We are currently at the end of the yearly “Pisces Season,” the period when the Sun is traveling through Pisces. This is ending on March 20th when the Sun enters Aries (aka Spring Equinox). However, we are in a time of heightened Pisces Power during most of March and through much of April.

Pluto is returning to the place it was at the birth of the country: July 4, 1776. Pluto transits last about three years. This year of 2022 is the peak of a 3+ year event. It has actually been building since 2020.

The main themes of any Pluto transit, whether for an individual or for a country, are:

Facing the shadow

Confronting fears

Endings and new beginnings

Healing and regeneration

I’ve created an overview of the main astrological events for this year ahead. While this year is quieter than the past two years, there are still plenty of things to keep us on our toes. I aim to provide you with some ways to consciously use these energies.

Scorpio energy encourages us to investigate our deepest fears. Meanwhile, the sign’s co-rulers, Pluto and Mars, are also just finishing up a square to each other, magnifying the intensity of our focus on the shadow realm. To top it off, Mars enters its own sign of Scorpio as well (the day before Samhain), and it will be conjunct Thursday’s New Moon, pulling our attention deeper into Scorpio territory. Psychic protection is important now, as our openness and sensitivity are running high. But it is also a fruitful time to receive omens and to notice synchronicities. The veil is thin throughout the entire second half of fall. Those in the spirit realm are more able to communicate with us than at other times. This Sunday through Thursday are powerful days to do ritual and ancestral work.

I began to see that while astrology could not literally predict the future, there were always correlations between what was going on in my life and what the planets were doing in my chart. I found this awareness of my transits sometimes comforting, sometimes daunting. But there are three things that I came to understand about forecasts:

There is a reason for what is happening

There is a way through it

There is an end date

The benefit of a major Saturn transit is that it gets us real with the passing of time. We must confront the fact that we are limited by our human life spans, by the hours in the day, and by the obligations and commitments we have made. That can all sound very depressing. But looking at it another way, these limitations serve us. They help us to remember what is important. When we have a realistic relationship to time, we are able to prioritize the things that we want to accomplish before the day is through, both literally and figuratively.

Aquarius invites us to consider the benefits of being different. Many of us can connect with the feeling of being set apart from others in some way. Childhood offers plenty of opportunities to feel like the lonely weirdo, even if we don’t ultimately define ourselves as such. That is why we are drawn to stories about outsiders and orphans. We have all experienced the pain of feeling left out due to our weirdness.

Jupiter and Saturn form a conjunction on December 21st. Jupiter invites us to expand our world through new endeavors. Saturn helps us to stick with those endeavors through the challenges that inevitably come. The two together provide an opportunity to build something lasting (Saturn) based upon our inspired vision (Jupiter).

Pluto asks us to go beneath the surface of things. It is synchronistic that just recently, there was a prominent planetary alignment in the sky of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the Moon. You may have heard about this in the news, as it was a unique opportunity for all of us to view these planets gathered close together.

Jupiter and Pluto are in range of a conjunction and will be so for the remainder of 2020. (Dates at the end of this post) Jupiter and Pluto come together about every 13 years. These two very different archetypes contrast with and enhance each other. In short, Jupiter magnifies, while Pluto intensifies.

Sometimes, a client will email me, months or even a year after their reading, to tell me: It all happened, just the way you said it would! They got the relationship/job/home that they’d been wanting.

The inner planets and the Sun have been dancing through fire sign Leo for the past few weeks. Now, in domino-like fashion, they are all spilling into Virgo within a relatively short amount of time (see dates at bottom of post).

I just turned 50! Wow. One thing I can tell you is that it is surreal to be here. Just like your elders always told you (and if I’m your elder, now I’m telling you): Time does seem to go faster as you get older. Waaaay faster.

When I share with you about the current astrology, my underlying intention is always the same: To offer you useful, practical strategies for aligning with the energies at play. I want to help you work with the flow rather than against it.

When a planet stations, it slows down, and its energy is intensified. Neptune is stationing retrograde on Friday, June 21st. We’ve been feeling its effects for the past couple of weeks, and we will continue to feel them through the next 2-3 weeks. Neptune’s archetypal field is more prominent in our collective awareness now.

Gemini is often portrayed as an intellectual sign. With Gemini, it’s all about the head, right? But in astrology, each sign is connected to the one before and the one after, in their order on the wheel of the zodiac. The lessons gleaned from working with one sign make us ready for the lessons of the next. Gemini is followed by Cancer, a sign of empathy, sensitivity, and emotional connection.

The planets dance with each other, cycles forming between them. These are called synodic cycles: the relationship between one planet and another as they move from a joined position (conjunction), then around to that same position again. The process varies in length of time, depending upon the planets involved.

Here at the peak of spring, I am certainly feeling full of creative energy. The planets further embolden this fertile time. We currently have Mercury, Venus, and Chiron in Aries. Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, is about new beginnings. With a concentration of bodies in this fire sign, it’s time to plant seeds for the things we want to manifest.

We are currently in a Saturnian time. As I write this, Saturn is slowing down to make a retrograde station (exact on April 29th). In the days leading up to and away from a planet's station (either retrograde or direct), we feel the archetype of that planet more strongly. Let’s add that as it makes its station,

A common misconception about Self-Care is that it is a luxury. But it’s a necessity. We need to take care of ourselves, lest we experience illness or breakdowns on the physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual level.