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.

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?
A reading can help you find out—and find out what to do about it too!
Contact Jamie to schedule or find out more.

“Wake up!” says Jupiter.  “Recently I initiated you into a big-time growth experience.   Now I’m telling you again:  it’s time to expand.”

Today Is A Pivotal Day
When a planet turns retrograde it makes a pivot in the sky and also creates a metaphorically “pivotal” experience for human beings.  Today, that planet is Jupiter.  It’s as if Jupiter is telling us, “You can’t go on avoiding this change forever.  Today I’m delivering a wake-up call.”  If Jupiter is touching your chart this year, this message is for you and it will have very specific meaning, depending on what part of your chart it touches.  That part is being asked to grow and expand.  Today is the peak of Jupiter’s wake-up call, but it could happen anytime within 5 days surrounding today.

Initiation Leading To An Inner Journey
Sometime between now and last October Jupiter showed us an area of life in which we are due for a change.  What he delivered was an initiation and it was our first chance to catch a clue about the profound expansion to come.  That clue may have been obvious or it may have been subtle, but we’ve been shown a place in our life that we need to approach with a spirit of adventure and a willingness to become bigger than we’ve been before.  It’s very like a fantasy adventure movie in which a young hero is sent on an important quest.  During a Jupiter transit, you become a Seeker.

The clue was delivered, but did we notice?  It’s human to go into denial.  During the winter we may have said to ourselves, “Maybe I don’t have to do anything about this.  Maybe it was just a one-time thing.  Maybe I can just move on.  Maybe I can get away without paying attention to this.”

Or maybe not.  Today Jupiter turns up the volume and gives us a reminder.  “That growth period you’re going through?” he says, “You’d better get with the program.”  Today, Jupiter’s retrograde journey begins and with it begins our inner quest to discover what part of us is ready to expand beyond our comfort zone and how to proceed with that expansion.  The upcoming few months of Jupiter retrograde will demand that we approach life philosophically and get ourselves into an open-minded, exploring mode.  Jupiter’s retrograde journey lasts until the day it turns direct, which is November 18, 2010.

Where Must We Grow, Explore, Expand?
The sign Jupiter is in tells us how it will affect us.  This year Jupiter is traveling through late Pisces and early Aries.  While in Aries, Jupiter brings opportunities for fresh beginnings and adventuresome expeditions.  Jupiter in Aries loves a pioneering spirit.  While in Pisces, Jupiter brings opportunities of a more internal, even spiritual nature.  Less easily seen by others, these opportunities enrich one’s inner life, bringing a profound sense of peace and contentment.

Is This Story Your Story?
If this resonates for you, it may be that you are personally touched by this transit.  Jupiter may be triggering a planet in your own chart, thus bringing these themes up for you.  This year Jupiter is covering the space between 23 degrees of Pisces and 3 degrees of Aries.  If there is anything in your chart in 23 to 29 degrees of Pisces, Gemini, Virgo or Sagittarius, you will feel this.  You will also feel it if you have anything in 0, 1, 2 or 3 degrees of Aries, Capricorn, Cancer, or Libra.  That’s 44 degrees out of the total 360 of a circle that is being affected by Jupiter this year—that’s 12% of the whole circle, a massive span and more than any other planet in our skies (because Jupiter likes all things big).  Knowing whether this affects you can help a lot because a Jupiter transit can lead to a fortunate outcome—if you take advantage of it while it’s happening.  Make hay while the sun shines!

What Area Of Your Life Is Being Affected?
Good question.  It will have to do with which planet in your chart is being triggered by Jupiter.  If it’s your Sun, you may feel your very identity growing beyond its old limits.  You’ll feel yourself filled up with confidence—you might even need to rein yourself in at times.  If it’s your Moon, you could experience an expansion in your family, either a new feeling of confidence around your relatives or perhaps even a new addition to the family (ahem!).  If it’s Venus or Juno, you might attract a freewheeling, rambling, adventuresome love affair or a welcome shared journey with your beloved mate and if it’s Saturn, you might find your career expanding and opportunity knocking at your door.  These are good things to know before they happen, because Jupiter brings opportunity, but you have to grab it and make use of it when it pops up.

Want to know more about how this Jupiter transit affects your life?
Contact Jamie to schedule a reading.

I want to take a moment to bid a fond farewell to Saturn in Virgo.  I don’t usually say a valediction to a planet departing a sign, because I’m usually too busy heralding its entry into the next sign at exactly the time when you, dear Reader, need to know about it.  But this one’s personal.

I wish I had been born with Saturn in Virgo.  I honestly do.  Instead I have Pluto and Uranus in Virgo, so I get compulsive about habits and my habits tend toward the eccentric, instead of simply having a set of habits that make my life run like a well-oiled machine.  But when Saturn transits through Virgo, as it has been doing for the last 2 and a half years, we all get a taste of anti-entropic goodness.

Here is a list of 5 things I’ve accomplished while Saturn was in Virgo:

1. Read David Allen’s book Getting Things Done—twice.

2. Bought and implemented OmniFocus, personal organization software that has helped me deal with the overwhelming amount of details life presents.  Used it to implement David Allen’s processes.  Sat back and watched the paper piles diminish.

3. Kicked sugar out of my diet—several times.  It’s very hard to do it permanently, but at least I caught a glimpse of a whole new world—my life without sugar.  In it I am always full of energy and in a good mood.

4. Cleaned my basement, reorganized things, put them in clearly-labeled boxes and donated things I don’t want.  I did this twice, with the help of my extremely energetic Aries sister (go her!).

5. And a whole host of other tiny-but-adding-up-to-a-mountain of small changes to my processes and procedures that have made every area of life go smoother.  They include ways of systematizing my business that have led to greater productivity for me and better support for my clients.

Now that Saturn’s moving out of Virgo, it’s time to bid farewell to the extended cleaning and organizing frenzy and to turn our serious Saturnine attention to all things Libran.  During the next two-and-a-half years, it’s a great time to take more responsibility in our relationships, to embrace fairness and good judgment, to create balance in all areas of our lives, especially wherever Saturn is transiting.  This is Saturn’s favorite sign, so may he have mercy on us.

Want to know where Saturn is in your chart right now?
A reading can tell you this, what to do about it and much more.
Contact Jamie to find out how.

This is a profoundly domestic New Moon.  This Moon asks, “Exactly how do you want your home to be?  Do you feel safe at home?  Do you feel supported?  What can you do to make it a better nest for you?”  Mars, traveling through Virgo forms a helpful sextile to the Moon, offering loads of industrious energy to tidy, fix and refurbish.  This is a great time for house projects.  And because this New Moon is also a Solar Eclipse, we are also likely to see our shadows during it.

Details About This Eclipse

Date: July 11, 2010
Time of eclipse: 12:40 PM PST
Type: total (strong in intensity)
Visible in: People in New Zealand, Patagonia, the South Pacific, and parts of Chile and Argentina will see this eclipse.
At: 19 degrees Cancer
Shadow Agent: Mars in Virgo

Does It Affect You Personally?

If your birthday is on any of the following dates, you most likely experienced this eclipse:
January 3-13
April 3-13
July 5-15
October 6-16

Remember, not every eclipse touches everyone, but when it does, it’s usually noticeable.  A solar eclipse is likely to be marked by an external, real-world event (unlike a lunar eclipse, which is mostly experienced internally).  The following script is just one possible way it could go.

You hear a knock at the door.  You answer it.  Mars is there.  Before you can even speak, he’s rushed past you and is bringing things inside: a vacuum cleaner, a toolbox, a bucket containing cleaning supplies and several kinds of brooms, mops and brushes.  Outside you can see his van, groaning with construction supplies: jars of nails and screws, aluminum siding, wood flooring, copper pipes, roofing shingles and other sundry building materials.  After a few minutes of lightning-swift activity, he stops in front of you and gives you a military salute.
Mars:  Domestic Industry Team, reporting for duty.
You:  Team?  But there’s only one of you.
Mars:  I’m so efficient, you only need one.
You:  Oh.
Mars:  So what needs doing?
You:  Um, I have no idea.
Mars:  (pushing past you into the house) Ok, so the foundation needs fixing, the drain-pipes need adjusting before the next rainy season, and you could really use a drainage ditch.  A couple of rooms need updated wiring, and you’d really like a second story and some solar panels.  Is that all?  That can’t be all.
You:  Um, I think that’s it.
Mars:  What about your sense of safety here at home?  Do you feel loved?  Are you comfortable?
You:  What?
Mars:  How about some fixes not only to your home, but also to your sense of home?  Does your relationship need fixing?  How about your family?
He starts rummaging through his toolkit.
You:  Uh, sure.  Lots of things like that need fixing too.  Can you really do that?
Mars:  I can at least kick your butt and get you started.
You:  Wow.  You mean I could get a whole new sense of home out of this eclipse?
Mars:  You betcha.  But you gotta be willing to take action.  Just figure out what your real needs are and ask for them.  You need to take the first step.  Help is near, but you’ve got to ask.
He winks and goes back to the truck for more supplies.  You sink onto your sofa.
You:  Nothing like getting the problem and the solution at the same time!