"Suppose your whole world seems to rock on its foundations. Hold on steadily, let it rock, and when the rocking is over, the picture will have reassembled itself into something much nearer to your heart's desire"

— Emmet Fox

Tension and frustration builds this week, leading up to the Mars-Uranus opposition on Saturday. The effect of the waning Moon (ahead of next week's Scorpio New Moon (1:27 AM PST 20° Scorpio) is actually likely to increase the frustration as we struggle to reach firm conclusions and definitive 'plans of action'. Last week's Mars-Mercury conjunction has set up a new 'communication framework' but there is an element of unfamiliarity — the new landscape doesn't offer recognizable landmarks. Although we feel compelled to keep the pace up, there is a deep desire to look for a way to "pull over and check the map" but we don't have a map for this new terrain. While there may be incredible opportunities in this New Territory, clear, direct communication is needed but [...]

"Change what cannot be accepted and accept what cannot be changed."

— Reinhold Niebuhr

Mercury and the Sun both arrive in Scorpio this week, leaving behind the power struggles of the Pluto squares to form stabilizing trines to Saturn. Our thinking shifts inward. A determined search for 'truth' and deeper meaning is initiated. Responsibility and self-discipline are required. By the end of the week, Mercury conjuncts Mars in opposition to Jupiter in Taurus just as we reach Saturday's Taurus Full Moon (1:23 PM PDT 5° Taurus/Scorpio). The culmination of this lunar cycle demands that [...]

"I gave up my struggle with perfection a long time ago. That is a concept I don't find very interesting anymore. Everyone just wants to look good in the photographs. I think that is where some of the pressure comes from. Be happy. Be yourself, the day is about a lot more."

— Anne Hathaway

We begin the week with a tense and potentially explosive Mars-Pluto square. A brief Moon-Jupiter square may weaken the intensity somewhat on Sunday, leading to a rather nihilistic hopelessness. But the tensions are obvious. The pressure produces a clearer picture of our challenges but we don't find many solutions. Venus gets to Virgo just after the Mars-Pluto square completes. In many ways, this creates further complications. Mars is not comfortable in Libra (or squaring Pluto), and Libra's ruler, Venus, is not comfortable in Virgo either. Compounding the discomfort is that, once in Virgo, Venus opposes Saturn. The result is [...]