New Moon in Sagittarius: countering culture and the big picture

Every year this season and time period brings tremendous hustle and bustle to an already growingly bustling world. There’s so much production, consumerism, and even many services offered. Marketers, even artists and authors, choose this time of year to unveil their creations so that the public will munch up their offerings, buying extra to give them as gifts. They hope to make bigger sales at this time. All those offerings come in the form of communications and advertisements, too. In essence, this is a big, loud, and boisterous time of the year! There’s simply a lot of commotion and it disrupts just about everyone’s nervous systems. But, it’s still done anyways, regardless.

It’s easier to get the sales when everyone is dysregulated, right?! Well, if your businesses are those kinds of companies that thrive on perpetuating the unwellness of others, that’s the case. But not for everyone. I see a future where people want to increasingly supply and provide for others that which is actually good for them– and, I think it can be done through business. If business is built with heart at its center.

Meanwhile, my norm at this time of the year, is me actively trying to reduce the clutter, figure out the essentials, and embrace the center of my being. Actually, I cling to the center of my being at this time of year. I make sure that I don’t spin with every single swish/swash of wind-current caused by the hustle and bustle of forces much more sizable than I. You could say that I am actively “countering culture.” Now, I’m not actually ‘a culture’–so I’m not “counter culture.” I’m just a individual, free, and full of self-agency–you could argue that I am a culture, though, because of all my cells and the microbes which make up even more of my body than “I” do, but that’s not the point of my writing here. I am actively “countering” the dominant culture.

This is what I am countering: the mainstream energy of the push and rush–keeping up with ‘other’ people and their movements, following the crowd–none of that is appealing to me!! Now, this requires very little energy from me when I do it right. I simply “stop,” and put my energy into this dark place of “no place.” The external me might even seem like it’s doing the movements, and going with the flow, and even a part of the problem! In fact, the “little self” version of me sometimes does get overwhelmed; but, I do often manage to bring it right back to the center and identify with quiet version of me. I double-down on my efforts to meditate and get clear. I keep ever vigilant to “what really matters.” My goal is to chisel out what is essential from the informant of my inner quietude.

The Sagittarius New Moon, now, coming in on the 19th and 20th depending on where you are located, is here to help. It comes at a special time when the Solstice is very near to us — when the Sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky for the year, giving the Northern Hemisphere its shortest day and longest night. We celebrate the return to the light, too. This is not just the darkness of winter (as many of us are in more milder climates). It’s also the darkness of our visions. We are being called to confront the fears of the darkness (our past failures) that veils our true vision in Sagittarius (the potential future).

It’s a common tradition to watch or read A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, at this time of the year, as it corresponds to the contemplations of giving vs. miserliness. The didactic nature of the story lends us an accounting of our personal deeds and how good we have been at loving others throughout the year. It’s as if to ask: what is the current state of your heart? referring to the level of its openness. Just as Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of the past, present, and future, we can gaze into the stars and see the light of the past and reckon with times that are beyond the current one and see the fruits of our actions. It’s through this transcendence of time we are afforded the careful and observant weighing of our deeds. To me this is the “clock stopping” silence of the magic of the season… the one we can tap into if we focus on what really matters and go deep.

This New moon in Sagittarius asks us ‘Where do you shine your wisdom light?’ Imagine you have a lantern and it only covers a small crop of space before you. You have to make a choice as to where to point it. Neptune and Saturn in the last bits of Pisces are in square with the Sun, Moon, and Venus in Sagittarius. Now more than ever you can get really clear on both your values and your dreams. You can check to make sure that they are aligned. You can check to make sure that you are aligned with the highest and best.

Step 1:

Pretend you have only one arrow left in your quiver that represents your highest value, and you look into it and gaze at its offering, what would you OFFER TO YOURSELF? How could you translate that most important value of yours into your destination? Only YOU have the answer.

Step 2:

Hitch that value to a star (enhancing the destination), and if you don’t wish to make dream board or vision quest into a labor, then simply place your hand on your heart and say “ I treasure this __(your highest value)____as a gift I have found and wish to share it in the best way that can live freely outside of me… I wish to share it with __(at least one other/ animal/friends/the world)___. Thank you for this day and time, for this special hour, and for the sacred purpose of my life. Thank you that I get to draw these breaths. I trust those steps that will follow with the same clarity and purity of my intention.”

Here’s a short list of values for your thought and intention process to discover which is the brightest of all. Some are similar to others, so you might want to spend some time with it. If you can’t pick one, then the next best thing is to at least narrow it down to 3. It might help to do it in stages and choose those that you want to circle first on a gut-level that stand out, and then further narrow it down, after that, with some more thoughtfulness. You can consider different situations (real or imagined) that help you to use these values in a context for decision-making. These are all just some suggestions to help you get started.

Integrity, Honesty, Self-Awareness, Mindfulness, Bravery, Courage, Authenticity, Personal Growth, Learning, Faith, Spirituality, Wisdom, Knowledge, Creativity, Innovation, Love, Affection, Family, Home, Friendship, Connection, Kindness, Compassion, Respect, Civility, Loyalty, Commitment, Empathy, Understanding, Ambition, Drive, Success, Achievement, Productivity, Effectiveness, Independence, Self-reliance, Leadership, Influence, Recognition, Status, Justice, Fairness, Equality, Equity, Responsibility, Accountability, Service, Sustainability, Environmental care, Peace, Non-Violence, Freedom, Liberty, Fun, Joy, Playfulness, Adventure, Exploration, Health, Wellness, Comfort, Security, Beauty, Aesthetics, Simplicity, Minimalism…

Wishing you a lovely turn of the year— May your holidays be Merry and Bright!! If you should find yourself feeling sad and sullen, know that this too shall pass. Nothing is here to stay–not us, especially. Also, offer yourself so much love and kindness and be extra soft with you.

Be well my dear ones. You are so very loved.

New Moon in Libra: Empowerment and Depth

Dialing into the energy for this New Moon, I feel the need to bring in the gentle pause. There’s really a beautiful set of aspects here, and when I saw them at first–I got a breath of what felt like “fresh air.” However, what we also see here is a grand trine in Water. Mercury and Mars in Scorpio is flowing easily to Jupiter in Cancer, and then to Saturn and Neptune in Conjunction–where Saturn is back in Pisces and Neptune will be back in Pisces again shortly there too.

I don’t see a lot of clarity in this New Moon in Libra. It’s very innocent in its “newness.” Like if you poke at it “too soon” you will damage what it is becoming–but that’s not because I don’t think it’s resilient. I think it’s resilient as all hell.

What I see is a lot of fluidity, some openness. I see tender emotions. I see the beginnings of new relationships that are still in the watery stages, pure and new. There’s not a definite shape. Venus is sharing in the sign of Libra, but isn’t close enough to form an aspect.

What we do see is, unmistakably, that Pluto is squaring the New Moon and also opposite the benefic planet of Jupiter. Jupiter is therefore also squaring the Sun/Moon conjunction (new moon). To me, this is still a really nice energy. I also have rapport with these planets and energies. That actually does matter.

This is a strongly deepening energy. I think we are all asking for more depth in our relationships, and also probably “bringing it.”

I’m truly looking forward to this New Moon!

How are you all doing? Are you ready to get silent and briefly pause into your own unmistakable mysteries– forge a new relationship with yourself *and* others?

Share your thoughts! Wishing you a sparkling New Moon in Libra. May its Grace, and Beauty lead you!

Nothing that is in our lives currently is here to stay. When we remember this, we hold onto every precious moment we spend with loved ones, and our feeling for appreciating our lives deepens. We are each contributing each day to the beauty and process of life unfolding. As is said in Italian (my heritage), “Lunga vita e buona vita.” Long life and prosperity! I send you blessings on this New Moon in Libra ♎️ wishing for your highest and best good. 😌

Virgo 29 Solar Eclipse/Libra Equinox: Make Peace

For some of you, this Solar eclipse will take place on the 22nd (check your local time zone).

Back to the beginning: August 23, 2025

We have been looking at the chart and post from a several weeks ago, called “habitual adjustments” on the Virgo New Moon at 0 degrees of Virgo on August 23, 2025. It was a new moon at the end of August and uniquely kicked off this particular set of eclipses on the Virgo/Pisces axis. Eclipses correspond to the nodes of the moon which are 18 year cycles that astrologically focus on a set of opposing signs or axis. This upcoming eclipse on September 21, 2025 will be in conjunction to the S.Node of the Moon in Virgo. The S.Node in astrology deals with karmic issues from the past. The N.Node in astrology relates to the future and the trajectory of the soul’s evolution, and its sign and placement suggests where to focus those energies to bring them into balance. What is unique about these eclipses is the contrast of past/future with relationship to the nodes. Usually the lunar eclipse is associated with a “release/loss/revelation” from the past whereas the N. Node is associated with the karmic potential for creating a new future. The September 7, 2025 Lunar Eclipse in Virgo was tied to the N.Node of the Moon in Pisces. So, it represented both an ending and a beginning–simultaneously. I’ll recap that again in the next sections. It’s similar with this Solar Eclipse where the eclipse will be connected to the S. Node of the karmic past–an ending and a beginning simultaneously. What is showing up here (and with both eclipses) is the potential for deeply inventing the new trajectory for the soul through releasing the karma experiences of the past.

Back to the September 7, 2025 lunar eclipse in Virgo, there was the lunar eclipse in Pisces (check the time for your current location). My post titled “Release Illusions to Activate the Essential Dream explored the Saturn/Neptune conjunction in more depth because it’s very strongly figuring into these eclipses energies and I stated my case over on that post as to why and how the energies ultimately will loop us into the February 2026 *exact* conjunction. The themes to briefly recap are (from both my posts):

  • Dream vs. Reality
  • Making dreams into Reality
  • Feeling forced to give up dreams by Saturn limitations
  • Uncertainty about what is fantasy and what is real
  • Saturnian discipline helping to parse out and work out Neptunian dreams and ideals: Vision to Form
  • Daydreams and escapes of fantasy— and Saturnian consequences!
  • New forms of artistic inspiration (Neptune) with different forms (Saturn)
  • Saturn/Neptune conjunct is asking: “What really is possible here?”

Along with the Saturn/Neptune synodic cycle’s influence on these two eclipse points, there are interesting aspect formations that have been the subject of my commentary. The most interesting of which is going to be for this upcoming Solar Eclipse at 29 Degree Virgo.

But, let’s recap first: August 23, 2025

For the Virgo New Moon chart at 0 Virgo, I commented on the “YOD,” or “finger of God” aspect formation, which is called that because it looks like a skinny triangle pointing with its vertex on “the tip of the finger.” It’s created by two planets in sextile (60 degree) aspect to each other, but both pointed to the vertex of a 3rd point which is created by two quincunx or (150 degree angles– considered awkward and requiring adjustment for both sides). It’s known to bring discomfort. It’s “pain or relief point” can be seen at the vertex—where the finger of God is pointing at. It’s the point of recognized tension or signals the area of release for it.

For the New Moon Virgo 0 degree chart, I wrote about how “one tiny change” can bring the adjustment to the entire experience. My suggestion was to look at developing a new habit of mind. I referenced the book, “The Extended Mind: The power of thinking outside of the brain,” by Annie Murphy Paul. I also related the astrological remedy to Joe Dispenza’s body of work, but more specifically to “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to lose your mind and create a new one.”

Sept 7, 2025

This Lunar Eclipse in Pisces was conjunct the N.Node in Pisces. It ushered in a lot of of loss and surrendering potential–very Piscean. Many friendships ended and new awareness came out around relationships and the opinions that people harbored, either publicly or personally. Events and how people responded to them polarized people all the more. What I focused on when I wrote was specifically the spiritual potential and the potential for the soul in this life to create its dream potential; first through loss. The loss I suggested with the Lunar Eclipse was the release of illusions and delusions. I see them as blocking the way to the “real vision” or dream. My post was titled, “Release Illusions to Activate the Essential Dream.” In this post, I asked us to deeply consider what delusions could be revealed that hold us back from realizing the dreams which call to our soul. This soul’s call is very Piscean/Neptunian. It is unique to each one of us. Each eclipse point, for that matter, will activate different aspects of our individual natal charts, progressed charts, and various versions and vision of the signature moment of our incarnations. The soul’s dream is not an addiction nor a passing illusion. It’s something stable and real. It is something that may exist ethereally but then to become real with true “blood, sweat, and tears.” I began to discuss how the planet Saturn featured into this Lunar Eclipse. Saturn, however, will be an even stronger character/archetype in this Solar Eclipse on the 21st.

Saturn/Neptune cycle and *exact* conjunction in February 2026

The Solar Eclipse followed by the Libra Equinox will have us releasing and likely have that release tied to a collaboration or a new way of relating with others (Libra). The Libra energy here is powerful and shouldn’t be glossed over because of this eclipse. This eclipse is also at the very last degree of Virgo, which could suggest that some or a little of these negative Virgoic traits are ready to be dumped and moved on from:

  • Perfectionism
  • Being overly critical
  • Extreme anxiety
  • Body pains and mental-body miasms
  • Hyper-focus on negativity or what isn’t working
  • Fastidious to a fault
  • Skeptical to the point of depression
  • Workaholicism

Also, there could be the development or solidification of new, healthier habits and life-style practices.

Now for the Solar Eclipse followed by the Libra Equinox

This Solar Eclipse as I led into in my last astrological post is directly in opposition to the planet Saturn: the archetype of boundaries, wisdom, the hierophant, old age, strain, struggle, and burden. Saturn transiting Pisces has been a “clean up” job leftover from before. At the end of May, Saturn had transited into Aries bringing in a whole new set of energies. But, before Saturn could stay for its approx 2.5 years in Aries, it retrograded back into Pisces on Sept. 1, 2025. In February 2025, Saturn will once again re-enter Aries again and that’s when it will be co-joining Neptune. Neptune entered Aries for the first time this year, which is another major reason this year has been so impactful. I only wrote one line about it for the Solar Eclipse post in Aries, because those events corresponded together. When Neptune began its transit in Aries for the first time, the energy was strongly forward moving. Neptune began its retrograde in the beginning of July, 2025. So, as you can see: there’s more work for both Neptune and Saturn to do in the sign of Pisces before moving fully into Aries for long stays. For Neptune, its stay in Aries will be approx 14 years. For Saturn, its stay in Aries will be approx 7 years. These are major trends. Remember, Pluto recently entered Aquarius in 2023 (March– Aries Month!), and its stay in Aquarius is approx 20 years!

More specific to the Solar Eclipse (Virgo 29) depends on where the eclipse is occurring as it relates to your natal chart. However, bringing in that same energy of a cleared mental state will be helpful. There is a grand air trine with the planet Mercury, which rules Virgo. As I discussed the fresh Pluto in Aquarius in the previous paragraph and in previous posts, the energy of novelty, humanity, technology, and unconventional adaptations is in harmonious (or fast) flow with Mercury in Libra (question of balance and law/justice) with Uranus in Gemini (speech, local connections, logistics). We have laser fast communication taking place. The voices are very loud and regular, and that’s probably going to continue. Jimmy Kimmel was just taken off the air in the United States as the limits of satire were curtailed by governmental pressures placed on media/business.

There’s also a yod pointing at Mars in Libra at the 29th, anaretic (final) degree. Mars enters Scorpio right at the start of the Autumnal Equinox! This suggests to me that much of what is happening out loud and in the general public will be taken underground and into secret. For us more personally, the energy of Mars gets deepened in Scorpio, and we are being asked to “transform” our energies in the way we assert (Mars) ourselves.

This post is titled “Make Peace” because the Virgo craftsmanship energy puts the magic back in your hands. How do you want to design your work, your relationships, and the way you practice your self care?

Libra Equinox

The pretty equinox chart shows us with another kite formation, but this time: the Sun, Vertex, and Mercury will all be in the grand air trine with Uranus in Gemini and Pluto in Aquarius. . The opposition here will be a nearly exact between the Vernal Equinox Sun (Libra) and Neptune (Aries), and then to a slightly lesser degree to Saturn (which is out of sign in Pisces). If this isn’t a call to action to have your Neptune (dreams) include some collaboration, balance and mutual participation (Libra) then I don’t know what else would. We are all most likely really craving the relationships that most leave us feeling seen and connected, and in a way where we can be honest about our opinions without getting into heated debates or shifting into dismantling every relationship. However, if you do have to terminate some relationships, this is definitely a step in the direction of balancing boundaries (Saturn) with your new revelations and visions (Neptune) for a more harmonious (Libra) future. It might not seem like we are headed towards peace. But inwardly, we absolutely need to do the reckoning that will make the peace more accessible, available, achievable, and at least more likely. We can turn to Saturn to continue to help us move through the discomfort with commitment to the higher goal (Neptune).

Transits for the remainder of the month:

19th – Mercury in Libra trines retrograde Uranus in Gemini and retrograde Pluto in Aquarius (Grand Air Trine); Venus enters Virgo
20th – Venus in Virgo square retrograde Uranus in Gemini
21st – Sun in Virgo opposite retrograde Saturn in Pisces; Partial Solar Eclipse at 29° Virgo
22nd – Mars enters Scorpio; Sun enters Libra (Autumn Equinox)
23rd – Sun in Libra opposite retrograde Neptune in Aries
24th – Sun in Libra completes Grand Air Trine with retrograde Uranus in Gemini and retrograde Pluto in Aquarius; Mars in Scorpio square retrograde Pluto in Aquarius

The 24th (and within a day or two) is likely to be a “tough” day. Give yourself some EXTRA TLC. The best advice, always, is to stay out of the hype, and to recognize the nuance — look for it. Keep your mind open to possibilities, and when you feel like shutting down: take a solid time out. Giver yourself Grace!

Wishing you all the best navigation abilities throughout all the choppy waters we encounter, and know that the spots of sunshine continue to come our way as we are living in times of tremendous change and uncertainty. We have all the more ‘reason’ to strengthen our sails, fly our kites, and build our vessels out of the most resilient materials of the mind.

Know your vision, and seek clarity within it. Hold true to the vision, and go! Let what falls away part with grace.

Stabilize to Thrive

This full moon in Capricorn is coming off the heels of Uranus ingress Gemini with a conjunction to Venus. Pluto is sextile to Saturn (which is set to retrograde soon in Aries) and Pluto is also sextile to newly revised Uranus. These are “productive” and “efficiency making” aspects. Pluto is also Trine to Uranus (ease of flow). The energies are a little bit more grounding. Even though Mars is pulling some difficult aspects with the square to the Venus/Uranus conjunction, it’s still a fact of this astrology that the full moon is in @5 degree orb Trine to Mars. What does this mean? Well to me it speaks to emphasize that there’s a place for the errant energy to collect and form into a measured “response.” It’s like the universe set us a call to action and now the soul and the energy bodies need to regulate and then will ping back a response.

Capricorn is a bit of a “no excuses” sign. There’s a strong focus here on what is good for the family. The sun is almost nearing the second decan of Cancer. The second decan is also the most stabilized of the 3 decans in the zodical makeup. That is 0-10 Cancer is decan 1, and 11-20 is decan 2, etc…

What I see is the ability to channel these energies better and restore “function” in the areas that might have gotten a little bit “wiped” from the electrifying energy of the Uranus shift –> Gemini while holding hands with Venus, lock step. Relationships, money, exchange, sensuality, resources, comfort, values: all these Venusian themes have undergone a ginormous reconfiguration as a “call to action.”

Let it all settle. It will also settle on its own. Mars is also in opposition to N.Node in Pisces. That strong desire for “the dream” to awaken us, and to help us live our ideals keeps ricochetting. Now listen to that heart beat inside as Neptune, ruler of Pisces, has retrograde therefore living really close to that heart– easier for to see that dream lives inside you, as well as what is in the way of addiction and distraction from it. I suggest to let it be your continued inspiration. What your soul really longs for, after-all, is not as much as of “long-shot” as you might’ve thought!

Have a really blessed and safe Full Moon in Capricorn! You are loved by the universe, and by me… 😃 🌌

Clarify the basis in Self

New moon in Cancer at 4degrees

This new moon is unique because it is conjoining Jupiter, just recently at Cazimi — an exact degree conjunction with the Sun. The new moon is therefore infused with Jupiterian energy. It is important to note that while this lunation is quite auspicious in benefic influences, it’s also in a potent pointed square with the challenging Saturn/Neptune conjunction in Aries.

Ideals and reality are colliding in uncomfortable ways to the dreams, visions and desire for peace and joy, abundance and plenty, radiating from the home and family front. There is also a sense of urgency.

But what is the sign Cancer for anyway? It’s traditionally associated with the home and the mother. Cancerians are long known to reflect upon the past and become attached to it. However, looking a bit deeper, the angle of the chart associated with Cancer is the Nadir/or low point. It’s the Imum Coeli (IC). It is the basis and the foundation in the traditional chart—that area from which we are planted and we are to stand.

I write to you now as the New Moon has just come off its exact moment and the clarity streaming through deposits my mind (as I am also experiencing my Mercury return as we speak) in complete clarity around this moon’s message.

Your basis for your life is a lot like your “why.” It’s deeply associated with your purpose. Your job is to check and tend to this area of your consciousness that props you up and look at the foundation. Does it need any crack-filling? Could it use another level of thickness? What is your daily mindset around comforts that nourish and replace your vitality? Have you been checking in on the mundane aspects of your ideals? It’s not the time to go out on a limb and go searching for what is already here.

The energy of Cancer lands us directly where we are planted to check for stability and resources. From where we are positioned do we have enough of our basic needs met? what actions can we take to ground our lives more deeply into commitment with our purpose?

As I sit with you here, I allow the energy to settle and flow through the soil and ground of my being. I breathe deep into the fortitude I have created to live in a modern world full of uncertainty. I stand firm with the awareness that I am not an island, and energies of nourishment and support continue to collect around me.

My wish for you this Cancer New Moon is that you take a look at your environment and anchor yourself into the awareness that you are here to live this special life you were given, with full purpose and inspiration. Any frictions are passing drains and distractions on clarity that will quickly be replaced with your own renewed presence, as you return to order and semblance, at the basis of your own being.

I’m available for consultations starting in the fall. If you want to come back and check for my offerings, it would be a good time to do it.

May you be happy. May all beings be happy!

With deep aloha and gratitude,

Ka

Sink into Earth with this Taurus New Moon

I have no doubt that my message for today’s New Moon will be aligned with the gardeners and nature lovers. I’ve been reaching out to Luna for the message and she’s been very clear that with the strong energies of Mars/Pluto opposition, all the Aries placements still in effect, and that challenging aspect of Saturn and Venus conjoined with the North Node, we’ve never needed to be sunk in with nature more.

Uranus is also still in Taurus in process of wrapping up its stay. From July 7, 2025 for the next 7 years, Uranus will ingress Gemini and fill the mental plane with communications, logistics, innovations, disruptions, and more. Fortunately Jupiter has been transiting Gemini and paving the way for Uranus, setting up a good vibe. Jupiter is known to be the great benefactor of the zodiac. Next month the Sun will be in Gemini and that will further light up that area of the Zodiac and this will all be in preparation for Uranus to transit there by July.

For now, we have dedicated moments to reflect on this New Moon in Taurus and set our intentions to focus on what grounds us, brings us deeply into ourselves, and most opens us for those unique and intuitive messages from nature and from spirit. It’s essential at this juncture to take a break from media—even just a small sector, or reduce its time.

For your meditations:

Here are some words from Rosemary Gladstar, one of the most renowned Western herbal pioneers,

Take a moment. Open a jar of herbs that perhaps you grew and dried yourself… draw in a long deep breath… and if you pause awhile with the plant, it can carry you forward into the future.

Let the plant speak to you—not with words, but in the way that only plants know how.

Let’s enjoy the ineffable this New Moon in Taurus. Gaze at the stars, sink your feet in the dirt or the sand. Roll down a hill in a meadow, blow off the seeds of a dandelion. Make dandelion wine. I have some tinctures that I am ready to strain, and the birds song has been especially poignant.

Another fitting way to celebrate the phases of the Moon in relationship with the Sun, valuing the cycles that nature gives us— those that repeat—and let us know that we do have a regularity in life, there is consistency, pacing and calm: Celebrate with music, drums, piano, whatever speaks to you. Perhaps you love the sounds of harp, accordion or trumpet. Enjoy the moments of non-verbal, enjoy the spaciousness of sound and sing or imbibe the air and earth with your voice.

I hope this post has stirred some calmness and pleasure within you. Let me know in the comments if this new moon is touching your natal chart and which houses! I’m happy to help with a consult in the future years when I open up more time in my schedule.

For now I will leave you all with some beauties:

My deepest wish is for all beings to experience happiness and be free from suffering. 🙏🏻💕

It’s not an idyllic wish. It’s grounded in a desire for the progress of moving in the that direction, for peace and kindness to flourish in the lives of all. This wish will continue to flourish no matter what circumstances show up or appearances of the world would submit that we are not gonna end up there, well and wise.

None of our Earth journeys are in vain, purposeless or random.

Mitakuye Oyasin

“To All My Relations”

Of Loss and Faith: Pisces New Moon

New Moon in Pisces

This is a highly spiritual and artistic chart that could have us floundering in experiences that threaten our ideals while simultaneously strengthening them. We could be in a moment of crisis or loss, fear could be setting in. Or, we could also be deepening our faith in a higher power or more omniscient mind beyond our own. This is a time for engaging and summoning in resources that make miracles, where we suspend our overgrown and innate ability to disbelieve everything in the face of momentous change and unknown.

Pisces ♓️ is all about uncharted territory so a chart so focused on this sign is almost an oxymoron “focused on the unknown.” This is an objectless awareness. We are confronted with all the mysteries of connection and loss at this time. That also makes this time highly transformative and deep. We can become more meditative around our ideals and use our spiritual connection to divinity to stay afloat.

Moon squaring Jupiter can have us reflecting a bit in a fun house mirror: objects can also appear bigger, smaller or more contorted than really exist. Our aims might be out of sink with our realities, or conversely it might be time to call on more heavenly and otherworldly resources to make us into the more that we need to be in order to face our “not enoughness” that is often triggered with a transit like this. Don’t fall for the illusion that you are not enough. With the help of higher power and your faith and belief, you can be surprised by your repletion: even more than enough! You are stuffed.

Mercury conjunct Saturn in sextile with Uranus in Taurus will probably have us scaling down. We can question more about restrictions (Saturn) in how we navigate (Mercury) and communicate (Mercury). With the sextile to Uranus there’s more awareness around what’s unique and what stands out as a persistent weirdness infiltrating our regular constructs of reality (Saturn) and day to day (Mercury) .

Losses abound during such a transit.

There might be immense grief around crumbling, dissolving (Piscean) securities. There could be much personal loss as well. This is a time to have unshakable faith. It’s a time when faith is also the most challenged. You can’t really have one without the other. We are tested as a sort of “rite of passage” to supplant our fears and concerns with right action, complete clarity around our values, and realistic, tempered idealism. Make a plan, chart a course, and get really real with your transcendent self. If you came to the planet to self-actualize then “get to it.” Mars is now stationed direct in Cancer, the momentum is moving forward. The inner world (Pisces) is more important than what you see in the world manifesting at this time. Explore the divine within and know. Be still and know.

Full Moon In Leo: “Who is this I?”

Hello lovely friends and visitors,

Whether I’ve known you for a while and we are constantly exchanging endearments (thank you!I can’t enjoy that enough!), or you are new to my world here at Fiestaestrellas.com, you are equally welcome 🙂 Come, and warm yourself by the virtual fire. You are welcomed into this space of our remembering unity.

I’m sitting here in the firelight with the chart for the full moon in Leo. See above, above. As a “Leo Sun,” myself, it gives me something to draw from: my own limited (yet nevertheless valuable) experience. Ironically, my own experience is deepening and expanding so much so that I am not identifying with the same “I” as I used to. Take a pause here with me.

Does the “I” have context and contents that are really real?

There is more awareness around myself AS others. You and me, we are one. Sometimes I can see myself sitting at my desk, writing. Doing the things I do with awareness of both being in the body, and not of the body.

We are.

It’s odd how the mind just needs to be trained to see things as they really are.

The Course In Miracles and many other tools exist to try to train/untrain the mind into clarity. You may ask, why isn’t clarity just inherent? It’s a great question.

I think the answer is that the mind is malleable, flexible, and at best: ‘neutral’ as its own inherent quality. But this also makes the mind impressionable. We are formed and forged by our backgrounds, environments, ancestors, connections, and familiarity. Eventually these impressions harden like any good molding material that you want to use for later (memory!).

What I learn from my deepening with Buddhism through the lens of my current teacher Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, or “Geshla,” is that the nature of reality really is emptiness. Nothing exists on the other side of the mind. The mind is the generator of all phenomena on the mind’s side of things. So if we identify this mind with the “I” we are lost in the woods, so to speak. But, if we never form memories or impressions, we are also lost in the woods, so to speak. chuckle.

What the meaning is of life therefore is the meaning you give it. Who is “you?” Where are its boundaries?

For this Full Moon in Leo, we have Uranus in a nearly perfect square (90 degree) aspect to both the Sun and Mercury (in Aquarius) as one point of focus and the moon in Leo on the opposite point of focus. Dividing that opposition (180 degrees) or line, is Uranus: the Great Awakener. The planet does have this reputation for a reason. In 1781, the astronomer William Herschel looked up into the constellation of Gemini and thought he found a comet but it turned out to be the 7th planet in our solar system. In fact, Herschel wanted to name Uranus after a British monarch but many others in the world disagreed so they stuck to the convention of naming the planet after a figure in mythology; however, Uranus is Greek, and not Roman like the other planet names, which makes Uranus “unique.” This is a “break” from convention. If that’s not weird enough, Uranus’s orbit is virtually perpendicular to its orbital pathway; Uranus is laying down and spinning. Since Uranus was a later discovery from Saturn (the rule-maker), Uranus gets the reputation of reality construct breaker. Uranus is also “in charge” of what we consider the collective for humanity. Well, as if we aren’t completely thrown into a new world, already this year in 2025 with great billionaire bulls in the China shops of politics, government, and businesses, slashing and burning our structures and institutions one by one. Institutions (like Rome) that weren’t built in a day. The majority of us would probably agree the slash and burn is happening without any ideas of reasonable replacement. It FEELS careless, at best.

So, where does all this put a Leo full moon? Well, you can run around talking about how Leo is so self-important and aiming to just “show off” or you could see how the “individual,” “me” and “I,” is really a veneer or avatar FOR the collective. No one gets anywhere without their ego to help them stay alive. If you are dead, then, well, you aren’t doing anything–at all. Unless you are a strong ghost (but even then, you probably needed to have a strong ego in life before you died). Ego is almost synonymous with the mind in the way I am defining here. It’s inherently neutral and merely a creator. It’s a little creator, though. It doesn’t make anything real. The false Ego is the one that generates the delusions. The healthy ego is the one that is in balance with the whole, as part of it, as a collaborator with the collective.

Imagine if we didn’t have names. It would be very confusing in the early days of telephones when they used to be SHARED by households. Who are you calling for? What if you wanted to get someone’s attention in a crowd? What if you are the one holding the “hot potato” in the “hot potato” game. WE can’t call you. Having a name is like having an existence. Having an existence allows you to be considered, heard, referred to, etc etc. So the mind is so important for sorting things out and helping all of us be US– getting through our days with some healthy little bit of order.

This is where Leo comes in. What stands out to me with Leo, as a sign, is COURAGE. Leo exists. There’s an organizing principle not because anyone is special and deserves it. But, nature and energy, is organized. When we watch and marvel at life being formed, we look at how the cells collect and specialize. That’s a lot like us. We are nature. We are not separate from it. We are not merely destroying nature separate from ourselves. We are organization. We are an organizing force, and this is where, to me, the APPEARANCE of Leo shows up. The energy to BE. The energy to exist. It requires collaboration. It requires creation even in the form of little “i.” That “i” cannot be negated, nor should you really want it to be. It need be integrated, but not to fully dissolve. It can gain momentum and organizing power, momentum. Courage is not just a quality of character, its a quality of energy. It requires health to be courageous. It requires strength. This is what we want to cultivate during our Leo times.

Lunar New Year– Aquarius NM Jan 29, 2025

Hello and welcome.

We will be entering the year of the “Wood Snake,” in the Chinese calendar. This, as with many Asian and Jewish cultural traditions (and countless others I didn’t mention) have a focus on the lunar calendar (basing the new year on that) vs. just the solar calendar/Gregorian calendar. The Chinese calendar is more-so based on the planet Jupiter. Jupiter changes signs approx every year. So, the Chinese “animal” is annual. These different astrological frameworks (cultural traditions), can enhance and help flesh out interpretations of what’s to come, be, or what feels like it’s ripe and ready to turn the corner. They are complimentary to each other, rather than contradictory. Consider it all a Zen Koan.

I’m not getting a ton of intuitive insights right now, but I will share what I’ve got. This year has the potential to be very creative and full of growth. The wood energy is all very directional and intentional–so having some solid and flexible plans (think of bamboo) will certainly help to make the best use of this energy. With the Western astrological sign of Aquarius, we are also looking at a time of pretty profound novel ideas. The air element in the Western astrology is *very* present. Just look at the astrological map down below: 4 planets in absolute or near conjunction: Sun, Moon (yes we call the moon a planet in astrology), Mercury and Pluto! Wow wee… With Mercury there, and newly minted “Pluto in Aquarius” for he long haul, the emphasis is on transformational and profound ideas, and changes! Power is being reconfigured in every single way. With the presence of Pluto, nothing will look the same again. But, I think you already knew that! Hah!

Venus and Neptune in Pisces can actually strongly enhance our intuition, and our ability to tap the spiritual for compassion, comfort, and more. Interestingly, those two planets, along with Saturn in Pisces are forming a “trine” or easy-flow aspect to Mars in Retrograde) in Cancer. The time is now to work through those emotions, clarify that road within to understand the movements of our urges and desires. We have a change to step back and get a better angle on seeing it all from different perspectives with that strong help from Aquarius!!! It’s a good time work with the desire nature in a way that tempers it, but also, while helping that desire nature to flourish in a productive way (pointing back to the “message from the Lunar New Year: growth and creativity!).

As if there wasn’t enough Aquarian influence, that Venus/Neptune conjunction is also in harmonious aspect with Uranus (sextile) and that means that whenever Mars and Uranus start moving forward again (Did you guess it would be so close to the New Moon/Lunar New Year?!– Jan 30th), innovation rules the roost! Mars won’t follow suit until Feb 24 when it goes direct in Cancer at 17 degrees. This is actually marvelous. Uranus astrologically is definitely known as the great disruptor–but also the great liberator! Humanity needs to see clearly, but can it? With the strong Piscean addendum/influence to this Lunar New Year, it seems that there could certainly be a lot of confusion. What does the muddling mean? Well, the Ego won’t tell you. And, the Ego is okay and not a bad guy, but fear is the matrix for promoting non-change, “stay the same” and not reclaiming any new freedoms. So there is a need to “wake up.” It’s not a really good catch phrase, “wake up.” A better word form would be “SEE CLEARLY NOW.” How can we see clearly if we already have so many fears and conclusions? It’s much harder to keep the mind open, to watch, and wait and see. Isn’t it? Well, this is the time to do that.

Focus on your only locus of control: your own life, behavior, patterns, thoughts, schedules, and rhythms, and that will really, really help. To back up what I’m saying, Mercury in Aquarius is forming a trine to Jupiter in Gemini. There can be some transformation in the “lightening up of the load” by truly focusing on the narrow and small. The narrow and small, and the big picture can both be part of the clarity–but none of us our omniscient, so we gotta work with just what we’ve got now. What is right there in front of you, staring right back? That doesn’t mean you can’t strive for more. It just means you have to start with the stump you are already on, right now. Right here, and right now.

Happy Lunar New Year Everyone!

Let’s make this a year to grow our own gardens of possibility. It can take on any form. And the best part is, all you need to do is make the choice, and then hold the “space for it.” Yeow! Let’s have the best time we can!

In honor of AQUARIUS

Getty images/Istock photo

The New Moon is coming round! But most of my readers already know this. You might not know that it’s pretty much exactly conjunct (at the same point as) my Natal S. Node in my FIRST house of Self Presentation. Haha. Those are just “key words.” Words are little containers of meaning, but they can also get packed in with energy. So the words I’m about to share are my declaration of “in honor.” I will capitalize on my skills from the PAST (S.Node) and how Aquarius features so strongly in our current world: Pluto into Aquarius on Jan 20, then conjoining transiting Mercury, next up is Venus and then Mars. My past skills are needed here. Also, Here’s why I express myself today, for tomorrow and for always:

In honor of my love of chaos, crazy KALI.

I embrace you dark goddess of unpredictability

you turn on a dime, with your full fury or peaceful

enlightment in quiet poise.

and it makes no difference. Who is there really to judge your presence?

For no one really exists.

I honor you brokenness, your hardship, and loss,

and all your irreducible enigmas

that riddle us with great cost.

I honor your presence, your beastly appearance,

I honor your faceless, nameless, force of nature– open tongue agape

I honor you as you ARE: unbridled, rare, unique and unexpected.

SHAMELESS

I honor your wild vapor of ethereal twirling edges folding pages, closing books..

Thank you for your brilliantly misunderstood energies.

Thank you for your grace and enlightment in unseen ways.

I honor what I do not understand, cannot understand, and will never summon to reach…

Thank you, for being Untouchable, unknowable, and a pure deep, dark velvety mystery.

It’s time for me to go meet with my client soon. Thank you for reading, your presence, and your enjoyment of all the things under the sun, including those shadows where the sun doesn’t shine. We want more peace, harmony and light. We have to see things as they truly are. Being in the dark is the way of this life. We are born from the dark, blasting into the light, and then we leave in the dark–with mystery abounding. The dark is our central root, our harpsichord of suffering. To embrace this suffering, with full acknowledgement is the way to inner peace.

Alignments

2024 New Moon Schedule

  • New Moon in Capricorn – Thursday, January 11 at 6:57 a.m. EST
  • New Moon in Aquarius – Friday, February 9 at 5:59 p.m. EST
  • New Moon in Pisces – Sunday, March 10 at 4:00 a.m. EST
  • New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries – Monday, April 8 at 1:20 p.m. EST
  • New Moon in Taurus – Tuesday, May 7 at 10:22 p.m. EST
  • New Moon in Gemini – Thursday, June 6 at 7:37 a.m. EST
  • New Moon in Cancer – Friday, July 5 at 5:57 p.m. EST
  • New Moon in Leo – Sunday, August 4 at 6:12 a.m. EST
  • New Moon in Virgo – Monday, September 2 at 8:55 p.m. EST
  • New Moon Solar Eclipse in Libra – Wednesday, October 2 at 1:49 p.m. EST
  • New Moon in Scorpio – Friday, November 1 at 7:46 a.m. EST
  • New Moon in Sagittarius – Sunday, December 1 at 1:21 a.m. EST
  • New Moon in Capricorn – Monday, December 30 at 5:27 p.m. EST (source: women’shealthmagazine)

In my shamanic work apprenticeship, I have a process where I work with, meet and develop relationships with new teachers all the time. I have been doing this informally for all of my life before I joined into structures already created by other humans. Overall, some of my teachers are in the flesh, but many of my teachers are plant spirits–in fact, for every single human teacher I have, I have probably 10x as many plant teachers. I’ve had a lot of human teachers over the years. One day I think about making a list of all of them. It’s overwhelming to be honest. Hah! However, the plant allies are not overwhelming at all. They can easily be missed without recognition. Which is why it takes careful attention and cultivation of the observation aspect of consciousness. We are awareness.

I’ve attached these New Moon dates for your convenience. It’s a snapshot of the year. For the solar calendar and the Western world, the New Moon with most relevance is the one at the start of the year, January. However, for the lunar calendar focus of the cultures of the East, the first moon of relevance for predictive and preparation purposes, is the moon in February. This is in the sign of Aquarius. I find this to be very significant because of the role that Aquarius is playing in the dawning of our new age. Pluto is moving into Aquarius this month, with certainty. There is no doubt about that prognostication. It is more than a “weather” event. It is a description of a galactic clock. While we observe from Earth, our observations are still further based from the energy of the Sun, and extending beyond that. It’s a very small world that we ever get to “see.” Scientists are now currently discovering newer and newer galaxies, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope.

added.

Ka Malana Photography
Ka Malana Photography

Click the picture/link above to support and see the whole Cheer Peppers Team!

Narrative discussion:

This exercise of posting every day with the theme of a Tao Te Ching passage to be revealed at the end of the month… is a lot of fun 🤩

I’m already beginning to come up with a theme for the month of December. Reading blogs and interacting adds a lot to my life. During this time of holiday seasons, being cozy at home stirs my senses with creativity and rest: the perfect combination. I feel so comfortable and at home. I’m nurturing this feeling by being in this space at this time of year. Meanwhile I’m planning book reading from lovely authors I know through blogging as well.

Astrology:

New moon in Scorpio ♏️ is coming up on November 13. It touches exactly our family’s charts, so it’s a pleasure to share as the cosmic growth continues to happen. Mars features strongly and pulling an opposition to Uranus in Taurus ♉️. Uranus is known as the “unpredictable” one, expressly surprises us in ways that can fast-track our path forward and/or toward enlightenment. Jupiter shares the sign Taurus ♉️ during this transit. The energy is all about building and expansion, solidity—and, it’s opposite. We are undergoing deep transformational processes (but I don’t think you need me to tell you that.).

Why astrology? It’s “added.” It’s a bonus way to track your journey. After all, the Earth is flying through the solar system. It’s natural to look out the window and read the signs. Sure, you can do it all with your eyes closed (but that’s just not as much fun!)

Tree of Life

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Happy Hanukkah 🕎, Happy Solstice! Happy Kwanza! Happy Festivus! It’s that sacred time of the year when we all share our love for traditions or forge new ones. Some of us are in the Southern Hemisphere and some in the Northern Hemisphere and our weather patterns are all different!

I’ve often mused at the juxtaposition of the Christmas stories in the desert with camel and baby Jesus in the manger. Mary and Joseph with thick views of the Middle Eastern camel 🐪, exotic nights, and the dark spread of sky canopy unveiling the stars. This strongly contrasts with the snowy scenes of Santa lore, flying reindeer against a cloudy dark backdrop of loaded, dense clouds, clad thickly suspended sky. Fireplaces ablaze everywhere.

Here in S. California near the desert we’ve been enjoying very chilly weather for weeks! We had snow just a week or so ago up in the nearby mountains! Now it’s warming up just in time for Christmas Day. Feliz Navidad! I have a long-time friend who has moved to Mexico and sharing all her new sights. Another friend who also moved there recently. Friends in the Midwest and Northeast are facing all different blizzard-like temperatures/conditions. Friends in New Zealand and Australia are enjoying the warm weather and luscious flowers: pansies, violas, hellebore and calendula! My apologies for I know I left many people out. Variety is more than the spice of life-it is the example of life!

We live in a global village.

If you find yourself in delicate repose sleeping more regularly and eating more mightily, you are simply responding to the sensibility of the winter season! If you are in bloom in the Southern hemisphere: same!

I remember the elegant crystal winter mornings I awoke to on the East coast contrasting so sparklingly with the austerity of the night winter wind against the bone of the trees: oh, the drama, the beauty. There was the sound of the crackling ice melting so quickly from the morning sun, and the concern for tree limbs falling. There was brisk, fresh hope and steaming breath!

Now I am cozy here in S. California in a whole new way. I get to enjoy the surprise of weather and the uniqueness of cuisine. This year homemade hot tamales found their ways into our bellies. Santa paid a visit at preschool and we enriched our lives with our annual visit to the internal cottages where we saw the Princess of the Philippines.

With a string of planets like garland in Capricorn: Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus, and Pluto, I am eagerly awaiting the planets all to rise on the horizon of my ascendant! For now they are sleepy 12th house dwellers, hiding magic for me in unexpected places.

In March of 2023, Pluto will *finally* shift into Aquarius and sweep in and out of Aquarius until settling there in September 2024 for its long ride until 2043-44. For this next stretch of transit, there’s plenty to be anticipating! I remember way back when I was a younger astrologer and watching Pluto move into Capricorn, anticipating it beforehand and watching its magic unfold. It was a lot like I expected it to be, but maybe even more dramatic than I expected at the time. Financially it was quite a mess for those structures which popped or crashed (insert your favorite destruction metaphor) then came back and washed up again (housing and stock market). So here we are, on the brink of the next epoch. I truly believe it will be beyond belief! I truly believe it matters what we focus on and bring out the best available rather than predicting the calamity that too many do. It’s a waste of time to predict calamity in my opinion.

For now, enjoy your festivities and enjoy this major transition for the first quarter of 2023 is sure to be part of it. Aquarius likes us to ask “What sets you free?”

If you would like to have an astrological consultation with me, feel free to reach out, I’m happy to help you make the best of your energies in the New Year! We are all in this together, in our global village and there so many different perspectives! If you do seek out someone to help you, make sure they care about you.

Be well, be healthy, and find your joy in every moment…!

♥️

Off to brunch and the tide pools! The New Moon has revealed a low tide!

the gap

all broken things can become

un brok en

how?

this is done with the mind–

as a spoon can bend,

a bro ken can be rendered whole.

my dear,

this is why we have each other

knowing in our minds

that we are whole.

reminding you that your heart

can live in your mind.

having mind and heart together

fills the gap

With this New Moon in Virgo, I hold my health and vision gently. I take inventory of myself, and I sink into the Earth. I feel the protection of the land and know how we care for one another. This land cares for me, and I for it. May you fill with blessings in your awareness of all that is available to you, right now.

Tracing my daughter’s hand

I gave her fingers lots of space!

She says “draw my hand 🖐”

and this simple action

for me, is High art—

the art of masters, becoming young again.

Our combined intelligence

simplified into the elegance of

a single line drawn,

contour: a line developing into a form

One day she will sit in an art class

and draw what she sees, without

looking at her paper.

Because of me.

her request: “draw my hand”

is helping me illustrate one of the most

creative gifts of her body

As a baby,

she learned her hands quickly.

she studied intently.

Her hands were her first friends

enabling her into positions, and grasping my

finger well after that reflex had gone.

her fingers articulating quickly,

her hand in mine—always wanting my hand. Brave. And still always wanting my hand.

“Mommy, mommy, draw my hand.”