Venus-Pluto Sextile

Venus-Pluto Sextile - Assertive Intensity

"I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe."

—Dalai Lama

Venus begins to pick up more 'speed' this week. Now past the 'fog' of last week's Venus-Neptune conjunction, Venus begins to take center-stage. However, Venus is still in the 'shadow' of the last retrograde period (March 1st through April 12th), keeping us focused on actively expressing the new perspectives that we have developed. This week's Venus-Pluto sextile (the third of 3) suggests a determined intensity, showing off the assertive energy of Venus in Aries. The sextile's assertive intensity is boosted by Pluto's retrograde station on Sunday. Nonetheless, the importance of establishing or maintaining connection with others is also extremely important and must be balanced with our determined, individual, creative 'follow-through'. We reach the first quarter phase of this waxing lunar cycle where we can begin to see the results of our determination. While this may be rather exciting, we are challenged to maintain our focus and avoid tempting side-roads that will pull us off-course. A mid-week Mercury-Chiron conjunction encourages us to keep our feet on the ground — even if our 'head is in the clouds'. This is an extraordinarily inventive, creative environment if we are able to stay productive and not 'wander off' on too many unproductive 'tangents'. The options and opportunities may seem plentiful but we can quickly get lost when we're paying more attention to what others are doing rather than staying focused on our own path or trajectory. The need for solid, reliable connections to others can quickly throw us off-balance. We may be prone to trying too hard while failing to successfully cover our aggressiveness with enough 'soft soap' to avoid alienating others. Any sense that we are losing our connection will produce a vague but unmistakable sense of discomfort. If we have relied too heavily on approval from others, we may be inclined to adopt a 'martyr role'. Our desire for independence and freedom can be subtly hampered by the need to gain connection and approval from those around us. We may do well to consider that the most important connection we can have is to the 'still small voice' of intuition within us. The Asteroid Ceres gets to the lunar North Node in Pisces this week, ahead of a conjunction with Saturn next week at the Scorpio Full Moon (May 12, 9:55 AM PDT 22° Scorpio/Taurus). The involvement of Ceres is protective and encourages responsibility. Although we may be prone to covering up any sense of disconnection with bravado or 'showmanship' this week, next week's Full Moon will help us to find the deeper sense of connection that may seem a bit elusive this week. As well, Mercury reaches Taurus by the end of this week, helping us to keep our thoughts in line with our deeper desires and soften our approach enough to more effectively stabilize our connections.

Sunday's intensity is unmistakable. We can begin to see the results of our determined follow-through. There is a valuable 'luck factor' on Monday but we need to avoid the temptation to collapse into self-satisfied indolence. It is important to maintain steady effort. Tuesday's atmosphere provides a great deal of inventive, creative energy but we need to guard against wandering off on unproductive tangents. We should not mistake the easy-going atmosphere for a 'free ride'. There is increased potential for accomplishment on Wednesday but it is not easy to stay focused on the 'task at hand'. We may find that we're too focused on what others are doing. A vague sense of isolation spurs us to work very hard to make connections with others on Thursday. We may begin to find that we are becoming quite 'needy'. Attempts to establish a reliably amiable connection to others on Friday brings mixed results. Our desire for independence and freedom is hampered by our need to gain connection and approval from those around us. If we have relied too heavily on approval from others, we may be inclined to adopt a 'martyr role' on Saturday. The most important connection is the one to the 'still small voice' of intuition.