"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.'"

— Thomas Paine

The Capricorn Full Moon (4:38 AM PDT 11° Capricorn/Cancer) this week sets up a call for accountability, hard on the heels of last week's roller coaster. Our self-image and sense of self-esteem is beginning to feel some significant pressure. The keys to easing this pressure involves both expanding our perspective as well as finding ways to open up to others and ask for help. There aren't any quick solutions. A somewhat generous and optimistic atmosphere could easily lead us to believe that a new beginning — a fresh start — will allow us to clear the slate and release us from the need to clean up loose ends. However, when that sort of escape is seen to be untenable, most of us are likely to just feel overwhelmed. There are a myriad of details that don't [...]

"To cut off the confusion and accept an answer just because it's too scary not to have an answer is a good way to get the wrong answer.'"

— Janet Jackson

It's likely that there's quite a bit of emotional confusion to deal with as we begin to work with last week's Gemini New Moon energy. Gemini is highly intellectual but the Sun's square to Neptune completes just after the New Moon, creating significant potential for emotional vulnerability, deception, or manipulation, especially as the Moon transits Cancer at the beginning of the week. However, by the Summer Solstice on Wednesday, Mercury's sextile to Mars boosts our confidence and the Cancer Sun helps us put our emotional vulnerabilities into perspective. A balanced perspective is also supported by [...]

"Let us not envy those who stand higher than we do: what look like towing heights are precipices… Indeed there are many who are forced to cling to their pinnacle because they cannot descend without falling…"

— Seneca"

The week begins with a Mercury-Uranus conjunction, also involving the asteroid Vesta. The presence of Vesta helps us to pare away unnecessary or unworkable elements and focus on important new information and new intellectual insights. We might hope that some intellectual insight and clarity begins to provide us with a more definitive sense of purpose. Unfortunately, we are more likely to struggle to clearly deliver our message or convey the insights that Mercury and Uranus are revealing. Venus joins Mars in Leo early this week, once again setting off the lingering effects of the fixed sign T-Square involving Jupiter and Pluto. Although Venus may not be nearly as abrasive as Mars, there are still [...]