Promises to Ourselves
In order to pursue happiness, we have to create a life that supports it. This means saying no to things that don’t support our goals, in favor of building systems that reinforce our desired outcome. And it means making promises to ourselves that we refuse to break.
If what we want is a life that offers options, integrity, and freedom, we need look no further than skillful Mercury’s sextile to hard-working Saturn (May 27, 2024, 8:22 pm PDT, 18º33 Taurus/Pisces). Saturn is on the Sabian symbol 19 Pisces, A master instructing his pupil, and the hard work and skills we’ve been developing are about to open doors to the future. This week, we just might attract the notice of the very people who can help us walk through those doors.
Snapshots
I’m not sure I can explain why, but sometimes I find myself awash in nostalgia for some of the least wonderful moments of my life. Not the truly tragic ones, mind you. Just random snapshots of an unhappy relationship or a vexing job, or from a financially strained youth.
I find this weird wistfulness a pretty good analogy for the Pisces Last Quarter Moon (May 30, 2024, 10:13 am PDT, 9º46’ Pisces). Each month, the Moon’s Last Quarter phase directs our gaze backward, and the Pisces Last Quarter heart remembers every hurt as well as every moment of ecstasy. Over time, when past pain dominates our current narrative, it can prevent us moving forward.
The Gemini Sun side of this Last Quarter equation is in a sharp square to Saturn; at the moment, the Gemini path of logic and wit can only take us so far. In the current sky, the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter in Gemini rule with the head, but the Moon, Saturn, and Neptune in Pisces rule with the heart. It’s the sign of feeling everything, then letting it go; of faith and forgiveness. Maybe my nostalgia is just a final step in processing – of assimilating all the psychic nutrients from those past experiences before I let them go for good.
The Voice
I produce a weekly astrology podcast, and I receive a lot of comments about my voice. Listeners find it soothing, calming. They listen to my show to help them fall asleep.
And I have enough Neptune aspects in my chart that I love being the siren of sleep. It just surprises me. I was a singer for many years, to a generally positive reception; but my speaking voice? Like most people who flinch at hearing their voice on a recording, I’m not a fan of mine.
I came to California from rural Indiana when I was ten years old, and more than 50 years later I still hear the southern Midwestern twang in my accent. In fact, when we moved to Los Angeles, I was the oddball whose accent set me apart from my classmates – they mocked me relentlessly.
But somewhere along the line, I went from having a voice that set me uncomfortably apart, to one that actually draws listeners to my show.
Mercury in Taurus conjoins Uranus this week (May 30, 2024, 10:54 pm PDT, 24º07 Taurus). Mercury rules the voice, and when it collides with Uranus, there’s a chance to make your voice stand out and be heard. Decide whether you want to use it to wake people up, or to soothe them to sleep.
Bowling the Strikes
When the largest planet in our solar system meets in an aspect with the smallest, you’d think one voice would drown out the other completely. And if you put Jupiter in the ring with practically any other planet, he’d be the clear winner.
But don’t confuse Pluto’s size with his influence. Pluto is what you might get if you distilled Jupiter all the way down to its essence – Jupiter’s big energy and potency without any of the self-aggrandizement or hyperbole.
Jupiter and Pluto are surprising well-matched in the power department. And when they make a conjunction about every 14 years – most recently in April 2020 and December 2007 – their summit can produce grave results. A worldwide financial meltdown. A global pandemic. Jupiter magnifies what it touches, and Pluto can be kind of a horror story when it’s projected onto a big screen.
But a little more than four years after their most recent summit, the aspect between Jupiter and Pluto is a trine (June 2, 2024, 5:12 pm PDT), promising a dialogue of ease and harmony. They relax together over a drink. They talk about old times. “Do you think they learned anything from all that? The pandemic, the lockdown, that old financial stuff?” they wonder, pointing at us. “It might have brought them closer, but it only seems to have driven them farther apart.” And they shrug and pour another glass of wine. Meanwhile, there are days or even weeks at a time we might never think of the pandemic time at all, or the financial crisis, or consider what they cost us. Jupiter and Pluto can set the pins, but it’s up to us to bowl the strikes.
The Common Hymn Book
This week, Mercury in Taurus meets in a sextile aspect with Neptune (June 2, 2024, 8:57 pm PT). Neptune is the ruler of faith – but faith works best when it’s draped over a well-reasoned, clear-eyed framework. We have to use common sense, learn what we can about a situation, and reason the matter through before we grant ourselves the luxury of faith. In all of this, Mercury in pragmatic Taurus excels.
But as Neptune reminds us, reason isn’t everything. I’ve studied astrology fairly diligently for half a century, and it’s proven a reliable guide to understanding myself and others. But that’s not why I love it. I love it because it supports my faith that the universe is meaningful; that we’re connected with the heavens, and with everything else. These aren’t things that can be proven, but that doesn’t matter. For all the astrological techniques and theories that I’ve explored over the years, faith is the underlying factor that makes sense of it all for me.
And as Mercury and Neptune harmonize, there’s an opening in the wall that separates faith and reason, and a common hymn book that lets them sing together in the choir.
Writing and images © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent
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