Living with the Stars

  Welcome to the Aries Full Moon which occurs on the 17th October at around 13:30. That evening, the Moon will rise in the east in a spectacular fashion. Since the beginning of summer we've had some powerful alignments and this month is no different. Just look at all the planets at twenty something degrees of a sign!  First of all, we need to look at the grand square in the chart. The Sun is opposite the Moon - that is typical of the Full Moon. This FM is in Aries, that is, warrior energy. The planet that rules Aries is Mars, which lies in Cancer at the moment. Mars' placement in this sign could be described as the warrior who defends the homeland (Cancer rules the home). Mars lies opposite Pluto, the planet associated with death and transformation. Death is a metaphor here for something coming to an end, which then transmutes and transforms into something new. Such is the principal energy of this Full Moon. When you consider what is going on in the world, one wonders whether w

  Finally, time to write a few words (hopefully more) about the solar eclipse of the 2nd October 2024. If my schedule this week was a description of the nature of this solar eclipse, then I might feel less perturbed for not having this blog post up in time. Between work, rehearsals for a concert, a funeral and a wake, there was hardly any time to look at the charts. In this blog post, I'll try to bring the essentials to your attention.  Solar eclipses come in families and like children, they are born, grow up and pass on. This family of solar eclipse (also called Saros Cycle) was born in 1718 CE and will end in 2962 AD. Work done by the esteemed astrologer Bernadette Brady informs us that the nature of this eclipse is one of separation and loss, so let's keep that in the background. She further describes this 'separation and loss'  (among other things of the same nature) as when we finish something and have to let it go; the feeling of having to go forward without that