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 © Sandra Macdougall
Another Venus retrograde is now upon us! Venus will station retrograde at 24° Gemini on May 15, exactly trine retrograde Saturn in Libra for better or worse.
Speaking of “for better or worse” those planning late May-June weddings better brace themselves for plenty of changes in wedding plans! Though it is unlikely weddings will be called off, there will be more changes to all those important details like the flowers, cake, music and the bridesmaid’s dresses. Note to parents of the bride – if you don’t want to go broke, practice saying “no” in a firm, no nonsense tone.
Often being retrograde brings out Venus’s less pleasant nature. Venus in Gemini is typically lots of fun to be around. She is witty, inventive and generally a bright, upbeat companion. However, if she is unhappy she can be fickle, snippy and prone to passing on nasty gossip. Anything to prevent boredom is her motto.
As a Venus ruled Libra, I am always wary when the lovely one starts into one of her retrograde periods. My fingers are crossed this one won’t be too difficult because it does start with a helpful trine from Saturn in Libra and ends of June 27 with a wide conjunction to Jupiter in Gemini. Can’t be too bad, can it??? 
Here are some links to both an earlier post of mine and what other astrologers have to say about this event:
My post: Observations: Venus’s Long Stay in Gemini
Tracy of Tracy’s Astro Salon: Venus in Gemini
Christina of The Oxford Astrologer: Enter the Fairy Realm: Venus in Gemini
And Deirdre Tanton Art & Astrology: Venus Retrograde
As the first exact square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn draws closer, the atmosphere grows increasingly charged and I see the need to work hard to resolve our person levels of cognitive dissonance. There is little doubt the Uranus-Pluto square encourages extreme solutions . . . Uranus in Aries wants action NOW and Pluto in Capricorn will do just about anything to feel secure and in control. Saturn in Libra kept these two in check when they initially butted heads back in the summer of 2010 but now has moved on.
An example is the whole issue of allowing everyone to legally marry, no matter their race, gender or religious beliefs seeing growing acceptance in the USA and current polls showing a slight majority favoring this. However, as acceptance grows, so do the extreme reactions because for many people the idea of allowing gays to marry is in direct conflict with their religious teachings, setting up cognitive dissonance. Some will be able to gradually work out the differences, especially if they have gay friends and family who they know and love. In general the younger generation (Uranus) is far more comfortable with gay marriage. This puts them at odds with their elders who often have far more material resources (Pluto in Capricorn).
In general mutable, airy Gemini is probably the best suited for handling instances of cognitive dissonance because they often have this type of thing going on in their heads. We can all benefit from Gemini’s example and keep our minds open and receptive to ideas outside of our normal comfort zone. Flexibility can bend whereas rigidity will break . . . much harder to heal a broken bone than a few bruises, no?
We’re just starting into the most intense three year phase of the Uranus-Pluto squares and the acceleration of instances of extreme cognitive dissonance. As new ideas surface, those most fearful of change are bound to react negatively. There has never been a better time to practice tolerance and patience . . . please.
 © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
With a delicious Full Moon in Scorpio tomorrow, I got to thinking about Pluto, Scorpio’s ruler, and how we end up manifesting some of his delightful issues in our natal charts.
One of the common themes for most of us with strong Pluto natal signatures is control, of others, ourselves, our environments, etc. When I meet people with what is politely called “control issues” these days, I immediately wonder what Pluto is doing in their natal charts. Often he is conjunct the Ascendant or in hard aspect to the Luminaries. Everyone has Pluto somewhere but he has to prominent to be noticeable. It takes an aspect to the personal planets or Angles to force us to deal with Pluto because as a transpersonal planet he is very “other” and difficult to relate to.
I suppose having sextiles and trines does dilute Pluto’s stamp on us to a degree. The reason I say this is because I have a Moon-Pluto sextile and still notice the need to be in control of my emotions. It takes careful monitoring of my feelings to recognize when I’m shoving them down rather than dealing with them. (Neptune conjunct my Moon is NO help at all . . .)
Both of my step-daughters have Pluto in Libra, one has Pluto in her first house trine her Mercury and the other has Pluto conjunct the Ascendant square her Cappy Moon. It is very clear who is in charge in their marriages, particularly in the second case. She chose a very nice man who pretty much lets her run the whole show. You would not believe what his mother is like (she has yet to acknowledge her daughter-in-law’s existence . . . seriously!) The other day both families were visiting and when they left, both women were driving which about says it all.
It has occurred to me what happened when the girls were living with their bi-polar mother during their teen years brought out the need for control as adults. We are only now finding out how rough it was for them and how many responsibilities they assumed. At the time the grandparents flat refused to acknowledge their daughter had mental health problems. It was a sad, desperate time for the girls and I’m amazed how well they are doing now. So many secrets (Pluto) keep from their father and I, preventing us from helping out.
By the way, their dad has a Moon-Pluto trine and a Mars-Pluto square. The man definitely is one of the control issue group but he tends to be harder on himself than others. Their mom doesn’t have any major Pluto aspects although I suspect she has a Moon-Neptune square.
By the way, attempting to restrict or control uncertainties in our lives is very human and nothing to be ashamed of . . . one more reason to be kind and forgiving of our selves. Anyone else relate to this?
 © Mniebuhr | Dreamstime.com
I keep running into reminder after reminder of how frustrating yet powerful Neptune is due to transiting Neptune in Pisces exactly square my natal first house Venus. The thing is I keep forgetting about it until something happens . . . a very common phenomenon with Neptune transits.
This week’s delightful sextile between Mercury in Aries and Venus in Gemini triggers my natal Mercury-Uranus inconjunct which always sets my nerves on edge because of my natal Mercury-ASC conjunction. Normally I probably wouldn’t notice this transit all that much but with the debilitating Neptune-Venus square going on in the background, I am more susceptible to stress than usual. Woke up with the shakes last night and those kept me awake for about an hour before subsiding. I must have been in denial (Neptune) about how much stress I’ve been under. Odd physical symptoms that come on quickly and stop abruptly with no obvious cause sure point to the combination of Neptune and Uranus focused on my first house.
The most frustrating thing about Neptune transits is we often only figure out what’s happening in retrospect. This is very, very common and I have people write me asking what the heck’s going on. They’ll mention every planet but Neptune as the possible culprit time after time but when I take a look at their transits there is Neptune standing right in the middle of things . . . grinning from ear to ear!
To be fair (yeah, I’m a Libra) I know Neptune can inspire creativity and compassion. However, my own experience with Mr. Vague and Annoying has been on the less uplifting side. I’ve spent far more time dealing with projections, denial and generally weird s**t than anything. Give me a solid Saturn transit any time! At least a person knows where they stand with Saturn . . .
 © Diane Lang
I was going to write a lighthearted article about Taurus and gardening but instead I find myself writing about Pluto once more probably due to Mercury squaring Pluto this morning and this week’s Grand Trine with Pluto in Capricorn, Mars in Virgo and the Sun in Taurus.
That is one sweet Grand Trine in earth! It demonstrates all the wonderful possibilities of the three earth signs working together. Taurus is naturally good at being productive; Virgo acts as both quality control and the middle man with Capricorn overseeing the whole operation. Whilst this may not be the speediest team, it can be extremely efficient and dependable.
The trickiest element of the three is Pluto in Capricorn because one thing Pluto forces us to do eventually is face reality whether we want to or not and Pluto in Capricorn is going to continue to reveal those instances of extremely bad management practices. If you have been very lucky, you’ve worked for at least one really good boss who was effective without being offensive and overbearing. Good leadership leads to win-win scenarios with everyone from the top down feeling like they are a valued member of the company . . . thus increasing productivity.
If you are undergoing one of Pluto’s gentle transits to your personal planets or Angles, you know he doesn’t let up until you’ve finally acknowledged the futility of ignoring what he wants you to learn about yourself. Pluto is always about power no matter what sign he is in and he always demands nothing less than total honesty. Misuse of power and authority are what he will be going after in Capricorn. He is in the process of teaching lessons in humility to those individuals who have done exactly that. Remember how high Capricorn Tiger Woods was flying not all that long ago or those Secret Service men whose arrogance and pride contributed to their downfall. Yeah . . . go Pluto!
Whilst most of us have horror stories about the boss from Hell, I would love to hear about the really good ones and what you felt they did/do right. Now more than ever, we need to focus on the positive side of Pluto in Capricorn. After all, the first exact square from Uranus in Aries is right around the corner.
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