New Moon In Pisces, March 1, 2014 – “Hopeful Romantic”

#2 The High Priestess rule the Moon
From Rome Choi's delectable
"Dreamingway Tarot"©

Our first New Moon for March occurs in ten degrees, thirty-nine minutes of the sign, Pisces the Fish.  Pisces is a compassionate and romantic sign.  It is the sign of artists and dreamers. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, John Steinbeck and Kurt Cobain were all Pisces.  Fish folk are a sensitive breed and as all water signs, they are emotionally complex. Pisces is ruled by Neptune, the planet of dreams and illusion and one of the reasons this New Moon is particularly strong is because Neptune resides in its home sign now.

New Moons represent the beginning of a fresh emotional

#12, The Hanged Man, Neptune's card.
This depiction from the stunning
"Shadowscapes"© Tarot by
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

cycle. They enhance our vision of goals and dreams. When it comes to envisioning those dreams, there’s no New Moon stronger for that than a New Moon in Pisces.  The bond between water, lunar light and emotions is intense under Pisces, yet very romantic.  On the plus side, your sympathies are easily engaged.  You want to help. You forgive quickly, but the downside is that you are highly sensitive. People and situations you would normally find taxing are capable of delivering serious emotional blows now.  Try to ignore the emotions you experience in this type of situation and consider their source. Who really owns the problem?  Still, on March 1st love is in the air and it’s a good time for a little apres Valentine’s romance.

This New Moon carries powerful intuitive energy that can be used for setting intentions and manifesting work.  We’re closing in on the first quarter of 2014.  What’s working for you?  What do want more of in your life?  These are good questions to contemplate.  Look for particularly powerful meditations on March 1st.   Keep it real as you set intentions under this New Moon, however.  Neptune dwells in illusion as does the shadowy Moon.  Don’t allow yourself to get swept up in daydreams or mental hyperbole.  Remember: Real, measurable, attainable – those are the keys to successful goal setting.

Pisces tarot card, #18, The Moon
Don't be swept away by illusion
RWCS by US Games©

Jupiter squaring Uranus will add an interesting side note to this New Moon.  Jupiter is also considered a ruler of Pisces because that’s what it did before Neptune was discovered.  While Jupiter is expansive, Neptune in Pisces is a little secretive and likes to play things close to the vest.  This can lead to feelings of conflict for people born under Pisces, who have Moon in Pisces, or Neptune prominently in their birth chart. Just breathe and keep moving. The energy patterns for early 2014 don’t support stagnation.

Water represents emotions and spirituality in tarot.  It is also the element connected to the suit of Cups.  Although emotion runs high during a New Moon in Pisces, so do spirituality and intuition.  This is a working Moon, mean that the energy flows like water and is particularly easy to access.  Sure there are going to be whitecaps, but remember your tools. Try not to take thing personally, consider the source of your emotions, meditate frequently and when all else fails, breathe and let go.

LADY ORACLE

See a deck you like?  Email me at ladyoracle56@yahoo.com  to purchase!

Neptune Direct in Pisces - “The Difference Between Goals and Pipe Dreams”

#12, The Hanged Man is the
Tarot association for Neptune
from Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's
"Shadowscapes Tarot"©

Neptune is the planet of dreams and of dreamers.  It rules the twelfth house of the Zodiac, home of the sign, Pisces.  We store our subconscious and intuition in the twelfth house along with our affinity for self-delusion. (See blog: "The Sign of Pisces" )  That’s because illusion is the hallmark of Neptune’s influence.  If you are a Pisces or have Neptune in your birth chart, this planet can make you turn a blind eye to common sense and follow your pipe dreams right over a cliff.  

Neptune entered retrograde on June 7th and remained there until November 13th. During the past five months we’ve all had an easier time seeing past the veil of illusion and maintaining enough objectivity to keep us from being swept away by the improbable. Oddly enough, Neptune’s retrograde periods provide clearer insights and more pragmatic thinking than when the planet is direct.  As a result, when Neptune resumes its forward momentum, we can all experience feeling a little unsettled and struggle with thoughts of disillusionment and dissatisfaction.  

Still, there are lots of benefits we can glean from Neptune

#18, The Moon is the
Tarot association for Pisces
from "The Wizard's Tarot"© by
Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen

direct – first and foremost, imagination.  ( See blog: "Astrological Trends June, 2013" ) Remember that what we perceive we can achieve.  It just takes planning and follow through.  Neptune direct helps us give voice to our inner-most dreams.  With Neptune’s help, we have a natural buoyancy – an optimism that helps us push past the skeptics in our lives.

How do we tell if we’re pipe dreaming or if we have a legitimate goal?  Simple.  A goal is always attainable.  When I was a child I read the myth of Icarus and wanted to build a pair of bird wings so I could fly.  Not a realistic goal and therefore a pipe dream.  But when you construct a light weight frame and attach aerodynamically feasible wings you get a hang-glider, or an ultra-light aircraft.  To build real wings – a pipe dream. To build simulated wings that are aerodynamically sound – a goal.

Goals must also have real and measurable results.  Orville and Wilbur Wright had many failed attempts before their initial success at flight, but they had one continuous thing that made them carry on in the face of countless setbacks – measurable progress.  Every inventor or innovator started out with a “what if” – Nikola Tesla, Steve Jobs, you name them.  What made them succeed was their commitment to results.  

On November 17th we have a very powerful Full Moon arriving in Taurus.  It will be the perfect opportunity for you to manifest your dreams into reality.  Instead of focusing on the unattainable, like becoming the King or Queen of Ohio, stay reasonable, stay realistic and stay committed.  Once you commit to an attainable goal, the Universe will turn the cosmic tumblers any way it needs to in order to ensure your success.  

LADY ORACLE

Full Harvest Moon in Pisces, Sept. 19, 2013 - “The Moon of Dreamer’s”

Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen
give us a beautiful depiction of
#18 The Moon, from "Wizard's Tarot"©

On September 19th at 3:13 a.m., PDT, we welcome our Full Harvest Moon.  The full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox is always known as the Harvest Moon, yet the traditional name for September’s Moon is the Full Corn Moon.  By any name, this month’s Full Moon in Pisces is a gift, pure and simple, because it is the moon of mystics and poets alike.

Our Harvest Moon occurs at twenty-six degrees and forty-one minutes of Pisces.  This is a highly intuitive moon. Full Moon in Pisces allows us to tap into our spiritual side.  Its energy gives us the perfect opportunity to journey inward through meditation and to connect with our divine Source.  If you read tarot cards be prepared for your readings to have stronger insights during this Full Moon period.  Don’t be surprised to have more instances than normal of answering your cell phone and saying, “Hey, I was just thinking about you.”  

This Full Moon is in sync with her ruling tarot card, “The High

The Moon's ruling tarot card,
The High Priestess by Corrine Kenner
and John J. Blumen's "Wizard's Tarot"©

Priestess,” both in character and philosophy. You may feel an urge to withdraw from friends and family to spend some time in your own space and reflect on matters.  Conveniently, Pisces’ ruling tarot card is “The Moon.”  Like her card, Pisces’ moods are changeable, her energy dreamy and laced with illusion.   

Pisces carries a highly creative and romantic energy.  However, Pisces can also be a little too idealistic, seeing only the best outcome in both people and situations.  The Fish’s ruling planets are dreamy Neptune and expansive Jupiter. While we will experience a significant uptick in our artistic flow – whatever our medium (not just in the traditional sense of arts), a Full Moon in Pisces can also cause us to confuse our dreams with reality.  Pisces rules the twelfth house of the Zodiac where our subconscious lives.  We keep our memories and our dreams in the twelfth house.  We also keep our secrets there as well.  With Mercury in Libra until September 29th, you may find yourself willing to reveal some of your lesser mysteries, though not many of these during this Full Moon cycle.  Pisces loves her secrets.  

Neptune's rulingcard card from
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's "Shadowscapes Tarot"©
The Hanged-Man

Full Moon in Pisces presents us with the time and space needed to pause and reflect on life and the spirit, both personally and in the larger sense.  She emboldens us to dream and create.  Take the gift of this Full Moon in Pisces to honor your intuition, your connection to Source and use its energy to help you create the person you were meant to be.

LADY ORACLE

Astrological Trends, July, 2013 - “Trine Time”

Saturn's ruling tarot card
#21, The World
Shadowscapes Tarot©

July started the month off with incendiaries – some of which had faulty guidance systems, but all in all, July’s roller coster arrival (Super Moon after shocks and Mercury Retrograde) was nothing we couldn’t handle with meditation, creative visualization and maybe a couple of glasses of wine if things felt too crazy.  Now we’re humming as the Grand Trine between Jupiter in Cancer, Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio takes the center stage and becomes the major player for July’s astrological forecast.  

A trine is the most favorable aspect, or angle (120 degrees), between planets and certain other celestial bodies. A Grand Trine is a harmonious and continuous flow of energy between 3 planets.  Our natural inclination during a trine is to bask in the pleasant out-pouring of magnificent energy, however, astrologers warn that too many trines at once may be too much of a good thing, causing a somewhat sluggish mindset, or even outright laziness.  Go with the flow this month, particularly during Mercury Retrograde, but remember that there is fabulous energy from the Grand Trine that you can use to shift your life in the desired direction. 

All the signs in July’s Grand Trine are water signs.  All water signs are spiritual, intuitive and creative.  Water folk tend to view life from an emotional viewpoint rather than from facts and figures.  They are often romantic souls. The analogy used to compare them states that if Cancer is a lake, Scorpio is a river and Pisces is an ocean. Each of these signs has a direct affect on the planet within its house and what we’’ll all be feeling this month is the water signs’ influence.  

Jupiter (tarot’s #10, The Wheel of Fortune) in Cancer (tarot’s

Jupiter's ruling tarot card
#10, The Wheel of Fortune
Shadowscapes Tarot©

#7, The Chariot) is humorous, good-natured and good with money. Design a budget and stick to it.  The end of summer will find your cash crunch eased and who knows, you could solve a tricky money flow issue with the help of Jupiter, the Santa Claus planet.  The combination of Jupiter in Cancer also promotes emotional growth and healing which makes July the perfect month to let go of romantic fantasies and emotional attitudes we should have left behind long ago.  

Neptune (tarot’s #10, The Hanged Man) is the ruling planet for Pisces (tarot’s #18, The Moon) and is the “beautiful dreamer” of the Grand Trine.  Neptune is also in Retrograde which means that we are more likely to contemplate our

Neptune's tarot card
#12, The Hanged Man
Shadowscapes Tarot©

connection to one another and question our intention towards our fellow creatures. Who do we serve, ourselves or the whole?  You may recall that Pisces easily becomes lost in day dreams and illusion.  In July we’ll all battle this tendency trying hard to remain focused on the here and now instead of the seductive allure of ‘someday.’  The lesson here; change your focus, stay in the now and change your life.   

Saturn (tarot’s #21, World) is the most practical of the three planets.  Saturn likes analyzing people’s motivations and assigning them either asset or liability status – not in a cold-blooded way, but as a matter of practicality.  Do the people in your life help you be a better person, or do they hinder the process? While Saturn in Scorpio (tarot’s #13, Death) normally uses challenges to help us transform our world, here we see Saturn stabilizing the trine and helping us use its energy in our daily lives.

Factoids for the month: Our New Moon in Cancer in on July 8th.  The Grand Trine becomes exact of July 17th, so expect a little more magic that day.  Hum a lot.  Mercury goes direct on July 20th and is an exact square with Uranus.  Look for some breakthrough energy there. The full Moon in Aquarius is on July 22nd and we also have a meteor shower, the Delta Aquarids, later this month.  More on these later.  Enjoy!

LADY ORACLE

The mystical and magical Shadowscapes Tarot© by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore are available for sale through      Lady Oracle's Mercantile!  Click Here!

Ramping Up for Retrograde - July 14, 2012 - August 8, 2012

Many of us view Mercury Retrograde with concern, and there’s some validity to that.  Any new endeavor we undertake during a retrograde cycle has a tendency to go a little sideways.  A vicious retrograde period can give us a whole new respect for ancient man shooting arrows at the moon to drive away dragons.  

While the basic rules for handling a Mercury Retrograde still apply, (see my blog, “Mercury Retrograde, Tarot and You”) we have some very significant differences going on with this one.  This Mercury Retrograde happens at 13 degrees of Leo which lends an air of creativity, spontaneity and playfulness.  Playfulness in a Mercury Retrograde?  Are you kidding?  Absolutely not.  It turns out that Leo is our new best friend.  

Leo rules the heart and often asks us to risk our inner-most feelings and sense of self to make positive gains in our lives.  Here’s where we return to basic retrograde rules.  Remember your ‘R’ words.  Review, research, restructure, revamp, rekindle and reconnect.  Take your ‘R’ words, superimpose them over the energy of self-expression and there you have Mercury Retrograde in Leo.  

Reconnect with a former means of self-expression - perhaps re-edit a piece of writing or redesign a quilt pattern from years ago.  Dust off projects and rework them.  You have the advantage now of time and perspective.  Use it. During this retrograde look for innovative and fresh ideas.  Create beauty around you on July 14th.

July 15th could find you with inner demons biting at your ankles.  They’ve been holding you back long enough. Perhaps you blame your partner or your parents for things that happened long ago.  Maybe a co-worker has stepped on your toes and has compromised your working relationship. Now is the time to let Saturn’s energy help you move through these resentments and take responsibility for your own life decisions.  It might be tough going at first, but you stand a good shot at driving them away and ending the stagnation that blocks your progress.  Strive to end co-dependencies.  Reprogram yourself.   Remember the expression “If you think you can’t, your right.  If you think you can your right.”  Attitude is everything.

On July 22nd, words are strong and powerful.  They can wound or heal and it’s a conscious decision on your part which one they will do.  Temper your words with others, but use a strong, clear voice in writing from your heart.  Those words are your own and are written by you, for you.  You can edit out any over-indulgences on the 24th.  That’s a good day for making informed decisions.  

Social connects and celebrations  come to the forefront on August 1st.  Perhaps you should meet up with friends, old and new at a local bistro or pub.  Enjoy a good pint of summer ale and some well-deserved fellowship.  You have seven days left in this retrograde period and you are already picking up steam.

Mercury turns direct on August 8th and if you’ve done your homework correctly through the retrograde you will hit the ground running.  The new ideas that you came up with in mid-July, revamped over ale on August 1st,  are ready to go.  August 8th’s celestial patterns promise us a stable platform to begin Leo’s creative endeavors in earnest.

In terms of tarot, the Major Arcana card for the July 14th is # 8, Strength.  Begin the retrograde with grounding meditations and a clean energy environment.  Stay focused and grounded throughout the cycle.  August 8th’s card is #12, The Hanged Man.  Your waiting period is officially over.  Get busy.  If you need further assurance of Leo creative power in your life, August 9th’s card is # 13, Death.  Transformation.  Bring on the party, Baby, because you are transforming your life by ending your old patterns and are about to give birth to your new ideas.  Stay focused and celebrate!

LADY ORACLE