The Lunar Home and Garden ~ Jan 30 – Feb 4 2012

 

Image by harshanm via Flickr

The Moon merely flirts with Aries in the wee Monday morning hours of the 30th and then calmly moves into Taurus bringing us a stabilizing force to start our week. The mood is supported by a happy and optimistic conjunction to Jupiter. The week ends with Neptune’s gentle entry into Pisces where it will stay for the next fourteen years. Plenty of time to make dreams come true.

That’s the Moon, Venus and Jupiter in the pic. It even looks comfy.

Household and Gardening Tips

Moon in Taurus ~ January 30 – February 1
Moon in Gemini ~ February 1-4
Moon in Cancer ~ February 4-6

For times of sign changes and daily aspects, see the calendar here: January  February

Taurus loves both the kitchen and the den. It’s a great time to stock up on comfort foods or to get those sofa pillows fluffed up for a few hours of lounging in front of the tube. As long as we’re not there all the time, there’s nothing wrong with kicking back a few nights a week. It’ll give you some time to think about who you’d like to spend some time with in lighthearted chitchat when the Moon is in Gemini Wednesday-Friday. By the time Saturday rolls around, the Moon in Cancer will have you craving those comfort foods you stocked earlier in the week.

The garden was created by Taurus, so if you’ve got seedlings to start or any garden chores at all, Monday through Wednesday are idyllic for getting a little dirt under your nails. Moon in Gemini would enjoy talking garden plans with a neighbor or buddy. Good ideas can pop up like weeds. It’s also a good time to place a call to your county extension agent to get some info on native plants you’d like to grow.

If the garden was made by Taurus, it was nurtured by Cancer. These are two of the most fruitful times for the garden. Being the cardinal water sign and the most fruitful gardening sign, Cancer would love to pour a little water on your garden or indoor plants. Watering will never be better than when the Moon is in Cancer. If winter has you on a monthly schedule for watering your houseplants, plan it for Moon in Cancer. Careful with those plants who prefer drier soil. A little goes a long way with watering now.

Related articles

• The Lunar Home and Garden ~ January 23-29, 2012 (auntiemoon.wordpress.com)
• Planting with the Moon for Winter Flowers (auntiemoon.wordpress.com)

Readers Ask ~ Thinking Outside Saturn’s Rings

Image via Wikipedia

I recently asked readers to submit questions about Saturn in Libra and the upcoming “think it over” retrograde period I wrote about in this post. I think some of you will identify with these questions concerning Saturn Returns, the feelings of restriction that Saturn brings, and the Saturn/Neptune conjunction of the 50′s that has been activated by Saturn’s passage through Libra.

The Devil’s Finger is a two card reading using the tarot Devil and one card from The Victorian Flower Oracle based on the drawings of JJ Granville. There’s something very vulnerable about the lady flowers in the oracle deck (even those with thorns) when paired with Saturn (The Devil).

Reading 1: No More Status Quo

What is the Devil’s Finger pointing at in your life? 

No more status quo for running “Life”.  I feel change brewing.

Brief background on your issue:

Saturn retrograde in Libra, my fourth house containing a conjunction of Neptune and Saturn at 22 degrees of Libra. Is this officially my Saturn return?

Everyone who has Saturn in Libra natally has experienced a Saturn Return at some point since November 2009. The timing depends on the degree of Saturn in the chart. In your case, Saturn will retrograde back to 22 degrees in June of this year creating the third hit of your second Saturn return. You are primed to act on all the things you’ve been considering and/or worrying over for the last couple of years.                       Read more…

Reading 2: Wants to be Free

What is the Devil’s Finger pointing at in your life? 

I currently have Saturn transiting my 11th house.  What do you see for possible employment for myself in the future?  I have always wanted to do astrology charts but lack courage.

Brief background on your issue:

i just recently quit a new job after quitting a job i had been at for the last two years, both within a month of each other.  i am currently looking to separate from my husband as well.  i have always felt “restricted” in my relationships with others and have always sought out “traditional” jobs.  I want a new future and a new more “authentic” life. i feel like i am trapped in my imagination and don’t believe i just quit my main source of income.  i just can’t take it anymore.  i want to be free.

Astro Notes ~ I received birth data from this client, so was able to take a look at what was happening with Saturn and Uranus in the chart. Saturn and Uranus are polar opposites in the way they operate. When “free” is paired with “restricted and traditional,” we know these two planets are battling with each other. Transiting Saturn in Libra opposed an Aries Sun and conjuncted the natal Uranus in the Libran 11th house. Natal Neptune is on the Ascendant. Possible types of future employment are beyond the scope of this reading.

Cornflowers are more commonly known as Bachelor Buttons and showed that a bachelor was available for marriage. They represent delicacy and single blessedness in the Victorian Language of Flowers. Here the Cornflower is paired with the Poppy which represents fantastic extravagance. The card’s title, An Admirer, indicates someone who admires you, a supporter, or even self admiration (i.e., a healthy ego).

I’m sure there are plenty of people who would gasp at quitting a job (especially two of them) and leaving a marriage in this uncertain economy, but that’s exactly the kind of things we do when Uranus is pushing us. Saturn’s rings feel overwhelmingly oppressive. The chains around the necks of the two people in The Devil card have them in a strangle-hold. Even though the chains appear loose enough, they can’t breathe. Delicacy (or gentleness) can help to relax and open up those airways.                      Read more…

Reading 3: Need Something Positive after a Hard Year

What is the Devil’s Finger pointing at in your life? 

The Devil’s finger is pointing at my family. I’d like some insight on finding something positive after a very hard year.

Brief background on your issue:

Saturn is going over the 25 degree Neptune that my husband and I share. Natch we met In a bar, and at last we are both in Recovery….And next up! Saturn Return for both the spouse and I, 9 Scorpio, and our son who became a heroin addict post 9-11. So something is headed our way for sure. TMI but I am a firm believer in honesty!

Victorian era poet, Horace Smith, wrote:

Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living preachers;
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book;
Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers,
In loneliest nook.

Sometimes the cards are almost too literal. The Grapevine (Intoxication) was the card randomly drawn to pair with Saturn (The Devil). Well, I’m not here to preach like Smith’s flowers, but to praise. Congratulations on being in recovery. It must be very rewarding to harness The Devil with his own chains. What greater success can there be than that?

Saturn (The Devil) and Neptune (The Grapevine) are not who we immediately think of as the perfect couple. Saturn is all tight and controlled and Neptune is hazy and chaotic. It reminds me of George and Martha in Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe? There’s s-o-o-o…m-u-c-h…pres-sure!…and so much that is carefully avoided. We convince ourselves that if we don’t talk about it, if we don’t look The Devil in the eye, he’ll just go away. Disappear. Instead, we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a pressure cooker thinking that any minute the top is going to blow. And it often does.

But there’s another, more positive, side to this ill-matched pair that is redemptive to both when they work for each other instead of against.                     Read more…

Aquarius ~ The Friend of the Zodiac

Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends. ~ It’s a Wonderful Life

Aquarius has earned the reputation of being the friend of the zodiac because of its concern for humanity in general, even though it might be a tough nut to crack when it gets right down to being your good close friend. Sometimes that don’t get too-close, let’s keep it cerebral attitude (otherwise known as detachment) can keep Aquarius from warming up. There’s a lot at stake in warming up ~ you have to invite vulnerability and closeness into your life.

Aquarius is the natural ruler of the 11th house. It’s our House of Friends and the sign on its cusp will give you a pretty good idea of what you expect from your friendships and what you’re willing to give in return. I have Sag there so I need a lot of freedom in the activities I plan with my friends, and I give that to my friends, too. Something better comes along that you’d rather do, I’m cool with that. I don’t want to make you do anything, you know? I don’t want to have to do something, either. It has to be done freely or it feels like a chore. (My Sun in the 6th House of Work has enough chores already, if you know what I mean.)

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. ~ Anais Nin

Have you ever done a synastry chart for your best friend and yourself? Run them at www.astro.com. They’re very telling.

Saturn ~ Thinking Outside the Rings

Our good friend Saturn will soon be turning retrograde at 29° Libra and back peddling through the sign of balanced effort from February 8th through June 25th. He’ll trace his steps back to 22.46° Libra before turning direct again.

A few months of “think it over” are looming large.

Saturn represents structure and limitation. We can think of Saturn’s rings as the boundaries he uses to protect us. They are fences built not to keep us in, but to keep the seemingly dangerous and harmful out. The closer those rings are to the planet, the smaller our world becomes. In order to broaden our view and our ability to perform, we need to think outside the rings. The retrograde period is a very good time to do just that.

What do you stand to gain by moving your fences out a bit? Will unnecessary inhibitions allow you more freedom if you think beyond the rings? If you have difficulties with boundaries that are too loose, how might you benefit by moving the rings in?

What you are being asked to think over is dependent upon the house of your chart that Saturn is now transiting. Briefly,

The Lunar Home and Garden ~ January 23-29, 2012

We greet Monday with a New Moon in Aquarius on January 23rd. Aquarius is the sign of the friend making the next four weeks good for socializing with your best friends or networking with your civic organizations. To increase your circle of friends, spend some time with someone you’d like to know better before the Full Moon on February 7 or invite them to join your group. If there’s a friendship you’d like to end, wait until after the Full Moon to end it gracefully.

January 23rd is also Chinese New Year. Instead of January 1, the Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar with the new year starting on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Before the new year begins, it’s a custom to thoroughly clean the house, especially the kitchen, so that good fortune can enter.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, families gather for a reunion style supper. Are you up for a night off from cooking? I know I am! A dish called Dragon and Phoenix consisting of shrimp and chicken is eaten for good luck, similar to the southern custom of having black eyed peas on New Year’s Day.

Are You a Dragon?

Dragons have strong, independent personalities and would prefer to lead instead of follow. I was born in the year of the Dragon and I’ve been described as headstrong on more than one occasion, especially by my hubby who just happens to be…what else…a dragon. According to the Chinese Zodiac, you’re a Dragon if you were born within these range of dates: