I’ve missed Laura Gerking, the royal Nalbandian family, Henry, Phil, Jeff, Marsha, Tishelle, and a lot of people I realized I’d come to know over the last few years!

I haven’t been making much custom personal jewelry for the last few months – we’ve been focusing on making as much Planet Jewelry as we can for the Smithsonian. It will be a treat to actually sit down and talk to people, and hopefully get to make Horoscope Necklaces for people I’ve come to love!

I’ve been making Wandering Star Astrology Jewelry now for 17 years. Part of my original plan was to build the company so that I could have a home-based business when my kids were little, and make jewelry while the kids napped.

Now my son is about to turn 7, and my 5-year-old daughter is starting the summer program at our elementary school. And Wandering Star has given birth to a new endeavor…a year ago we started selling our Planet Bracelets at the Smithsonian Institute. Now, they’re ordering about two dozen a week, and each order is bigger than the one before.

Mother’s Day is approaching, and I know how proud I feel of my “three” babies. Who do you know who is also a Mom achieving exciting things in her life? Show her how much you respect her passion and dedication with one of our cosmic designs!

The Aries Ingress is at 7:01 AM, EDT, this year. Nice when it happens that way, we can go to bed under the waning influence of Pisces and wake up to a new day with a new “flavor”, one of new beginnings, new effort, and truly a new dawn.

The Sun is joined in Aries by Mars and Uranus, so the potential is certainly there for action, and that action may be of the sort that breaks us away from old habits and old ways of doing things. Mars, the ruler of Aries, is always impatient, always wanting to get going, and figure out where later. Uranus, of course, wants to toss out the baby, the bath water and the bath tub – NOW! So with these two adding their feverish energy to the Ingress, we’ll want to get going on our new directions immediately. Quite a strong energy in this chart to start out – but to start out at what?

Let’s have a look at some of the other parts of this chart to get some clues.

We see a Grand Trine, with the Moon in Cancer trine Saturn in Scorpio, and both of these planets trine the Mercury – Neptune conjunction in Pisces, making what looks like an equilateral triangle across the chart. Trines always symbolize an easy blending of the energies of the planets involved (even when their energies are not easy with each other), and having so many of them between 3 or more planets would, at first, seem to mean a really easy time of it. But with the Grand Trine, it’s often the case that, although the energies do blend easily, it’s SO easy that we fail to actually use those energies, believing that the good things promised will just come to us without effort. While some of that may happen, if we actually put some effort into it, we can get a lot more out of it.

All of these are, of course, water signs, in contrast to the fire of the Aries Ingress and planets. So they can act to slow down the impetuosity of those, and to add some meaning and direction for the changes the Ingress brings. Water Signs tend to represent feelings, not action. But shouldn’t we consider feelings before taking actions that will affect them? I think the world would be a better place if more people did that!

The Moon in Cancer suggests that we’re currently comfortable dealing with issues of the home and family. Since the Moon is (widely) square the Sun, we may not feel like we want to make changes there, but it might be a reminder that whatever changes we make elsewhere, they can have a significant impact in that area of our life as well. And this square ties the entire Grand Trine into some tension that can help us to actually use the energy instead of just taking what comes.

Saturn, the stern school principal, brings his energy of (hopefully!) self-discipline to bear on shared resources. While he’s in Scorpio he also wants us to look beneath the surface, to not just take the first answer that comes. Examine the issues / situations for underlying themes and messages. “Fine” may not mean fine…

Mercury in Pisces wants us to dream, and his conjunction with Neptune emphasizes that energy.

Home and family are certainly full of shared resources and dreams, aren’t they? We leave our family of origin to build a new one, based on resources we share with our chosen partner, and dreams of a new life with them.

Since this is all in the Ingress chart, it seems that there is a strong push for us to honestly examine our home life (Saturn) to determine what’s been working and what hasn’t (or what hasn’t been working as well as we like!), to see if what we’ve been doing in that part of our life is enhancing our shared dreams or holding them back. With that in mind, we can use the brash Aries energy to make positive changes. But we need to hold the desire for immediate change back until after we’ve done the analysis. While Aries certainly wants to rush in before thinking, that’s usually not a productive way to go about changes that have a longer or wider effect. The square to the Moon asks us to temper that rash activity with consideration of how such action will spill over into other, possibly more stable areas of our life. It may or may not be appropriate, at this time, to toss out the bath water, but do think twice (or thrice) about doing the same with the baby or the tub!

Pencil these five planets around the outside of your birth chart to see what Houses are specifically activated for you. The house the Sun falls in will indicate the specific area of life that you want to start new things in. How would changes there affect you home life and your partner? Will they enhance the relationship, the shared dreams and resources? If so, then get on with it. If not, then is it possible to make changes to what you see as the needed changes, so they are beneficial?

Or perhaps what you see as the needed changes are not really what is needed for you at this time, just the feeling of urgency that Sun – Mars – Uranus in Aries brings with it.

Use the energies of the Grand Trine to get in closer touch to what is important to you in relation to your relations, to your shared security, shared resources, shared dreams. Perhaps take some time to re-identify what they are, since, over time, we all tend to fall into the routine and forget. Once you’ve done that, reexamine the changes you’re anxious to make and see how they fit in with that.

And only then, carry on!

By David Ockrassa

The Winter Solstice comes at 6:11 AM EST on Dec 21st this year. This is the day when the Sun, at its highest point in the sky, is also at the lowest “high point” of the year, and marks the shortest daylight day we see each year. (Actually, that condition continues for another two days each year, and after the third day of this condition, the Sun starts climbing higher in the sky, bringing light back into the world.)

Hiding in the dark, so to speak, are clues about what we might want to focus on for the coming year. The “seeds” we plant now will be pushing their shoots out of the ground come the Spring Equinox, so it’s a good idea to think carefully about what we might want to grow. And, while there are lots of doomsday scenarios, movies, books and a lot of chatter about the “end” of the Mayan calendar, I think it’s a good idea to put some thought into what we might want to achieve in the coming year. (On Dec. 31st each year, we just put up a new calendar, it’s not the end of the world. But if you’re carving a long term calendar on stone, it’s just not that easy to flip the page!)

While the Sun is always at 0 degrees of Capricorn at the Winter Solstice, the aspects it makes will change year to year. This year it only aspects the three outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The aspects to Uranus and Pluto are challenging – a square and a conjunction, respectively – while the aspect to Neptune, a sextile, is generally considered to be “easy” yet stimulating. But, an easy aspect to Neptune may bring its own challenges, since Neptune often needs a bit of “stress” to shake it loose from its inherent dreamy nature and help us to act on those dreams.

Uranus represents an energy of sudden and unexpected change. The square from the Sun suggests that we might not be fully aware of where we need that change to occur, and that the impetus comes from outside ourselves, i.e. from someone else. Pay attention to the reactions – past and current – of others to your actions and attitudes and try to determine whether they are justified or not, whether your actions are really in support of your goals or not. Pluto, on the other hand, is an energy of deep, systemic change. Since the Sun is coming into a conjunction with Pluto, this pressure is felt as being fully from within, although we may not always be conscious of it! So we might feel that we have something that needs doing or changing, and not be certain about what it is. Neptune in Pisces really wants to wander off into dreamland, and our dreams are what we need to spur us to our highest levels. Without some pressure it’s often the case that we don’t do anything to make them happen. The sextile aspect from the Sun to Neptune therefore has some “stress” associated with it, which may be enough energy in the mix to help us to actualize what ever those dreams might be. Since the sextile typically is an energy of “adjustment” that is usually easy to make, this configuration might make it a bit easier for us to deal with the (seemingly) sudden and deeper changes indicated by Uranus and Pluto.

Pluto and Neptune also aspect the chart’s Moon, so this isn’t going to be just affecting our conscious minds (represented by the Sun), but also affecting our emotions (the Moon). Since the Moon is also in an exact square with the chart’s Mercury, actually communicating those emotions may be difficult, but not impossible. We need to remember to take some time analyzing our emotional state before trying to talk about it – an activity that the Moon in Aries isn’t normally prone to do! Likewise, Mercury in Sagittarius has a tendency to just blurt out what ever is on his mind, so we need to consciously curb both of these enthusiastic energies and take control of them rather than letting them control us.

By carefully evaluating the nature of the needed changes and then carefully communicating our emotional state about them, we can plant the seeds we want to grow. But make sure to do all this thinking and feeling before taking action.

Mars, the symbol of action, assertion and aggression, makes no major aspects to any other planet. When a planet is unaspected, it generally behaves in one of two ways – it either manifests as somewhat aimless and without purpose, since it’s not interacting with any other energies; or it runs rampant, since, again, it’s not interacting with and being modified by any other energies.  In either instance, aimless or rampant action when we’re trying to lay the groundwork for the coming year’s growth, we need to be especially sure of what we want to accomplish before we try to set that in motion. Yet, since Mars is in Capricorn, once we have made our decision, his energy can be effectively harnessed to help us prepare the ground and plant the seeds to get the growth that we want.

Carlos found out quickly there were several conflicting interpretations of Mayan hieroglyphs, petroglyphs, Sacred Books of ‘Chilam Balam’ and various ancient text. Carlos found some strong words for those who may have contributed to the confusion:

Carlos Barrios: “Anthropologists visit the temple sites and read the inscriptions and make up stories about the Maya, but they do not read the signs correctly. It’s just their imagination. Other people write about prophecy in the name of the Maya. They say that the world will end in December 2012. The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not end. It will be transformed.”

“We are no longer in the World of the Fourth Sun, but we are not yet in the World of the Fifth Sun. This is the time in-between, the time of transition. As we pass through transition there is a colossal, global convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war, and ongoing Earth Changes.”

He continues: “Humanity will continue, but in a different way. Material structures will change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human. We are living in the most important era of the Mayan calendars and prophecies. All the prophecies of the world, all the traditions are converging now. There is no time for games. The spiritual ideal of this era is action.”

Carlos tells us: “The indigenous have the calendars and know how to accurately interpret it — not others. The Mayan Calendars comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has proven itself to be vast and sophisticated. The Maya understand 17 different calendars such as the Tzolk’in or Cholq’ij, some of them charting time accurately over a span of more than ten million years.

“All was predicted by the mathematical cycles of the Mayan calendars. — It will change –everything will change. Mayan Day-keepers view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth, the start of the World of the Fifth Sun. It will be the start of a new era resulting from and signified by the solar meridian crossing the galactic equator and the Earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy.”

At sunrise on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years the Sun rises to conjunct the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred Tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in all the world’s spiritual traditions.

Some observers say this alignment with the heart of the galaxy in 2012 will open a channel for cosmic energy to flow through the Earth, cleansing it and all that dwells upon it, raising all to a higher level of vibration. Carlos reminds us: “This process has already begun. Change is accelerating now and it will continue to accelerate.

If the people of the Earth can get to this 2012 date in good shape without having destroyed too much of the Earth, we will rise to a new, higher level. But to get there we must transform enormously powerful forces that seek to block the way.”

The date specified in the calendar Winter Solstice in the year 2012 does not mark the end of the world. Many outside people writing about the Mayan calendar sensationalize this date, but they do not know. The ones who know are the indigenous elders who are entrusted with keeping the tradition.

Carlos tells us: “The economy now is a fiction. The first five-year stretch of transition from August 1987 to August 1992 was the beginning of the destruction of the material world. We have progressed ten years deeper into the transition phase by now, and many of the so-called sources of financial stability are in fact hollow. The banks are weak. This is a delicate moment for them. They could crash globally, if we don’t pay attention. Now, people are paying attention.”

The North and South Poles are both breaking up. The level of the water in the oceans is going to rise. But at the same time land in the ocean, especially near Cuba, is also going to rise. Carlos tells a story about the most recent Mayan New Year ceremonies in Guatemala. He said that one respected Mam elder, who lives all year in a solitary mountain cave, journeyed to Chichicastenango to speak with the people at the ceremony. The elder delivered a simple, direct message. He called for human beings to come together in support of life and light.

“Right now each person and group is going his or her own way. The elder of the mountains said there is hope if the people of the light can come together and unite in some way. We live in a world of polarity — day and night, man and woman, positive and negative. Light and darkness need each other. They are a balance.”

“Just now the dark side is very strong, and very clear about what they want. They have their vision and their priorities clearly held, and also their hierarchy. They are working in many ways so that we will be unable to connect with the spiral Fifth World in 2012.”

“On the light side everyone thinks they are the most important, that their own understandings, or their group’s understandings, are the key. There’s a diversity of cultures and opinions, so there is competition, diffusion, and no single focus.”

Carlos believes the dark side works to block unity through denial and materialism. It also works to destroy those who are working with the light to get the Earth to a higher level. They like the energy of the old, declining Fourth World, the materialism. They do not want it to change. They do not want unity. They want to stay at this level, and are afraid of the next level.

The dark power of the declining Fourth World cannot be destroyed or overpowered. It’s too strong and clear for that, and that is the wrong strategy. The dark can only be transformed when confronted with simplicity and open-heartedness. This is what leads to unity, a key concept for the World of the Fifth Sun.

Carlos said the emerging era of the Fifth Sun will call attention to a much-overlooked element. Whereas the four traditional elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water have dominated various epochs in the past, there will be a fifth element to reckon with in the time of the Fifth Sun — that element is ‘ETHER’.

The dictionary defines Ether as a “hypothetical substance supposed to occupy all space, postulated to account for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through space.” Perhaps it could be defined as the “space between space”. I would suggest it could be manifest as the alignment of charged particles from our solar system (Sun), and our galaxy (Milky Way) surge. The Ether element represents spiritual energy.

“The element of the Fifth Sun is celestial. Within the context of Ether there can be a joining of the polarities. No more darkness or light in the people, but an uplifted unity. But right now the realm of darkness is not interested in this. They are organized to block it. They seek to unbalance the Earth and its environment so we will be unready for the alignment in 2012.”

“We need to work together for peace, and balance with the other side. We need to take care of the Earth that feeds and shelters us. We need to put our entire mind and heart into pursuing unity and unity now, to confront the other side and preserve life.”

“We are disturbed — we can’t play anymore. Our planet can be renewed or ravaged. Now is the time to awaken and take action. Everyone is needed. You are not here for no reason. Everyone who is here now has an important purpose. This is a hard but a special time. We have the opportunity for growth, but we must be ready for this moment in history.”

Carlos says: “The prophesied changes are going to happen, but our attitude and actions determine how harsh or mild they are. We need to act, to make changes, and to elect people to represent us who understand and who will take political action to respect the Earth.”

“Meditation and spiritual practice are good, but also action. It’s very important to be clear about who you are, and also about your relation to the Earth. Develop yourself according to your own tradition and the call of your heart. But remember to respect differences, and strive for unity. Eat wisely — a lot of food is corrupt in either subtle or gross ways. Pay attention to what you are taking into your body. Learn to preserve food, and to conserve energy. Learn some good breathing techniques, so you have mastery of your breath. Be clear. Follow a tradition with great roots. It is not important what tradition, your heart will tell you, but it must have great roots.”

“We live in a world of energy. An important task at this time is to learn to sense or see the energy of everyone and everything — people, plants, animals. This becomes increasingly important as we draw close to the World of the Fifth Sun, for it is associated with the element ‘ether’ — the realm where energy lives and weaves. Go to the sacred places of the Earth to pray for peace, and have respect for the Earth which gives us our food, clothing, and shelter. We need to reactivate the energy of these sacred places. That is our work.”

“One simple but effective prayer technique is to light white or baby-blue colored candles. Think of a moment in peace. Speak your intention to the flame and send the light of it on to the leaders who have the power to make war or peace.”

Carlos reminds us this is a crucially important moment for humanity and for Earth. Each person is important.

He said the elders have opened the doors so that other races can come to the Mayan world to receive the tradition. “The Maya have long appreciated and respected that there are other colors, other races, and other spiritual systems. They know that the destiny of the Mayan world is related to the destiny of the whole world.”

“The greatest wisdom is in simplicity. Love, respect, tolerance, sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It’s not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is free. It’s encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that from the beginning. Find your heart, and you will find your way.”

Mars Along the Israel-Gaza Border

Hamas, the militant organization that governs the 1.9 million Palestinians living in Gaza, had become emboldened by the election of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt, a member of Hamas’ parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. After a month of lobbing rockets into Israel, the IDF responded by assassinating the Hamas military chief with a pinpoint missile strike. Since then, the military conflict has escalated by leaps and bounds. The explosion of violence began during the Solar Eclipse on November 14, which happened to be exactly conjunct Israel’s Chiron. In Israel’s horoscope (May 14, 1948; 4:37 pm; Tel Aviv), Read more…

Saturn and Obama’s Neptune

A reader notes that “Obama’s chart seems heavily debilitated by transiting Saturn hitting his “Achilles heel” in Scorpio – the coup de grace being the conjunction to natal Neptune in late December. Thirty years ago, Obama’s father was killed in an accident just prior to Saturn’s entry into Scorpio, ushering in a period of soul-searching and regret…. What do you foresee for this imminent transit?” Obama’s Neptune is arguably the most prominent planet in his chart due to its network of aspects, its status as the most elevated planet, and its precise conjunction with the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant. Read more…

Panic Buying of Twinkies

Last Friday, Hostess Brands announced that they were going out of business. Nostalgia for their iconic snack Twinkies drove many consumers to their favorite bakery to stock up, but supplies were dwindling fast. Hostess once ranked as the number one U.S. wholesale baker, but as American diets shifted to more health-conscious food, business began to fade. The Twinkie was invented on April 6, 1930 by a Hostess baker (Chicago; time unknown) when the Sun was in pioneering Aries and conjunct innovative Uranus. Read more…

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The Full Harvest Moon will be big and beautiful this Saturday Sept. 29 at 8:19 pm PDT.  It lines up with eclectic Uranus and transforming Pluto to give some extra pop to this energetic moon. The Aries full moon is when you need to balance your individual needs with your partnership needs. On the positive side, you can meet new friends and explore innovative ideas- or simply allow the weirdo within to come out for some fun.

On the negative side, we shall see some people acting out.

Give them some extra space and send out a few prayers for people who are having a difficult time under this “push your buttons” energy.

Remember that restructuring Saturn is finishing its 2+ year run through balancing Libra until October 5th, so decide what you are done with that does not need to enter the next phase of Saturn in emotionally intense Scorpio for the next two years.

On October 2nd, beautifying Venus enters efficient Virgo until October 28. Beautify your home, upgrade your wardrobe, or cleanse your body.

This year’s Libra Ingress, also known as the Autumnal Equinox or Fall Equinox, comes on Sept. 22, at 10:49 AM for the US east coast.

We are, in a sense, halfway through the harvest season (remember that the Summer Solstice / Cancer Ingress is MID-summer, not the start of summer as popularly claimed) and themes of reaping and of energies needing to be stored up for the coming winter fill this chart.

Most prominently, the Sun is in a T-Square pattern with Pluto and Uranus, with Pluto being the apex of the configuration. T-Squares are full of tension, as the bodies involved are all in hard aspect to each other, either squares or oppositions. How we choose to deal with and face those tensions determines to a large degree what those energies will do for – or to – us, so it pays to pay attention to what’s going on above us.

Pluto, the representative of transformation, death, rebirth, and other metamorphic issues, is, of course, still in Capricorn. One broad generalization of his journey through the sign of “the established order” is that he will highlight the parts of that establishment that are no longer working, and then proceed to put forth pressure for change. While it’s not the intent of this newsletter to go deeply into Pluto’s passage through Capricorn, I think it’s safe to say that we’re already seeing some of what he has in store. The US Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” verdict has certainly changed our political landscape by equating corporations with people, the Tea Party and Occupy movements are elements of our political “universe” that didn’t exist (as anything near formal groups, anyway) just a few short years ago, “Arab Spring” was likewise unimaginable, and our nation is dealing with the reality that democracy doesn’t necessarily mean another nation is going to love us. Where is Capricorn in your chart – that area of your life will be in for some house cleaning! Pluto isn’t terribly quick about his transformations, but he is thorough. And, while we may despair over what he wants us to release, his actions really do help us to learn what is really important and what we only thought was.

The “opening” square of the T is to Uranus, which sits in Aries. Uranus wants to break the old patterns, so in one sense this reinforces the energy of Pluto. But the square isn’t normally and aspect for reinforcement, but rather one that asks us to reconsider what what we started. So the impulse of Uranus to make change for the sake of change, regardless of the outcome, may actually be trying to speed up what he sees as Pluto’s plodding ways. Uranus doesn’t care if what he wants to change still has value, and is quite happy to “throw out the baby with the bath water” while Pluto will happily put both arms into the tub to see if there’s still anything worth keeping before relentlessly throwing out everything else.

The Sun is at the closing square point in this pattern (applying to the apex of the T) and is the key to resolving the tension. Awareness, consciousness, and self-identity are some of the meanings of the Sun. Since it is in Libra, awareness of “the other”, and a conscious  approach to relationship issues are highlighted. Those issues are also highlighted by the oppsition aspect. The Sun in this chart is opposite Uranus, so we have the potential to become aware of the Uranian pressure to change for the sake of change, and, perhaps, to consider and direct how that change manifests. Knowing that change is sometimes desirable, even needed, can we control Uranus change for the sake of change, and direct it into change that is needed? The Sun’s square to Pluto – more change here! – suggests that we must be aware of that planet’s message as well, as we consider how to deal with Uranus. So we might need to be looking deep within ourselves to see what we continue to hang onto that isn’t really doing us any good anymore. Often these matters relate to our habits. Not just things like smoking or chewing gum, but our habitual thought and behavior patterns as well. We all do things in our own ways, ways that have worked for us in the past. And we all sometimes still do things in those same old ways even though they no longer benefit us. Habits are comfortable, routine is predictable and easy. Pluto wants us to examine those habits and get rid of the ones that no longer work, no matter how easy or comfortable they might be. Uranus, in this Ingress chart, is right there pushing us to change everything. But by being aware of who we are and where we want to go, we have the opportunity to change what needs to be changed (Pluto’s slow and thorough changes) in a quicker way than might be the case without Uranus’ push.

Put this T-Square around your birth chart. The Houses that contain Libra, Capricorn and Aries are affected. Those areas of life are the ones for you in particular to focus on at this time. Your Capricorn house is where the pressure for deep cleaning is called for. Your Aries house is where you’re feeling like you want to toss out everything, no matter what it is or what value it might have. Your Libra house is where you can find the energy to control and direct the changes those other energies are insisting on. Consider and evaluate. Be willing to leave your comfort zone to make the changes needed, but don’t succumb to the pressure to toss it all away. Compared to Pluto, Uranus transits are brief, and often, when they’re done, we regret the decisions we made during their effect. Pluto’s change, while never easy or fun, usually leave us (after the change, sometimes long after the change!) grateful that we’ve finally been able to rid ourselves of outmoded ways of thought and action.

We are in the closing days of Saturn’s 2+ year journey through Libra, with last minute pressure building to take Saturn’s lessons to heart. Only weeks away, on October 5, 2012, Saturn leaves Libra and begins its passage through Scorpio, launching us all into a new set of lessons, from October 2012 through December 2014.

Expect things to be intense, and plan accordingly in these final Saturn days of the departing Libra cycle and the first days of the new Scorpio cycle. This is final exam time so make sure you are solid with lessons from 2010 through 2012 and ready for the next course. These final weeks may be turbulent, with old and new overlapping.

What is Saturn in Libra about? (July 2010-October 2012) Saturn’s teachings have been those of cooperation - not competition, domination nor stagnant enduring – with ALL of our relations. It’s been nearly 30 years since Saturn visited Libra and it will not visit Libra again for nearly another 30 years, so we’re laying some important groundwork, right now. In these past two years, we have been learning about relationship as an evolutionary necessity/discipline. This has not been a time to do it all alone, but be smart about who you align with.

We’ve all had to overcome old fears, especially about inter-dependence, as we strengthen our trust, reliability and patience. The lessons of Saturn have shown up as well in our public lives, tilting our attention to the greater community. Where have you become more socially accountable? Where’s your social activist showing up? Confirm, commit and celebrate by October 4.

What is Saturn in Scorpio about? Building upon the work of Saturn in Libra (stabilized by dependable alliances), Saturn in Scorpio (2012-2014) teaches us how to cultivate emotional resilience and inner strength of character. Changes will continue to be relentless in the next few years. It will not work to hold on to old ways, terrified by the loss of control and the scarcities we are likely to be encountering. Minimize financial obligations and dependencies to add resilience. Simplifying and prioritizing will help us to be less encumbered by trivial preferences and cravings, or manipulated by unhealthy economies.

 Passion, intensity, death and rebirth will preoccupy us, helping us to uncover deeper meaning and rewards in our lives. Necessity will require that we learn to co-exist and co-operate with one another’s values, principles and standards. Stories of ancestors or past life exploration help you make sense of current circumstances. Saturn aligns well with Pluto in Capricorn in the next three years, providing us with real power tools: increased resilience, determination, focus and keen strategizing skills with which to dismantle and rebuild our lives.

 ©2012 Gretchen Lawlor

By Mark Dodich

Communications planet Mercury turns retrograde on Election Day. This communications snafu cycle was present at the Bush-Gore election. There are several harmonious trines going on in the Nov. 6 chart, so the Florida debacle is not expected. Minor problems are the more likely result.

When looking at an election, there are numerous charts that must be cast, so I shall do my best to inform you but not overload you with information. A chart cast for the founding of the Republican Party gives a Gemini Sun and Libra Moon.

Neptune, with its 165 year cycle, is currently returning to its original position. Neptune is a visionary, so when it comes back to home base, it is not a surprise when a person (or in this case, a political party) is re-visioning itself.

Since Gemini is symbolized by the twins, it is no surprise that they are split within their ranks. On Election Day, lucky Jupiter is moving backwards across the Gemini sun of the Republican Party. This is favorable, but don’t read too much into it until you read on. One thing that can be stated before you turn the page is that it is likely the Republicans will pick up seats in the Senate and add a few governors too.

The sensitive spiritual destiny points called the nodes of the moon end their 1.5 year journey through Sagittarius and Gemini on August 30. During this time, you have had to look at your beliefs and ideas. It is like the old paradigm in the world doesn’t work anymore, so the nodes of the moon have been operating on a subtle level to help you look at more possibilities.

Click here to read about the North Node and the South Node.

Now the nodes move into Scorpio and Taurus. Simply stated, all of the possibilities that have been running through your mind are reaching a choice point in the months ahead. Scorpio makes firm choices and there is no going back. Taurus has to do with your values and where you are willing to work hard to manifest your needs and desires.

Friday morning’s Full Moon is quite intense, mainly because it triggers the Uranus-Pluto square in Aries-Capricorn, just as these two heavyweight outer planets get ready to collide yet again in another exact hit come mid-September. The last era they were in such close connection was their recent conjunction of the mid-1960′s and we are seeing the same types of rebellion against a dysfunctional establishment that we saw back then, even to the music and the mini-skirts. This will be the second of seven exact square alignments stretching out to 2015, by then in the 16th degree of their respective Cardinal signs. As every reader of this blog knows by now, the radical transformation symbolized by this “World Transit” lasts until 2020 and will come to characterize this entire decade, which I like to call the Turbulent Teens.

The Moon in Pisces also almost exactly conjuncts Chiron, the Wounded Healer, in the eighth degree of the sign, and Chiron is also strongly aspected by Mars, as well as Pluto and Uranus. Chiron symbolizes our essentially wounded nature and represents another harbinger of these times, when the painful realizations just keep on coming, from foreign policy disasters to climate change that even the republicans are beginning to acknowledge. The heart-rending picture circulated recently of the global ice caps melting even much faster than expected was freaky on a scale that is hard to wrap one’s mind around. The Sabian symbol of this Chiron degree is “A girl blowing a bugle” for which Marc Edmond Jones gives the keyword Summons; we might all begin to get serious about lobbying our leaders to take the wake-up call on the part of a softer and less macho approach to the situation of the planet – and of each other – in our collective dilemma. It’s time.

The emphasis on Chiron also speaks to the idea that there are plenty of painful places that continue to come up in our own personal lives as we respond to the challenges and changes of this daunting era. Like our civilization, we are faced with necessary transformation which involves letting go of a dysfunctional past. It helps to remember that things will get more dire instead of better all the way to at least the middle of the decade, so that we might as well begin to hunker down and deal with it. Every act we take in our own lives has a ripple effect and becomes a piece of the hologram affecting everyone around us, in greater and greater circles.

We have on our hands a massive realignment of the entire culture that must begin with individual action on the part of each one of us. Difficult to grasp; but then on the other hand extremely exciting to realize that this is actually a set of problems that we can, each of us, do something about.

There is a bit of a mixture of energy during this full moon period, exact on Aug. 1 at 8:27 PM Pacific Time at 11 degrees Aquarius and Leo. If you know the house areas of your chart that contain Aquarius and Leo, you will know where you are being called to step back and get a detached perspective on your life, and where your heart and playful self need to be more engaged in the world.

Mercury ends its retrograde cycle (since July 14) on August 7th, so this should help ease up on any mental tensions you have been feeling. Also on the 7th, relationship planet Venus enters nurturing Cancer until September 6th. This favors both tending to your emotional needs as well as home beautification projects.

As thanks for having me on in April, I made custom horoscope jewelry both for Andy and for her Mom. Andy sent her mom the necklace, and she called in to tell the world how much she loved it!

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Wednesday night’s First Quarter Moon, taking place in the late night or early morning hours of July 25th and 26th, depending on location, is another powerful lunation. It is made stronger by the hovering presence of the Uranus-Pluto square, triggered by this somewhat stressful phase of the current cycle that culminates in mid-August.

Mercury is still retrograde, and in concurrent timing with this event moves into direct aspect with both Uranus and Pluto, increasing its symbolic power to mentally ensnarl and confuse. Uranus and Pluto continue to urge upon us radical realization and transformation. We do best in dealing with the Mercury retrograde energy – on any level – by being patient with ourselves and by forgiving mistaken assumptions on anyone’s part as we thoughtfully meditate on what might eventually emerge as the truest nature of our situation.

The Summer Solstice this year is on June 20th, at 7:08 PM EDT, 4:08 PM PDT.

We have the Sun, of course, at 00° Cancer at this time of year, every year. As with all four of the Cardinal Ingress charts, the Sun’s position isn’t the key factor to consider, since, by definition, it will always be at the same zodiacal position at these times. The Aspects the Sun makes to the other bodies–and the aspects they make to each other–in the chart tell the story. How that all interacts with your natal chart is what makes it personal to you.

While a bit on the wide side, the Sun continues its dance with Pluto, now in a rather wide opposition to the transformer. While the pressure of the square between them that was in the Spring Equinox chart felt like “outside” pressure requiring some adjustments in the changes you started with the Winter Solstice (where they were conjunct each other), now it seems that that same outside pressure is more overt. Rather then coming at you from the side, as it were, the opposition aspect is a more “in your face” pressure to reconsider the choices you’ve made. A time to honestly evaluate those decisions and actions and either modify them (more than what you might have done at the square), abandon them and go back to the “old” ways, or to recommit to them and continue on the path of change and growth.

Neptune is a key energy tied into this Sun – Pluto opposition, as it sits in a trine aspect to the Sun and a sextile to Pluto. Neptune, of course, is a key indicator of hopes and dreams, of our ability to transcend the mundane and pursue ideals. And, at the same time, and indicator of our capacity to engage in self-deception and our potential to idly wait for those ideals to happen, rather than acting to help them happen. Being trine to the Sun, it brings us the potential of infusing our consciousness with the thoughts of what would be ideal for us, but not necessarily the energy to make it happen. The sextile of Neptune to Pluto may help us to bring the energy of transformation to bear on manifesting those ideals. Neptune also happens to be square both Jupiter and Venus, the two benefics, and square aspects tend to be a bit challenging. Actually, a good arrangement for this chart, since the soft aspects like the trine and sextile, often need some hard aspects to kick start us to use their energy. (Soft aspects, especially the trine, often seem to be so easy that we neglect to put in the energy needed to fully capitalize on their potential. A concurrent hard aspect often provides the stimulus we need.) Jupiter, of course, is all about expansion and growth. Venus is a symbol of what we value and what we deem important, and in this chart they are together in Gemini. So while Neptune in Pisces speaks loudly (or whispers quietly and insistently) about our dreams, Jupiter and Venus bring in a need to gather and process information from a variety of sources, all Gemini concerns.

So, rather than just viewing the Sun-Pluto opposition as an in your face confrontation, we should take the opportunity to listen to the feedback from others and evaluate it in relation to what our hopes and dreams are. Some of what we hear will not be comfortable, but we shouldn’t dismiss it out of hand. Neither should we automatically accept the feedback that reinforces the ideas and actions we’ve taken. In both cases we need to objectively consider the information itself, and how it might–or might not–enhance the path we’ve chosen.

Adding to the mix, Uranus is square to both the Sun and Pluto, bringing in a pressure to break from the normal way of doing things. Pluto opposite the Sun is already a strong influence for change, although usually a slow and steady building until the volcano erupts! Uranus tends to be more sudden and unexpected, and often wants change just for the sake of change. So be very aware of feelings that you might have to toss out everything, as once the Uranus aspect changes, you might realize that what you’ve gotten rid of is something that you might have actually wanted to keep. Be selective in what you let Uranus change, and try to not burn any bridges! At the same time, be open to the potential need to drastically alter some part of the changes you’ve been making. Just don’t reflexively go with the flash of insight, but examine in in the context of what your goals really are, the steps you’ve taken to manifest them, and the other feedback you’re getting at this time, along with the flexibility and variety that Jupiter and Venus in Gemini are bringing into the mix.

Summer Solstice, familiarly known as the start of summer, really marks mid-summer, as the Sun has reached its highest point in the sky and now starts is descent. So it’s a time when we should be starting to think about reaping the benefits of what we planted back at the last Winter Solstice. While the crop isn’t yet ready to harvest, the fruits of our work are visible. It can be a time to cull the plants that aren’t healthy, and, of course, also continue the necessary weed control. Both of these activities are, of course, a constant part of our lives, but the Summer Solstice is a reminder to us to keep on with the work we decided on back in December, and the chart provides pointers to the best way to proceed.

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The special guest star was famed astrologer Judith Hill, who discussed the physiognomy of the Ascendant. In other words, how you physically look like your rising sign! As always, Judith was entertaining, insightful, and educational.

Please give a listen on voiceamerica.com, or click below!

We recently started a new shopping cart system, and all our customer feedback went back to Zero, even though we’ve had 10,000 satisfied customers over 17 years!

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We are accustomed to the importance of dream life and inner imagination, and what clues these complex messages from the subconscious can provide us for better understanding ourselves. And it is helpful to note that so-called real life can also be interpreted in much the same way, at a symbolic level; providing thereby necessary clues to understanding. Our deepest desires are seldom really known to us without extensive examination, and this time period therefore provides us with some necessary fuel for that journey of exploration. This needn’t be so dire but it might be that issues do arise for us to look at more closely within the area of relationship: issues such as possessiveness, jealousy, or the fierce currents of desire represented by compulsion and obsession.

If untoward events associated with the important relationships of our lives do transpire it will be for the useful purpose of bringing to greater consciousness some of the deeper areas of our psyche. This is especially true with the coming week’s events since Mercury crosses into nebulous Pisces on Monday, the day before the Quarter Moon, there to conjunct Neptune and to begin to conjunct Chiron, reaching it by Thursday. Therefore from Tuesday onward a process is initiated revealing to our conscious minds the places within us where we might exhibit behavior patterns resulting from earlier wounding, perhaps going as far back the parenting we received in early childhood. And these patterns can color our relationship experiences in the present moment.

The prescription for this time period then is to watch and wait; to let our unconscious process reveal itself to us without judgment and with as little drama as we can manage. Taking the largest possible picture into account we can begin to see where the value is, in providing the necessary raw material for advancing our progress. We go notch by notch and step by step, spiraling upwards around the mountain of our inner soul-assignment in movement toward the spiritual destiny that we secretly crave.

Some of us may have experienced a particularly stern or restrictive weekend, some may even say a power struggle was had. We ought to reflect on our experiences so we can learn and and make capital gains from them in the future.

Breaking free of that administrative Capricorn moon Sunday evening feels great! An Aquarius Moon to start our week influences fresh ideas; the right environment for brainstorming, and the right atmosphere for socializing with people out side of our typical social scene. The intellectual take priority over the emotional under an Aquarius moon phase.

We could find ourselves thinking of how we will better our current life situation in the evenings this week. We may even have a few dreams that may reveal insights to resolve our issues. Our thoughts are constructive and we communicate these ideas with an air of authority during this time. The ideas generated now will have tangible results in the future when applied with intention.

By mid-week early Wednesday morning we will have moved under the influence of Pisces Moon. When the Moon is in Pisces we have a more loving, friendly, compassionate nature about ourselves. Our empathy is strong and that can cause us to take on emotional burden of those around us, and if this emotional energy is not channeled effectively we may find ourselves floundering under the influence of the fishes; if we choose to escape with just one more drink. It would be wise to have a nice meditative retreat in your bath tub instead.

Keeping our emotions and feelings to ourselves around Wednesday night’s happy hour would most likely foster the best results. All of our thoughts and emotions are all over the place this week. Solidifying your opinion when you are emotional is inadvisable. Don’t give weight to a feeling just yet, you’ll see it truly was in your best interest not to.

Thursday and Friday watch your step; this could even be interpreted into it’s literal meaning especially because Pisces rules the feet. We are much more prone to accidents; be aware of potential slip ups an missteps.

We may find a flash of clarity perhaps a solution to a problem Friday evening. This insight could also manifest itself in a dream and turn out to be quite prophetic. Friday and Saturday mornings would be best for talking with business partners or for having a heart to heart with your children. Be careful not to exaggerate Saturday night; We don’t feel we are being recognized or understood we could be left saying things like, “You know what I meant!” and end up losing the support we so hoped to gain. Take it easy and take care.

This New Moon, coming up late on Sunday evening, January 22nd on the American West Coast, or early Monday morning – like all the New Moons lately – triggers both Jupiter and Uranus on the one hand, and the Chiron-Neptune combination on the other, making it yet another in a long sequence of potent New Moon configurations. Since this New Moon is in Uranus’ own sign of Aquarius, and closely squares Jupiter, the presence of these two planetary archetypes is very pronounced and even startling in their immediacy. Jupiter is a particularly appropriate archetype for combining with Uranus since its exuberance matches that of the trickster planet. Jupiter amps up whatever he touches and Uranus does not need much encouragement to get way out there. Surprising events await us and unexpected epiphanies that will come to us as a result of keeping our eyes wide open.

The Sabian symbol of this New Moon supports this idea. It is “A deserter from the navy” and Marc Edmond Jones has this to say: “the disregard of all consequences for the sake of immediate liberation of the spirit. … Except as a man creates his own allegiances, his destiny has no depth.” This is a message that we all need to take to heart right now since this is in fact 2012 and the time for action is at hand. As Bob Dylan remarked in song during the sixties, the seed period for this turbulent decade of our own:

Come senators, congressmen please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside and it’s ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

In order for our destiny to have depth, as Marc Edmond Jones puts it, we must stand and be counted, and be counted upon as we ride the rapids of the cultural changes that are upon us, or else be discounted in the world process that we are in any case all part of.

Another factor aspected by this New Moon is Chiron, in conjunction with Neptune and aspected as well by a stationing Mars. With Mars turning to retrograde motion we are driven to look inside ourselves for answers and to meditate on our true motivation. Similarly Chiron, the Wounded Healer, contains within its symbolism the theme of tuning to the inner voice, understanding and forgiving ourselves at the deepest possible level for our reactions to the ancient wrongs that were done to us in the name of socialization and of parenting, in spite of our actual needs. We do well when we can proceed with the resolution to no longer allow ourselves to be beholden to a dead and increasingly irrelevant past; and to heed rather the beat of the distant yet distinct drummer that no longer moves in lock-step with consensus thinking. This is the voice inside us that stands for truth and for moving on with our lives in peace and wholeness, in spite of everything.

We just started a new shopping cart system, and all our customer feedback went back to Zero, even though we’ve had 10,000 satisfied customers over 17 years!

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We are now moving into the intensity of eclipse season. It begins with communications planet Mercury moving into its retrograde cycle Nov. 23-Dec. 13. Give yourself extra time when traveling and practice good communications skills for the next several weeks.

The Solar Eclipse is on Nov. 24 at 10:10 PM PST at 3 degrees Sagittarius. A solar eclipse asks you to put aside the busyness of life and refocus your priorities based upon a core, spiritual level. It brings aspects up from the bottom for you to look at.  Think of Penn State and Joe Paterno with the uncovering of a child abuse scandal. Sagittarius rules religion and is a fire element sign. Think of the Tibetan monks who have been setting themselves on fire to call attention to the abuse they are receiving from China.

On a personal level, invest some time in your higher aspirations. It is too easy to get caught up in all the things you need to do at this time of year, not to mention the added financial burden that comes during the holidays.

Sagittarius calls you to a higher philosophy, to live in a higher integrity. It is the sign that urges you to take a risk on yourself. Explore something new, or allow some underused part of your soul-personality to find expression. Be willing to take a risk on yourself and step out of your comfort zone.

There will also be a lunar eclipse on December 10th, so emotions are up for the next few weeks. Find time to pull away from your world to remember what is really important. Take your journal and jot down some big ideas. You are not limited and it is an abundant universe, just waiting for you to call your good to you.

And look what happened…he won Dancing With the Stars! It WORKED!

What he says about his Dad in this clip is hysterical!

He’s wearing his Meaningful Bling with style, and wrote to us, “This is Scott Krinsky whom you met at the Steve Stein gift suite at Paramount.   I just wanted to thank you for the necklace you made me. It’s awesome, totally love it!!  I have received many complements and of course have let people know who made it .   Thanks much! Best, Scott”

Take a look around, and let us know what you think!

If you already own a piece of our “Meaningful Bling” or any of our zodiac gifts, please revisit that item in our shopping cart and leave a testimonial about it!

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Click for a printout of how to use and take care of your jewelry!

To read your necklace or bracelet, you must first line it up in a circle so that it is properly oriented. Look for a small blue-and-green Azurite-Malachite bead that looks like the Earth. It’s right next to a ribbed silver bead.

This Earth bead and silver bead together mark the Ascendant, or the beginning of your chart. Place on the table in a circle at 9:00, with the silver bead OVER the Earth. You may need to flip the jewelry.

This silver bead marks the first house, the first pie slice in the chart. The Earth tells you which way to read, counter-clockwise.

Moving counter-clockwise (downwards), look for a smooth silver bead. That’s the marker for the 2nd house, the next pie slice on the chart. Now look for the next smooth silver bead – that marks the 3rd house. The next silver bead is again ribbed; not only does it mark the 4th house, but it’s one of the Angles, one of the main house cusps marking North, South, East and West. Continue around the circle, looking at all 12 houses.

As you work your way around, you’ll also find tiny gold beads. These mark the 12 zodiac cusps, where the sky changes from one zodiac constellation to another. The Sun Sign for your jewelry is where the sun falls between two gold beads.

The Planets are the semi-precious gemstones – they look like the planets in color and size. The postcard tells you which stones are which.

The colored glass or gemstone 4mm beads count the degrees around the circle. The whole circle equals 360°, and there are 30 degrees in each of the 12 zodiac segments. Each bead equals a specific number of degrees depending on the length of your jewelry.

The degrees are counted from 0 to the degree number, so just as you turn 1 on your first birthday, a planet landing at 15° 03′ will be found on the next bead after 15. If two planets or a planet & house are in conjunction and land within the same degree range, they’ll be side-by-side and still count as one bead.

Throughout your life you’ve had good things and bad things happen to you. You’ve made decisions about who you are, and how the world works.

When you wear your horoscope, you get to return to the moment you were born, removing all those masks you’ve donned, cutting through all those decisions you made. You now have the opportunity to start all over again!

Prepare to embrace the person you came into the world to be, and experience the unique benefits astrological jewelry brings to your life.

1. Use your report to learn what each bead does in your personality.
2. Find the bead responsible for your positive traits and play with it to enhance them.
3. If you’re trying to break a bad habit, or looking for guidance, play with the bead that represents that bad behavior. Think about what you can do differently RIGHT NOW!
4. When you want to call on one of your strengths, play with the bead that represents the trait you love about yourself.
5. Incorporate the jewelry into daily mediations, use it as a tool to read your astrological chart, or just wear it and casually allow the universe to work its undeniable power upon you.

Money jewelry helps you be financially rewarded for the good you put into the world.
If you’re trying to overcome your “poverty consciousness” or increase your income, these bracelets and necklaces can help!

Point at each bead to see what it does:

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If you want your relationship with your husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend to be deeply loving, these bracelets and necklaces can help!

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Health jewelry focuses on your body being strong, vital, and well. If you’ve been sick, have a medical problem, or just don’t seem to have the energy you used to, these bracelets and necklaces can help!

Point at each bead to see what it does:

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by Gil Zeimer

Astrologer Alicia C. Katz is the artist and visionary behind Wandering Star Astrology Chart Jewelry. For 15 years, the entrepreneurial Cancer (with a Libra moon and ascendant) has offered ways to “wear your universe” by creating charts and readings, custom jewelry, zodiac gifts, books, software, and more, which she sells online.

She got her big break in Hollywood, the day before the Oscars in February 2011.

We recently chatted with Katz about her Academy Awards experience, the origins of Wandering Star, and promoting her small business.

GP: How did you take your “meaningful bling” to Hollywood?

Katz: The company that puts together the pre-Oscar gift bags found me online and invited me to Hollywood. I was excited to finally get some national exposure after 15 years of being in business. I met more than 50 TV and film celebrities and took each person’s date, time, and place of birth. I then created astronomical necklaces, about 25 of which were customized with both an astronomical sky map and an astrology chart.

Who did you meet there?

A few celebrities in particular asked me to help them select the perfect astrology jewelry, so I created custom pieces for C. Thomas Howell, who got a Sagittarius necklace; Tony Dovolani of Dancing With the Stars, who got a Cancer necklace; and Nadia Bjorlin from Days of Our Lives, who got a custom horoscope necklace.

What did this one event do for your business?

It gave my company great visibility, with celebrity endorsements (video and written testimonials) on my website and on YouTube. My business became an overnight success.

Since the Oscars, how has business been?

To be honest, we didn’t get a lasting boost in business, but we did get a great opportunity to talk to celebrities and show them what we can do. We will follow up with many of them soon for holiday gift orders.

How did you get started making astrology jewelry?

While studying astronomy in Santa Fe, N.M., in 1995, I wanted to make jewelry that was not only pretty, but also practical and powerful. I discovered that I could balance the science of astronomy with the art of astrology. The first pieces were made as Christmas presents, then friends started asking for them and a business was born. Wandering Star grew from a tackle box at my kitchen table to a community-based business that now has stores and customers all over the world.

How do you promote your business?

We run print ads in Us Weekly and Men’s Journal and online, but the bulk of our marketing focuses on our website. The majority of our sales occur through Google searches and someone just buying a gift item through our online store. It’s very satisfying to see them come in throughout the day.

How far do you travel to display at trade shows?

I go to holistic expos on the West Coast and occasional large conferences in other cities, as well as astrology conferences like the New Orleans one, slated for 2012.

What’s your biggest challenge?

Educating people about what my products can actually do for them as a power tool or power talisman. In stores, my customized astrology necklace looks like any other necklace, but when I’m able to talk to someone face-to-face at a trade show or via phone after they see my website, I’m able to explain how each bead affects their personality, so they can use it as a tool to break a bad habit or to call on their strengths.

What do you like most about GoPayment?

For trade shows, I’ve loaded all of the options for my gift items into the GoPayment system, so I can actually build a specific product from myriad choices to fulfill each customer’s particular wish list.