going to have to make room for Uranus to be more fiery.  Your insistence on niceness is like a wet blanket for him.  Do you think you can do that?
Saturn:  I’m not excited about it, but since I’m in Libra I value appropriate compromise.
Human Being:  Well you’re not the only one who’s going to have to change.  Uranus?
Uranus:  Hmpph?
Human Being:  You can’t blow everything to smithereens.
Uranus looks downcast.
Human Being:  I know you want a fresh start and you want progress and it looks like a massive flattening of the way things used to be done is what’s necessary.  But it’s not.  You two are going to have to work together.  The world needs you both.  The world needs Uranian progress and Saturnine consistency.  We need the old guard and the new ways.  We need tradition and progress.  Quite frankly, we can’t live without both of you.  Find ways to create change that don’t destroy the old ways.  Find ways to honor and hold tradition without stifling youthful enthusiasm.  This is your job.  It is a sacred duty.
Saturn and Uranus are looking serious.  Human Being puts their hands together and they shake on it.
Saturn:  I’m rather impressed with you Human Beings.  You have a way of taking the principle behind what we offer and putting it to good use.
Uranus:  Yeah, I have to agree.  Human Beings are a really great vehicle for the sort of inspired ideas I like to download.
Human Being:  Have fun, you guys.  And try not to kill each other.
Human Being fades away, feeling pretty pleased with self.

See my previous posts on Saturn’s opposition to Uranus:
Saturn vs. Uranus—Match of the Decade
Should I Build or Break? Answer: Both!
Saturn and Uranus: Self-Governance vs. Progressive Change
Governmental Reform

“Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low, there ain’t no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It’s all or nothing at all
Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes” *

That’s Billy Joel talking (see link below).  He may not know why he goes to extremes but I know—it’s because he’s got Pluto square his Sun in his chart.  That combination tends to make a person intense and attracted to edgy experiences.  He’s also got Jupiter in trine to his Moon, making him a large personality, generally benevolent and adventuresome, but also likely to have a bigger emotional reaction than events around him call for.  I mention it because these lyrics are a great illustration of what happens when Jupiter and Pluto hang out together.

This year Pluto and Jupiter will meet in the sky three times, beginning in July and finishing in February.  During this period, their conversation might go something like this:

Jupiter and Pluto have met on the top of Mount Olympus.  Pluto is dressed for scuba diving and carries a large bottle of vodka.  Jupiter is dressed for skydiving and gear is hanging off him in a haphazard way.
Jupiter:  Why are you wearing scuba gear on a mountaintop?
Pluto:  I figure if I start all the way up here, it will be longer before I hit bottom.
Pluto takes a swig of vodka.
Jupiter:  You do realize that you’re not supposed to drop from very high above sea level to very far below sea level, right?  Decompression sickness can kill you.
Pluto:  That rule’s just for people.  I’m an immortal, everlasting deity.  Nothing kills me!
Jupiter:  You’re also not supposed to drink and dive.
Pluto:  I can’t believe you’re telling me this.  I may be bleary, but even I can tell your safety gear is not in place.  Now why would that be?
Jupiter:  Well I’m a god too, obviously.  If I hit the ground it hurts—for a little while.  Then I just get up again, completely good to go.
Pluto:  Exactly.  And you know what I’ve noticed. . .
He leans toward Jupiter conspiratorially.
Pluto:  . . . even the pain part is kind of nice.  Sometimes I get so hardened that it’s hard to shock me.  I like feeling intense things every once in awhile.
Jupiter:  Hey, let me have one of those fins.  Maybe we could share air as we go down.
Pluto:  If you tie me into your parachute.  No doubt we’ll still plummet pretty fast, with two of us on one chute.
Jupiter:  This is hella fun, why didn’t we think of this before?
Pluto:  Not your usual suicide pact, but I’m Lord of the Underworld so death is not new to me.
They proceed to make all the adjustments, then grab each other, run to the edge and jump.
Jupiter & Pluto:  WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
This is followed by a huge crash.  Somewhere on Earth there is an earthquake, a tsunami and a volcano also erupts.
Jupiter & Pluto:  Ugh.  Umph.  Urgh.
They peel themselves off the ground.
Jupiter (eyes gleaming):  Let’s do that again!
Pluto:  You betcha!

This insane combo may have us feeling like a little risk-taking is in order, because Pluto’s tendency to extremes is only made bigger by the presence of Jupiter.  Watch yourself over the upcoming period, through Feburary of 2011, because nobody’s making these two follow safety rules.

* Here’s Billy Joel singing “I Go To Extremes” on youtube.

Curious about how this transit affects you?
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