O Stars Above: Cancer New Moon

Summer's Nurturing Bounty - pexels.com

A Social Grasshopper, a Rowdy Teen and a Healing Breeze

In the summertime, the birds sing and everything...and just like that, summer's here! The Solstice sun stands at the peak of its journey to the light, taking in the green earth, blue waters, flowering gardens, beaches, and family outings, and then turns toward winter solstice and darkness.

But – but – wait! Sunshine, hot dogs and fireworks just arrived! Can't we fiddle and dance away our ninety days of summer like the grasshopper? Maybe! Both the solstice and new moon in Cancer (June 23, 7:30 pm PDT) charts promise an especially rambunctious, gad-about season filled with family, fun and a few emotional missteps. (Oops!)

Cancers, born under the sign of the Great Mother, get assigned the job of mothering everyone. But in truth, no one knows what truly feeds our hearts like we do. Only we know what makes us feel safe and allows us to live with open hearts. Deep nurturing is a gift only we can give ourselves. Living this truth is a tremendous step toward emotional maturity.

Mars bangs around in us like a teenager, gangly and out of control, barreling into life, knocking vases over, stepping on the cat's tail, slamming doors. He takes things personally, leads with his pride and bursts into intermittent, emotional snits. This inner kid needs focus and personally driven missions!

Summer brings a healing breeze and asks that we guide our inner teens, also in Cancer, to higher levels of emotional intelligence. Focusing our Mars on the courage to heal, nurture and protect our hearts makes us, like Marines in Haiti, powerful participants and caring advocates for all hearts in our families, tribes, towns, nations and world.

The Great Mother offers a summer re-birth in nourishing ourselves. Filling up with high octane emotional 'juice' sends us on our journeys with compassionate hearts. The world needs that kind of action, and so do we.

Horoscopes from June 23 – July 8

Cancers, you may normally feel a bit shy, but this month has you stage-center giving and receiving kindnesses, thinking, acting and talking about caring for your family and the family of humanity. Stick with family and friends return the nurturing, and release those who don't!

Leo, behind the scenes, deep in the collective consciousness, activities abound and you are tuned into the exact station. Step way back from your busy life. Drink lemonade on the porch, smell the roses, take a nap in the hammock. Listen. Watch. Read the symbols!

Virgo, in your quiet way you care for a huge network of folks. Schedule plenty of time to take care of them and notice how that feeds your heart. You may be rallying the cause for public policy about caring for others. Partner up and feel the glow of service.

Libra, part of your charm lies in the way you care for your work colleagues. Take time alone in your (well-decorated) cave contemplating the solid values in life, art and beauty that are worth your time and attention. Don't use your partnerships for anything less worthy.

Scorpio, get out of the cave and look toward the horizon for inspiration. Strategies and deep thinking takes a back seat to awakening to your personal emotional intelligence. How wide is the divide between your feelings and actions? Walk your talk from a heart-felt place.

Sagittarius, the full moon's work deepens with this new moon. This is a lesson in power: between you and your spouse, psychological acumen and the power of emotional currency. Are you investing your heart in your circle of friends and colleagues? Hmmm....

Capricorn, our ambitions take us only as far as our relationships help us. How are yours? Are you expecting too much, or too little? This month takes you to the heart of the matter: hidden regrets, debts and duties. In not sharing your true feelings, you could be your own worst enemy.

Aquarius, give your mind a break and work on your body. Yep, food, exercise, sleep do count! As an experiment, try 'feeling what routines works for you. Forget cutting edge and do what feels good so consistency becomes easy - in action and not just theory.

Pisces, play time! Whatever that means to you. If you aren't having fun, Fun, FUN, you are off track. You should shine, feel cared about, light up in conversation and feel emotionally feisty! Hmmm – that sounds like a romance! Fall in love with whatever and if someone else is involved, yahoo!

Aries, bottom line, your heart is at home! As well as the whole fam-damily! Gather in the clan, play with the kids, grill b-b-que on the patty. This is why you go out to be the great hunter so don't miss the pay-off. No family? Really? Claim the ones you love – related or not!

Taurus, friends galore want to spend time with you. They love you and want to hang. Neighbors, siblings, cousins, students, teachers, the barista at your latte stand – they light up when they see you. Haven't notice? Just watch - this is currency unlike any other - and the only kind that counts!

Gemini, what a wild and glorious birthday month! YOU create this crazy thing called life and if you don't like it, you of all people can change it. The important part is putting your heart as well as your delicious mind into the game. This may not sound logical, but it is true. The heart counts!

O Stars Above: Solar Eclipse - Pisces New Moon

A Tide Change

New moons represent initiation phases and a time to plant seeds for future harvest. Eclipses emphasis the moon's meaning. This Sunday's Pisces new moon eclipse (February 26 at 6: 58 am PST) comes with a twist. It is the last of a two-year series in Virgo and Pisces. Thus, it is a beginning and an end, a tide change.

Astrological processes use the symbols of planets circling the sun through starry constellations. We go around and around, season to season, year in and year out, day to night, and night to day, again and again. Astronomy shows that we are not orbiting the sun in a flat plane but in a spiral, and so hopefully, in astrological terms, each cycle offers a higher perspective of what it means to be a human, or a society, or even a civilization alive on one small planet for a short period of time.

Each sign outlines a lesson plan full of growth and regressions. From Aries through Scorpio, we focus on individual development and actions, but the last four signs, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, shift to societal views and how we fit into the whole. If we haven't fully internalized the first eight signs, we find ourselves ill-equipped for the final four.

In Virgo/Pisces, the eclipses turned our attention to how our personal, earthly habits fit into an eternal view. We hold these two extremes within our small bodies. Do we ignore one at the expense of the other? Virgo represents the individual seed, Pisces the endless ocean: Virgo, doing, Pisces, being. How do we stretch ourselves between today and eternity? After these lessons of the last two years, where do you find yourself today? What seeds of endless love and compassion are you planting for tomorrow - in your personal life and society?

Horoscopes February 27 to March 12

Pisces, if your life was a poem, what would the image be? You stand at the gate between your inner world and out...there. Pieces you were missing have come home to your heart giving your feet a solid place to stand where you can create your vision and transfer it to the outer. Halljeluha!

Aries, your dream world may be inundated with images and symbols even as you are ramming the gates of what you desire, love and will no longer deny. Pay attention for inner direction and expect sudden, unexpected change. Do not hurt yourself or others but focus on balance with true partners.

Taurus, you may look calm and collected but your cauldron is double, double toil and trouble. You can only plod along so long until an over-heated need bubbles up. Yours may have to do with wanting a love partner, someone (a work colleague?) who gets what a hot commodity you are!

Gemini, your Mercury joins a tribe in Pisces and suddenly, logic is out the window. Let it or it will be a rough ride while subconscious material bubbles up in public ways. Emotions, obsessive compulsive thoughts, living in two worlds at one time? It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.

Cancer, you could join a convent, or an ashram. At least, take a trip or a spa day. Emotions are awashin' you clean and fillin' your heart with hope. Don't take on too much for others. Pick your personal target and commit. Work is rambunctious, full of sturm und drang (egos). Stay true to you!

Leo, have you heard the expression “Give him enough rope to hang himself?” Be wary of doing yourself in as psychological material pops out like boils on your face where everyone can see. Even those you thought you could trust are acting crazy. Take a retreat - where no one knows you!

Virgo, radical forgiveness may be in store for yourself and dearly beloved one. Kindness and compassion go far towards making amends. Lists and agendas drop by the wayside. Meanwhile, tax or financial matters need action now. Don't give yourself up to hold on to friendships. Find better friends.

Libra, build kindness, compassion, imagination and intuition into your daily life. Otherwise, you feel fuzzy and unsure, you collect the unreliable, maybe even explosive. True partners and collaborators are your goal – people to see you through the next 12 years. Cherish yourself - outloud.

Scorpio, creativity, romance, FUN! Just go do it even if it makes no sense whatsoever! Revitalize your daily life. Get seriously active. Hang-glide, Zumba, rollerblade, shake it and move it before your nervous system explodes. This is a time to trust your intuition and risk the right action.

Sagittarius, you can be far thinking but at your root is not philosophy, dogma or adventure for adventure's sake. It is the great pearl of spiritual wisdom: compassion. It starts at home and if you can't feel it, look to your childhood. Your soul is undergoing a deep healing. Sit down and stare at the horizon.

Capricorn, transformation comes in chit-chat, bits and pieces, poems, images, songs, gossip, hints, mirrors, down-time. One small bit after another - a huge collage. Stand back to see the picture. It is not a five-year plan, another certification. It is the song of the collective – echoing in your heart.

Aquarius, without a baptism, utopian visions cater only to the few. This is the cleansing of your sense of self and your values. It is not fuzzy thinking – you are moving from head to heart. A fifteen-inch shift that can rock your world. Put your hand on your heart and feel it. Revolutionary!

O Stars Above: Pisces Full Moon Eclipse

Eclipse - A Drama or Comedy?

Quicksilver could be the code word for this full moon eclipse (Friday, Sept 16 at 12:05 pm PDT). Mercury, quicksilver in the elements, is a fast talker and happy to joust with Mars, Mr. Sword Play - quicksilver of another sort. We may find our mouths working faster than our good sense and surprised at the fast and furious reactions coming at us. (What? What did I say?)

Confusion ensues as the sweet Pisces moon, the wounded healer Chiron and the calm Sun in no- nonsense Virgo struggle toward a body and soul healing. The trigger point comes when too much pressure around getting the job done drains the joy out of nebulous longings for imagination and spirit.

This eclipse unfolds like a Shakespearean play that could be a drama - but may be a comedy. Still, with Mercury and Mars loose on stage, mixing it up and bumping into our hidden wounds, protective reactions can come out overstated, aggressive and personal.

No one escapes an eclipse so everyone needs a slow-down-strategy! Step outside for a smoke (even if you don't), count to ten, go to the restroom, Do whatever it takes to slow down snappy responses and error on the side of kindness.

Of course, this is far easier said than done so a forgiveness strategy could come in handy - whether applied to ourselves or the other. When we (or they) put our foot in it, phrases like “Did I say that out loud?”, “Oops!”, and “OMG, I can't believe I just said that!” followed by a belly laugh can launch a renewed camaraderie and way forward.

Sometimes all it takes to find a new path is a bump in the road or a hilarious misstep. However you get there, this eclipse bounces us out of our ruts and ultimately, your life changes elicit a round of applause.

Horoscopes September 16 – 30

Virgo, waking up to your own needs demands change and eclipses don't let you slide. Logic may be on your side but move gently. Healing is afoot and partners are tender. Clues may be held in threads you dropped nineteen years ago. You're at a crossroads and you get to choose.

Libra, this moons asks you to look over the past year and deal with what you haven't. You're ultra sensitive to others. Seek solitude and quiet as you integrate last year's journey. An uplifted faith in yourself makes you eager to expand horizons - one step at a time and gently, please.

Scorpio, you are sorting and filing friends. Who is in and who is out is based on a vision for your future. Friends with real support are required. Flex your self-worth and assert your independence. You are ready and capable so flow with the action ahead. You have angels on your wings.

Sagittarius, that sigh of relief is your ruling planet moving into a friendly sign. Compatible people open doors to future growth. If difficult patterns develop between you and yours, either at work or home, slow down. Let go of perfectionism, overwork and remember your people count.

Capricorn, work lightens up and shines a spotlight on you, so take a bow. Behind the scenes, you're working hard in ways you can't put our fingers on. People and communication are like a tsunami. It feels – exhausting. Extra rest, water, nature, music, and quiet balance you out.

Aquarius, wow - groups, psychological pressures, joint monies, and a nebulous sense of self-worth push you to get clearer about your inner workings. Are you going after money, venture capital, challenging a will, a huge loan? It's almost too much. Do what you can and ease up.

Pisces, looking at yourself through the eyes of your most important others is one lesson. The other is seeing their point of view, especially with a beneficial visitor in your house of business partners. Is your business plan together? Know what you want and what you want to give.

Aries, this eclipse packs a ton of potential when you remember your goal. Look at the overall picture and wait for more information before you get your sword out. You feel vulnerable and don't like it. Take a break and chant a mantra. Set positive habits in motion and re-ignite daily routines.

Taurus, what you want in relationship is pushing changes and you don't like change. While you just wanna have fun (maybe a love affair) there's pressure to be more intimate with your own patterns. Take it easy on self and others. Establish routines toward your heart's goals.

Gemini, pressure builds at work, home and with your closest friends and mate. Work doesn't satisfy like it did and you have new thoughts on home. Revisit your family and roots. Remember who you are at the foundation and make improvements from there. Talk therapy, anyone?

Cancer, communications, small projects and helpful connections abound. New ideas are poppin' as you talk, share, and listen to the folks you bump into in a normal day in your neighborhood. Tempers heat up trying to get too much done or incorporating too many ideas. Find the flow.

Leo, a check up on financial and security creeps into joint finances. Security increases as you get real about cash flow, life style costs, and you and your partner are on the same page. Fun money is the trigger point. Your core values include fun so budget for it! Time to raise your rates? Truth.

O Stars Above: Aquarian Full Moon

Single Stars and Constellations

The Peanuts character, Linus, made an astute point when he said, “I love mankind (Aquarian). It's people (Leo) I can't stand!” Yep, we get to deal with each other, and society, while striving to be our best selves. This full moon (Thursday, August 18 at 2:26 a.m. PDT) blends Leo's drive for Divine Illumination with the Aquarian vision of a Utopian Society. Taking on either of these tasks lifts us from an ego -bound drudgery to a great adventure – even if we fall short!

Full moons shed light on issues, sometimes personal, sometimes societal, and give us a chance to work things out. It would be lovely to think society's flaws are different than individual faults. But, society's issues are grass-root affairs. Once we get ourselves together (which none of us does alone) the job is to offer our gifts to the community, and pay it back.

Sitting with questions that arise in the light of a full moon, we are rewarded with self-knowledge and self-empowerment and move from pity parties to compassion. We discover our common human dilemma - every single person works hard at being alive no matter his circumstances! Personal clarity contributes to group clarity, and the grass-roots find the will to act. Thus, the collective unconscious becomes collective consciousness and society inches along.

This moon comes equipped with extra zest for 'we, the people' to join hearts with minds, both within and between ourselves, and get real about tending to society's most meaningful values. Who knows? By the light of this moon, we may awaken to find ourselves marching in a multitude headed in a direction that empowers wholeness at all levels for all people.

Sometimes we are single stars, and sometimes, we are part of a constellation - but, no less brilliant.

Horoscope August 18 - September 1

Leo, you lose no radiance when you lavish applause on partners. Assess skills and shore them up as needed but don't count yourself short. Bluster doesn't last - solid skills built with practice and detail does. It enhances what you have to offer and how you offer it in satisfying, focused ways.

Virgo, enjoy a few more days of life behind-the-scenes. Your personality is burgeoning with gifts, attracting friends and much good. Jupiter, your favorite uncle, finds yet more gifts for you in his bag before he moves to Libra. He leaves you brimming with self-confidence. Own it and use it well.

Libra, you see star-quality in friends broad and wide. They light you up. Your inclusiveness makes odd couples feel right at home. This month demands play, fun, romance. Angels, fairies and elves gather to rev up your imagination and dream world. Take a nap and good notes on insights.

Scorpio, use your brilliant strategist-ability to form a plan around money. You like it and school is in on how you manifest it. Focus. At home, the moon wants you in your heart and sharing your radical ideas. Then, uncomplicate it and go have some fun with your woo-woo friends.

Sagittarius, personal power and focus combine to get 'er done. If you don't know what you want done, seek advice. It's too good an opportunity to miss. Pretend you are the noon day sun - so high up you see everything, how it works and unfolds. Make decisions from there and mobilize the troops.

Capricorn, stay patient and steadfast on your own behalf. Your journey is slow, deep and at times painful as you reconstruct almost everything you think you are. Your dreams may feel heavy, pointed, and confusing. Sit with them. Honor the hard work you are doing day and night.

Aquarius, planning for the masses, while being human and vulnerable is a challenge. Oddly enough, that is where your power lies for the moment. Feelings, plus, not seeing the path clearly - darn, welcome aboard, Spock. Powerful friends work under these conditions and each has a puzzle piece.

Pisces, cement new, productive friendships with collaborative partners. Let them lead when you are on your hands and knees patting the earth to find your way. Watch for astute business partners. Dreams are restless. Your work focus is pretty amazing now. Push through and stay with it.

Aries, expand your friendships. A warrior's spirit combines strategy with attack and it's time to actively pursue your future. Small course changes make big differences over time. You discover work buddies are delightful and fun to be around. In fact, they are effective. Go, to – you have a mission!!

Taurus, your small turf needs work before saving the planet. Head, heart and a final sweep of good fortune are aligned on your behalf. There is a conflict between going for fun and staying in to dig through the mud of psychological mines. Do some of both, but do dig. Your future depends on it.

Gemini, family and childhood emotions surface in a way logical enough for you to 'grok.' It sheds light on the heaviness (fighting?) around your closest. Science says our hearts and guts have brains, too, so sit and think with a hand on one of them. Crazy ideas about your future edge in!

Cancer, you have enough sense of yourself to dig deep and rise up to a higher level of expressing care. Be irreplaceable you. This is especially true at work - you just aren't that weird! Focus, strategies and your soft touch solves issues of work and employees in a way that feels good.

O Stars Above: Sagittarius Full Moon II

A Complex Lesson

A cosmic lesson plan launched with an eclipse last September as the school year started. The optimistic and complicated plan grappled with healing unconscious patterns (Pisces) while untangling beliefs painful to ourselves and others (Sagittarius). Often as many as six of the ten planets were in action and we were like mice running routine patterns in a maze that no longer had cheese.

Much sorting, filing and mis-steps ensued throughout the foggy winter until a conglomeration of earth sign planets conspired at the Taurus new moon, May 6, to reveal the results of our work – or lack thereof. A full moon in Gemini/Sagittarius followed by the Gemini new moon on June 4, helped us 'see' what old perceptions had shifted and what updated dreams we dared to entertain. Little by little, we dismantled stagnate mind sets and dead-end beliefs, and broke out of our mouse maze.

To underscore the year's lesson, here comes ANOTHER full moon in Gemini/ Sagittarius (June 20, 4:02 am PDT) which echoes a double set of full moons in June, 1997. If you're old enough, this signals a second chance at a road not taken or abandoned, or a review of outdated beliefs set in motion then.

If you learned this year's lesson, it's a major accomplishment - like receiving a Master's degree in Life. If you didn't, you'll encounter diminishing returns. Old patterns won't work. Suddenly, you're bumping into walls where there were none and there's no cheese in sight.

The cosmos constantly conspires to move us towards an evolutionary path of growth. The stellar command wants us to take a step forward in faith and trust. This was a complex lesson but we can still make the shift if we open up to one expanded thought and see how we grow and are rewarded, both personally and collectively.

Horoscopes June 20 – July 4

Gemini, can you feel the shift? The courage to follow your true path? Your mere presence opens doors so get out there. Make a plan, find help mates and get ready to take baby steps in your new direction after June 29. It's been quite a year for you and you are ready!

Cancer, all of the logical activity happens in your most unconscious sector. Does life feel karmic? It may be karma or it may be that blind spot where we are our own worst enemy. Feel your way along and remember symbolic language: dreams, tea leaves, poetry, music.

Leo, your fire lights up in the areas of business connections and fun! Follow the 'feel good vibes' as you keep an eye on the future you want. The people you meet change your possibilities so plans may need revision or expansion. Just be sure it's change you want!

Virgo, it's a summer of big energy. Use it to clarify, plan, consult and make decisions. Only you know what you really want (and victim hood is so passe.) Trust yourself! Make a plan, work it and build a solid foundation...even if you have to sell the house!

Libra, time to envision a bigger life. This last month gave you a taste of the possibilities. Tune into your guardian angel for guidance. When God speaks, take good notes, 'cuz you can go with the ideas of the last person you talked with. Practice going with what works for YOU!

Scorpio, geez, you're missing the fun, but then you love digging in the deep. No problem, just a last minute clean-up as you prepare for the first two-year voyage of your new 28-year cycle! Value your right to be you. Feel what that means and create personal strategies for moving on up!

Sagittarius, two full moons! Aren't you something?! How vulnerable do you feel coming out of an ivory tower and copping to what you're committed to. Commitment isn't a Sadge word but you've got a big vision and need partners to accomplish it. Plan now. Forward motion soon.

Capricorn, you can't see clearly, but you feel the shift. Look where you put your everyday energy. Talk around 'it' until you hear the words that vibrate with your heart. Get hold of the biggest dream you can imagine accomplishing and get busy! You are a pragmatic visionary.

Aquarius, ideas and inspiration, woo-whooo! Cut ties with those who talk, but don't walk the talk. (Or is that you?) Get real, baby, you're the leader of the new age. Study at the crossroads of physics and metaphysics. Trust the unseen world or lose a source of power.

Pisces, words create reality - eventually. What's your role in the family myth? You can change your mind, your words and your story. Any pity party is old story. Follow the new one. You ARE a creative, magical leader surrounded by helpers - even if you can't see it yet.

Aries, take time to talk with others and stretch to new heights. Dig into your roots and lead with your heart. Invite others into your great adventure. Words count and can hurt – or inspire others. Words help you paint the picture of a blossoming reality that calls on all of your courage.

Taurus, you get caught up in the bottom line. But there are other valuable things to count: friends, family, home, the inspiration work brings you. Feel what your heart wants in that place you've secreted it away. Share yourself deeply, truly. (And quit poking your best mates with sharp words.)