Whole Astrology

I was lying awake the other night pondering all the themes and aspects represented by Cardinal Signs.  First, we have the four cardinal directions represented by each of the signs, we have the four seasons launched by Cardinal Signs, and let's not forget the equinoxes and solstices also related to Cardinal Signs.  Next, the mother is represented by Cancer, the father by Capricorn and the child by Aries.  So I kept on spinning with the importance of the Cardinal Sign activity in transits for the past several years, including this year. The Cardinal Signs represent the angular houses with the first house ruled by Aries, the fourth house ruled by Cancer, the seventh house ruled by Libra and finally the tenth house ruled by Capricorn and we could call these houses the four pillars of our mundane lives (self-hood, home/mother, partnerships and career/father). I ask myself why the Cardinal signs are playing such a huge role at this important time in our evolution and the answer that

First, choose which type of astrologer that suits your situation.  Astrologers range from old school (traditional), Vedic to Western and other cultures in between, transformational to predictive, horary and mundane.  Jeffrey Green even has his own school of Evolutionary Astrology.  Do you need to consult about business, world events, weather, health issues, your soul path, or do you just want to know if the man you're dating is the one?  Make sure that you research the various types of astrology, then first look in your region for the type of astrologer you have chosen, then check the online directories and listings with schools.  You can also check out astrology forums and conferences.  Don't just go with an ad you find online (this is dubious) unless you research the astrologer to make sure he or she is legit. For this post, I'm focusing on the reasons for hiring an astrologer and for the sake of brevity, I will list only ten reasons, knowing many more exist. Since I

photo by Patricia Herlevi  (These monthly forecast posts take several hours to research and type. If you find this information meaningful, please donate through PayPal on the right side of the blog.  Donate $20+ US equivalent and receive a one-question reading as a gift). If we found January a challenging month, the situation grows in intensity in February.  With the T-Square with Pluto/Venus in Capricorn, Jupiter in Cancer and Uranus in Aries (wide orb of 3 degrees) people are going to push for their various agendas.  And this really is just a continuation of series of T-Squares that we will experience throughout this winter into next spring.  In fact, we can call this a preview for April's intense transits (which we will get to in a future post).  Venus drops out of the T-Square on February 15, leaving Pluto, Jupiter and Uranus to sort out their tensions. The image I receive is a food fight with Jupiter in Cancer representing home, nutrition, self and other nurturing, mot

Photo by Patricia Herlevi, 2009 Too many people fear the retrograde movement of planets.  All planets, except the orbs (Sun and Moon) retrograde on a periodic basis.  The Mercury retrograde scares the lights out of people and most of this comes from ignorance of the meaning of a retrograde and I dare say, some people engage in superstitious nonsense which gives astrology a bad name. So let's think of retrograde periods as time out in the area of our lives that the planet retrograde represents.  You can even go further and look at the house where the retrograde occurs.  Now, Mercury represents communication, short distance travel (not long distance travel), siblings, cousins, K-12 education, technology like computers when used for communication purposes and machinery.  Mercury is actually not traveling backwards but from where we sit on the earth it appears that way.  When Mercury gets too far ahead of the sun in relation to the earth, the earth shifts itself to accommodate th

Depending on which astrologer or follower of astrologer you encounter, the Age of Aquarius is hundreds of years in the future or we are at the dawn of the Aquarius Age.  Some people think of the movie Hair and the hippies gallivanting around New York City's Central Park with their long hair flying and dressed in wildly colorful clothing.  That's hardly an image of the Aquarius Age, even if Aquarius represents revolutionary types and ideas and its planet Uranus represents shocking and spontaneous actions.  Even the planetary line-up in the song "Age of Aquarius" has nothing to do with real astrological transits that usher in a new age, and more to do with clever lyrics for a dramatic production. And yet, when astrologers bring up the Aquarius Age, we gravitate towards the words of that song and the hippie imagery, which I can understand doesn't appeal to more conservative types who just want to own a home, raise their children and work at a job they enjoy or

I've encountered by e-mail and in-person people dealing with the Cardinal planet transits in their angular houses and I'm among this group.  Now, angular houses include First, Fourth, Seventh and Tenth houses and these houses represent the most important areas of our lives--partnerships, marriage, family, home, career, public life and our core identity.  So when Uranus, Jupiter, Pluto (the outer planets) and the personal planets pass through both Cardinal Signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) and fall into the angular houses, it's time to pay attention. If your life has experienced shakeups in the areas I mentioned in the above paragraph, look for especially transiting Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter in your chart.  Are these planets falling in your First, Fourth, Seventh and Tenth houses?  Pluto comes in like a wrecking ball, Uranus brings unexpected surprises but ones that get us unblocked so we can move forward with our lives, but usually in directions we would ha

photo by Patricia Herlevi After writing the post on North Node in Libra, I realize that I also needed to mention the North Node in Aries will experience a North Node opposition with North Node in Libra and North Node in Cancer and Capricorn who experience a square with North Node in Libra.  You'll need to look at your natal charts to see if you have your nodes in Cardinal signs, but even if you don't personally, someone you know does.  The North/South Nodes stay in their respective signs for a year and a half approximately. Let's start with those of you with your North Node in Aries and your South Node in Libra.  Since you are comfortable with the Libra energy, you will find yourself falling back into the traps of your South Node while the North Node transits in Libra for the next year and a half, but you will mainly feel this when the North Node in Libra is in orb (5 degrees or less) with your South Node and opposing your North Node in Aries.  This could feel like yo

Wikipedia After experiencing the North Node in Scorpio since September 2012, we will soon experience a change of fate.  Something new approaches us as we switch from a Fixed Water Sign to a Cardinal Air Sign, Libra.  You see unlike the forward motion of the planets, the North Node works in reverse so the North Node travels from Sagittarius to Scorpio and then to Libra and so on.  Also the nodes represent an axis with the South Node falling in the opposite sign, in this case, Aries. On February 19, 2014, the North Node transits into Libra and then back into Scorpio for one day, February 23 and onward in Libra, ending that transit on November 11, 2015 when the North Node transits into Virgo (Mutable Earth Sign).  The last few times the North Node transited in Libra include 1959, 1978, and 1997.  I believe the North Node stays in the same sign for around a year and a half (please don't quote me on that).  Normally, we think of Libra as a peaceful sign bringing balance, beauty an

Oracle of Delphi Since it has been a heavy first week of the New Year for me and everyone, today I'm writing a lighter post.  After all, we think of Friday as a fun day, right?  Also astrology represents one of many metaphysical tools that I use in my daily practice along with meditation, reading oracle, Tarot and totem cards and checking out my international colleagues on YouTube.  I am also an avid listener of Hay House Radio and I tune into spiritual shows on Blog Talk Radio. So on that note, I'm presenting to you some of my favorite online oracle card readers, angel channels, and astrologers.  Some people might say that I'm biting my foot by promoting the work of other metaphysical practitioners and that I'm sending business elsewhere.  However, there are enough problems in the world and people with stumbling blocks to give all of us more work than we can handle.  Besides, I believe in passing on helpful products and services as part of my practice. The YouT

Wikipedia Since so many astrologers are writing about Venus in Capricorn (currently retrograde), it seems almost redundant for me to include another post on this transit.  However, as I'm seeing this Venus playing out in my own life and the lives of people around me, I feel that I need to address the theme of self-love and self-honoring.  Too many people are confused about these concepts and confuse self-love with self-centered behavior and narcissism, which it is not.  To hate oneself is narcissism, but to love oneself from the inside out is a gift to the world.  Who will love you if you don't first love yourself? Who actually can penetrate through another person's self-loathing without loathing the person too? Perhaps we are expected saintly lovers who have magical abilities to love us unconditionally and their unconditional love will heal all our wounds and we'll turn into doves and ascend into clouds.  Does that sound farfetched? We choose to forget that every