A week in the stars:

It’s a pretty quiet week in astro-land until Thursday January 27th when Venus in Pisces will square Saturn in Sagittarius. In the week following the inauguration of the first openly KKK endorsed POTUS, this Venus/Saturn aspect might have you feeling some difficulty relating to others and might leave you feeling unsuccessful in your attempts to advocate for what you believe in. When the riots, rituals, and revelry have died down a little you may find yourself feeling some alienation. Pisces and Sagittarius are both Jupiter ruled signs, and there’s nothing jupiter likes better then a good story. With the aid of a new moon in Aquarius, Thursday is a good day to spend some intentional alone-time thinking about what kinds of stories you tell yourself about connecting and attracting (Venus’ specialties). Do you believe in your ability to attract people to the right cause? What narratives do you tell yourself about your ability (or lack there of) to connect with others? If you could tell a different story, what would it be? Thursday is capped off with Mars’ ingress into Aries so if all this alienation from others is making you feel a little spicy, be careful who u start waving your severing sword at.

Then on Sunday Mercury will be in a conjunction with Pluto at 17° of Capricorn. When the quick moving messenger god of all things mercurial merges briefly with the underworld god of all things that must die before they come back into the light of day, the door is open for painful realizations and transformations in understanding. Think back to what you learned about connection and advocacy earlier this week. Ask yourself if you are holding onto a pattern of communication that needs to be composted.

Affirmation for the week: “With one hand I build, and with the other I burn.”

The following horoscopes are written for your RISING sign, and TOTALLY NOT your sun sign. If you really, really, really don’t know and can’t figure out your rising sign than you can read for your sun. Because there is so much that could be said for each sign every week, I pull tarot cards to help me narrow down the scope of the reading. The deck I’m using this week is Slow Holler. If the tarot card that accompanies your sign speaks to you, I recommend working with the energy of that card throughout the week.  Enjoy!

Aries

The Architect of Knives wears the clothes of an owl. Their human hands slice open a mirror that lays before them and underneath the mirror image of an owl, there are many owls. The sliced part of the mirror that the Architect of Knives is peeling back becomes a scroll in their hand, and behind them we can see many more scrolls like it.

With your patron planet (Mars) moving into your most personal house on Thursday, you’ve got a lot of strength backing you up right now. The Architect of Knives suggests you focus that energy into the strength of your wisdom. Remember that there’s more then one way to skin a cat (what a terrible phrase) and there is also more then one way to use the fire of Mars. Sometimes peeling back the illusion of alienation takes the precision of a scalpel rather then the theatrics of a broadsword.

Taurus

In the Eight of Stones hands rush out of the sea to place a golden sphere on the top of a cairn. Stars twinkle in the night sky and the tiniest city skyline can be spotted in the background. Above the cairn is a small red compass in the center of the sky.

The Eight of Stones is asking Taurus what projects you have been working on. What goals have you set for yourself? And what have you been letting fall to the wayside in your diligence over the task at hand? Taurus’ are not known for their ability to slow their own roll and sometimes this can mean overcommitting. So in the spirit of the week: what stories have you been overcommitting to Taurus? What connections have you been diligently building? Remember that like a cairn, projects aren’t built to be hoarded.

Gemini

In the Four of Stones a blackbird (or a crow, or a raven (it’s hard to tell)) perches atop a three stone cairn, with one stone in its beak. Ropes tied into various fancy knots dance mid air in the darkness surrounding the bird. A butterfly is trapped inside one rope, a key is hung from another, and tied up by the third is a feather.

The Four of Stones is the card we see when we are trying to protect ourselves through the accumulation of things. We might see this in item that you never really use but refuse to part with because you might need it someday. We might also see this is the hoarding of critiques (if I can find the fault in everything, I never have to leave myself vulnerable to backing the wrong horse). But for the Gemini whose shadow is the Grand Master of Doublespeak you may find that what you have been hoarding is rhetorical devices. Just because Geminis can talk their way around anything – doesn’t mean they should. This week, when you start to hear the death knell of old narratives that no longer serve you or your work, instead of talking yourself out of the shift, try talking yourself in.

Cancer

In the Seven of Stones seven stones lay artfully arranged on a pattern that resembles stained glass or a domed ceiling. The pattern recalls both mandalas and the ceilings of very fancy churches. The middle stone is placed on top of a downward facing triangle which is on top of an upward facing triangle and together, the two triangles form the Star of David.

The stories that Cancer is working with this week will start in the realm of work and end in the realm of intimate partnerships. Cancer has been working with inhibitions to work life for the past year and a half and will continue to do so for another year yet as saturn transits their sixth house of “not-what-you-can-do-for-me-but-what-I-can-do-for-you.” This week Those inhibiting factors are put into conflict with the part of us that attracts and connects. The Seven of Stones is asking Cancer to focus less on the inhibiting part of Saturn, and more on the structuring part of Saturn. Perhaps to even see the (Venusian) beauty in the structure that you have learned over the past year and a half. Take some time to admire the fruits of your labor this week. Then, if later on this week you find yourself in a transformative moment with an intimate partner, ask yourself what lessons you took from work this week and if there is any wisdom you can pull from there.

Leo

In the Traveler of Stones a disembodied hand drops red rocks into a milky river. Behind the hand there is a blood red sky (to match the blood red rocks), several more stones perched upon the banks, a dead or dying tree, the moon and some stars.

Leo is the part of us that wants to be seen and heard and loved. Leo wants to entertain you. Leo lives for your appreciation. So this week Lovely Leos, the Traveler of Stones offers a word of caution: make sure you aren’t giving too much away in the spirit of being seen. The Traveler of Stones is someone who is learning how to responsibly delegate their resources. Remember that these resources include your time and energy. What kinds of stories are you telling yourself about giving and receiving in relationship? What kinds of attitudes need to be transformed about how you are in service to others?

Virgo

In the Four of Vessels a curly-haired cutie sinks underwater. The kicking legs of their friends suggest the river party continues on without them above the surface. In the sandy bed of the river bottom, four glass jars have been discarded. They lay half buried. Who knows how long they have been down there. Who knows how long the curly-haired-cutie can stay underwater.

Virgo definitely has a knack for sinking under the weight of their perceived responsibilities. This week, ask yourself, ask your body, ask your friends: is this my feeling or is it somebody else’s? Is this really my responsibility? What stories have I been telling myself that weigh me down? What patterns of communication keep me from connecting? Kick back up to the surface and listen to what the people around you are actually saying.

Libra

In the Eight of Knives a nondescript figure holds a blindfold tightly around their face as knives criss-cross scarily across their body. Are the knives real or perceived? Who knows. The nondescript figure certainly won’t know until they loosen their white-knuckled grip on that blindfold and check out what’s really going on around them.

What kind of stories do you tell yourself about what can and cannot get done in a day? Have you been spending the last year and a half feeling as though there will never be enough time to do all the things that you want to do and take care of yourself at the same time? Do you feel like communication has become really hard in the last year and a half? Has finding a way to communicate with integrity been feeling really heavy and maybe even dangerous? If any of those questions spark resonation that is because saturn has been transiting through your third house of day to day activities and communication and will continue on there for another year to come. If you have been feeling like there is danger around every corner, check in with yourself about the extent to which those dangers are real or imagined. This week might send you some much needed insight on your journey with Saturn, but the lessons can only be unlocked if you are willing to look at them.

Scorpio

In Awakening three dim yellow eyes peer out at us, one on top of the next, from darkness surrounded by a grey rippling surface that might be rock (perhaps the darkness is a cave). It is unclear if the three eyes belong to one creature, or three.

The Death card is usually the one ascribed to Scorpio but in this deck, I believe Awakening (which in other more classic decks would be Judgement) works just as well. Scorpio, which is seen to be ruled by Mars in traditional astrology, and Pluto in modern astrology, is seeing a lot of action from it’s two favorite planets this week. In order for an awakening to take place, one must first be asleep, and sleep, Edgar Allen Poe famously quipped, is like little pieces of death. Pluto would approve. This week, awaken to your power in the service of others, awaken to the stories you have been telling yourself about pleasure and morality. Awaken to the ways in which the way you communicate can be the most powerful gift in your arsenal.

Sagittarius

In the Four of Branches three golden critters that I believe to be foxes, frolic amongst giant, splendid red flowers of different types (although I’m pretty sure that at least some of them are carnations). At least one of the foxes look mischievous.

It has been a rough ride for our Sagittarius friends this last year and a half as Saturn transits through their first house of self. Jupiter ruled Sagittarius wants to expand, while Saturn is telling them to contract. Sagittarius yearns for the big picture and Saturn tells them they’re being impractical. And you’re not outta the proverbial baptism by fire yet, Swagitarius. There is a whole year to go before saturn is ready to move on. But for just this week, the Four of Branches asks you to pause and take a moment to admire your work. Admire the beauty that surrounds you. Admire what you have been able to do with a little discipline. What do you have to be proud of this week? If you have felt like the break through you have been looking for is right around the corner, listen closely for the answers you have been waiting for in unexpected places. You might find it in the forest, in the studio, in the streets, or in the sheets.

Capricorn

The Traveler of Vessels holds a fishbowl in one hand and the reigns of the horse they are riding in the other. The white fish swims in red water. The white horse gallops above the ocean waves with no shore in sight. Toy Story clouds grace the golden skies. The rider smiles. She has great bangs.

Capricorns get a bad wrap for being boring. But folks who were born around the same time I was know that there are many faces of capricorn, and the one that we know most intimately is the one that holds a neptune/uranus conjunction in our natal charts and wowee it is anything but boring. I like to call this the manic pixie (uranus) dream girl (neptune) signature. This week the Traveler of Vessels invites Cappies to allow the way that other people see them to transform. Ground into your core values and reconnect with your dreamy self.

Aquarius

In the Seven of Branches five sticks lie side by side across the stump of a tree. There are many black circles around the log, against the background of red and grey. At the top, above the log, two sticks cross. In front of the crossing sticks is a tooth. A big molar. There are three other less impressive teeth scattered about the frame.

Our group-focused Aquarius friends can be excellent resources in politically turbulent times such as the ones we are currently living in. But as a fixed sign, they also have a tendency to dig in their heals when they think they’re right. This week, the Seven of Branches challenges Aquarius to turn that microscopic vision inward and look at what stories you are holding about what is right and what is wrong and to what extent you may be leaving yourself out of that equation. You might be surprised to find that some of the tendencies you abhor in the community live within yourself as well.

Pisces

In Fortuna a snake forms a circle with it’s tail in it’s mouth. Inside the snake-circle there are roses and the phases of the moon. Cicadas form a ring, wing to wing, inside the moons and in the middle there is a spool of red thread. Outside the snake there are leafy plants, and two hands; each coming out of the clouds, one from the top, and one from the bottom.

Right now, Venus is moving through your first house of self. Venus shines real bright in pisces, which means that right now, you are shining real bright. If it wasn’t for that ding dang Saturn square making things just a little uncomfortable. Saturn is big papa boundaries and Pisces just doesn’t believe in those. This week, Fortuna suggests that instead of swimming blithely away from the discomfort, you sit in it a little while and see what’s there. See if this discomfort is familiar to you. Ask yourself if you have felt it before, and if so: when? Why? How? Fortuna asks that we see the patterns – read the signs, and open to what is really there. Perhaps The Grim you see stalking your shadows, is not really so grim after all.