Spring 2024: Shakespearean Astrology
Since many people might not have astrological software I’ve compile charts and commentary for the upcoming series of dramatic configurations which lead us from now towards the summer.
-3/19/24: Astrological New Year
The moment the Sun enters Tropical Aries, or the event of Vernal Equinox, is considered by many cultures across geography and time to be the initiating of the New Year. Being a notable beginning, the increase of light over darkness, it can be analyzed as chart of the year from spring to following spring. Of interest is the Moon’s position in early Leo, an area which will get considerable attention in the fall when Mars turns retrograde there before it regresses into Cancer. Needs surrounding visibility, exhibition, attention and authentic representation are contextualized, and the reference to Mars’ later station in the fall implies belligerence and overcompensations within displays of power to witness around election time.
Mercury having recently stepped into his retrograde shadow while passing over the North Node in Aries calls to Mars’ involvement once again. Its right around this time that thinking about and communicating our independence and analyzing autonomous action impulses have us walking into a bit more heat than we are really expecting. Mercury, and the upcoming eclipse conjunct Chiron implies that people or things within the equation are likely to get burned and will require some healing and integration efforts as a result, as things get painfully awkward. Mars himself is in Aquarius still, so hypothetical tactics, pioneering concepts and critically updated mental frameworks apply to the sparks and friction in the equation, where new ideas of what to do bring people into disassociation from one another and decentralize the collective, meaning each individual is off in their own left field, leading to a kind of Yankee or Libertarian-esque arrangement, which makes sense with the ghost of the American and French revolutions stirring from Pluto being in Aquarius. The Sun being sextile to that Pluto upon entering Aries emphasizes this and its through orienting to independent action and autonomous visions we will likely see the new, decentralized, horizontal and cellular power dynamics emerge. As Mercury’s retrogrades all focus on fire signs this year we can expect more acute activity and re-calibrations to what is the appropriate amount of energy. Burn out will likely be a thing to attend to in the learning process, as well as exaggerations, inflammations, and instigations. On a personal level we’ll be attempting to rethink what we are excited about and what gets our blood pumping and enthusiasm stimulated.
Venus is in Pisces applying to conjoin Saturn and sextile Jupiter. The parameters and forms obligated to allow for pleasure, romance and creativity to freely flow are parallel to understanding what is opportune about keeping it basic, stabilized on stuff of real value and coherent of how preparation and methodology can build up real momentum.
Despite the quick moving planets as well as more slow moving Jupiter moving along from this position we can look back at this chart as you would a solar return when dealing with a single person’s year ahead transits. The ongoing configurations will reflect the events on the timeline, but what we can read from the Aries Ingress Chart is like reading the synopsis or viewing the trailer of the movie you are about to watch, and in the literal case of this years astrology, are about to inhabit.
-3/25/24: South Node Lunar Eclipse in Libra
We’ve already had one Libra South Node eclipse on October 14th 2023, which coincided with events ramping up in Gaza, a conflict which is sensitive to eclipses on the Aries-Libra axis as well as to Saturn in Pisces. In a general sense we can read South Node eclipses in Libra to express as a decrease in diplomacy. There is less mediation, less consideration for others, less justice. In the macro scale we often get a more blunt, obvious and less nuanced version of the astrology playing out for all to witness, but on the micro or personal scale we sometimes end up in the subtleties. The South Node doesn’t only decrease, it purges, sheds, removes, and releases that which is waiting to exit reality, usually with the intention of both refining and even spiritualizing that layer of life. Collectivist social justice is currently far from a perfect model for ‘right relation’, and as those political appendages have in the past few years swollen problematically in the mass-culture, some lancings and drainings of excess socio-political posturings are set to occur. Autonomy has been stifled, and now it has resultantly gained an over-appetite in Aries which will be fast-forwarded during eclipse season. The South Node in Libra allows us to remove some of the extraneous relational, social and cultural considerations set upon the now overburdened scales so that we can once again measure what is fair and appropriate properly.
Libra is not only our relational compass, as Venus’ diurnal sign also deals with fine art, aesthetics, charm, hosting, parties, dinners, galas and other social/cultural affairs, so within this refinement there is a stripping down of what might be clogging the exhibition, event, or studio space so that a more profound soiree has the elbowroom to properly spread its wings and take flight. Another analogy is having too many overdubs on the multitrack recording, drowning out the beautiful balance of voice and music which requires extraneous sounds to be faded out so a more harmonious mix can be arrived at. Venus will have recently conjoined Saturn and sextiled Jupiter while she is in exaltation and mutual reception with the greater benefic; by the time its the moment for shedding and refining our relational dynamics and general life aesthetics we will have felt how parameters need to be set to allow more pleasure flow and what basic substances, methods and rhythms can enhance our immersive experience, and ultimately what do not contribute to creative vibes or romantic atmospheres. Eclipses open the way to lead us towards what is incoming and away from what is outgoing, but can come with more turbulence than is healthy for our nervous systems. Not worrying as much about how you are effecting others can unlock a lot of deserved personal potential, but going extremely rogue can find you in sociopathic modes which could be blemishes on your moral memory at a later date. Proceed mindfully. Also worth mentioning, I’ve noticed a lot of couples counseling and therapy going on, and even instances of partners doing simultaneous guided past life regressions together. These can be pathways to letting shit go and taking out the relational trash, so to speak, whether you need to peacefully break up and find closure or figure out how to attain clarity for the sake of staying together.
-4/1/24: Mercury RX station in Aries:
The next few retrograde sequences for Mercury mostly occur in fire signs, and this one in Aries is exclusively hot and plasmic. In fact, it overlaps with the rather explosive looking North Node eclipse in Aries as well as Venus’ time in Ram mode and previews Mars visiting his yang dominion, so we can expect energy, action, anger and anxiety to all be potentiated over the next several weeks. With Mercury taking pause to re-think and correct elements about where energy surges in our lives, it makes sense to unpack this dimension a bit for the sake of more granular analysis. We can often confuse what we require or what is occurring emotionally and energetically, from an elemental standpoint.
If we lack in Air we are intellectually under-stimulated or can’t communicate, if we lack in Earth we might feel insecure and unstable, if we lack in Water we are undernourished and without meaning, and when we lack in Fire we are uninspired and low in vitality. Water often speaks to our emotional needs whereas Fire represents what turns us on, what we get excited about, what motivates us, what inspires enthusiasm, and what catalyzes action. There’s an overlap in biological sustenance as well as intimate overlaps between Water and Fire. Water can be the food resources which nourish our bodies where as Fire can be the digestive fire which requires fuel for energy. Water can be the emotional longing for someone and Fire can be the libido itself. Water can reside in the stomach and breasts and Fire can reside in the heart, all of which are stationed in the central trunk of the body.
The Heart was thought of to be the seat of the Mind before the brain. In premodern humoral theory the brain was seen almost as a phlegmatic radiator which cooled the humors when they overheated and became excessively passionate. The Heart was the home of the Daimon, or, the spirit which animated your body, and in many cultures is thought to be eternal and move from incarnation to incarnation. This is what lights up your eyes and causes electrical pulses to pump your blood and make your body have warmth. For this warmth to remain up to temp you need to feed the body appropriate material it can burn. In a more general sense, your life needs appropriate circumstances to stimulate you and keep you active and in motion. After a year where Jupiter has been in earthy Taurus and Saturn has been in watery Pisces we might be feeling so cool and damp we have slowed down and even become inert. Cold and wet is the recipe for glue and concrete— it is bonding but also can slow motion, retard processes and extinguish flames. All this Aries activity ushers in the friction and sparks necessary to kindle appetite and excite systems. Mercury taking time to review these more zesty layers of existence implies that we check out why electricity has ceased to flow, why circumstances have cooled, why engines are sluggish to start, and identify the issues surrounding life losing its luster and make appropriate adjustments. The Aries episode in particular deals with independence, autonomy, and effectiveness and can cause considerable amounts of competition and conflict as we are more individuated here and less willing to play nice with others. The energy flows direct and instantaneously, as when energy has no resistance it just does what it does. We are hungry for what we are hungry for, there is no rationale for what turns us on.
-4/8/24: North Node Solar Eclipse in Aries:
Much of what this entails has been mentioned above. The North Node makes us insatiable to bite ever further into the apple of the manifested world by compelling us towards new shapes and circumstances. Aries is autonomous and independent, and so it is likely we will be finding our freedom and thinking about how much more direct and effective we are when we fly solo. The lunation is close to the Node so the compulsion will be of considerable strength and in many cases irresistible, so we are probably playing damage control rather than resisting making a move. The eclipse occurs exactly conjunct Chiron, so we are certainly breaking eggs to enact our luminary omelette, or, moving past comfort zones towards autonomous zones. Escaping what’s been holding us back seems to require we run through some thorny brush first, and since Venus is copresent there might be some roses mixed in, adding a bit of romance to the cacophony of brash and incendiary flares. As this is Aries, it may instead of vigorous tactical maneuvers or a complex fractal of fireworks, be simply a single and definite trigger pull which severs past and future, or, for instance, if you are a Taurus rising, play out privately in your head, so try to transfer the metaphors with elastic degrees of literalism.
-4/10/24: Mars conjunct Saturn in Pisces:
This conjunction plays an important role in the Aries Eclipse as Mars rules Aries so drawing close to and fusing with Saturn in the most mingling, mixing, distributed anywhere and everywhere sign is what is directing the pyrotechnics discussed above. What, pray tell, is distributed into the ambient field at large? The combination of in the moment critical response with long term strategic machinations but directed towards parameters and actions which modulate the vibes and utilize or even weaponize the flow state to over come obstacles and lubricate the machinery of constructiveness. Obviously this is very general. One native might find themselves over their heads in projects, drowning in efforts and logistical issues, another might be fighting a philosophical war in which they feel blocked from delivering ontological blows, another could be experiencing the world as a tumultuous tempest of drama which has no defined beginning or end, and another could be facing the brunt of an actual, literal tsunami, where as for another still it could be psychic warfare in which defense from magical attack is of real concern, or even the classic boxer entranced by the maxim “float like a butterfly sting like a bee”. Either way, Mars and Saturn together tends to get industrious, and in Pisces this could be the whole world feeling like its pumping with hydro power, which is interesting as this eclipse looks quite explosive. I often say Pisces is the most Shakespearean sign, and could instead of two Fishes be instead the two theatre masks, one laughing and one crying, emoting in the realms of comedy and tragedy, so be prepared for ordinary circumstances to take on Romeo and Juliet proportions or Othello amounts of getting very carried away.
-4/20/24: Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus:
Leading up to this conjunction we can already see markets volatilizing and getting prepared for tectonic slippage. The much discussed Bitcoin halving scheduled for this time typically results in the price surging, rapidly dropping, then shooting back up to an impressive new top. Not surprisingly, crypto twitter is speculating that this halving is already not conforming to the predictable pattern. In real estate, rapid drops and rises are also being discussed. Either way, opportunity via volatility as well as rapid mutation of the status quo or sense of ground seems to be more than fitting when put into pattern with the biblical-flood-narrative-style drama of what we find in Pisces and the rockets-red-glare evident in Aries. Put all together we could imagine some sort of destabilizing weather type event where people must fend for themselves which leads to lucrative looting. I’m hoping that this notion remains merely metaphor and everyone fairs the sequence well.
Another aspect of Jupiter coming to conjoin Uranus is by April of 2024 finally understanding the changes being made by Uranus in Taurus since May of 2018. If you know which house Taurus falls in for you it could be helpful to gain coherence on how that life layer has been unpredictably experimented on all this time and start incorporating wisdom surrounding the revolutionization which took place to grasp what opportunities this might have established. Even if it isn’t about new opportunities, context can be grounding to have which aids in holding down whatever part of life this is for you, as the radical changes or simply turbulent episodes are emphasized here, which parallels the Shakespearean mood of the moment.
For astrologers reading this, note that Uranus ingressed Taurus at the last UnitedAstrologyConference in Chicago, so contemplate how much astrology has changed since then and how much of a different world we’ve found ourselves in since 2018. Ok, what material do you have to work with now? What in astrology is currently of real value?
-4/30/24: Mars ingress Aries:
I find it interesting when both Venus and Mars are in their signs of rulership, there is a kind of lucidity, where what we want and what we’re doing are more straightforward. This can make things less complicated but it doesn’t mean things are necessarily less problematic, as Mars’ tendency to do exactly what its compelled to do without concern for others added to Venus’ fixation on what feels good and what things she desires means people will likely be stepping over boundaries, especially with Saturn not being in the most permeable sign while its ruler, Jupiter, is still under two degrees away from unpredictable Uranus. Either way, this tools and weapons in hand while having both benefics together and focused on satisfaction is a notable combination for the final episode of Jupiter in Taurus’ year long stint. An interesting feature of this particular Ingress is the Moon is sextile to Mars while she is also applying to conjoin Pluto in Aquarius, suggesting that the plot powerfully shifting from past to future orientation is collaborating with the planet of severance who at the moment is hot to make some cuts. Both fittingly and paradoxically we could be more than edgy about who or what is threatening us with change and disrupting the predictability of our comfort zone.
-5/25/24: Jupiter ingress Gemini:
Again we have a soft aspect with Pluto in Aquarius, this time a trine between the most obscure and initiatory outer planet and newly ingressed Jupiter In Gemini. Simple math concludes this having to do with AI and the internet, and as I write this there’s talk of a TikTok ban in the US. Manipulated networks, corrupt syndicates, progressive politics and futuristic technocracies seem to be harmonized with surges of communications, exchanges and data dilations. When Venus went retrograde and North Node eclipses were taking place in Gemini in Spring-Summer 2020 betwixt lockdowns and BLM police protests we saw social media become a hysterical hornets nest of “everyone post a black square/no one post a black square” simultaneity. This ingress comes after all the above mentioned astrological activity, so its on the other side of metaphorical/literal floods, rockets, financial rollercoasters and so on, so we can’t at this juncture specifically predict exactly what to expect as we have to wait a bit to see what drops or develops in the meanwhile. What we do know is the social and intellectual dimensions are emphasized mid spring and Jupiter will spend the next year expanding options, inflating data, proliferating paradoxes, pumping up polarities, increasing the conversation volume, and growing continual bifurcations which we’ll be apt to follow fork after fork in the road towards hydra-like opportunities. We can pretty much assure this is the beginning of a new social chapter, and by 2025, social media will be no longer how we remembered it. It’s worth looking towards what houses you have both Gemini and Aquarius and see how they might hit a harmonic together being emphasized by powerful new mental frameworks, increased ideas, conspiring amongst new networks, and opening pandoras boxes of info bites.