Today’s Capricorn Moon strengthens our emotional resolve with disciplines and responsibilities that could feel a little burdensome especially if our feelings are rejected by someone we love. The Moon, our nurturing mother within, is connecting with the two beneficent planets in the celestial sky: first, making a frustrating square to Venus sensitizing our attention to emotional rejection; and then, making a joyful trine to Jupiter and Saturn which can help divert our hurt feelings toward concern for an issue greater than ourselves if we do not exaggerate our feelings and infuse our day with a somber moodiness. It is important remembering that the choice is always ours to guide our individual star-ship as we will and create the quality of our life moment to moment.

The Moon journey’s through Capricorn every month, at which time, we are given two days to grow in emotional maturity by dealing with life challenges that force us to take personal responsibility for our feelings. It is important at these times not to reject our emotions or become emotionally cold or isolated. Today is a particularly challenging day for taking thoughtful action in our relationships. The Moon makes a square to Mars and Mercury in Libra and for a few hours we could experience frustrated communication with loved ones. The quincunx to the Leo South Node  alerts us to the possibility that accepting responsibility for our emotinal needs has something to do with being less in need of the approval of others. Tomorrow, when the Moon trines the Sun and sextiles Uranus, we may understand today’s conflicts as a purposeful refining of our individuality which is making us more inclusive of our emotional needs. The Moon and Sun trine in the earth signs foretell of a day to give concrete form to our emotions. It does not have to be a day of momentous acomplishing, rather, each of us can be respectful of our emotional well being in the simple gesture of sitting in stillness.

The waning Taurus Moon is telling us to evaluate the importance we place on the things we own in life and use as reflections for what we value in our self and measure as the breadth of our self-worth. This is a good week to ask ourselves if we spend more time worried about our material comfort than our spiritual evolving. The Moon is that aspect of our self seeking emotional security and well being feeling that we belong to the continuum of life. When we feel connected with our lunar self we intuitively understand that we belong to and are a part of the wisdom of nature; the divine Mother, our eternal “Feminine”, creator and destroyer of life. A dear friend recently returned from the Amazon in Brazil having experienced first hand the awesome magnificence of our divine Mother, “Madre Tierra”, tenaciously, and with a profound indifference to the momentary comforts of the human species, providing every breath of our existence. When under the influence of Taurus each cell of our body is made alert to the sensual experiencing of being alive. When we look into the loving eyes of creation spewing forth new life while devouring our decay we witness the chthonic source of our own creativity ripening into self-expression.

The wealth promised by Taurus is understanding that whatever we are seeking outside our self is first found within. The Leo Sun can be vulnerable seeking approval and appreciation from others while suffering rejection and exclusion if one’s talents and achievements are ignored. This week if we work together with the exalted strength of the Moon we may gain a deeper self-appreciation of ourselves based on our intrinsic knowing of our self-worth which cannot be measured against the standards of another. Next week we will experience a solar eclipse at 9 Leo 32 heralding a promise to eliminate an aspect of our individuality that has become obsolete. We can use this week as a prelude to the solar eclipse and reflect on what aspect within ourselves we want to sweep away for a more realized Self.

The first aspect the waning Moon makes is an earthy Grand Trine with Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter Rx suggesting that we can bring our lofty ideals down to earth and commune with the simple pleasures of life for free. One way to use the resources offered us this week is to free ourselves from the burden of our past without loosing contact with the source of our creation. The Moon squares Venus, the Nodes, Chiron, and Neptune indicating that our relationships may be challenging this week as we struggle to keep our mind open to the ideas of others.

We may find our self in situations requiring that we honor our individuality without steam rolling over our partner’s. You may feel like digging in your heels this week stubbornly refusing to budge on some aspect of your relationship that would have seemed trivial last week. This week it is a point of honor that you be right and if you allow your pride to dictate your emotional responding you may discover your partner giving you his or her cold shoulder. For those of us not in an intimate partnership at the moment we could inadvertently burden our friendships with similar behavior. The Moon sextile Uranus is itching for emotional freedom and the quincunx to Pluto requires adjusting how we relate to others if we want our relationships to foster our emotional evolving. The key to getting along with other’s this week is to turn our gaze within and observe ourselves creating ourselves.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/286/feed 0 http://laurenlesko.com/230 http://laurenlesko.com/230#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:00:40 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=230 click on the image to read about the art

Hurray! Mercury stations direct today and all our mishaps magically disappear, well not entirely, nothing is ever as it seems when we are under the influence of Mercury. The last 21 days of life on Earth have been a series of obstacle courses testing our reflexes under stress, challenging our attachment to obsolete ideals, and demanding that we look into the eyes of our emotional denying which is often the culprit for things “breaking down” during a Mercury Rx.* If any one reading this post thought Mercury’s Rx was tough, take a deep breath and exhale slowly, because our real work is just beginning if we are serious about creating the life we want. Mercury is our celestial messenger traveling between our dreaming and our waking translating our every sensation into image and form, which is one reason why Mercury retrogrades three times each year encouraging us to re-consider what we have created in our life.

Mercury is the androgynous personification of our conscious and unconscious perceptions of our self and our life. As princely ruler of Gemini, Mercury is operating full force giving us the mental strength to change our perceptions of what life has to be. Our mind is our most powerful ally determining the quality of our life, and yet, we understand so little of what it actually means, primarily because science has traditionally focused on “what something is” rather than “what something means”. Understanding our mind requires experiencing our mind and that is a mysterious and uniquely individual journey requiring that we join hands with Mercury, our teacher, our navigator, our liberator.

What is significant about Mercury’s directed motion, besides facilitating our ability to actualize whatever lessons we recently learned during the retrograde period, are the celestial conversations exchanged with the outer planets which are indicating long term change and lasting transformation. In early July Mercury will make a second trine with Chiron, the North Node, and Neptune indicating that our mind is once again receptive to new ideas and information. When under the influence of Aquarius we are learning how to receive from others, usually in the form of ideas, on the deepest level love, and our toughest lesson under the tutelage of Aquarius is our accepting what we are given as an act of genuine acknowledgment and appreciation for the contribution of another.

Mercury will quincunx Jupiter in Capricorn and square Uranus in Pisces softening our rigid attachment to the images and forms of our reality, and challenging us to be more inclusive of the thoughts and feelings of others without sacrificing what we think and feel. When under the influence of Pisces we feel the long shadow of our longing for union tempting us to sacrifice our individuality so it is important to create clearly defined boundaries between our ideas and the ideas of others. Are you hearing the voice of independent thinking? The last aspect Mercury makes before leaving Gemini is an opposition to Pluto Rx in Sagittarius promising us mental freedom if we open our mind and encourage our wild child spirit creative expressing rather than the destructive expressing of frustration, fear, and fanaticism.

*Terry Lamb offered this sensitive understanding of Mercury Rx in her June Forecast.

Today is the waxing phase of the lunar cycle demanding action be taken. But what kind of action? The new Moon Gemini beckoned the opening of our mind allowing for fresh mental breathing, and now, the waxing Moon Virgo is calling for discernment and discrimination. The action called forth with this waxing Moon is to slow down and analyze all that we have been open to the last week. The Virgo Moon is reflecting our unconscious seeking of wholeness, our completeness within our self, requiring that we step back and understand the value of our recent experiences. It is possible in the coming days to feel isolated, even critical of our self and others, so it is important to understand that our frustration is our awareness of the imperfection of our situation. Gemini never weighs the value of a situation, but not so Virgo, which is that aspect in our self seeing every wrinkle of imperfection in life. It is tempting to spiral down a rabbit hole of discontent and forfeit our opportunity to see our current situation as an expression of the whole. We need to be watchful not to exaggerate or judge our situation and miss experiencing the fullness of life because we see only the part.

When under the influence of Virgo we intuitively create rituals which honor the rhythms of our daily life, our body, our psyche, because we understand that our wholeness is an integral continuum of the wholeness of life. The Moon is that aspect of our self reflecting our instinctual awareness of cyclical change, and each year, at this time, the waxing Virgo Moon is directing our attention toward our need to honor the cycles of our life. The four faces of every lunar cycle reflect our process of change; the new Moon initiation, the waxing Moon action, the full Moon completion, and the waning Moon integration. The Mayan culture believed that each life force, living spirit, was a single thread woven by the Moon Goddess, Ix Chel, into an intricately patterned cloth of life. I can’t imagine a more beautiful metaphor for our seeking wholeness, the part integrated into the whole, than Ix Chel eternally weaving the living cloth of life.

Our minds have been soaring high above the maddening crowd seeking a fresh life perspective, and today, the waxing Virgo Moon is challenging us to come back to Earth and put our new found perspective into practical skills. The first aspects the Virgo Moon made were a trine to Pluto and a conjunction to Saturn offering us cosmic helping hands to guide our thoughts and feelings toward a gentle landing back on Earth. Venus has been in the heart of the Sun infused with the radiant light of consciousness getting ready to translate our newly gained awareness but before that can happen the Virgo Moon will square Venus and the Sun, and trine Jupiter; funneling our scattered attention into a directed focus of inquiry reaching beyond our self, as long as we are careful not to undermine our sense of curiosity with a false sense of duty. The lunar opposition to Uranus, and the quincunx to Chiron, the South Node, and Neptune are directing our attention to the necessity for integrating our recent experiences into a personal expression that reflects our skillful interweaving of our many faceted selves into an elaborate wholeness.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/203/feed 0 http://laurenlesko.com/194 http://laurenlesko.com/194#comments Sat, 31 May 2008 22:00:00 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=194 click on the image to read about the art

During the week, between the waning Moon and the new Moon, the wandering stars are silent as the Moon alone translates light from one planet to another. The Moon, that aspect of our self reflecting our need for emotional security and our emotional reaction to our experiences in life, is the fastest moving celestial body touring the entire zodiac in one month. If we relate this cycle with our natal chart we see that our emotional experiences for the first month of our life are repeated every month throughout our life. Until we have awareness of what is happening, we will experience the monthly lunar cycle as emotional fluctuation, perhaps even instability, and our security and comfort in life will feel determined by the tides of change.

The waning face of the Moon is the lunar phase heralding an ending that is preparing for a beginning. The Pisces waning Moon has taken us down into the deep waters of our unconscious to face our phantom fears, our monsters within. Pisces is that aspect of ourself longing to merge and be one with the source of our creation and we can feel a vague pricking of our discontent and unwittingly sacrifice our self to avoid feeling the loneliness of our separateness. The gift of Pisces is knowing that the seeker and the found is a single self-mirrored mystery reflecting the mystery of the manifest world. *

Knowing all about the manifest world is Gemini’s specialty. The Sun is in Gemini, the sign of Mercury’s ruler ship, and the rays of our conscious light are manifest in our rational thinking, impatient with the impressionistic intuition of the Pisces Moon. Even a false hinting of self sacrifice is an anathema to our conscious mind which diligently works to keep us isolated and segregated from others. This celestial combination mixes water with air which on the up side can give clarity to our emotions and soften the harsh contours of our thoughts. On the down side, the predominance of celestial bodies currently in the element of air, many in retrograde, coupled with the Pisces waning Moon, hints at our mental confusion about how we manifest our feelings and thoughts.

The first days after the Pisces waning Moon, May 28 – 29, we may have felt frustrated that our unique and original ideas were not appreciated and we could have felt rejected and emotionally isolated. As soon as the Moon moved into Aries it made a square to Pluto in Capricorn and a qunicunx to Saturn in Virgo adding a sobering tone to our emotions, coupled with the abundance of sextiles, we gained an awareness that certain forces beyond our control could be resolved if we used our creative thinking and made the mental space for inspired communication to freely flow. May 30 was a day spent by many correcting prior mis communication which had created misunderstanding.

For the next two days the Moon moves gracefully exalted in Taurus highlighting issues of security especially our emotional investment in our ideas about the world of form. The first aspect the Moon makes is a trine to Pluto and Saturn indicating that we are feeling more emotionally secure about our skills and talents and open to the challenge of achieving our gaols even under adverse conditions. However, this is not an auspicious time to put our thoughts or feelings into action it is much better to wait until after the New Moon, and until then, to spend our time contemplating our intentions for the coming month.

The New Moon in Gemini will translate the light of Venus first to the Sun and then the other planets suggesting that the coming lunar cycle will illuminate some aspect of what we value in life which will enhance our self esteem. This Gemini New Moon compliments the celestial landscape in air and it is possible that we will experience the coming month with more self confidence and assurance as long as we do not sacrifice our independence or amputate our emotions.

I will have more to say on the Gemini New Moon on June 3.

*Joseph Cambell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/194/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/184 http://laurenlesko.com/184#comments Sun, 25 May 2008 00:06:53 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=184 click on the image to read about the art

Promises, Promises, Promises. This weekend Mercury is our celestial trickster and teaser making promises he can’t deliver at least not for the moment. Mercury in Gemini has reached a virtual standstill ready to station Rx on May 26, and missing by a hair’s breath a harmonious aspect with the Nodes and a square with Uranus forcing us to wait it out until making an exact contact in early July. If your life is anything like mine at the moment you are juggling more than enough balls and mightily challenged to keep them all dancing in the air. Brainstorming is a guaranteed activity when Sun, Venus, and Mercury are in Gemini and we can use the time between now and early July to refine our thinking. If something isn’t working well for us it may be because we haven’t considered all the possibilities. When Mercury stations retrograde it is for 3 weeks, and during that time we are given the opportunity to re-consider, re-evaluate, and re-think how we communicate our thoughts and feelings. When Mercury is in the sign of ruler ship, as now, the forces are upon us to make adjustments in how we communicate. Now is a great time to let a lot of information filter in but not a great time for making long term commitments because right now our experiences are flowing like air and need constant movement not containment. We should have a better idea of what we want to contain once Mercury goes direct in mid June. Mercury enjoys playing the trickster and at the moment life is not as it seems, so enjoy the flurry of activity, keep your mind flexible, your heart open, and look beyond the obvious.

Today, Venus entered Gemini, the sign of Mercury’s rule, and we may find ourselves in a flutter of social activities and we need to be watchful of situations where communication is rife for misunderstanding. Venus is that dimension in ourselves assigning personal value to our experiences in life, and consequently, is a leading influence on the choices we make about the food we eat, the places we go, the people we meet. The first aspect Venus makes in Gemini is a quincunx to Pluto, the aspect of adjustment, challenging us to change something about how we communicate what we value. When under the influence of Gemini we find value in everything and in nothing, and when Venus travels in Gemini our values and the choices we make are learning to be more tolerant, accepting, and inclusive. If we can remember that our encounters with others reflect something within ourselves, then we gain a deeper insight and appreciation for who we are and for what we value in life.

On May 22 Chiron and Mercury made a harmonious trine just days before both celestial bodies were to station retrograde and each carrying the influence of the other allowing us on Earth to contemplate the healing of a deep wounding that I suspect has something to do with our ability to receive love without judgment. Today, Chiron in Aquarius stations retrograde translating Mercury’s message of non -judgment as will Mercury translate Chiron’s wounding and possible healing as we journey toward a more clear understanding of the choices we make . Mercury and Chiron meet again for brief moments during Mercury’s retrograde cycle providing us with the opportunity to re-kindle the original contact and keep the intensity of purpose clear. I highly recommend reading Julie Demboski’s Astrology for a sensitive and insightful understanding of this celestial phenomenon.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/184/feed 0 http://laurenlesko.com/182 http://laurenlesko.com/182#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 04:49:28 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=182 click on the image to read about the art

Yesterday, we on Earth experienced a powerful Full Moon at the last degrees of Scorpio and Taurus which challenged us to consider how we have consolidated our earthly resources, to examine our emotional attachment to what we own, and to reflect how deeply our identity is invested in what we own including the ownership of information. Today, the radiant light of the Sun entered the sign Gemini and we are receiving the many faces of diversity challenging us to consider a multitude of possible ways of thinking and experiencing life. When the Sun enters Gemini it is time for our individuality to reach out with curious hands and touch lithely a myriad of experiences without qualifying, judging, condemning, or consolidating what it is we are experiencing. This is our chance to see, with the fresh eyes of a child, life for the very first time. This month is a time for initiating new activity in our daily routine; it can be as simple as taking a different route to our local market or as complex as moving to a foreign country; the activity itself is less important than allowing ourself the possibility of doing something that brings us a new experiencing of our life. Gemini is that aspect in ourselves filled with curiosity and wonderment and when under the influence of Gemini celestial fresh air blows open the closed portals in our mind allowing a free flowing circulation of new information, and consequently, new possibilities and choices in life.

Gemini is the sign of the celestial twins reflecting that aspect in ourselves which is of two minds, neither one better nor worst than the other. When we see life through the eyes of Gemini we recognize the inherent duality in life and understand that all opposites exist in tandem together one with the other. This can be a difficult concept for our conscious mind to wrap around because it seems to enjoy compartmentalizing our thoughts and experiences which keep us isolated from others and from ourselves. There are many faces of ourselves which we deny or ignore and the gift of Gemini is teaching us tolerance and acceptance of the contradictions we find in ourselves and in others. The first aspects the Gemini Sun makes are a quincunx to Pluto in Capricorn and a square to Saturn in Virgo both aspects clip the superficial wings of Gemini and our souring curiosity could get bruised plummeting to the ground. If this happens to you try and think of it as a grounding, manifesting, of the limitations of your individuality. The trick is to keep your mind open even as your barometric pressure is rising. It is helpful remembering that the experiences we meet out side ourselves, for good and bad, are reflected faces of multiple aspects of ourselves many of whom are hidden and only appear before us in the behavior of another. The gift of this Gemini Sun, aided by other celestial flurries during the month which I will be writing more about, is becoming aware of our strength and weakness, our liking and disliking, our prejudice, our biases, and most assuredly our humanness.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/182/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/179 http://laurenlesko.com/179#comments Mon, 19 May 2008 03:19:55 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=179 click on the image to read about the art

We begin this week with a once in a blue moon celestial phenomenon of two Full Moons in one month. From what little I have read on the subject of blue moons there are differing opinions about what actually constitutes one.* What I can say with assurance is that this second Scorpio Full Moon reflects something unusual in our unconscious which is fighting for conscious awareness. Before the Moon moves to an exact opposition with the Sun it will make challenging aspects to Mercury, Chiron, Venus, the Nodes, and Neptune, tempered with harmonious aspects to Jupiter and Uranus. Unlike the previous Scorpio Full Moon heralding the harmonious experiencing of our conscious illumination, this Scorpio Full Moon is reflecting our frustration, but don’t despair frustration is our impetus to change and change is our lead -in to consciousness illumination. This Scorpio Full Moon promises just that, conscious illumination, if we are willing to examine the mental and emotional boxes we put ourselves inside and ask ourselves if the choices we make in life are out of obligation or in celebration of life?

When the Moon and Mercury connect it is a time for emotional questioning and the quincunx suggests that now is the time to adjust how we process and express what we feel. The square between Scorpio Moon and Chiron in Aquarius is asking us to examine if our need for emotional security is preventing us from opening our mind and seeing other possibilities and choices. We are being challenged to ask ourselves, without social pretense, tough questions that may disrupt our emotional security but ultimately bring us deeper emotional satisfaction. The fixed Grand Square with Venus and the Nodes is a dynamic aspect stimulating a lot of internal tension and forcing us to examine our emotional attachment to what we have built in life, using the resources we have, and ask ourselves if the material reality of our life truly reflects the fullness of our potential.

If the answer is no then this is the time to work with the creative energy promised by the Grand Square and make changes that honestly reflect the fullness of our life purpose and potential, which are not necessarily measured in the things we own. Venus in Taurus, square the Nodes, sextile Uranus, and trine Jupiter is helping us give form to what we like best about ourselves. The Nodes in Leo and Aquarius tell us that our unique value, our personal taste and style, cannot be dictated by society. Privilege, prestige, social status are not the guardians of our self – confidence, in fact, many times they actually diminish our appreciation of our unique individuality because we feel compelled to conform to the social norm.

Venus and the South Node are square at the same time that the South Node is quincunx Jupiter and Uranus sextile to each other. This celestial configuration is outlining the cosmic signature of a yod, a finger of God. This yod is at the heart of the Grand Square adding potency to our experiences of frustration under the illumination of this Full Moon. The astrologer, Julie Demboski, suggests that the yod is a sign of divine direction from a benevolent God. And so it can be. The South Node, the celestial point of least resistance, is where we can fall into complacency if we do not use our unique talents to expand our consciousness. The Leo South Node is telling us to become less dependent upon public opinion, to think independently, and use our creative talents in ways that express who we really are and not whom society dictates we should be. The finger of God is pointing our attention in the direction of our untraveled road which just may be gaining personal freedom, the promise of Uranus, once we accept responsibility for the choices we make, the promise of Jupiter in Capricorn. It seems that this Full Moon is reflecting the intensity of impending change and I can’t help wonder if the Sun and Moon, minutes away from changing signs, reflects the ending of a road and the marking of a change in direction?

* Blue moon is the name given to an extra full moon during a year. Most years have twelve full moons, which occur approximately monthly. However, each calendar year contains those twelve full lunar cycles plus about eleven days to spare. The extra days accumulate, so that every two or three years there is an extra full moon. On average, this happens once every 2.72 years, and different definitions place the extra moon at different times. The extra full moon is called a blue moon.

Saturday morning the Moon in Leo made an occultation to Mars, and moving between Mars and Earth our instinct to survive was given a concentrated dose of willful self defiance. I admit it is tempting to dig our heels deep into the earth and adamantly insist upon having things our way but we most likely will turn away the very people we want at our side. Later in the day the Moon and Mars will make a quincunx to Pluto in Capricorn suggesting that being overly determined, too heavy handed in our demands, will be met with obstacles from forces beyond our control. We may feel that our greatest passions have been buried under the indifference of others, and maybe they have, but this is not a good time to get huffy because our feelings are bruised. Better using honey than vinegar to gracefully finesse what we want from other’s, lest we forget, that the art of successful relating is the marriage between skillful self preservation and a genuine care, consideration, and respect for the autonomy of the other person.

Last week the Taurus New Moon promised us sumptuous nourishing from Mother Nature if we slowed down our daily rhythm and honored with awareness every moment lived. Today, brings the first quarter phase of the lunar cycle and the Leo Moon square the Taurus Sun creates a conflict between our emotional need to connect with others and our solar need to be independent of others. The first quarter lunar phase is a firm reminder that we need to take action to change something from our past otherwise we may miss the illumination in consciousness offered with the coming Full Moon. When under the influence of Leo we are seeking acceptance from others for our unique individuality and when the Moon is in Leo we can feel overly vulnerable to being rejected or ridiculed. If our pride flares, and with Leo this is always a possibility, we can become dismissing of other’s before they are dismissing of us, and sadly this achieves the exact opposite of what we are emotionally seeking – acceptance for who we are.

A Leo Moon is a fire Moon bursting with energy to express what we are feeling which has everything to do with how we feel about who we are. Of all the signs in the zodiac, the ruler of our heart, Leo, is the sign giving us the heart to be anything that we want to be. A Leo Moon and a Taurus Sun are in mutual reception, the Sun disposing the Moon and the Moon exalted in Taurus, so their shared square is more gentle than others and our need to be acknowledged for who we are can garner emotional and material gain if we avoid the temptation to ignite personal dramas. Our shinning light is in expressing the magnanimous warmth of a luminous Leo Moon reflecting our light to others.

The Leo Moon is quincunx Uranus in Pisces and Jupiter in Capricorn, and pointing “the finger of God” ( a yod aspect ) in our direction we are asked to adjust our emotional insecurities and self doubts and try to see a larger world view inclusive of the emotional needs of others. The yod aspect shines the celestial spotlight on where we may be compulsively re-enacting past feelings of self doubt and insecurities. The last aspect the Moon makes before leaving Leo is a conjunction to the South Node, opposition to the Aquarius North Node, and then an opposition to Neptune in Aquarius. We can either continue reacting as we always have or we can choose to look at our behavior with the emotional distance offered the Aquarius NN and gain in emotional freedom. The healing offered from Neptune in Aquarius is our awareness that if the Leo dimension in ourselves is seeking acceptance for our unique individuality it is only fair that we accept the unique individuality of others.

If you are feeling tension it could be because of the celestial double dose of one planet changing sign and another changing direction. On Friday, Mars enters Leo and mighty Jupiter stations retrograde; adding to the tension both planets are moving toward a quincunx suggesting that we on earth need to make an adjustment in how we achieve success. We may feel frustrated for not having received the recognition we wanted for something we have achieved. The coming month we need to use patience and perseverance to continue in our efforts with whatever we have been accomplishing and believe in what we are doing even if no one else does.

When we enter the Mars dimension of ourselves our instinct to survive is on alert and we become warriors defending, conquering, overwhelming. When Mars is in Leo passionate egos can flare; our impulse to be ourselves and our impulse to express ourselves are walking arm on arm and explosive fireworks are sure to ignite. We can take solace knowing that the brash bravado of a Leo Mars is masking insecurities, and our need for approval from others is our attempt to heal wounds of rejection and exclusion. Mars is leaving the sign Cancer the symbol of family and home and we are like the baby bird pushed from the nest flying solo for the first time. We may feel clumsy and awkward, we may even fall, but we have the courage and daring to try again and eventually we will fly with grace. The trick with Mars is learning patience and not aborting what we have started out of frustration. The trick with a Leo Mars is to be aware that we instigate dramatic episodes to hide our insecurities. The gift of a Leo Mars is the courage and honesty to face our insecurities and fear of rejection.

When we enter the Jupiter dimension of ourselves we are inspired to expand our conscious awareness beyond the boundaries of the familiar so we can experience something different than what we have thus far experienced. When Jupiter is in Capricorn our expanding consciousness takes a traditional turn to the right and our cosmic flowing is restricted forcing us to consider the structures supporting our achievements. As Jupiter travels back through Capricorn we are given the opportunity to re-examine the structures we have created in our lives and decide which are working for us and which are working against us. This can be a very creative period of adjustment as long as we do not get discouraged and feel that change is manifesting too slowly. Jupiter moving backwards in Capricorn will bring a heaviness to our lives, a seriousness which if we use wisely, we can manifest lasting changes in the practical structures of our lives which will continue to support our growing in consciousness for many years to come.