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Horoscope: May 14 to 20, 2012

Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

Highlighted Aspects for This Week

Monday: Pluto trine Mercury, Chiron sextile Mercury, Saturn quincunx Sun, Pluto sesquisquare Sun
Tuesday: Venus stations retrograde 7:33am PDT, Saturn semisquare Mars
Wednesday: Pluto trine Mars, Saturn quincunx Jupiter, Chiron opposite Mars
Thursday: Pluto sesquisquare Jupiter
Sunday: Sun enters Gemini, Uranus semisquare Mercury, Solar Eclipse (New Moon) 4:48pm PDT, Pluto trine Vesta

THE LUNAR CYCLE is in completion phase this week, a time for releasing and clearing in preparation for the New Moon. We are creating an internal space that will soon be filled with the energy of the new lunar cycle.
 
This process of doing internal clearing is especially important this week, since our New Moon next Sunday is also a Solar Eclipse. This means that in addition to completing a month-long lunar cycle, we are also finishing a six-month developmental phase that was initiated with the Solar Eclipse in late November 2011.
 
THE LAST DAYS of a lunar cycle are known as the balsamic phase. During this phase:

"Liberation from the past must be attained in order to begin anew with consciousness and clarity. The function of this phase is to clear out the old patterns in preparation for a new cycle." (from "The Eight Phase Lunar Cycle" by David and Sandra Mosley)

Our work this week is to more fully let go of our attachment to the past, especially those old definitions of self and purpose that are no longer valid. We want to enter this next six-month evolutionary phase with our faces scrubbed clean, ready to create a new vision that will propel us forward.
 
PLUTO ASPECTS are scattered throughout the week, to assist us in more fully letting go of what must be released. The trine to Mercury on Monday (with Chiron also sextile Mercury on that day) empowers us to stay true to ourselves, while letting go of the need to force our ideas or opinions on others.
 
There may be a few bumps in the road, since Pluto and Saturn also form uncomfortable aspects with the Sun on Monday. If we run into one of those speed bumps, we can bless it for showing us where we still are needing to clean up before we move on.
 
PLUTO WORKS in harmony with Mars on Wednesday, supporting us in taking actions that will both improve our circumstances and fulfill a higher life purpose. This is a powerful planetary combination, inspiring the passion and courage needed to move forward in our pursuit of our greater mission.
 
But, Chiron's opposition to Mars on the same day indicates that another speed bump may manifest -- this one related to wounds we are still carrying related to having what we truly desire. With this aspect, when we discount our heart- and soul-level desires, we may find ourselves creating experiences of anger and conflict instead of being fully present to our wants and needs and being willing to express them.
 
And, with Chiron in Pisces and Mars in Virgo, we may come face-to-face with an old self-sacrifice paradigm. This is a pattern we are working to eradicate so that we can move more fully into the Age of Aquarius.
 
The Age of Pisces, which we are now completing, has held the high-vibrational values of compassion and service to others, but has also brought forward the Piscean themes of martyrdom and self-denial for us to observe and clear. This is part of Chiron's work as he travels through Pisces.
 
VENUS GOES RETROGRADE on Tuesday. Venus has been traveling in front of the Sun since last August. She has finally reached her furthest distance allowed, and is being called back into the solar embrace.
 
Over the next three weeks, the Sun and Venus will get closer to each other day by day, setting the energy for their rendezvous during the rare Venus-Sun occlusion on June 5. More on this event in the weeks ahead...
 
THE SOLAR ECLIPSE on Sunday begins our next evolutionary phase, and sets themes that we will be working with for the next six months. The Eclipse occurs in the first degree of Gemini, associated with this Sabian symbol:

"A glass-bottomed boat reveals undersea wonders: The revelation of unconscious energies and submerged psychic structures."

Since Gemini is related to information and communication, it seems likely that with this Eclipse we will see previously hidden facts coming to the surface, or otherwise being made known to larger numbers of people. This may be in very concrete ways, with the popular media revealing information that has been obscured until now. But, it may also manifest in more personal/spiritual form, with our own connection to Self and Source coming more fully into consciousness.
 
THIS ECLIPSE is also aligned with the stars that make up the Pleiades, which may enhance a cosmic connection with the Seven Sisters, especially for those who already feel attuned with the energies of that star cluster. The Pleiades carry a mystical meaning for many peoples on our planet, and native tribes in many parts of the world believe that their people originated from these stars.
 
The Eclipse alignment with the Pleiades also reinforce the themes of death and rebirth, the clearing away of what has been so that new life can be created. The stars are related to the story of the flood in the Old Testament of the Bible, a clear representation of the theme of renewal that follows a thorough cleansing.

A BIT MORE on that Sabian symbol for this Eclipse, as interpreted by Dane Rudhyar in his book An Astrological Mandala:

"Within the relative security of a 'boat,' an individual can learn to be aware of the as-yet hidden contents of the collective Unconscious -- provided this boat (the ego that separates us from the collective planetary psyche) has been given a glass bottom. The conscious mind must have become, in part at least, translucent. This translucency is not direct openness. The window of the mind remains closed, but through it the individual can become aware of the outside -- and here, 'outside' means the psychic depths below the normal level of consciousness."

Through the energy of next Sunday's Solar Eclipse, we are initiated into a new phase in our process of consciousness expansion. The eclipse provides the opening for greater access to a deeper and more profound level of information and wisdom. How we handle that opening will depend on our ability to stay in balance (afloat) and somewhat objective about the emotions that may be released at this time.

See you on the other side!

 About the Author

Pam Younghans lives in a log cabin outside of Seattle, Washington with her two dogs. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or leave a message at 425-445-3775. For more information about NorthPoint Astrology offerings, please visit http://www.northpointastrology.com

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