WHAT REALLY MAKES US TICK?

An astrological look at the planets and their messages in late 2023.

Hello again my friends and clients.

I hope this finds you well and allowing the rhythms of the cosmos to align with your own cycles and awareness.  There are many messages available to us when we come from the heart and take moments to really listen.

A lot of old patterns and mindsets are being shaken up now and it is easy to feel off-kilter.  Recognising we live under a common sky can help us with being centred and attuned more to nature and the heart.  It has never been more important to be gentle on oneself and kind to others. As well as being more awake to and questioning of the messages we are fed in the media and the like.

Let’s take a look at how we can be more in alignment with our desire for growth and the astrological cycles at work.

• Full and new moons and eclipses
• The currency of time
• Sagittarius season now
• Chiron in Aries-the wound of our identity
• The green light ahead from Jan – April 2024
• Pluto re-enters progressive Aquarius

FULL AND NEW MOONS COMING UP

Harnessing the cycle of the moon from new to full and back to new is very useful for planning activities and understanding your moods. The three days before the new moon – the dark moon time – is a perfect time for retreat, allowing some chaos in, letting go and gestating plans.  The right hemisphere brain wants a say and the left hemisphere wants a rest!

A full moon on 27^th November in Gemini/Sagittarius at 9.16 GMT illuminates a positive time to have brought things to completion and – with discernment – speak your truth in the following days.

The new moon in December is on the 12^th in Sagittarius at 23.32 GMT. A new moon is good timing for setting intents and re-aligning.  What is your vision and inner traveller saying to you?

The full moon in December is on the 27th in Cancer/ Capricorn at 00.33 GMT. What do we really need now and how can we supply our needs and also care for others?

The new moon in January 11^th is in Capricorn at 11.57 GMT. A good time to organise and bring out our inner leader and authority.

The full moon in Leo/Aquarius is on 25^th January at 17.54 GMT.  A time to understand any existing power struggles, what is fair, and to come from the heart, detaching if necessary with integrity.

THE CURRENCY OF TIME

In recent conversations the subject of time and how we are experiencing it came up for myself and others.

Time is very subjective of course and it is easy to feel disconnected from its rhythms. We moan about how quickly it passes, whether we are busy enough, and are often too aware of our own and others time keeping.  In comparison, rarely do we value and see as precious the magic of the moment, of being in tune with nature’s seasons, the moon’s cycles and the body’s messages.

We are part of time and space yet are so often in our heads, our plans and our habits.

Astrology is the language of time and its cycles.  It connects us with patterns, our bodily rhythms and growth potential. It links us with our ancestry, our soul path and necessary troughs and peaks in life, telling us when to ideally pause a while and when to initiate action and new beginnings in personal and business life.

Time exists to prevent everything happening at once! Its currency is a rich one when we value how we spend it.

Cycles and patterns don’t always repeat, it is true, but they do rhyme.

As we draw towards the end of 2023 we feel the effects of recent eclipses in October on 14^th and 28^th.  And perhaps we are feeling the aftermath of some endings, leavings and realisations. What has recently ended and started in your life? Where have the pause and reset buttons applied?

Since mid October the Sun and Mars have conjoined, providing a strong incentive to assert or defend ourselves. The hero god and warrior god want action but it isn’t always wise when impulsive. In Scorpio deep karmic and past issues arise in the world and we need to lick our wounds and perhaps forgive, be forgiven and heal.

SAGITTARIUS THE ARCHER

As the Sun on 24th November conjoined with Mars in Sagittarius, higher aims, justice and vision can come centre stage. What feels nobler and wiser now? Can we inject those energies into our problems and decision making?

Right through December let’s send that magic arrow into our dreams and think big. Periodically we need to educate (the word means ‘to lead’) ourselves in new ways. Theories, academia and the like can block our own thinking and innate knowing. What is your inner Teacher wanting you to grow into and explore more of?

As children we are natural explorers – let’s recapture some of that curiousity and openness. Use the dates around December 10^th when Venus moves into opposition to Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, for loving more generously from the heart and finding joy in the abundance you have and can create.  December 27^th sees a lovely trine from the Sun to Jupiter. A day for making adventurous plans and enjoying conversations with like minded people.

CHIRON IN ARIES

The wounded and gifted teacher and healer, Chiron, is slowly making its way through the sign of Aries.

Aries represents the self, our identity and independence.  Chiron in that sign brings up the wound of “who am I?” and  “am I enough?” and we question our identity and  even our right to be here. Whether or not we are born with Chiron in Aries, (early February 1969 to late March 1977 – a long transit), now and through 2026 how we express and value our independence and individuality is highlighted.  How we can help others to do the same via the gift behind Chiron’s wound is also in the spotlight.

BRINGING OUT THE GIFT

For children born with Chiron in Aries, between February 2018 and 2026, the joy and task for the parents is to help the growing child know ‘they are enough’ and to encourage their self worth and uniqueness, and to care for others in the process. They are here to be individualistic, maybe encompass leadership in some field, and be comfortable with ’beginnings’ and fresh starts.

No matter how many roles we play in life the need to be authentic and hold onto our values and individuality will be tested.   New starts can activate wounds, yet the gift behind the wounds we carry are blessed with talent and freedom if we take that chance.

As of writing, Venus in Libra is forming an opposition to Chiron. The pull and dilemma of being oneself (Aries and Mars) and wanting to relate and adapt (Venus and Libra) amplifies relationships and their need for balance and compromise.   Late November is a time for realisations about any toxic or needy former patterns and about losing ourselves in others.  If we compromise and people-please too much we never grow.  And it can stunt a partner’s growth too of course.

THE GREEN LIGHT

It might not be before early January that we get clearer on some of those issues. This is when all the planets are moving forward – no retrograde motions – from the new year till the beginning of April.  So take time for self healing and having and choosing healthy relationships. Relationships take us deep into the world of the psyche and mirror patterns within us, especially in how we react.  These months are excellent for having fresh starts generally and seeing things move ahead.

Mercury is retrograde from 13^th December to 2nd January.  A ‘tenant’ in the sign of earthy Capricorn now it will suggest a slowing down, an incorporating of new perspectives and using the prefix ‘Re’ before words and actions.   A re-assessing of commitments and responsibilities is useful in these three weeks. Contracts need extra care, as do plans and building new structures.  After rectifying, re -visiting and re-editing matters we can then proceed with more knowledge and clarity.

PLUTO RE-ENTERS PROGRESSIVE AQUARIUS

Our slowest planet Pluto entered Aquarius last March (after 250 years) and will – after a couple of retrograde forays back into Capricorn –  fully move into that sign in November 2024 for the next 20 years.  We have had several months since the beginning of May this year, when it was in retrograde motion, to take a step back and get a balance between futuristic vision and old ways.

On January 21^st 2024 it moves on into Aquarius again at the same time as the Sun enters that sign. Children born then or in the following few days will prove highly inventive and intuitive.

We can use that date and the days just after for harnessing innovative ideas and carving out new pathways for ourselves.  It retrogrades for a second time in early May next year until 12^th October, providing another opportunity to reassess our aims and to use our power to transform ourselves.

Power, which Pluto symbolises, can hopefully be used to assist the wider community which Aquarius represents. Technology ideally can be used to do the same.  Ethics and discernment will hopefully be applied to artificial intelligence and the like as Pluto moves through that scientific and futuristic sign for the next two decades.

What is progress, if the heart, compassion and healing are not at its core?

I am wishing you and yours a gentle and loving lead into the end of 2023!

I am here as always to help with your questions about your birth chart and yourself, whether it be a personal or business chart.

This might be an ideal time for an update of your astrology map, or a gift for a loved one as we draw closer to Christmas and the holiday season.

Exploring a chart is exciting and rewarding, and timing is everything for making right decisions and new starts.

If you are thinking about a new location   or spending sometime in another country, I use astro cartography to look at how your chart aligns with certain places.  If you would like guidance regarding a child I can provide an astrological perspective.

With my very warm wishes

Ysanne