astrologer
How Venus Debilitation Impacts Your Love Life
As we find ourselves in the midst of the annual Venus debilitation transit until September 18, it’s important to understand how this cosmic event tends to affect our love lives and relationships.
In astrology, debilitation refers to a planet being in a weaker or less favorable position in the zodiac, which affects its ability to express its natural qualities. When a planet is debilitated, it is limited in the expression of its positive qualities and may instead exhibit more challenging qualities. This concept is a key element in Vedic astrology (Jyotish), which emphasizes the dignity of the planets based on their positions in the zodiac.
Venus is considered weak in the sign of Virgo. Virgo, an earth sign ruled by Mercury, is associated with practicality, analysis and critical thinking. These qualities conflict with Venus’ natural inclinations toward love, harmony, pleasure, and artistic expression. This period can bring emotional instability, communication breakdowns and a need for introspection in your relationships.
But while a Venusian weakening is usually seen as a challenging or negative time for love and relationships, it can actually be a blessing in disguise. This cosmic event forces us to look deeper into the dynamics of our relationships and helps us identify areas that need attention or improvement.
When Venus is weakened, it strips away illusions and forces us to confront the realities of our romantic lives. By facing these truths, we have the opportunity to address unresolved issues, break unhealthy patterns, and communicate more honestly with our partners. This introspection can lead to a greater understanding of what we truly need and value in our relationships, paving the way for more authentic and meaningful connections.
There Is More To Astrology Than Horoscopes!
Astrology is an ancient, complex metaphysical tradition that originated over 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Yes, indeed! Old Babylonia was its birthplace, not Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Neither was it concocted by an enterprising editor of some trendy newspaper or magazine.
Actually, the first horoscope in the modern press is credited to the British astrologer Richard Harold Naylor who wrote a horoscope for the newly born Princess Margaret, titled What The Stars Foretell For The New Princess. It was published three days after her birth on August 24, 1930 in the Sunday Express weekly newspaper. It was so popular with readers that he was asked to write more horoscopes for the publication.
The sun sign astrology we see in modern day horoscopes was not originally intended for the individual, but it has become a useful gateway to entice people into a deeper exploration of astrology. Nothing wrong with a little ‘cheese for the mice,’ as long as we bear in mind that true astrology does not exclusively revolve around our birth sun sign.
Our sun sign is only one letter of the astrological alphabet, albeit a highly significant letter. The other planets in our natal chart do view our sun as the center of things, but the cosmos and our individual lives contain so much more.
The layered complexity of a nativity, a client’s individual birth story crystallized in an exact moment of time and place, is a story as rich as the history that birthed it. Ancient Babylonia carried the first seeds of the western, tropical system of astrology that many of us practice today.
Dating Guidelines For Astrological Compatibility
As a professional astrologer, I’m often asked by clients if their zodiac sign is compatible with someone they are interested in, or currently dating. For this purpose, I have developed over the years through study and experience some simple, yet essential guidelines for astrological romance.
If you are in search of your soulmate, consider the following cosmic guidelines:
Never Date A Neighbor
Rarely are we compatible with the sun signs preceding or following our own sign in the zodiac, even though they flow into one another. Exceptions to this guideline are the Fire and Earth signs: Aries with Taurus, Leo with Virgo, and Sagittarius with Capricorn, but only if the fire sign partner has distinct personality traits of the divine feminine and the earth sign partner tends more towards the divine masculine.
Opposites Rarely Attract
Traditional astrology books on compatibility suggest seeking out the sun sign opposite to your own sign, but in my experience these differences can often be dealbreakers in this day and age. While we want variety and choice in a relationship, I find most people are rarely truly attracted to the signs opposite theirs.
Divination And The Element Of Air
Various ancient cultures, metaphysical traditions and mystical teachings identify five elements that constitute the world we live in. In Western occult traditions, these elements are typically arranged in the hierarchical order of spirit (aether), fire, air, water, and earth.
Spirit or aether is the nonphysical element (or ‘fifth element’) that serves as a bridge between the physical and the metaphysical realms. Spirit is the bridge between the body and soul.
Fire is the masculine element representing inner strength, transformative power, courage, protection, purification, and assertive action.
Air is the element associated with creativity, knowledge, learning, mental intention and the universal life force.
Water is the feminine element of emotion, intuition, inner reflection and the subconscious.
Earth represents grounding, stability, fertility, family roots, and the cycles of death and rebirth.
Air is my favorite element in spiritual practice, as is associated with ideas, concepts, inspiration, and innovative thinking. It is also the element of wisdom and divination.
Working with the air element sharpens ideas, enhances experiments, and paves the way for new inventions. Musicians and artists are typically inspired by the element of air. Air is however a fickle element as it can come as a gale-force hurricane, or a calm, soothing breeze…just like our thoughts.
The Spiritual Path Of The Wandering Nomad
A recent chat with a relative about my plans for the future reminded me of a first cousin who once remarked on my nomadic lifestyle, “You really don’t seem to stay in one place for more than ten minutes!” A friend once also pulled my leg about needing to buy a new Rolodex, because I was filling hers up with all my constantly changing addresses from all over the world (those were the days before contacts could be more easily stored on a smart phone).
According to Astrology, I was supposed to get settled early in life as a Cancerian, by creating a permanent home and haven, and having a family with several children. Well, this was never the case. I thought the desire to settle down might come as years passed, but it never happened.
I also never became broody. I would become motherly over a puppy, kitten or other young animal, but I never felt the desire to have children of my own.
Over many years of personal growth and spiritual exploration, I have gained a deeper understanding and greater clarity regarding the choices I have been making in this lifetime.
Astrologically, for example there is a strong Gemini influence in my natal chart which is contributing to my restlessness, as well as Leo fueling my creativity and my sense of determination. I am not am expert astrologer by any stretch of the imagination, but the way it was explained to me by a professional astrologer made perfect sense.
A past life regression session also revealed that I had conceived many children in previous incarnations and that the desire to have offspring of my own this time around was not a part of the blueprint.
I found the matter particularly challenging when I was younger. I would be dating a wonderful guy who really wanted to settle down with me and longed to have a family, but the mere thought of having my wings clipped by marriage and motherhood was always unthinkable to me. So, many good relationships ended because we really were not on the same page about settling down and having children.
But, It’s Mercury Retrograde…
Mercury went direct, finally, on June 3rd and not a moment too soon! If I can help it, I try to avoid signing new leases, having a carpenter come over to begin a new project, having a contractor pave our streets, or a daughter begin rehearsals on a very important one woman show she’s performing in New York City this summer.
You’d think having a resident astrologer on board would prevent all calamities from occurring. Not! That’s because I’m the town crier three to four times per year when Mercury retrograde takes to its sickbed. You can see me yelling through the streets warning all to thoroughly research, plan, to look before leaping, and expect delays, setbacks, and re-dos of whatever it is you’ve haphazardly done before.
Allow me to introduce myself: I’m the astrologer who cries wolf to a legion of fans who roll eyes at me. “No not this retrograde thing again! We’ve heard that before. Again, and again.
And you’ll hear it again because Mercury retrograde is one of those red flags that wave in your face and cause you to trip on a crack that needs fixing. It’s a backwards trickster this Mercury retrograde, and you’d best pay heed.
During the recent retrograde, I did my best to sound the alarm, but I was unilaterally ignored to the detriment of all who claimed they never heard my siren.
First case in point: My husband had my brother-in-law pop by for a sleepover yesterday with ulterior motives to utilize his unparalleled carpentry skills to beautify our wall. “All you gotta do is slap on a simple rock board before we add the stone,” proclaimed hubby. “Nothing to it for a master carpenter like you. Come on over for dinner, movies, and don’t forget your saw and tool kit!”
But it’s Mercury retrograde,” I whispered to my husband.
Jupiter, Pluto And The Judgment Of Solomon
One of my favorite astrologers, Christopher Renstrom, is an uber-wise storyteller who has a knack for bringing profound astrological messages to life. He recently spoke about the separating Jupiter-Pluto energies, likening both Jupiter and Pluto to judges: Jupiter symbolizing Zeus, the benevolent King of Mount Olympus, and Pluto to Hades, his brother, the King of the Underworld.
In many ways these energies are opposite to one another, one reigning in the light (Jupiter), the other in the dark at night, beneath the surface of things (Pluto). Yet, both kings preside in judgment over matters brought to their attention.
Christopher went on to relay the story of The Judgement of Solomon from the Hebrew Bible, in which Solomon rules between two women both claiming to be the mother of a particular child. The explained that this story beautifully exemplifies Jupiter and Pluto in their role as judges over life and death.
In the story, two women had given birth, but tragically one of the babies did not survive when the mother accidentally rolled over on the child in her sleep. In the morning, she secretly switched the two babies, giving the deceased newborn to the other mother. This mother awoke and found the lifeless child, but knew this wasn’t her baby. She knew the living child belonged to her instead, but the other mother denied this and wouldn’t give up the living child.
The case went before King Solomon, who agreed to listen to anyone’s complaint, no matter what walk of life they came from. And so, each mother, in-turn, argued her side, with no corroborating witnesses to back them up.
Solomon listened intently, then asked for a sword. He then ordered the living child be cut in two, with one half handed to each of the mothers as a fair resolution of the dispute. But the true mother of the living baby implored the king not to kill the innocent child, but instead willingly relinquished the baby to the other mother. The illegitimate mother, however, demanded the child be killed so no one would have it, dispensing her own morbid sense of justice.