Your Milky Way Horoscope March 27-April 2, 2011

By Milky Way Maid

Venus enters Pisces at 2:53 am Sunday, March 27, fruitlessly chasing that bad boy Mars who soon dashes into Aries to escape her. Doesn’t she know that if you want someone’s attention, it is better to whisper? Anyway, Venus in Pisces is known for its romantic ideal of saving others, whether the object of their efforts are people or cats. Hence the stereotype of the lady with ten cats (who were all strays). But if you can avoid the trap of the savior syndrome, and achieve true compassion, then this Venus can heal relationships.
The Sun at 7 degrees Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn at 8:13 am Monday. Authority figures may demand that you justify your actions, so obey all traffic laws and cross all the t’s at work. Or Pluto may demand that you let go of the old and embrace the new; in other words, move on in your life. The latter may be the harder challenge to handle.
Jupiter at 14 degrees Aries opposes Saturn in Libra at 5:55 pm Monday. This translates as growth or progress (Jupiter) through accepting duties (Saturn). Saturn may instead require that you release possessions in order to move to a new city, or live with less income when you start your own business. Combined with the above transit, this seems to encourage many of us to leave our current employer and strike out on our own. BTW the Jupiter-Saturn opposition is a key transit in the business and world cycles, so keep an eye on the week’s headlines. BTW the phrase ‘water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’ comes to mind; there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Mercury goes retrograde at 24 degrees 19 minutes of Aries at 4:48 pm Wednesday. Uh-uh-uh, no crying or rending of clothes, please. You know the drill: avoid starting something new, dig a little deeper for the real facts, and don’t take anything at face value. That means checking discounted merchandise carefully for defects, and assuming that offers of jobs are just feelers for what people will demand in salary. Probably good for spring cleaning at least.
Mars enters its natural home, Aries, at 12:51 am Saturday. Arians will likely feel a resurgence of energy, BUT should take care to vent that energy in safety. Mars will conjunct Uranus on Sunday, April 3, and this volatile combo can lead to accidents, fires, etc. Just giving you rams a heads up. Now, as for the ingress, Mars here can be much too rash and impulsive, too set on declaring his absolute independence. A healthy expression of Mars in Aries is courageous, takes the initiative, expresses confidence in his employees or coworkers, and in general is the inspiring leader who challenges his team to achieve more than they ever have before. The keyword as always with Aries is leadership.
April 3 will be a New Moon at 13 degrees, 30 minutes Aries, at 10:32 am. Sun-Moon will be conjunct Jupiter, and opposite Saturn. I see a lot of rams striking out on their own, and probably leading the way out of this frustrating recession. They will not do things the same way they have always been done.
Hi – I observed the Spring Equinox by moving my stuff into a new apartment over the weekend (with a lot of help from friends). It’s good and bad. I had to spend too much for gas, my legs died, and now I am surrounded by boxes which I am steadily unpacking. Other than that, everything went quite well — not too many things broken so far as I know. So bear with me through a somewhat shortened weekly column.

Your Milky Way Horoscope March 27-April 2, 2011

By Milky Way Maid

Venus enters Pisces at 2:53 am Sunday, March 27, fruitlessly chasing that bad boy Mars who soon dashes into Aries to escape her. Doesn’t she know that if you want someone’s attention, it is better to whisper? Anyway, Venus in Pisces is known for its romantic ideal of saving others, whether the object of their efforts are people or cats. Hence the stereotype of the lady with ten cats (who were all strays). But if you can avoid the trap of the savior syndrome, and achieve true compassion, then this Venus can heal relationships.
The Sun at 7 degrees Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn at 8:13 am Monday. Authority figures may demand that you justify your actions, so obey all traffic laws and cross all the t’s at work. Or Pluto may demand that you let go of the old and embrace the new; in other words, move on in your life. The latter may be the harder challenge to handle.
Jupiter at 14 degrees Aries opposes Saturn in Libra at 5:55 pm Monday. This translates as growth or progress (Jupiter) through accepting duties (Saturn). Saturn may instead require that you release possessions in order to move to a new city, or live with less income when you start your own business. Combined with the above transit, this seems to encourage many of us to leave our current employer and strike out on our own. BTW the Jupiter-Saturn opposition is a key transit in the business and world cycles, so keep an eye on the week’s headlines. BTW the phrase ‘water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’ comes to mind; there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Mercury goes retrograde at 24 degrees 19 minutes of Aries at 4:48 pm Wednesday. Uh-uh-uh, no crying or rending of clothes, please. You know the drill: avoid starting something new, dig a little deeper for the real facts, and don’t take anything at face value. That means checking discounted merchandise carefully for defects, and assuming that offers of jobs are just feelers for what people will demand in salary. Probably good for spring cleaning at least.
Mars enters its natural home, Aries, at 12:51 am Saturday. Arians will likely feel a resurgence of energy, BUT should take care to vent that energy in safety. Mars will conjunct Uranus on Sunday, April 3, and this volatile combo can lead to accidents, fires, etc. Just giving you rams a heads up. Now, as for the ingress, Mars here can be much too rash and impulsive, too set on declaring his absolute independence. A healthy expression of Mars in Aries is courageous, takes the initiative, expresses confidence in his employees or coworkers, and in general is the inspiring leader who challenges his team to achieve more than they ever have before. The keyword as always with Aries is leadership.
April 3 will be a New Moon at 13 degrees, 30 minutes Aries, at 10:32 am. Sun-Moon will be conjunct Jupiter, and opposite Saturn. I see a lot of rams striking out on their own, and probably leading the way out of this frustrating recession. They will not do things the same way they have always been done.
Hi – I observed the Spring Equinox by moving my stuff into a new apartment over the weekend. It’s good and bad. I had to spend too much for gas, my legs died, and now I am surrounded by boxes which I am steadily unpacking. Other than that, everything went quite well — not too many things broken so far as I know. So bear with me through a somewhat shortened weekly column.
Readers can follow not only their Sun sign horoscope but also the sign of their Ascendant for further clues to how your week will develop. Also note: some aspects are exact on a weekend but may find opportunity for expression on the Friday or Monday nearest the exact aspect. Times given are in Eastern Standard or Eastern Daylight Savings Time depending on the season.

ARIES – March 20-April 19 – Mercury will go retrograde in your sign on Wednesday. This is bound to add to your frustrations, but what can ya do? Use your energy to clean out closets and get a jump on spring cleaning. The Moon is in Aries from 7:16 am Saturday, thru the weekend. A Moon-Mars conjunction Saturday morn makes you need to burn off some tension with physical work. But read the caution I wrote at the top of this column, because volatile Mercury and Uranus conjoin in your sign about 5 pm Sunday. Check out the safety situation before proceeding with the first cookout of the season, for example. This aspect will be building up in the day or two before it’s exact, so be safety-smart.

TAURUS – April 20-May 20 – The Jupiter-Saturn opposition on Monday affects your sixth and twelfth house axis of health. Possibly your doc may order you to lose weight or quit smoking, etc. Mercury goes retrograde in Aries on Wednesday in your solar twelfth house; I think you might find some lost objects when cleaning out drawers, etc. Won’t that be like finding buried treasure?

GEMINI – May 21-June 20 – Best day may be Tuesday when a Moon-Jupiter sextile affects your ninth and eleventh houses. A friend may refer you to a lawyer or publisher. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar eleventh house of friends and clubs on Wednesday; confirm details of get-togethers. The Moon-Mars conjunction in your solar eleventh house Saturday may produce a friend who wants to talk about heavy stuff. Take the opportunity to deepen your bond.

CANCER – June 21-July 22 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar tenth house of career on Wednesday. Career matters may stall, promotions delayed, etc. Best day may be Thursday when a Moon-Venus conjunction in Pisces warms up your solar ninth house of law; a legal verdict may award you cash. But do not start a legal proceeding at this time; the lawyer may hold out tantalizing prospects of lawsuit wins but things may not work out. Moon-Venus in Pisces on Thursday in your solar ninth house may make you hope someone will help you out of charity. Well there are some service groups, etc that might help, like Legal Services or Legal Aid Society, but also try your library resource databank for more sources of info.

LEO – July 23-Aug. 22 – Best day may be Tuesday when a Moon-Jupiter sextile may indicate a spouse or partner refers you to a lawyer or other advisor. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar ninth house of publishing, the internet, email, religion, law, and college on Wednesday. You may try to get a legal matter reopened due to a missed appearance, etc., or have to take a refresher course.

VIRGO – Aug. 23-Sept. 22 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar eighth house of insurance and estates on Wednesday. Wills can’t be found and so the estate settlement is delayed, or claims to your insurer may be lost in the mail. A Moon-Venus conjunction in Pisces, your solar seventh house of partners, on Thursday may indicate a very affectionate spouse; try to get him or her to take you to dinner that night, or possibly Saturday.

LIBRA – Sept. 23-Oct. 22 – Try to plan a late date with your spouse on Monday night; a Sun-Mon sextile makes for harmonious encounters. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar seventh house of partners on Wednesday. Communications with spouse or business partner may be muddled; confirm details of appointments, etc. Moon-Venus conjunct at a creative angle to your Sun favors spending time on artistic work Thursday. Perhaps setting up at a lakeside location will stimulate your creative juices.

SCORPIO – Oct. 23-Nov. 21 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar sixth house of health and work on Wednesday. That ache that has been nagging at you will suddenly DEMAND attention and NOW. Best day may be Thursday when a Moon-Venus conjunction in Pisces warms up your solar fifth house of romance.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 22-Dec. 21 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar fifth house of romance and creativity on Wednesday. You might revisit earlier themes or motifs in your creative work, or find an old work that you thought was lost. Moon-Uranus in your solar fifth house of romance on Saturday night may produce a thunderbolt (falling in love), or an argument/estrangement. Or both if you jump from one love to another.

CAPRICORN – Dec. 22-Jan. 19 – The Moon is in Capricorn all of Sunday and till 7 am Monday. The Moon squares Jupiter on one side and Saturn on the other, in the wee hours Sunday; dreams may offer a choice between scarcity and plenty. Moon square Mercury at 7 pm Sunday offers 3 hours of prime writing time; your emotional turbulence needs an expressive outlet. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar fourth house of career on Wednesday; confusion could muddle company communications. Mars enters Aries this week, your solar fourth house of home and family. Arguments could break out, or you might merely host a young man for a few weeks.

AQUARIUS – Jan. 20-Feb. 17 – The Moon is in Aquarius from 7 am Monday till Wednesday night. A Moon-Uranus sextile on Monday morning favors meeting interesting new people, some of whom may be rather strange or speak a foreign language. That night, a Sun-Moon sextile offers a pleasant lecture, class or reading, perhaps at a bookstore. A trine to Saturn midday Tuesday favors getting good advice from a mentor-type. You can get a lot done Wednesday morn before Mercury goes retrograde. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar third house of communications on Wednesday. Oof, the worst place; well, make sure to proofread all letters/emails before they go out.

PISCES – Feb. 18-March 19 – The Moon is in Pisces from 6:38 pm Wednesday till Saturday morning. A Moon-Venus conjunction early Thursday makes those donuts seem much too tempting; satisfy your sweet tooth with some fruit instead. No aspects are exact on Friday; let’s hope that you can get work done without too many interruptions.

ALSO – check out Astrology.com — free lessons online

A Few Thoughts on the January 2011 Eclipse and Personal Events

by Milky Way Maid
As I was reading the latest edition of the Astro America newsletter, a small bell went off in my head. Dave Roell wrote an interesting article on the Japan quake and tsunami, and he compared the event chart to the January Solar Eclipse. Among other things, Mars which was conjunct the Midheaven in the Eclipse chart, had dropped (like a guillotine, Dave said) to the IC in the event chart. (If you would like his free e-newsletter, just go to the Astro America website and sign up. It always has interesting tidbits in it. And sometimes a great longer article, too.)
So I decided maybe I had better go back to the solar eclipse and draw it up for the local area. And compare the transits to my natal planets, etc.
To refresh your memory, the January Solar Eclipse was at 13 degrees Capricorn; it was a partial eclipse.
So I do that and come up with a local ascendant of 24 degrees Scorpio, and a Midheaven of 9 degrees Virgo. The ascendant is two degrees off an opposition to my natal Venus, and the transiting Venus at 26 degrees, 53 minutes of Scorpio is about one degree off an exact conjunction. I am thinking this does not look good.

The Secret Meanings of the Names of the Planets

by Milky Way Maid

The esoteric meanings of the planets’ names is mostly a lost body of knowledge. Even very good astrologers have no idea what the names of planets or even of the zodiac signs mean. But the ancients had very clear meanings attached to all of these. By drilling down to the traditional meanings of the phonemes that make up the names, we can begin to understand more about what values and ideas they attached to these symbols.
Jupiter — “the ever-existent Father” The French je means ever-existent; it also occurs in Jahweh or Jehovah, in Jove, and in the Finnish Jumala (All Father). He is identified with wind, rain and thunder — and of course the thunderbolt. The zigzag of lightning was believed to be Jupiter herding the other planets about.
Venus — from Vannus, meaning a fan or shell. The terms are equivalent because they refer to her shell-like or fan-like car which is pulled by doves. This is also why her emblem is the dove. Incidentally, the Paphians worshipped her as a white pyramid.
Uranus — Ur-ray, “the Light of Ra” Also, as Kronos it resolves into Ak-Ur-On-Os, “The Great Fire” or “The One Light” Ur is the Semitic root meaning fire or light. Shouts of Hurray or Hurrah greet the sunrise. Ra, the Egyptian sun-god, would seem to be linked to Uranus, but the root syllable is found in several cultures. Sanskrit for a prince is rajah. The Semitic Ra means Time, or the Ancient of Days. The Mayan Ra or La means “that which has existed forever.” Ra appears in our English words ray and radiant.
Earth — Ea, mother of Ishtar
Mercury — “Fire of Merak” (Merak was the Great Mare). Mercury’s emblem the caduceus is encompassed by a winged horse or mare. Mercury was symbolized by a variety of animals: the lizard, the cock, a pregnant sow. Also the hare, because it makes regular trails in the meadows it frequents. Mercury is the god of ways (roads or streets), and many statues of Mercury marked the crossroads. So numerous were these markers where three roads intersected (tri-via) that the word took on the meaning of commonplace. Mercury as the god of commerce and the market has his name as the root of related words: market, merchandise, merchant, commerce. The Greeks symbolized Mercury as a square stone.

Saturn — Saturday, or Seaterdag, means day of the Seater or Sitter, the day when the Great Workman sat himself down and rested. Saturn was linked to Stonehenge, which was also known as Caer Sidi (the seat or fort of Sidi). Caer resolves into root syllables meaning Great Fire. Saturn, or the sitter, therefore seems to have made Stonehenge his throne. Note the design of Stonehenge which incorporates not only circles but an inner horseshoe-shape which perhaps outlines his throne seat. In the words of the Wlsh poem Taliessin: “Perfect is my chair in Caer Sidi,/ Plague and age hurt him not who’s in it./ About its points are oceans’ streams,/ And the abundant well above it,/ Sweeter than white wine the drink in it.”

Your Milky Way Horoscope March 20-26, 2011

By Milky Way Maid

Let’s recap my take on the Aries ingress on March 20:
A look at the Aries ingress for March 20, 2011 at 7:20 pm CT (chart set for Minneapolis, MN) — Here’s the real New Year, the natural new year when our agrarian ancestors could begin the growing season and preside over the births of new calves, lambs, piglets and chicks. This year the ingress is in the evening, so Libra is rising and Aries is in the seventh house, the reverse of the natural chart. Saturn and the Moon are in the first house: feeling poor, feeling down and out and unwanted. Jupiter is just peeking above the horizon in the seventh: Mr. Moneybags sure looks good. Whether one actually marries money this year depends on your personal chart and so forth. Venus and Neptune in the fifth house of romance reeks too much of the “in love with love” syndrome, and Venus is semisquare Pluto. Maybe that plan just isn’t gonna work out. Perhaps one could find a financial backer/partner for your surefire business plan.
The chart also has the Sun-Uranus conjunction in Aries, and unaspected Mars in Pisces, in the sixth house of work and health. Aries can lead us all into a whole new business sector that may provide jobs for the new economy. Mars here indicates not only the medical sector but also the military, although we really don’t need more soldiers and wars. Sun-Uranus are square the nodes, which suggests to me that the path to future growth will be indicated by these planets. Solar energy, electronics, computers especially hand-held computers, medical devices are all some items that may see growth and innovation this year.
The Sun is conjunct Uranus in the first degree of Aries at 8:24 am Monday. The desire for change, excitement and new horizons may become irresistible. Are you rebelling because of ego reasons (how dare they tell me what to do!) or for reasons of principle? That is key to whether this transit is going to create problems for you, or release your inner John Paul Jones.
Venus is conjunct Neptune in Aquarius at 9:39 pm Saturday. Venus-Neptune conjunctions are often the misguided in-love-with-love syndrome. However, since Aquarius is an air sign. It may be more a case of in love with the IDEA of love syndrome. It’s an aspect of unconditional love, idealizing the Other, and giving one’s all for the loved one. It is very hard to sustain that kind of lovingness in a personal relationship, because it is just asking to be walked on, so don’t be surprised if relationships started under this aspect are short-lived. Air signs like Aquarius can make marvelous ambassadors, stewardesses, receptionists, teachers, and of course philanthropists.
Venus will enter Pisces early next Sunday, March 27, at 2:53 am. Allowing others to take advantage of your sympathetic nature will drain your energy. However, when you are developed enough to truly embrace compassion, you can heal relationships seemingly without effort. Think Dalai Lama.
Looking back at the March 4 New Moon at 13 degrees Pisces, note that Uranus is square the nodes at 29 degrees of Pisces and Gemini-Sag, respectively. What does a planet square the nodes mean? According to Barbara Hand-Clow, they portend a karmic crisis. Uranus is rebellion, revolution, strikes, plus transformation and a raised consciousness. Funny how the mass demonstrations held closer to the New Year’s solar eclipse have had better success than the ones held later. Tunisia and Egypt have dumped despots, while Bahrain, Libya, and the state of Wisconsin are still struggling. Did the March Uranus square to the nodes portend a more violent confrontation? Note that Uranus moved into Aries on March 11, and while in Aries will be squaring Pluto seven times between now and 2015, so we can expect further confrontations between revolutionaries and the power elite. Uranus was last in Aries 1927-1935, a period that saw global economic collapse and the rise of fascist despots like Mussolini.
Note also that Saturn retrograded over the USA natal Saturn on March 9, and will cross that point again in forward motion about Sept. 6. We are having a Saturn return with a chance to further refine our notions of justice and equality. At the same time, Neptune at 28 degrees Aquarius is in orb of the USA Moon at 27 Aquarius. I think Neptune clouds our vision of reality; we still cling to the image of ourselves as beacons of liberty, yet Americans are more enslaved than ever to consumerism, the credit card industry, the insurance industry, the reactionary wing of the Republican party, Big Oil, and the military-industrial complex. On top of that, the USA is getting ready to prosecute Julian Assange, the one man who has done more than anyone to destroy the stranglehold of the economic elite.
BTW, Yahoo news picked up a story from Space.com that pooh-poohs the possibility that a ‘Supermoon’ on March 19 would trigger severe earthquakes, volcanoes, and the like. The Moon will be at perigee (closest approach to Earth), at only 221K miles above our planet, plus it will be a Full Moon. The idea was posited by Richard Nolle, who runs the Astropro website. I would not dismiss the chance of extreme events this spring; we have already seen earth hit hard by tsunamis affecting Australian and Japan, plus a very hard winter in the USA with flooding threats in many states. Jupiter-Uranus are square Pluto, in addition to the Moon trigger, and Pluto is known as a wipe-out planet. I think still more storms are a real possibility, with mudslides and quakes and more. Stock your emergency kits, folks.