Love What Scares Us
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone. Click them to see the date and time where you are.
Across a lake
Mercury, now direct, makes the last of three oppositions to Uranus this week (Nov. 17, 2020, 00:07 am PST). The first two oppositions (on Oct. 7 and 19) brought insights, awareness, and fresh perspective about matters that needed a bit of adjustment in your life. Not to mention malfunctioning electronics and communications gone awry, accentuated by Mercury’s recent retrograde period.
At the final opposition, Mercury is on the Sabian symbol 8 Scorpio, The Moon shining across a lake. This symbol makes me think of the times when we lose electrical power in our home (which happens far more often than it should in a place with no weather to speak of). How quiet and restful it is to relax by candlelight or just the natural light of the Moon, without the background buzz and hum of computers and lights and appliances!
At this final Mercury/Uranus opposition, it might be a good time to shut off the devices and be alone in the dark with our thoughts, to gaze across the still waters of intuition. Who knows what inspiration might arise?
Command your realm
In a week of high energy aspects, planets changing sign, and a First Quarter Moon, the Sun’s sextile to Saturn (Nov. 18, 2020, 11:17 pm PST) is quietly grounding and helpful. Act with confidence, in integrity with your core principles, and opportunities for advancement or status could come your way.
I have such fondness for the Sun’s Sabian symbol at this sextile, 28 Scorpio: The king of the fairies approaching his domain. We think of fairies as light and small, and it’s humorous to picture the swagger of their king. And yet… What if part of your integrity is based in the realm of magic and imagination, the domain of fairies? To be in command of the inner, magical realm is where true power lies.
Brightening influences
Venus, goddess of pleasure, is intrinsically at odds with Saturn, the stern disciplinarian. Since Venus entered Libra on Oct. 27 and started moving toward difficult aspects to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, it’s been more difficult than usual to attract what we want to us. Socializing, making money, and gaining affection have all required more effort in recent weeks.
Venus completes her square to Saturn this week (Nov. 19, 3:28 am PST) at 27.25 Libra, on the Sabian symbol, A man in the midst of brightening influences. If you’ve tightened your belt, worked hard, and done what Saturn has demanded of you, you can expect your reward soon. Influences are brightening, indeed.
New eyes
Once, on a visit to New Zealand, I stepped outside on a cool, clear evening and looked up at the sky. What I saw made me a little dizzy: not just a thick blanket of stars, but constellations so different from the ones I’m used to! As an urban dweller, I had no idea that I’d become so familiar with the night sky – until I saw one that was utterly foreign.
Sagittarius rules encounters with the unfamiliar. Some of them take us as far away as the other side of the world, where the sky is upside down. But simply traveling to an unfamiliar part of your own city will do the trick as well. Whenever you find yourself feeling a little bit uncomfortable, like a proverbial fish out of water, then you’re doing Sagittarius right. Whatever makes you look at the world, or even just your own life, with new eyes and wonderment – that’s Sagittarius territory. And that’s what you’re invited to explore over the next month, as the Sun enters Sagittarius (Nov. 21, 2020, 12:39 pm PST).
Revive what’s broken
Here’s my theory: That everything and everyone has someone who is uniquely designed to love it. You see this reflected in our hobbies, our collections, and our passion projects. What is it that we love, that brings us pleasure? In a birth chart, that question is answered by the sign and house placement of Venus. And the journey of transiting Venus through the signs each year tells us what might catch our tastes for a month or so.
This week, Venus enters Scorpio (Nov. 21, 2020, 5:21 am PST). Scorpio compels us to love what is not conventionally lovable. To treasure cactus instead of roses, snakes instead of puppies, funerals instead of christenings, movies with complicated heroes and sad endings.
While Venus in Scorpio, we’re called to love what scares us and to revive what’s broken. Instead of going shopping for something clean and new, let’s see what we can make with what we’ve already got.
Shrouded in mist
This week’s First Quarter Moon at 0.20 Pisces (Nov. 21, 2020, 8:45 pm PST) calls back to Feb. 23’s New Moon near the same degree. The lunar phase family initiated with that New Moon would be strongly associated with the current pandemic, though it wasn’t yet obvious to us. The U.S. news headlines overwhelmingly focused on the recent presidential caucus in Nevada then, with only a couple of small headlines mentioning coronavirus cases identified outside China,and an outbreak on a cruise ship. But within three weeks, the U.S. would begin shutting down public gatherings and encouraging self-quarantine.
This First Quarter Moon marks the opening action point in that New Moon lunar phase family. This is a critical phase in the span of the coronavirus and the U.S. response, which was already characterized by sharp divisions and has now been complicated by the recent presidential election. The First Quarter Moon demands action… but when it’s in the first degree of Pisces, the path ahead can shrouded in mist.
Writing and collages © 2020 April Elliott Kent
Jen and I explore all the week’s highlights in our latest podcast episode,
Ep. 56 | Sagittarius Season and TP on Your Shoe