Four Moons Astrology- Donna Woodwell, Austin, Texas

Water and Fire: a potent mix of elements bubbles in a steaming Spring.

A major alignment of lights and planets in Pisces signals rising tides. Pisces rules symbolic images and unbounded dreams. The Piscean energy peaks March 13 through 15, when the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus are all in the sign of the Fish. This is an excellent time to work with dreams or begin keeping a journal.

Mars ends its three-month retrograde in Leo on March 10; the Sun enters Aries on March 20. Mars rules Aries and the Sun, Leo; these planets in each others’ signs create a “mutual reception” that amplifies the fiery nature of both. Dust off those New Year’s resolutions — plans stuck in idle will definitely get a boost this month.

Be on the lookout for messages from the unconscious. Hidden longings will break through the surface, demanding to be acknowledged and fed.  Passion harnessed is the fuel that makes dreams manifest. Courageously embrace your desires.

After each long winter the spring thaw begins. Waters flow freely, preparing the earth for new life and new possibilities.

We too must flow like water to rejuvenate ourselves. This February is an excellent time to explore our deepest feelings and desires. Optimistic Jupiter sextiles healing Pluto on February 6, unlocking profound healing energies. Surrender yourself to them and they will whisper in your ear.

This Valentine’s Day, treat yourself to something sensual. Venus and Jupiter meet on February 16 for a sweet kiss in watery Pisces. Indulge yourself, especially in fluid pleasures: a hot bath, a walk by the water, a decadent cup of hot chocolate, an oil-scented massage. Relax and unwind.

Take a break while you can, the wheels will start turning again soon enough. Mars and Saturn are still retrograde, so the projects you’ve planned may still feel stuck in the mud. But next month we pick up speed for a roller-coaster summer. Stay tuned!

Like the earth waiting beneath a blanket of snow, the world holds its breath as 2010 steals in silently.

With Mercury and Mars, planets of analyzing and action, still retrograde, early January is an excellent time to review the past year and make new plans for the new one.  If your resolutions are off to a sluggish start, try, try again when Saturn, planet of discipline, goes retrograde on January 13, and Mercury goes direct on January 15.

Last month’s Saturn-Pluto square still lingers in January, exact again at the end of the month.  Simplify your world by deciding what’s important to you, focusing your actions on those things, and letting go of the rest.  It’s an excellent time to detoxify your life on all levels – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

Tired of letting go? Just in time Jupiter enters its home sign of Pisces on January 17, bringing with it a much-needed dose of hope and a sense of possibility.  Mountains are always easier to climb when you allow yourself to be inspired by the view.  In the same way, letting go is always easier with hope in your heart.

This holiday season, change comes wrapped in pretty boxes. Starting December 1, all of the planets will be in direct motion. That means there’s little to slow the sleigh ride.  The Full Moon in Gemini the next day will add wings to your reindeer. Get your shopping done early; it’s sure to be a hectic rush this holiday season. Sip a nice hot cup of herbal tea and pace yourself.

The Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere, falls on December 21. On the same day, Jupiter meets Neptune for the third time this year, bringing a dose of hope for this darkest night. Light a candle and make a wish.

Expect a downshift as two planets — Mercury and Mars — will both turn retrograde and put the brakes on our activities. Mars, who symbolizes our will, passions and drive, will change direction on December 20; Mercury, the planet that governs communication, transportation and trade, begins its backwards slide on December 26. Together these two planets will urge us toward a greater understanding of our actions and motivations. It’s a good year to carefully consider our New Year’s resolutions, but don’t expect a lot of traction on them until the retrograde periods end (on January 15 for Mercury and March 10 for Mars.) Take the time to reflect on what’s important in your world, and make those things your priority.

Then expect a little extra Luna-cy this New Year’s Eve.  A “Blue Moon,” the second full moon in the month of December, as well as a lunar eclipse in Cancer, will light up the night. Savor the moonlit magic!

On November 13, 2009, the movie 2012 will be released in theatres. This quintessential, special-effects-charged disaster flick chronicles mayhem and destruction of apocalyptic proportions.

Of course, the movie is Hollywood fantasy.  The Mayans didn’t actually predict the end of “time” in the year 2012, rather the end of one calendar cycle and the beginning of a new one.  But we have clearly entered a paradigm-shifting time.  Old structures and ways of thinking, unable to meet the challenges we now face, are breaking down both on personal and societal levels.

The movie arrives just two days before the major astrological event of November: the first of three Saturn-Pluto squares taking place in 2009 and 2010 (the second two occurring in January and August 2010).  Saturn is the planet that governs the structures of our lives; with things like responsibilities, and boundaries and time, he makes us “get real” with ourselves and our world.  Pluto is the planet of transformation and transmutation; whatever the god of the underworld touches emerges changed from the encounter.  A square between these two planets occurs approximately once every 14 years; it always tells us that the time for change is now.

Like the movie’s metaphor, change can feel as if our world is shattering.  But it is at these crossroads the most profound healing occurs; the old gives way to make room for something new.  The secret to thriving in such times lies in embracing change, in letting go with conscious awareness and intention.

Find the support that you need for your own transformative journey.  Nourish your body with healing herbs and practices.  Open your heart to friends and community.  Above all, be gentle with yourself; like a tender plant breaking through the surface, you too need space to grow.

Anais Nin once wrote: “There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”  August is a time of blossoming…

Since last fall, we have felt the heightened contest between Saturnine order and Uranian change.  Saturn symbolizes that which binds us into physical manifestation. His counsel: be realistic, pragmatic and grounded in tradition to be successful in this world.  Quirky Uranus urges us to individuate, innovate and free ourselves from constraints that limit our potential.

The third of five oppositions between these two planets occurs in mid September. Like the game tug-of-war, oppositions are about living with creative tension. For a time, one side may win, then the other; eventually we realize that two states may be true simultaneously and we find our balance again.

But in August, a third actor shakes up the game: Mars.  The Red Planet crosses the midpoint between Saturn and Uranus, first squaring Saturn on August 10 then Uranus on August 18.  Passionate Mars leaps before it looks, impelling us to take action, to break through tensions, to open and grow, even if we don’t yet know what we shall become.

Mars also brings us courage; he’s too impatient to be afraid.  He seizes the day.  August is an excellent time to make changes that require an act of will power. Just do it, and don’t look back.

Fireworks! A shower of glittering stars above and below as planets touch, separate and touch again.

In celestial square dance, graceful Venus and lusty Mars promenade through the early morning skies, marking a summer of Love and War.  They are joined on stage by the more stately pas de deux of Jupiter and Neptune, who meet in the heavens for the second time this month. With all these actors on stage, expect high drama the first week of July.

The summertime music of the spheres climaxes with a threefold embrace of the Sun and Moon:

And the conjunction of our lips
Not kisses make, but an Eclipse.
–Henry King (1592-1669)

Eclipses — the alignment of Earth, Moon and Sun — portend the ending and beginning of cycles. Three eclipses loom on the horizon: a Full Moon eclipse on July 7, a Total Solar Eclipse on July 21, and another Full Moon Eclipse on August 5.

The Solar Eclipse falls in the last degree of watery, sentimental Cancer; this is the time to release old wounds to which we have clung.  “It’s hard to let go anything we love. We live in a world that teaches us to clutch. But when we clutch we’re left with a fistful of ashes,” writes Madeline L’Engle in A Ring of Endless Light.  Hold that which you love with an open hand.

Eclipses usually occur in pairs. Three in a row heralds an especially sacred moment, a cosmic ceremony in which our personal healing is also planetary healing.

“Once I sat upon a promontory,
And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back,
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the rude sea grew civil at her song;
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,
To hear the sea-maid’s music.”

Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act II, Scene 1

Sigh, deep and contentedly. After months of turbulent skies, June brings a chance to kick back and relax.  Savor it! Watch a movie in the park, treat yourself to your favorite ice cream, or have a picnic under the stars with your friends.

Some of the best astrological days of the year are coming up this month, particularly in the second half of June.  Now is a great time to start new projects or commitments. The longest day of the year, the summer solstice, is on June 20.   Breathe in the midsummer magic. Dance!

“I sing of Poseidon, god of the deep
O Shaker of the Earth, tamer of horses
Be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!”
~Homeric Hyms, 4th Century, BCE

Pandemics and pirates, poisons and pardons. This month the planets Jupiter and Neptune, gods of the land and sea, with the centaur Chiron, divine healer, begin a summer-long dance.  Jupiter heralds hope and expansion, but also excess; Neptune solace, but also confusion; Chrion healing, but also wounding.

This triple conjunction in the humanitarian sign of Aquarius is a gift.  Like waves crashing on the shore remake the coastline, so too are we remade by the tides of history.  The cosmic message: Surrender and have faith.  Set your sights on a star, and navigate your seas with integrity and courage.

Pluto returns to Capricorn! On November 26, Pluto — planet of revolutionary change — will re-enter Capricorn — sign of big governments, business and the environment. Last time Pluto resided in Capricorn, humans launched the industrial age and the American and French Revolutions. In the same way, we can expect the choices we make over the next decade to reshape the landscape for the next two centuries and beyond. This time when Pluto moves into Capricorn, there are no retrograde planets, suggesting the Change Express is barreling full-steam ahead. Pluto remains in the sign of the Sea Goat until 2023. Pace yourself!