The planet Venus, whose starry presence evokes harmony, beauty and love, is moving in mysterious ways. Her path through the heavens this month is unusually high in the sky; all her activities fly beyond her normal routines. Issues involving love, wealth and women are charged and visible on the Earth plane. “Don’t tread on me” may be the banner waved in relationships, especially by women.

Then on May 15, Venus retraces her steps, beginning a 40-day retrograde cycle that ends on June 27. Traditionally Venus retrograde marks a time to sweep away all Venusian attachments that no longer serve. Old flames may suddenly appear, only to finish up unresolved issues so you can move forward on a healthier path.  Or you may find yourself sorting through snarled finances to discover your net worth. Or even through the snarled parts of yourself to uncover your true worth.

When Venus is retrograde, she’s closest to the Earth, and Love isn’t just an ethereal ideal that can be neatly captured in polite and pretty words. It’s a messy, lusty affair that calls us to be courageous and accountable.  Be calm but brave; the dark visage of Venus has no patience for cowardice.  She asks that you stand in the heart of the fire, and allow all non-essentials to be burned away, revealing your heart’s true desires to you.

And to cap off the month, on May 20 there is a solar eclipse in communicative Gemini. The path of totality soars across the Western United States (including West Texas), bringing its capacity for stirring up changes much closer to home. This solar eclipse says let go of old ideas and ways of communicating. Better days are ahead if you’re willing to see life from a fresh perspective; this is particularly the case if you are a Gemini or Sagittarius.

As April opens, the planets chatty Mercury and energetic Mars still appear to be traveling backwards in the sky. Together they ask us to pause and reevaluate what’s past and consider our future direction.  Mercury shifts to forward gear on April 4 and Mars on April 13.  When Mercury renters just-do-it Aires on April 16, they will be off to the races again, at least for a little while.

While finishing his retrograde, Mars makes challenging aspects with love goddess Venus and fantasy Neptune. It’s a rough ride for Love; people hold their cards close, too afraid to share or too willing to  believe.

And coming soon the goddess of Love and Beauty will take her own 40-day backwards turn. Venus sashayed into inquisitive Gemini on April 3 for an extended stay. Venus usually stays in a sign for a month before gliding on to the next, but because her retrograde begins in May, she’s staying with the Twins for four months.

If you’re a Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces, expect the love goddess dancing through your living room. Venus dons her most earthly attire; no ethereal, idealized beauty allowed. The manifest consequences of Love will demand our attention over the coming months. Be gentle with yourself and others, and save those final words for another time.

Seeds need time undisturbed to germinate; you’ll have a clearer understanding once they’ve had time to sprout.

If you’ve been out at sunset, the beautiful alignment of bright Venus and Jupiter in the western sky will continue throughout the month. Sultry Venus sings of love and beauty, and joyful Jupiter of hope and new possibilities. This darling astro-duet dances through nature-loving Taurus. Give yourself the gift of evening strolls and invoke some of their stellar love and good fortune into your own world.

Elsewhere in the heavens, get-it-done Mars is still trekking backwards through organizational diva Virgo’s domain. Continue to pare your routines down to the essentials that serve you well. Uncluttering your space, your time and your mind will free your energies to work on the essentials of your life.

Both of these line up in harmony with agent provocateur Pluto, who continues his 26-year sojourn in Capricorn. Capricorn rules structures of all kinds and Pluto deep transformations; last time Pluto was in Capricorn we saw the start of the American revolution. Institutional change is a slow process punctuated by intense shifts. Since Pluto began grinding through Capricorn in 2008, we’ve seen quakes and fault lines in the structures of governments and economies that will continue until 2024.

That these planets are all working together heralds some amazing and transformative insights for ourselves and our planet. The most intense part of the alignment occurs during the second week of March. The only tremor in the force: on March 12 communicative Mercury hits reverse for three weeks. Mercury retrograde will intensify the workings of the other alignments (called a “grand Earth trine” by astrologers), but it will also delay the manifestation and expression of its fruits.

Keep planting seeds for the future that you want to see materialize. Even if sprouts don’t appear overnight, tend your gardens. Like the butterfly in the cocoon, metamorphosis on both personal and planetary levels takes time. Plant, cultivate and be patient.

Neptune dives back into oceanic Pisces, where the god of the waters will reside for the next 14 years. Neptune’s last visit to Pisces spawned Spiritualism, philanthropic causes, defense of the rights of the oppressed, communism, and the theory of evolution.

And today? Neptune dissolves the boundaries between “us” and “them.” Neptune in Pisces heralds both a longing for Spirit in all forms, as well as fantasy and self-delusion. Open your heart, stay connected to your body, and make space for the whispers of Spirit in mediation, dreams, and all creative acts.  Be wary of those who, caught up in their bliss experience, return with puffed egos claiming to know *the* way. We each carry a Divine light illuminating our own path.  Commune as equals with others, yet feel your own way.

Mars, our basic energy principle, continues his retrograde this month. Mars loves to run-run-run, high on the adrenalin rush of speed. When Mars appears to retrograde (or move backwards, as it does from January 24 to April 14), our collective energy shifts gears to something not-so goal-oriented.

Mars retrograde offers an opportunity to practice mindfulness – being in the moment. How you are spending your energy? Is this really serving your highest good? Mars is also associated with separations, so it’s also a good time to break old habits that aren’t serving you.

Romance takes some hard knocks Valentine’s Day. Venus enters take-no-prisoners Aires, then conjoins coolly unpredictable Uranus and squares off with underworld lord Pluto. This year there’s no flowery poetry and chocolates; Love is the battlefield. Take a deep breath, release your expectations, and have compassion for yourself and others.

Close your eyes for a moment.

Breathe.

Sit quietly.

Breathe.

Release tension.

Breathe.

Recall your energy back to yourself.

Breathe.

Open your eyes.

Yes, it’s that simple.

The Moon is growing in light and will be full on January 9. Don’t wait on your resolutions this year: the time to start making changes is Now!, so you can ride the wave. Action-loving Mars finally puts on the brakes on January 23, when he stops to catch his breath in the get-organized sign of Virgo. January is definitely an act-now-clean-up-later month.

It’s an interesting way to start 2012. Despite all the new-age hype, astrologically speaking there’s more simmer than sizzle in 2012. Perhaps the best keyword for the year: Catharsis. We exist in the midst of the dance of creation and destruction. Times are changing, and such intense and deep shifts can feel like the world is ending. The real secret to the new age? Embrace the shadows and you’ll learn to transform even the darkest moments into the fertile seeds of new birth.

Round and round we go!

It’s been a while since we last talked. I’ve missed you, and not a day has gone by when I haven’t thought of you…

The last few years of my life have been challenging – a divorce, a move, reinventing myself as a single mom. I find myself physically and emotionally exhausted, deep in the heart of an astrological mid-life crisis.

Mid-life crisis – (n.) a wild urge to shatter the life you know. A clarion call resounds deep in the psyche, and we must embark on a quest for meaning and purpose. On the well-trod pathless path, we find utter chaos and breathtaking beauty. Dante’s Divine Comedy begins thus:

When I had journeyed half our life’s way,
I found myself within a shadowed forest,
For I had lost the path that does not stray

I can see the life I want, shining over the shadowed valley like Dante’s guiding Planet. But the landscape has changed so much, all my maps are useless.

When I was a child, I used to play in the woods behind our house. I recall climbing trees, building dams with stones in the creek, playing hide and go seek with other neighborhood kids, and picking up stones and putting them in my pockets.  Now that I think back, what I remember most is the thrill of  following the stream, of walking just a little further than I’d been before, just to see where it went.

Childlike wonder. A sense of adventure. Perhaps we forget those things as we get older, crowded out by collected expectations and life’s responsibilities. But unlike rocks in pockets, such childhood treasures are never truly lost.  They still exist in memory, waiting to be summoned.

Maybe such shining memories are like a trail of breadcrumbs, leading through the shadowed woods back to ourselves.

If I follow, I wonder where they will lead…

With Love, from Luna.

A solar eclipse on July 1 in the sign of Cancer says it’s time to consider how well you are nurturing yourself. When life is uncertain, maintaining a routine is even more important. It provides a place of grounding in a changing world.  A gentle exercise routine, regular meals, a meditation practice several times a day – all of these can help you find a sense of structure in the midst of change.

This month, the Moon’s journey is marked by long moments of suspended animation during its Void of Course times. The Moon’s Void occurs after it makes its last aspect to a planet before it enters the next zodiac sign. What does it feel like? Imagine a dolphin swimming in the ocean. It leaps into the air, suspended, then submerges back under the water. Void Moons are like those airy lacuna. You can’t swim or change direction; you can’t control. But for a moment, you can soar. Usually the Moon is void a few hours every three days, but this month the Void Moons can last longer than 24 hours. Listen to your inner wisdom: if you feel suspended, downshift and work on your existing projects, or simply take a breath, and enjoy the view.

Expansive Jupiter also trines transformative Pluto this month, a heralding a time for making magic. Reality begins in the imagination. Thoughts and ideas form in our minds before our passions are ignited and we take action. Consider what thoughts and beliefs you hold dear, and see how they are shaping your life. Imagine the life you want, then work every day to make it happen.

“Just do it!” Fools certainly rush in the first week of April, when the Sun, Moon and four planets travel together through impetuous Aries. At its best, the zeitgeist will inspire you to power through obstacles and reach the next level; at worst, you’ll burn bridges you’re still standing on.

Other planets on the celestial dance floor offer their cautionary counsel. The Aries stellium is opposed by steadfast Saturn in balanced Libra. Before you leap, get a second opinion: ask your friends for a reality check.  Although many may be in a hurry this month, Mercury is traveling retrograde until April 23.  Enjoy exploring the possibilities of new ideas, but if you want to make ideas last, wait to commit until the retrograde ends.

But all this “busyness” is occurring over a deeper shift. April heralds beginning of an astrological sea change as Neptune wades into the waters of Pisces for the first time in 150 years. Neptune and Pisces both yearn for union, transcendence, and the knowledge that comes from personal revelation. The Neptune-Pisces message: Just be, and let wisdom bubbling from the stillness guide you.

By now you may be asking, “how do I reconcile these urges to “just do it” and “just be”? The juxtaposition of fire and water is captured artfully in the ancient alchemical term aqua ardens – literally “burning water.” Like the image of the burning bush, aqua ardens was a liquid that burned, yet did not consume. In A Circle of Quiet, author Madeleine L’Engle explores the paradox: the burning bush was not consumed because it was exactly what it was meant to be “ontological: essential: real.”

In a world of ever more demands on our time and attention, perhaps we are called to become like burning water: to ground our actions in what is authentic and essential, and let the rest dissolve away, so that we may act passionately without being consumed.

Spending time and energy on what’s really important is the key to living a fulfilling and productive life. So every once in a while we’re nudged to align our outer world of action with our inner world of Spirit. February is such a time. It presents us with a profound longing to connect to something greater then ourselves, as well as the desire to put our vision into action.

Chiron, Sun, Mercury and Mars all slip into the sign Pisces this month, calling us to reconnect to our Source for healing, meaning, rejuvenation and inspiration. To tune into your inner wisdom, make time for yourself to just be. Listen closely to what emerges from the stillness; it will give you clues about the path you need to take.

Then use that awareness as you set your goals and decide how you will spend your time. A triple conjunction of Mercury, Mars and Neptune in Aquarius aligns thoughts, actions and Spirit in a potent brew.  Make a plan of action that’s in harmony with your values. Once you’re clear in your intentions, roll up your sleeves and get working. You’ll make terrific progress.

Special Valentine’s Day Forecast: Love sizzles early this month with an intense and mysterious Venus-Pluto conjunction on February 9. The Moon opposes this conjunction on February 14, making Valentine’s Day itself a moody affair. Keep a leash on your expectations and you’re more likely to enjoy the simple pleasures of the day.

What kind of change? Also on January 4, happy-go-lucky Jupiter meets freedom-loving Uranus for the last time this decade in the dreamy sign of Pisces. Now is the time release your preconceived notions about what’s possible, dream of the life you’ve always wanted, and let the planets help you find practical solutions to manifest your dream.

Starting mid-month, many planets change signs, heralding a fresh wave of new ideas. Venus enters Sagittarius on January 7, bringing confidence that those you attract into your life will help you meet your goals. Mercury enters Capricorn January 13, time to write your plan-for-productivity.  Mars and the Sun enter Aquarius on January 15 and 20, urging you to get out of your rut and move forward to something new. Topped off by Jupiter returning to Aries on January 22, with a rebel yell shouting “just do it!”

January’s message: don’t wait for someone to come rescue you, it’s time to take responsibility for your own destiny. Who are you and what do you want? Clarifying your intentions is essential in order to manifest what you need. By knowing you’re riding the rail directly to your goal, you can begin to relax, let go and enjoy the crazy ride.