Our world is on the cusp of change, according to the Astrological markers. Right now, as of the end of July 2010 we have the following planets on the edge or going over the edge of one sign in to another: Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter and Mars.

People are often confused about the cusp of a sign. We think that we are a ‘watered down’ version of the sign if we are born on the cusp. For example, one woman I met said “Oh, I’m two signs.” “Oh really?” I pressed her for clarification, she said that since she was born on November 22nd she was both Scorpio and Sagittarius. I had to clarify for her that this isn’t really how it works. I explained to her that it is necessary to actually examine your NATAL CHART in order to know which sign you were really born under – since this changes a bit from year to year – those general guidelines you find in books aren’t really accurate. On top of this, I had to also explain to her that at the end and the beginning of each sign is when it is MOST INTENSE. There is no such thing as a watered down hybrid between the two. Other planets in your NATAL CHART may modify this – but not the Sun. The Sun for her was either intensely Scorpio or intensely Sagittarius – not both and not half of each! After speaking to her for 2 minutes it was pretty obvious to me that she was a SAGITTARIUS and not a Scorpio. She was just too bubbly and lighthearted to be an intense Scorpio type, but she was an intense Sag type.

The world is experiencing something very similar right now. With so MANY planets changing costumes, as it were, this year, we are under nothing less than an entire RE-casting of the world players in our lives. The changes are radical, they are dramatic and even though it happens gradually, like the waves changing from High tide to low tide – it is still both unstoppable and irreversible. You see, when a planet changes from one sign to the next, it often turns around and revisits the past sign again through it’s retrograde motion. Most people are familiar with Retrograde Mercury, but ALL planets turn retrograde at some point or another – except the Sun and the Moon.

Right now, Saturn is finally RETURNING to Libra, he entered Libra last year, then changed directions and went back into Virgo, and now is making his final and permanent change into the Libra energy. The other cusp planets – Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter and Chiron – are or will go through something similar. These are also ALL planets that effect group and social level dynamics, including family. None of them are personal planets. What this means is that society is going through a revision. It will not be the same when we come out the other side (about 12-18 months from now).

These changes started back in 2009 – remember the stock market crash? This was just one of a series of deep-level changes that are taking place. The short version of what these changes are about and what they mean at the big picture level is that the post-modern society is changing radically. Many people still don’t see this (although I find it hard to understand HOW people can cling to illusions of the past when change is so obvious to me).

People will need to work together in groups. We are getting ready to experience disruptions to the flow of goods. Local will be better. Teams will be better (and necessary). More earth disruptions are happening. It will different in different places, but being closer to nature will be hugely important.

Specifics for each person are as individual as you are, and can’t be addressed in this article. These are just guidelines to help people think towards the future and plan for it. Individual forecasts must be looked at privately. In the meantime, be ready to make a new kind of life, and embrace a deeper level of connection to your environment and community – because this is where things are headed.

Aura
Don’t forget that I accurately predicted the crash of the housing market at least 4 years before it happened.
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(626) 872-0336

Financial Astrology is the real truth of this planet, and yet, the debate over Pluto rages on; Is it a planet, isn’t it a planet, is it a ‘dwarf’ planet, is it smaller than Eris, is it bigger than Eris. OK guys (Astronomers I mean), we know you all want to compare the size of what’s in your pants, but leave the Solar System out of it will ya.

Financial Astrology and Pluto

Pluto - Financial Astrology

Financial Astrology makes use of the Dwarf Planet.

It doesn’t really matter who has a bigger package – or what the Astronomers of the world want to call Pluto. None of us like to be labeled. And if you interview 100 women you will find that 90 out of 100 will agree that size isn’t the most important thing. The finances on the other hand, are more important which is where the financial Astrology of Pluto comes into play. Wikipedia has a good definition here. Which is a nice overview of what financial astrology is all about.

In financial Astrology we make use of the planets to predict trends, changes and find opportunities for ourselves. Finacial Astrology can also provide amazing insight into how we share what we have with other people – and why. Astrologically speaking, Pluto is the planet of subconscious “ID” desires as Freud would like to describe it. In true Freudian fashion, Pluto is all about the sex drives as well as the desire for power, control and domination – which often translates into the world of finances and Financial Astrology. Pluto is no lightweight by any measure – and even though he may be light compared to the other objects in our solar system, he packs a pretty good punch.

Pluto is also responsible for our collective unconscious and the drives that effect it as well as the merging of ourselves with others in not just the sex act, but also how we work together to get our needs met. He governs things like stocks, bonds and the use of money as well as shared resources, which is why he is useful in financial astrology. He’s a pretty important player on the stage of life, and right now, with our current financial world woes, I would have to say he’s most definitely making his presence felt. It is probably the movement of Pluto more than any other planet that has had a huge impact on the world finances – thus proving his usefulness in Financial Astrology.

So, when all is said and done, the Pluto in your Astrology Chart doesn’t really care if he’s a planet, a dwarf, an Oort belt object or a pink cupcake with frosting. He just makes sure that you know all about power, passion and the depths of your unconscious mind. He also has a major impact on ALL financial matters (financial astrology), and this current debate about weather or not he exists seems to make a perfect metaphor for what is taking place in the world finances right now, and Financial Astrology gives a good glimpse into how that will play out. So Pluto is useful, no matter how much macho size posturing the Astronomers of the world like to do, which is why he is the first thing I look at when doing a Financial Astrology Reading for a client.

I waited to buy my Iphone. I waited over a week actually, for several reasons.

FIRST: My astrological philosophy is that when something is hard to do – IE you must wait 6 hours in line to get your hands on a coveted iPhone device – then that is a BAD aspect and I don’t want to buy a phone at that time.

SECOND: As an Astrologer, I know that electronics croak when they are getting bad aspects from Neptune or to one’s own natal Neptune. I could regale you with sob stories about the PC that I had which crashed and burned like clockwork every few weeks until I finally had to force it back into Circuit City’s reluctant hands and demand a refund. But you get the idea.

Once that PC problem was solved I had a flash of insight: why not look at my own compatibility with the endlessly troublesome Microsoft/Windows platform. OHhhhhh, lookie, lookie – it couldn’t possibly be any MORE INCOMPATIBLE for me. Specifically we clashed in all directions Neptune related. Yep, that was it for me – no more Windows. My Mac and I have been living in digital bliss ever since.

Soooo, the moral of the story is that I waited to buy my iPhone until any pesky Astrology aspects that might threaten my lust affair with my new iphone were irrelevant. Even better, I made sure I was getting GOOD aspects. And it already paid off.

You see I went to court today to fight one of those new fangled camera snap-shot traffic tickets (we can all thank Saturn in Virgo for these). Ultimately the only way to fight this ticket is to create a shadow of a doubt that the grainy traffic enforcement picture might not actually be YOU, driving YOUR car. You must create this shadow of a doubt even though the snapshot strongly resembles YOU and has technical timestamps proving six ways to Sunday that yes, the person in the drivers seat did actually enter the intersection AFTER the light turned red. Things looked bad, they looked real bad. But I had an ace up my sleeve – I had my trusty iPhone.

Above is the “alleged” photo of me running a red light.

You see, there on my iPhone was a picture of someone who looked enough like me that she could have been a relative who had just happened to drive my car. Basically the court just wants to see proof. It worked to my advantage that I gave proof in a way that the court had never seen before. Both the prosecuting officer and the Judge we so distracted by the sleek beauty and glossy appeal of my iPhone that she ruled in my favor. Or at least that’s the story I like to tell myself.

It’s probably closer to the truth to say that she had doubts and thought the woman in the photo might be mistaken for me. But, for my part, thanks to Neptune, I’ve fallen a little deeper in love with my iPhone. I know it’s not healthy, I know people will condemn our love – but I can’t help it, I’m a geek.

Most Astrology sites will tell you all about what the planet in the sign is supposed to mean, ie: Neptune in Aquarius should be good for humanitarian causes, and technology etc. And this is useful for looking at some of the trends and what they mean. Yes, this is a good time for the innovation of services for the masses of humanity, for computers and other techie gadgets, but this is far from the whole picture. The real JUICE from Astrology for you, dear reader, comes from understanding the aspects Neptune is making as he travels through Aquarius.

Aspects are good or bad depending on their geometry – the angles they make and the overall patterns that they are part of.

A square is hard, a trine is usually a blessing. But the PATTERN is more important than just these aspects alone.

When Neptune is part of a Grand Cross (currently that would be in Fixed signs: Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius & Leo) it is very different than if he was part of a Grand Trine (currently that would be in Air signs: Gemini, Libra & Aquarius).

Neptune as part of hard aspects in the fixed signs will be about money, identity, social scene and debt. It will also be about our connection to fixed and inflexible points of view. Neptune will help to melt those stubborn streaks. It may be hard to take though, since squares and oppositions bring crisis to the surface. Neptune in Square or opposition will also help bring something to a screeching halt. Endings may appear sudden, but usually they’ve been brewing for a long time.

Neptune in Trine helps to grow something, make it last, give it some spiritual ‘glue’ and help it to stick. Currently in air signs, this means that ideas, words and rules are being nourished by Neptune.

One of the reasons that it is so hard for people to get a handle on what a Neptune transit will do, is that Neptune is in charge of so very many parts of our lives. This means that there are really a TON of possibilities in how he can manifest. Forgetting or losing our memory of something and having it Zero-ed out is just one of a great many possibilities. Others include: selling, growing things, dealing with minerals or oil… But there are too many to list here.

There are other patterns that he can be part of as well, and each one has a major meaning: The kite, the unequal triangle, the Yod, the mini Trine, the mystic rectangle the dreaded T-Square and on and on.  So the story of the huge and slow transits of Neptune in Aquarius will be told by the PATTERN he’s making – with the other planets in the sky, and with the planets in your own personal Chart.

EXAMPLES:  Problems: Neptune in Aquarius is creating a Grand Cross for fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) which creates stress and tension around old systems and structures and helps to break down the old ways of doing things. This is ONE of the reasons for the Mortgage crises right now – Scorpio rules Mortgages and Taurus rules money – both of these signs are getting melted down by Neptune in Aquarius. Problems and crises will be highlighted when someone is too materialistic or controlling (Scorpio), too egotistical (Leo), too attached to security and creature comforts (Taurus) or too much of an intellectual elitist (Aquarius). The action of Neptune serves to dissolve these fixed and stubborn ways of being and make room for something more far reaching and of service to humanity (Aquarius).

Blessings: Neptune is creating a Grand Trine with planets at mid Libra and Gemini.  Anyone who has planets at both of these places would be having great luck and easy blessings in the areas of print and the media, partnerships and contracts, business building, legalities and patents, creating and enforcing new rules, intellectual properties and patents.

It is very tempting to overlook the major themes of the large, slow moving planets and what they mean. Basically Neptune in Aquarius is opening our collective minds (Air signs) and clearing away the superficial systems we’ve created (fixed signs) in order to make room for something that is more spiritually meaningful and satisfying. This includes spiritual journeys, soul-mates and all the things that give our life meaning. Deep memories from the past may also emerge – including those that come from past lives. These are all under his domain. Ultimately Neptune is concerned with the needs of our spirit, our soul. Neptune in Aquarius calls our attention to the collective soul-needs of humanity and how to meet them.

I am PISCES: Dream me – Ruled by Neptune

Imaginative, poetic, glamorous, and ethereal are the FISH folk among us. Like the inhabitants of their underwater wonderland these people seem to live life by a different set of rules than those of us on solid land. Gravity may not apply, and visuals get all distorted and hypnotic once you enter the domain of a PISCES person. Frothy and bubbly these people skip across the surface of life, playing with reflections on the surface of the water.

Like the proverbial bathing beauty in a bath full of bubbles, there is a certain allure and lyricism to their every move. No doubt the term ‘poetry in motion,’ was coined to describe one of these misty creatures. It doesn’t seem to matter how crisp the lighting is, your PISCEAN always seems a little bit blurry. It could just be the illusions and fantasies that your FISHY FRIEND manufactures as a matter of course clouding your eyes. Blink, blink, and now this FISH may seem to have changed shape, or size, or clothing, or… something.

It’s just that they are so damned sensitive! Hurt a FISH’S feelings and suddenly they go all cold fish on you, freezing you with the icicles that fall off their scaly selves. It can be really difficult to get a handle on this elusive creature. And don’t expect them to help you much either. She is far too enamored with her own variable, mystical, lyrical, changeable nature. He loves being an International Man of Mystery way too much to let you in on his secrets. The PISCES, to be sure is having a grand old time keeping everyone guessing whom he or she really is.

They are in fact fascinated with disguise, costume and illusion. ‘Ahhh, the roar of the crowd! The Smell of the greasepaint,’ is her anthem. Indeed this can be extremely confusing, not just to you, but to the FISH PERSON themselves. All this chameleon business can get pretty confusing. It’s just that they are so acutely psychically aware of what you want from them and the illusions that you project on them, who could blame them for helping you believe exactly what they want you to believe? Once in a while your PISCES can be a little bit deceptive, after all he is a master illusionist, move over Sigfreid and Roy.

The trouble is, sometimes she loses track of which person she really is in the process, and upon waking from an illusion soaked dream world she must face someone in the mirror. And this can send our two-directional FISH onto a long spiritual journey where they may discover that they can access even better ecstatic states of consciousness without drugs than they ever managed with them. You see the soul of the PISCES is seeking the spiritual source, and they are all natural mystics with a certain sway and influence over others.

Through learning to embrace their polar opposite VIRGO the PISCES person learns to pay attention to the details, to be clear, routine, and healthy. Once these lessons are integrated we find our fine FISHY fellow breaking down their talents into nice little palatable bites for the rest of us to share in, and like manna from heaven the PISCES teaches us to fulfill our spiritual needs and thereby nourish our souls and give life meaning. No small task to be sure. It’s no wonder that so many of them seek to avoid it and play in the shallow realms of life.

If you love a FISH provide them with lots of delight and poetry. Buy her gems, art and make-up. Take him to a show, the glitzier the better. Go on a pilgrimage with them, or better yet help them start their own religion. You will never tire of the endless ways your PISCES comes up with to keep your attention and fulfill your every fantasy.

NEPTUNE was one son of URANUS in Greek myth. After JUPITER liberated his two brothers, NEPTUNE and PLUTO from their father’s belly they had to decide on territory for each to rule. They divided their father’s kingdom into three realms; the heavens, the underworld, and the depths of the oceans. JUPITER won rulership of Mount Olympus (the heavens), PLUTO got Hades (the underworld) and NEPTUNE became the king of the oceans (the psychic realms). When in the water, images become distorted, gravity is different and movement takes on a new dimension. Therefore NEPTUNE represents illusion, glamour, feelings of a psychic nature and anything that is generally confusing.

NEPTUNE lives at the bottom of the ocean where gems and riches are everywhere, but they are certainly not easy to get to using ordinary methods. NEPTUNE however does not need riches, since his world is rich with food, and life is simple. NEPTUNE represents the astral plane, which is the Dream State, world of imagination. Our normal senses fail us in their normal use when we are dealing with this planet’s energy. In order to obtain the gifts NEPTUNE has for us we must learn to relate to him on his terms. NEPTUNE is a benevolent god figure, but he is completely uninterested in the mundane workings of our everyday lives. He is only interested in the soul. For this reason his domain includes; religion, mysticism, inspirational art, gems, jewelry, music and poetry. NEPTUNE struggles to illuminate the soul’s experience even within the limited means we have when not in the water.

NEPTUNE has a propensity for living in a dream world, this makes for great poets but under it’s influence we might forget to take the trash out. The greatest challenge in dealing with NEPTUNE is sorting reality out from fantasy. A little fantasy can be a good thing, in fact the soul craves it. But taken too far, fantasy can lead to delusion, fanaticism, drug addiction, or even mental illness. A strong NEPTUNE in the Natal Chart can impart psychic gifts, but the way these gifts are used is completely up to the individual.

NEPTUNE is the ocean, and all other forms of water for that matter. NEPTUNE makes us aware that we are all mostly made of water and for this reason it is no secret to him that we are really all one, even though the convention of our reality prevents us from seeing that. But if we listen to him we can sense it. It is through this inner sensing that we come to know our own soul by way of dreams, visions and love of humanity.

Since NEPTUNE rules Pisces, all Pisces natives will need to define reality and their spiritual purpose within it during their lifetime. They must learn to confront unpleasantness and deal with it, thereby transcending the ordinary human limitations, which frustrate them and lead the rest of us to the mystic realms, which they consider their real home. For more information about NEPTUNE on your personality, you may want to have a Natal Chart Interpretation.