Happy New Year!
May this new year be filled with blessings that enliven your spirit and refresh your faith in the beauty of your life.
Simple reflections on this past year…
My draft of this newsletter started the evening on December 31, 2023, a few hours from the new year, but I’ll send out on January 1st to ring in the new year. At this time of year I think reflecting on life is something many of us do, we take a moment to look back on our lives and reflect upon our experiences. Remembering the moments that delighted us, our travels that took us to new sights and exposed us to something new, and we reflect upon the moments that we might regard as the low points of our past year. It is part of the flow of life to have a mix of both, but some years are more inward focused than others. We look at the entirety of our experiences and sift through and we may distill nuggets of wisdom from pondering our life from a rearview mirror lens. Honestly, I think we collectively would benefit from more time spent in reflection. Perhaps that was the scenario for you as well, 2023 had some really poignant twists and turns for many people.
We review our abundance, or where it may have been constricted with changing markets. This was significant for my life, maybe yours as well. As many know I experienced a job loss of my main source of income in August, still unemployed as we enter this new year, all stunning change upon returning from vacation. This last job I really enjoyed and was feeling really satisfied for all that it offered. But, like everything else in life, it is a reminder of the impermanence of things. I was sad to see it fall away, I really enjoyed the people I worked with and what the company offered in the market. I was not the only professional in the technology sector seeking employment this year. It has been a whirlwind of change in the markets. It was a brutal year for job search for many, there were still waves of layoffs throughout the year, but the layoffs were happening in 2022 as well and back into the ripple effects of the pandemic.
I have the benefit of astrology to reflect on these life changes. Thank goodness I can see a longer range perspective, it helps me tremendously keep my sanity and not fall too deep into fear mode. Though like anyone else I still have to navigate some things that emerge from changing times, I am fortunate this time to be married which offers me a bit of a safety net that I did not have in 2010 the last time I experienced significant unemployment.
I was reminded this year the power and truth that Traditional Astrology offers, especially with a technique I’ve shared with many clients for its accuracy. The technique is known as Annual Profections and I often use it when I am reviewing transits for the year ahead with clients. This past year, Mercury was the key planet I would observe for what was ‘on deck’ for my reality and what I would navigate and manifest and experience through larger perspectives in the collective. Interestingly I thought the transit of Venus square Uranus transit on August 9th was the most significant that kicked my booty into a new job search. But in looking closer, I cannot deny the truth of Mercury conjoining Mars as the sign Virgo was passing through the Ascendant on the moment of my getting the news. (*see charts below) The trickster Mercury with cutting Mars severing my work routines. Ack! Though I know it was a potential given some of the information and trending patterns of hiring managers two months prior, I thought we’d emerge with new momentum.
However, behind the scenes I could not know that the company was preparing for an acquisition, to be acquired by a much larger global company to be redefined. Thus a few of us were laid off (accounting bottomline fixed costs) to make way for a better price for that acquisition. Oh, the glorious capitalist process of companies and their life cycles. This event forced me to consider new skills (Virgo) and so I invested in my skill by getting a certification so I would stand out in the mix of talent flooding the market. I think it will pay off, so we will see.
Mercury was Lord of the Year for me in my 6th house (Virgo) annual profection. Reflecting on this more closely really reminds me that astrology is always there to reveal the truth of any moment in time for us individually. I think Venus retrograde in Leo this past year was extraordinarily challenging too, and was part of the archetypal symbolism of the cut from the lovely salary I was earning, but that will come again in a new alignment this year. This past Leo Venus retrograde in Leo also showed us the conflict and violence between Gaza Strip and Israel again sadly, and the devastating fires in Hawaii. Cardinal energy dynamics with the lunar nodes moving into Aries (north node) and Libra (south node) this past July 17, 2023. That nodal shift also landing on my Ascendant (Aries) and Descendant (Libra), exactly on November 26th (with Mercury at 24 degrees 04’ Sagittarius creating a trine, Mercury is transiting near that degree now as it continues its stationing direct this evening at 7:08 pm PST in Sagittarius 22°11 (January 1, 2024).
I knew from my last birthday (from Dec 2022 to the most recent birthday) in my 6th house annual profections year I would face challenges around work, how I was in service with others, and health, given that I have Virgo as the sign of my 6th house and that my south node is in the 6th house with Mercury the ruling planet of Virgo located in my 10th house of career and professional life. I did not feel or think about how Mercury transits were manifesting in the earlier part of the year, but it truly landed in the second half of the year with exactly what astrology would predict, my challenges related to work matters, and health matters. Both were true and became increasingly frustrating to navigate in the second half of 2023. Both have ripple effects into early 2024, as Mercury is retrograde and I think that I will see action and new opportunities flow related to my job situation. I know I will have new insights on the health matters I saw emerge as well and that will likely come in with greater clarity early this year, I’ll share more on that subject at a later date.
The south node is often where we are releasing something or grieving, reviewing something of the past, so to navigate the year that you have the house where your south node is located at birth, be ready to get highlights on your life story that you are still working on and evolving. Letting go of the past and perhaps revisiting the past and refreshing something so it is renewed and holds a new vibration to move forward. Having the evolutionary astrology foundation of the nodal story (chart behind your chart) is the key to navigating some challenges with greater ease because you can observe yourself in the cycles and understand the evolutionary path you are walking. That is why I like to share evolutionary astrology first as the foundation and use the other astrology techniques as an overlay where they are helpful in the review and even prediction of archetypal energies over a period of time. It helps to have both for reflection.
On my birthday two weeks ago on December 18th, my annual profection moved to a 7th house profection, where I have the sign Libra. I began reading the book The Light of Venus by Adam Gainsburg again to refresh my memory. This year, Venus is the Lord of the Year for my experiences and what is in focus. In my chart Venus is trine my Ascendant (Aries), however there are unique things I must learn about relationships this year. My natal Venus is square the lunar nodes of my chart and is an important key planet as part of my evolutionary path this life. I am evolving layers of Venus themes in this life as it pertains to relationships, my relationships with money, money in partnerships, overall finances, assets, and all of those interactions connected to my own self worth and my values. Over the past seventeen years as my daughter has grown (almosts a lunar node 18 year cycle) I am getting increasingly clear on my inner world about these themes and what I am evolving. One theme that is strong and getting louder for me is how feminine power is emerging seeking equilibrium with masculine and how our laws do not support that harmoniously. Both for physcially well-being in all that it means to be a woman in our society, but (as an external expression of feminine-masculine balance), but also how in legal binding committed relationships partnership has obstacles for women to be at their true power in assets and financial abundance. Feminine expressions and experiences of women and men and the rainbow of beautiful fluidity of this in our world grows. We are navigating the shadows of toxic masculine expression and suppression of the feminine, and we all have fallen off this path numerous times over the millenia. As a cisgender woman, I write and will be writing from my personal experience. I honor others the freedom to express as they choose. What I share about my feminine expression is from my lens and how it has framed my evolutionary path. I will write more on these topics in coming newsletters. And over the course of life I am now realizing how much it is a Herculean effort!
Interestingly when I go through periods of unemployment, I become acutely aware of what I dislike and like and I have to be really careful about my inner critic and falling into “survival mode” from old conditioning of my early life. That puts me square on the conscious and unconscious perceptions and beliefs I have and am evolving. It’s the hard work my soul has chosen. Using this Annual Profections technique it is important to consider the power or strength the natal planet has in the natal chart to bring something in this material world. The planet that is the Lord of the Year has something unique to reveal to us in our evolutionary journey of life. I think it also is valuable in observing the debate of free will versus fate and destiny. The key planet or Lord of the Year shows how the planet (which is embodied consciously or unconsciously) in us and is supporting you in your pursuit of passions and things you wish to become, to do and what and how you create in the year ahead. I lean heavy on the side of free will, but I also think there are soul agreements to play out for our evolutionary intentions figured in the lived experiences in time and space. It may be great in considering your “WHY”, as author, speaker Simon Sinek illuminated for us collectively, as key for why we do something on purpose. I find it incredibly useful in my year ahead consultations I offer. If you had an astrology consultation this past year, review it again now in this first week of 2024 and consider where you are now and where you wish to direct your life. What inspirations emerge for you in this process?
For myself in reflection while I am planning how I might direct my life this year, astrology and the Annual Profections technique reviewing my charts is one of the best tools I know. I leave room of course for how my free will is engaged, spontaneous events and synchronicities (thanks to Uranus and Jupiter making a conjunction in Taurus this coming April 20, 2024) and unknowns from the total solar eclispe (April 8, 2024), and finally what decisions I will be making for myself to live my life with purpose. There’s also an extraordinary total eclipse that is quite significant for us all in early April in Aries 4-5 degrees from my Ascendant. To say the least, this is a major year for me astrologically. I never forget that I exist in a collective experience where I am participating in something larger with other souls, so our family, friends, and lovers are key souls in our evolutionary progression. Things flow that I only participate in some aspects of my life, I am not always the producer or director, I may just be a witness, but it all has value for my evolutionary growth.
This coming year I plan to do a deeper dive on my Venus Star Point and also look back on 2023 Venus retrograde and how the experiences of that time period highlighted areas for me to work on consciously this year. I have a notebook and a good list of themes already. The new Venus synodic cycle that started in 2023 with its most recent retrograde cycle began on my wedding 6th anniversary date, August 13, 2023. I think that is rather important obervation and synchronistic. I am writing a draft for exploring the Venus Star in a coming newsletter, stay tuned!
However, I am inclined to think that this is the year that many things will emerge for me given the energies on my natal chart at my most recent birthday. My Solar Return chart has an incredible position of Mars conjunct my natal Venus and all that energy square my lunar nodes (Pisces/Virgo) while I’m in a 7th house annual profection, it will be a huge year for me energetically. I wonder about travel, teaching astrology, faith, other’s values, and how I express myself now with new courage. There are a handful of topics on my heart right now that have been emerging around relationships, feminine energy, and even my teaching passion. My Ascendant ruler (Mars) on my natal Venus in the solar return chart feels quite expressive in potentials, exciting and a bit of a nail biter too! My Solar Return Saturn is also conjoined with my natal Mars as well in my solar return chart this year, more discipline and desire for solitude seems real, but emotionally challenging at different moments. The Solar Return Moon in my North Node in Pisces in the 12th is a call to be in solitude. If I do not seek it, I’m certain the urge to escape with movies and books will be there. Dynamic (cardinal Aries NN on ASC), restrictions and limits, karmic waves, and pulses of outward expressed energy for what I believe and how I may respond to experiences that bubble things up in my beliefs and how I navigate relationship dynamics both personal and professional. My beliefs are getting a re-write on something with the Solar Return Mercury in my 9th house. Perhaps it will outflow in how I share and teach astrology, just one possible expression. New work is on the top of the list too.
Mercury retrogrades are also important this year, as they are in the element of fire (touching some earth during the retrograde cycle), but in fire Mercury will really flow for us fast and furious Mercurial experiences in thought, perceptions, and how we communicate. There are several air element trines this year between Pluto in Aquarius and Jupiter in Gemini, it will be a full year of learning and communicating. We will be wise to pick up quickly on the subjects and areas we need to count to ten before we speak this year!
I hope the closing of 2023 has inspired you to look back and take a moment to sift through all your experiences that brought you to this moment. Where will you go and grow from here? I am grateful to share my astrological musings with you all, and sometimes a little bit of the ways I use this amazing knowledge for living a purposeful life. I look forward to diving in and supporting those of you who also use astrology to guide you through life’s twists and turns on your path.
Namaste. Bless this moment.
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