Author: Lynne Conant

Everything is a balancing act. Trying to keep your daily routine in check so that you don’t become physically or mentally exhausted isn’t so easy. Remember to take baby steps when you are starting a new project. A long journey begins with just one step. With 4 planets in Libra this week, it is a good week to make adjustments to your balancing act.

You are feeling very energetic with Mars in the sign of Leo. Leo is a masculine, fixed, fire sign so organization is at the forefront of your thinking. Plan your work and work your plan. Don’t over do it or you could injure yourself and cause a set back that would delay the outcome. It is good that you feel intent on gaining a solution but you risk alienating the people that will assist you. Don’t let your ego get in the way.

Jupiter is in the sign of Taurus. Taurus rules personal finances in the archetype. This should allow you to manipulate your balance sheet in way that will take the financial pressure off until you find a sustainable source of new income.

Better to be an optimist, you pay the same price.

Things come in threes or at least that’s what they say. That’s often true in astrology where a planet will approach an aspect to another planet and then go retrograde and then go direct. This can happen 2 or 3 times especially with the slower moving planets like Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Usually the planets are giving you a chance to warm up to the kind of changes that you will need to be making. By the 3rd approach, you should be much less resistant to the influences of the planets.

Basically, the astrology chart gives you a plan to work with. You can upgrade your destiny. We all can. But the influences of the planets are always going to play themselves out on some level. The level of manifestation is where you can influence destiny and use free will. Planets influence; through their own nature, by position, by disposition and by ricochet (to the opposite house and sign).

Mars will always be Mars. But Mars in Capricorn will manifest differently from Mars in Aries. Mars in Capricorn is disposed by Saturn. Mars in Aries is in domicile and therefore manifests itself more true to the nature of Mars because Mars is the ruler of Aries.

Hard aspects are designed to soften our position toward certain situations. If we become more crystallized and intransient, it will be felt much more harshly than if we learn to yield to the forces of nature. We have to struggle to be in harmony with nature and when we accomplish this, things miraculously move in our favor.

Sometimes you just have to go forward with your own truth. You have to cross the line of no return. That being said, you are the one who pays for it. We all pay for what we want and we pay for what we don’t want. This is one of the hardships of life. We really can’t have everything. We have to make choices. Once you’ve made your choices, it requires discipline and work for them to manifest.

It’s good to contemplate some of the more serious aspects of life and to learn to concentrate. 24 hours a day is not too much and it can be done without the feeling of being weighed down. Perspective is important. It depends on whether we see our life as 80 or 90 years in length or a continuation over centuries, a kind of everlasting life. This is a choice too and affects the way that we solve problems. Remember you can’t take it with you (at least not the material things).

Character is destiny. We see that very clearly in the horoscope. The first house of character is the cause of the tenth house, destiny. You could also say that the first house of personality is the cause of the tenth house, profession. I might even take it a step further and say that “who is good enough for the bed, is good enough for the table.” There are countless applications in astrology that you could apply to this single scenario.

These are good times, astrologically, to think about who you really are.

Making changes in our point of view requires having been awakened in some way. Something jolts us from our sleep. We become more conscious through our unique experiences that shape and change the way that we see things. In a way, we are locked in our unconscious. To become conscious requires a catalyst of some kind. It may simply be some imperceptible or passing thought or idea that takes us in a new direction. We are all catalysts when we share our thoughts and ideas with others.

We should accept that everyone is entitled to their point of view even when it doesn’t agree with our own. We grow through our experiences and the experiences of other people. We can show compassion and empathy for the experiences of others which broaden our own knowledge and self understanding. Listening is one of the most valuable abilities.

Expressing ourselves is our right and we can do this as long as we are mindful of other people’s opinions and their right of expression. Ultimately all of these thoughts become things. Things are tangible and become difficult to manage. So having things is a burden as well as a blessing. Choose your things wisely.

Hippocrates said it best; “Life is short, art is long, experience gained with much pain, judgment highly difficult.”

It’s really all in the details. People change right before your very eyes, but slowly and imperceptibly. If you are an observant human being, you can see this transformation as it unfolds. However, it may be very subtle and difficult to see. It’s important to be vigilant so that you don’t miss some important developments.

The personality is shown in the horoscope by the ascendant. The astrological sign that you have rising reflects your persona. In astrology, this is 80% the most important thing because it shows how you receive the planetary influences. How you see yourself and others is critical to the outcome.

“Man is not the creature of circumstances but circumstances are the creatures of men.” –Benjamin Disraeli. How we see our life and others create the circumstances that we encounter. It begins with us. We are the creators of our own destiny. Character is destiny.

There will be opportunities to clear up misunderstandings that may have occurred. This will bring harmony and peace of mind to your current situation.

Mercury moving direct will free you to complete any transactions that may have been on the back burner. Take action on problems that have been lingering for sometime. Get your cues from a good chess player and use foresight in formulating your next move. Mercury is in the sign of Leo. Leo is a masculine, fixed, fire sign. With Mercury in Leo, you have the feeling that things spin around you like a centrifuge. This planetary placement doesn’t necessarily indicate introspection but could reflect self-aggrandizement.

Don’t be led into a trap by your own short sightedness. Look down the road a bit and see where your actions will ultimately lead. Foresight is the mother of invention. When you go for immediate satisfaction, you may set yourself up for an unexpected fall. Better to take a more far reaching approach and consider the many possibilities that are foreseeable.

Mars in the sign of Cancer and Saturn in the sign of Libra were just in an exact square aspect. The square between these two planets, Mars and Saturn cause conflicts with the environment and problems with timing. Either you are too early or too late. Now that this exact aspect has passed you will be clearer about the timing of important matters.

This is a good time to change tracks. There is an abundance of consternation about which track to pursue but now is the time to take a chance. Make the change. When an opportunity arises, take it. Finally, you feel calm and confident enough to make a leap of faith. These last months have been treacherous with little change or opportunity for mobility.

Create a brave new world in your own environment. Risk is anxiety provoking. Nevertheless, be bold. Good fortune follows the courageous one. It is part of our instincts to take the path most travelled. We feel more secure when we think that we can predict the outcome of a situation. This is really illusory and we should use intelligence and wisdom to choose the most beneficial path.

A division of wisdom and intelligence causes an unbalanced approach to life. Intelligence is youthful and accompanies our decision making process. Wisdom is a riper approach that results in using experience to find solutions.

The planets are always moving, providing us with new options. It is when we become crystallized in our thinking that we can’t advance our purpose. Flexibility combined with values that are developed influence our psychology and create success.

Life is a landscape that can be changed and improved by creativity and personal involvement. It can be used to help us find comfort in being ourselves. It is a backdrop to finding our individual identity. Life is a relationship with ourselves. Know yourself and you will know the others.

The week begins with the feeling of lingering anxiety. Planetary influences dictate a continued environment of agitation and insecurity. You can moderate these feelings by staying focused on the present. You can be in the moment. By putting the focus on the here and now, you will block the surrounding feelings of doubt and desperation.

You can establish a lighter and brighter outlook by using the solar influences of the sign of Leo. There are 3 planets in Leo now which are the Sun, Mercury and Venus. These can shore up your sense of insecurity by giving you the power to be yourself. Look around you and see that you are not the only one having these experiences.

Try to engage other people in dialogue that is inspiring and creative. Think of things that you can do to make your life and the life of others more pleasant. Do something relaxing and therapeutic. Devote your energy to things that will make you feel happy and more satisfied with your life.

Eliminate things around you that are not working for you. When you eliminate something, you are likely to replace it with something else. Make sure that your replacement is superior to what you are discarding. Take control over matters that are within your expertise and allow others to help you when they have more experience.

This is a good time to reevaluate your financial situation.

Powerful planetary influences make exact aspects during this week. Pluto square Uranus and Pluto opposed to Mars. These volatile planetary influences threaten to mix things up. As if things are not confusing enough these influences bring to light the serious changes that need to be addressed before transitioning to a calmer and collected state of being.
Major changes are underfoot, although they have not been formed completely. Details will emerge slowly in the future.

Embrace the new energy that will be produced in this planetary cocktail. It is possible to convert negative emotions into positive actions. It requires stepping into the problem and not over reacting to passing circumstances. Character is destiny.

Mercury is retrograde and will cycle back in the sign of Leo. This will give you a trio of planets in Leo; the Sun, Mercury &Venus. This is a festive group. They like to have fun and play games. This can lead to real fun or ostentatious behavior. In any case, there will be plenty of shenanigans to keep you amused.

Do the times bring about the man, or does the man bring about the times? It’s probably a combination of both. The psychological influences the physical and the physical influences the psychological. The “human spirit” is a miraculous thing and we are endlessly surprised by it’s power.

This week can be characterized as a “slow death.” There is a self centeredness that dominates the decision making process. People are locked in their unconscious. The character of people becomes evident under these circumstances. When there are no avenues of escape, the true nature is exposed.

You can play life as a comedy or a tragedy…that is your choice. The former is best as people don’t really have pity. In the end, you always have to take responsibility for your actions. It is a conundrum.

It’s the little things that cause us to become depressed. It’s the accumulation of the daily debris of life that you don’t get around to dealing with that causes anxiety. You have to be thorough and complete tasks. You can then move on to the next thing without being weighed down by uncertainty.

Simplify as many things as possible. This will produce a happier environment for you to conduct your everyday business. It lightens the load. Get in harmony with nature and you will feel much less resistance.

Mercury goes retrograde during the week and will allow you to review your progress before making any other decisions that could impede your development. You will need to anticipate the interferences that might result in an unanticipated outcome.