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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.
 © 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.
I seriously over-estimated how much I could accomplish yesterday . . . too many tasks in too little time! Mars in Virgo at a virtual standstill ended up being a pain in the arse . . . my lovely egg rich bread came out nicely browned on the exterior and waaaay under done in the middle. I’m going to salvage what I can and recycle the rest by feeding it to my chickens. *grin* One of those cases when making two small loaves instead of one large one may have been better.
Not being able to access my website quickly and easily hasn’t been much help either. Apparently CloudFlare, which I use to keep my band width usage under control has been fending off attacks to its LAX service center over the past few days.
Too bad I don’t take my own advice about moving slowly and deliberately, isn’t it? Here’s to seeing some gradual improvident as Mars very slowly begins to pick up speed moving forward. We have a pleasant New Moon in Taurus in a week to look forward to and I will be posting on it soon. For now I need to continue to play catch up whilst preparing to have company today . . .
Certainly hope everyone else is managing this Mars Station successfully!!
xoxo diane~
 © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Yesterday Pluto in Capricorn stationed retrograde and had already spent roughly a month and a half at 9°. When the Outer Planets – Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto – slow to station either retrograde or direct, they end up sitting in one place for anywhere from six weeks to three months. This can feel like someone’s drilling a hole in your psyche . . . sloooowly and painfully.
Now the inner planets spend far less time on one degree ranging from a week for Mercury to two weeks for Venus and Mars. Jupiter, Mr. In Between, hovers on the same degree for about a month. However when we hit Saturn the length of time begins to stretch out as I know from earlier this year when Saturn spent seven weeks at 29° Libra. Both Uranus and Neptune take about a two month pause and the king of the slow pokes, Pluto, can spend up to three months idling in neutral.
As a general rule, we notice planetary stations the most when they exactly conjoin one of our personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars) or the Angles (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven and Imum Coli). Squares to those same degree points also get our attention. Sextiles and trines usually drift on by because those make our lives run more smoothly. The impact of inconjuncts and semi-sextiles varies and depends on the aspects to the natal planet. Obviously if the planet is already under stress from hard aspects, you’ll feel the transit more keenly.
If you have an aptitude for the scholarly side of studying astrological transits in great detail as well as the interest (which I don’t . . .), then I highly recommend Bernadette Brady’s book - Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark She goes into great detail about how to determine the effect transits will have. All those little graphs and picky details drive me crazy . . . all I want is an outline to work within. *grin* Besides, doing that kind of in depth work for clients as an astrologer is not cost effective unless one can demand outrageous amounts of money.
All transits are learning experiences and transits from a stationing planet can be considered focused, intensive learning experiences. They give us plenty of time to decide how we want to deal with a certain facet of our lives or our selves. Saturn and Pluto transits can be very sobering, Uranus transits almost always force us out of our comfort zone and Neptune does what he does best . . . leave us wondering what the heck is going on.
F.Y.I:
Mars is stationing direct at 3° Virgo on 13 April
Pluto stationed Rx at 9° Capricorn 10 April
Venus will station Rx at 23° Gemini on 15 May & direct at 7° Gemini on 27 June
Neptune will station Rx at 3° Pisces on 4 June
Saturn will station direct at 22° Libra on 25 June
Uranus will station Rx at 8° Aries on 13 July with Mercury stationing Rx at 12° Leo on
14 July . . . fun!!
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