Blogs for a New Moon week..

SunnyCat Astrology is Zane Maser’s Blog on nature, healing, astrology, and the inner life. In her current blog, she reminds us of the significance of the Year of the Green Horse: “Wood initiates not only the sequence of the Five Elements but also the 60-year circle of the Chinese zodiac. Wood is associated with springtime and the expansion of budding new life. A lush, fecund growth will soon cover the earth as deciduous trees green once again. This fortunate Year of the ‘Green Horse’ — the first one since 1954 — is considered a fruitful one of promise and the attainment of heart-centered goals. Favorable happenings are afoot! The independent spirit of this horse is able, energetic, hardworking, bright, friendly, and warm-hearted…..Some of the astrological signatures for the year corroborate this upsurge of optimistic energy for quick-paced, forward movement, such as the Uranus-in-Aries’ impulse to break free into fresh territory……Plus, we are beyond the midpoint of the momentous Uranus-Pluto squares (7 in total through March 2015), so we are more than halfway up the horse trail on the Mountain of Change — to the point of no looking back but rather upward into greater Light and a leaner body, soul, and spirit.”

Go to Tad Mann’s site to access his art and written works and sign up for his monthly newsletter. Here’s a quote from February’s letter: “This is a time when we all tend to feel the need to be inside, to conserve energies and intimacies, and so letting it out will feel much better than you can even imagine. With Pluto and Venus still in their forceful embrace it might be that you swing from the extremes from overdoing it and being the eternal naive. Being opposite to open and optimistic Cancerian Jupiter and squaring the impulsive Uranus in Aries, creative urges can be spot on now, so move on it and know that the world is ready for whatever it is that you imagine.”

Astrolore: Let the Universe Support Your Growth offers Astrology Weather Report February 24 – March 2, 2014. “This week as the Moon moves through Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces your outlook is apt to be less about those in your immediate surroundings and more about humanity in general. You may seek to become more engaged with humanitarian issues rather than personal issues.”
There is also a day-by-day report on the planetary aspects.

Kenneth Johnson’s article Mind and the Vedic Moon begins: “One of the most abiding sources of confusion I have encountered among students who approach Jyotish from a background in Western astrology is the concept of the Moon as symbolic of ‘the mind.'” His description is concise; he concludes: “In the end, then, the Vedic perception of the Moon is not that different than the Moon as perceived in Western astrology. The concept of manas invites us to envision our moods and feelings, our emotional experience of life, the material stored in our astral bodies, as the authentic ground from which mind and intellect arise — in other words, our essential field of conscious awareness. Happy Moon = quiet emotions, quiet mind. Unhappy Moon = turbulent emotions, troubled mind.
May your conscious awareness be as tranquil as a full moon shining in a lake of calm water.”

Pat Paquette at RealAstrologers includes a scan of current mundane events in her always interesting weekly forecast. From her Weekly Forecast February 24: Jupiter Square Uranus, New Moon in Pisces: “Mars turns retrograde eight hours after the New Moon in Pisces on Friday. Although the chart for this New Moon is dominated by the cardinal T-square, the New Moon is in favorable aspect to Jupiter and Pluto and so might provide a ‘way out’ for some of the tension. That said, I’m hesitant to predict entirely positive outcomes. Not only does Pisces have a dark side, but the Sun and Moon are in conjunction with Chiron. We might think of it as something like a healing crisis.”

Marina at Darkstar Astrology writes on Mars Retrograde 2014. She includes the fixed stars Mars will cross in his backwards, then forward again, motion. “Mars stations retrograde on March 1, 2014. Mars will traverse slowly backwards from 27º to 9º Libra. Like all retrogrades this period gives us a chance to look at things from a right-brain perspective.”

Jessica Murray at MotherSky writes as compellingly as ever in her new blog, No More Free Lunch.”Last month’s Full Moon brought news that sent a chill down the collective spine of the 99%. Net neutrality received its deadliest blow yet when a federal court moved one step closer to allowing corporations to decide which websites get the fast access everybody wants…..The Full Moon was at 26° Cancer/ Capricorn. Transit trackers familiar with the US Sibly chart may recognize these as the placements of America’s Mercury and Pluto. It was one of the most astounding astro-synchronicities I’ve seen in a long time.”

How Have You Grown from Saturn in Scorpio’s Transits? is the current post at Donna Cunningham’s Skywriter. She talks about her own progress during this time (i.e., “Well, it’s been more like hobbling forward than power walking, but I’ve made some important progress.”) and invites comments from us all: “So, Readers, what have you accomplished through hard work during this transit? Maybe now that we’re through the halfway mark of this transit, can you see progress despite the fact that it’s been anything but easy?”

Anthony Louis writes on The Uranus-Pluto Square of April 2014. He includes the Ukrainian national horoscope (August 24, 1991) and the chart for the grand cross on April 21, set for Washington, D.C. “Individuals born with their Sun or personal planets and chart points at 13 degrees of a cardinal sign will be most strongly affected in their personal life. In the tradition of Chaucer and T.S. Elliot, April may be the cruelest month for such individuals. Thus those born with their Sun around 13 degrees of a cardinal sign, that is, those born within a few days of January 4th, April 3rd, July 5th, or October 6th of any year) will feel this transit most acutely as it affects their natal Sun. A study of each individual’s birth chart will be necessary to see what other planets and chart points are affected. If you accept July 4th as the birthday of the United States, then this country is in for a period of major upheaval.”

Barry Goddard at AstroTableTalk has an entry called The Astrologer’s Secret Fire. “The real training for astrology usually takes decades. Learning the system and how to bang the symbols together so that words come out of your mouth is the easy bit. Anyone can go and get a certificate like this, and unfortunately it is generally seen as a qualification to practise the craft, you are a ‘professional’……But astrology is not about that at all. The real qualification is the refashioning of the personality so that it becomes a vessel for the gods. And that is something the gods do to you if you are lucky or unlucky enough, it is not something you can decide. It is for the daimons who were assigned to you at birth.”

And to end with a cozier theme, Adam Elenbaas writes on the importance of the Moon in compatibility in Lunar Love on his Astrology Study site. “At this point in history it seems safe to say that even our best spiritual philosophies, eastern and mystical or western and monotheistic alike, place too great an emphasis on the quest for transcendence. We ask someone about their Sun sign because we’re all interested in each other’s individuality. We’re each very concerned with our personal quest. But if the Sun is by nature more personal and less ‘dependent,’ compared to the Moon, then wouldn’t it be at least equally important to ask about someone’s ‘Moon’ sign when considering a relationship, which is by nature more of a ‘dependent’ situation?”

Have a happy, nourishing, fun, full week, everyone. Let’s enjoy the passage of time together!
Mary