I have been asked during the recent Mercury retrograde period, when it will end.  That would be today.  Just don’t celebrate too hard right now.  Mercury stationary can be as challenging as Mercury retro, it just doesn’t last as long.  Forward momentum builds slowly, and in two weeks or so, after Mercury has again passed over the point at which it went retrograde last month, electronic gadgets, communication, coordination, thought processes, ideas, and sensory information from both conscious and unconscious, will be back to “normal,” but it might be a new norm, due to the recent/current Plutonian transformations.

For me, today, half formed thoughts bubble to the surface of my mind and pop before I grasp their flavor.  I recognize that I have been changing, am changed, but I’ll have to get to know the new me a little better before I understand what that will mean.  In the last few weeks, observing myself has been an interesting and instructive process… interesting and instructive, not gratifying or satisfying.  Maybe that comes later.  For now, there’s work to be done.

There might have been a few unmemorable ones before it, but the first one I remember was rotten.com.
   

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Our galaxy is The Milky Way.  Since we are observing the galaxy from a spot far out on one of its spiral arms, it appears to the naked eye as a hazy trail of light across the night sky.  Somewhere in the bright blob at the middle of the Milky Way is the Galactic Center.  If, unlike me, you live some place where it gets dark at night in the summer, that is the best time to see the Galactic Center, because in the winter our Sun obscures it.

As far as anyone on this planet has been able to determine, nothing in the Universe is standing still.  The Galactic Center moves in relation to distant stars beyond the Galaxy (or they move in relation to it — or both), but being the axis of rotation for the galaxy, its motion is apparently slower and less complex than that of its spiral arms.

Astronomers are very interested in the GC.  Some astrologers ignore it, while others include it in every chart they do.  I suspect that astrologers who ignore the GC don’t have any significant aspects to it in their natal charts.  In my chart it is conjunct my Ascendant, square my Sun-Chiron conjunction, and quincunx my North Lunar Node.  This explains why my husband often makes sarcastic comments or asks me bemusedly about the planet I come from.  It also explains why, for as long as I can remember, I have had dreams about life on other planets. 

In astrology, planets and points in aspect to the GC take on “otherworldly” or extraterrestrial qualities as well as deep spiritual and philosophical significance.  I think that an examination of the natal charts of a lot of Trekkies, Crop Circle enthusiasts, sci-fi writers, etc., would reveal GC connections.

Tomorrow’s Full Moon (Sun opposite Moon) is conjunct the Galactic Center, with Pluto near enough to also be considered a conjunction, and with Venus conjunct the Sun.  At 28 degrees Sagittarius-Gemini, it is close enough to my natal Ascendant in the 26th degree of Sagittarius, to be conjunct.  I am energized, scattered, all raw nerve endings, as distractable and out of focus as I have ever been.  I recognize in this an opportunity for personal transformation.  If it’s going to happen, however, it will largely have to be done on autopilot, because the captain of this ship is out to lunch.

Since I’m not focused enough to interpret the ephemeris myself or distill today’s astrological energies from the half dozen or so sources I usually consult, here is Mark Lerner’s Cosmic Calendar for today:

This week, as the Solstice approaches, the rising Full Moon will appear larger than usual.  Although there is no universal expert agreement on the causes of this phenomenon, NASA, on its website, provides several alternate explanations for the Solstice Moon illusion.

That is the astronomical portion of this post.  Astrologically, we are now experiencing a Venus-Pluto opposition which will be exact Tuesday night, and a Mars-Uranus quincunx that culminates on Wednesday night as the full moon conjoins Pluto.  Mercury is approaching its direct station on Thursday, and on Friday (the day of the Solstice) the Sun is opposite Pluto.  All those energies are being felt already today as Mars and Juno form a trine in fire signs.

Those inclined to be pushed around by celestial events could be erratic and disturbed.  Those with sharper focus and stronger inner directedness will also be noticing an unusual level of intensity and complexity in their feelings and those of others around them.  Specific effects on individuals depend largely on how these aspects relate to one’s personal natal chart.  Since Pluto figures so prominently in the current mix of aspects, and Pluto tends to oversee big planetary change, see if you notice any revolutionary innovation emerging over the next few weeks.

I don’t tell people what they should do, but I think everyone’s life would be enhanced, and world peace and universal understanding would be promoted, if everyone would, early in life, step out of their ordinary reality to view life from a different perspective.

This could be done by traveling to a place where nobody speaks your language, or by staying where you are and learning a different language, particularly one that has a different alphabet.  Culture is embedded in language.  To think in a new language is to think in an entirely different way.

It can also be done by disguising oneself as the opposite sex, or as a different race, or for a young person to take on the visual characteristics of age.   It’s the old cliché of walking a mile in the other guy’s shoes.  It will change your point of view, and expand your mind.
   

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On January 25, Pluto moved from Sagittarius into Capricorn.  Then it turned retrograde, and now it is moving back into Sagittarius.  It will stay in Sagittarius until November 26, 2008, so the upcoming U.S. presidential election will be held while Pluto is in Sagittarius, and the new president will be inaugurated after Pluto moves into Capricorn again, that time to stay until January 21, 2024.

Pluto’s orbit takes 248 years.  You and I probably wont be around next time Pluto gets around to Sagittarius.  The next five months are the last chance for us to grab some of that Sagittarian momentum for philosophical paradigm shifting before Pluto moves on into earthy Capricorn and his transformational energy is applied to governments and social institutions.  The last time Pluto transited Sagittarius, the European Enlightenment was at its peak, and when it went through Capricorn that time, Earth experienced the American and French Revolutions and the founding of Australia.

What a few other astrologers have to say about Pluto in Sagittarius and/or Capricorn:

I sometimes catch myself saying, “I’m sorry.” 

I was strongly programmed as a child with the “magic words,” please, thank you, and I’m sorry.  Since that time, I have become more aware, but the habits of a lifetime are hard to break.

There are many situations in which “please” is appropriate, as long as it’s not wheedling, whiny, or just mindlessly spoken without sincerity.  Thanking someone sincerely is also appropriate, but this phrase is overused and often spoken mindlessly.

The words, “I’m sorry,” are so overused and misapplied that they often are spoken when a person is thinking something entirely different or even opposite in meaning.  People use that phrase in an attempt to let themselves off the hook for some offensive behavior, and often they actually believe that saying the words excuses the behavior.

The words, “I’m sorry,” are not an apology.  A real apology explains or justifies an action.  Being sorry changes nothing, brings no relief or reparation.  Saying you are sorry while feeling no sorrow, is insulting and degrading.  If one truly regrets an action, there are better ways to express that.  If one feels sympathy with another person’s loss, pain or distress, there are also better ways than, “I’m sorry,” to express precisely what is felt.

I keep trying to break the habit, but it persists.  Mea culpa.

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We still have the Venus/Uranus square from last night, stirring up trouble in personal or business relationships and the arts.  This morning, the Gemini Sun is in opposition to the asteroid Juno.  An opposition can either shed light or cast shadows, and in the spotlight today are primary partnerships.  Try not to fall into power struggles.  Watch, listen and learn, and defer pivotal discussions and monumental decisions for calmer times.  Do what you can to calm troubled waters today.

As Venus moves away from the square with Uranus, the Sun is moving into one.  Mark Lerner calls it, “a wave of mental or emotional shock-and-awe.”   Just remember that it is energy, and you can choose how to use it.  It is a time when you can unlearn some obsolete ideas and absorb new ones — sweep out what you were taught about the tick-tock universe and redecorate your mental landscape with quantum physics.  Tonight Venus sextile Vesta lends some harmonious feminine energy, making this a good time for girl talk, or for listening to what a wise woman has to say.

The astrological intensity and complexity will continue through the Solstice, a little over a week away.  Tomorrow, in case you hadn’t noticed, will be Friday the thirteenth, a sweet one, with Venus trine Neptune in air signs.  Enjoy, and remember to record your dreams.

Hi, y’all — Greyfox here.

There is no such thing as a monolithic Native American (yeah, I dislike
the phrase myself) religion–the 600 or so existing tribes at the time
of the European invasion all had different religions. There was one
concept which seems almost universal among indigenous peoples, that
being animism–the idea that everything has a soul. In the words of a
poem from Chukchee (a tribe in Siberia) shamanism,”Everything that is,
is alive.” This produced a sort of unity consciousness–as in the
Lakota phrase, “All our relations.” That is, two-leggeds, four-leggeds,
and all were related and all deserved respect.

However, this unity
consciousness did not seem to extend to other Indians–as far as I
know, there was no generic word in any Indian language for “Indian” –
most used a word that is translated as “enemy” or “stranger” for other tribes, and “people” for their own. The
Urantia Book wisely observed that we might have raised a mighty civilization and fought off the invaders
if it had not been for our “lamentable tendency” to fight among
ourselves.

(True unity consciousness has been described as the highest of the
seven states of consciousness, embodied in the phrase “We are All One.”
If everyone subscribed to this notion and grokked it in fullness, there
would be no more war, hunger, homelessness or poverty in the world. And
no one would have to give up anything to accomplish this. Okay, we
WOULD have to give up our fear, hatred, paranoia, xenophobia, and so on.)

What’s more, many of us massacred each other, took slaves, raped and
pillaged when it served our purpose. Forget that “Dances With Wolves”
stuff–that was the product of a neo-Rousseau-minded white guy.

To reiterate, at the time of the European invasion, there were roughly
600 tribes on this continent, each with its own language and religion.
To get a quick view of how much these religions varied, spend a few
hours comparing and contrasting Hopi, Zuni, and Diné (aka Navajo)
religion and world views. They varied radically, even though all three
live in contiguous areas.

My tribe, the Muscogee Nation, called the great spirit the Master of
Breath–which seems odd at first, but look at how yoga and many other
spiritual disciplines stress the importance of breathing as a
meditative tool. And the Christian tradition makes a big deal out of
the “breath of life.”

[Wow!  KaiOaty here.  He just sorta cut that off abruptly... ran out of time, or out of ideas, I guess.  The two of us collaborated a couple of years ago on a more extensive survey of Native American Spirituality, with enough nifty images to flummox a dial-up connection or bollix a system with limited memory.  You might enjoy it, anyway.]