"Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear."

—Mahatma Gandhi

Venus stations direct this week, while Neptune — the 'higher octave' of Venus — turns retrograde. As Venus begins to move forward, we feel a restless, creative, idealistic impatience. Neptune's retrograde motion encourages us to find tangible routes to manifest our creative idealism. There has been a creative tension stirring since the first Venus-Neptune square back in May. We reach a moment where we can clear space, remove 'dead weight', and expand our perspective before Venus returns to square Neptune once more at the end of July. The Venus-Neptune square at the end of July will offer [...]

"If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path."

— Joseph Campbell

The week culminates with a conjunction of Mars and Neptune following the Sun's square to both planets — Gemini-Pisces squares. The lack of clarity that we have been dealing with for much of this year reaches a new peak, while creative tension brings with it some significant frustration, impulsiveness, and aggression. The challenge, in this atmosphere, is to seek a broader range of perspectives and look for promising pieces of 'common ground'. The creativity in this environment can be [...]

"Adjust the tuning, try a new translation"

— Carly Simon -
Stuff that Dreams Are Made Of

The week provides quite a mixed bag as we begin to seek the lessons of insight promised by last week's Gemini New Moon. The challenge is to balance practical approaches with overly idealistic dreams, impractical solutions, as well as the continuing desire for something exciting. Venus backs off a bit from the extra long square to Neptune and we may be hoping for more clarity than we actually get. Mars is approaching Neptune in Pisces. The Mars-Neptune conjunction has the potential to build unrealistic expectations. As Venus backs off the square to Neptune [...]