Going to the Well
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.
An old-fashioned well
Gemini is an endlessly resourceful sign. If a task needs doing, Gemini can figure out how – or at the very least has a list of people to call who can do it. And as Mars in Gemini makes a sextile to Jupiter (Sep. 1, 2022, 4:52 am PDT, 6º49′ Gemini/Aries), there is no wild-blue-yonder, madcap adventure Jupiter in Aries can suggest that Mars in Gemini cannot help us achieve. Looking for the best hamburger in London, the hours that you can visit the Louvre, the difference between the Grand Canyon’s north and south rims? Look no further than Mars in Gemini, on the Sabian Symbol An old-fashioned well. His “well” of knowledge, contacts, and information is limitless – and he can help us access the courage we need for new adventures, too, with blinding speed.


The Voice of Reason
As a kid, I was puzzled by the message that appeared on our car’s rear-view mirrors: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It still takes my brain a moment or two to adjust to what I’m being told, there, which I guess is… things look far but they’re close? I think?
It’s a Mercury-opposed-Jupiter kind of dilemma, this concept of near vs. far, detailed vs. abstract. “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” we might tell a Mercury-oriented person, who focuses exclusively on details and misses the big picture. Like getting too close to a Monet landscape and complaining that it’s a bunch of little paint daubs. Or, “Your optimism is writing checks that your income level can’t cash,” to an incurable optimist who tends to get financial overextended.
Mercury is in Libra as it opposes Jupiter this week (Sep. 2, 2022, 6:49 pm PDT). In this sign, Mercury likes to weigh all sides of an issue, an idea, or a course of action. But it has its work cut out for it as it attempts to balance Jupiter in impulsive Aries. Fresh from yesterday’s encounter with Mars in Gemini, Jupiter is inflamed with enthusiasm and resources. “Now, now, now!” urges this Jupiter, “Let’s leap into the unknown, into the final frontier!” It’s not the worst thing in the world for Mercury in measured Libra to step in and act as a voice of reason – and its approach is likely to be effective. Whereas Saturn might grab Jupiter by the collar and physically restrain him (annoying him in the process), Mercury in Libra uses persuasion and irresistible charm to work the same magic, and much more agreeably.


Covering the Territory
I first flew in an airplane when I was in high school. I’d taken innumerable road trips with my family over the years, and I was used to that slow pace of travel. This was my first experience with covering territory in two hours that would once have taken two days of driving.
Unquestionably, there’s something nice about a road trip. You gain an intimacy with the terrain, which was fascinating in the 1960s and 70s, before every city and town in America looked quite similar. You savored every inch of the journey. And I missed that, in flying. But by taking an airplane, your vistas increased dramatically.
Sometimes, making a bigger life for ourselves requires that we let go of some of the treasured minutia of each mile so that we can cover new ground, and more of it. This First Quarter Moon (Sep. 3, 2022, 11:08 am PDT, 11º13′ Sagittarius) pits the Sun in down-to-earth, eye-on-details Virgo against the Moon in Sagittarius and its wider lens. Taking a leap of faith can be scary. But if you’ve paid attention to detail and planned carefully, now is the time to trust that you’re ready to jump in a plane and fly into your future.


The Beauty of Everyday Things
Imagine walking into a small, rustic home. The afternoon sun falls softly on wood floors and whitewashed plaster walls. Furnishings are minimal, well-used but cared for, and there are few ornaments. A hand-knit throw is draped on a reading chair, and a contented cat is curled in one corner. The only sound comes from wind and birdsong in the trees.
This is the aesthetic of Venus in Virgo (Sep. 4, 2022, 9:05 pm PDT through Sep. 29). Like the Shakers who eschew ornamentation as “prideful,” Venus in Virgo celebrates the natural world and our place in it, rather than using physical objects to make ourselves stand out. When it comes to love, money, fashion, or home, Venus in Virgo wants to help, to serve, to be a good steward. To keep things simple, and to honor the beauty of everyday things.


Writing and collages © 2019-2022 April Elliott Kent
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