A week to be reckoned with; tidal waves and volcanoes.

It's been a little while since I wrote a piece (apologies there has been too much going on) but the configuration for this forthcoming Full Moon inspired me to action. Possibly because it falls close enough to my North Node (spiritual path) in my 3rd house of communication to have an impact prior to it's culmination.

Much of the past few months have been riddled with the proximity of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. These two heavy-weights have been causing havoc in the lives of those with planets between around 18-23 degree Capricorn and in aspect.

Let me touch on this first. For those of you who only know your Sun signs, you will definitely have been affected by this Saturn-Pluto cohort if you were born between; 9th to 14th January, 9th to 14th April, 10th to 16th July and 11th to 17th October.  Many many others will have been too, but I would have to look at the rest of your chart to ascertain.


The main experience of these two planets together is; great upheaval, your life being subject to unavoidable change and sometimes difficulty. I have seen the impact upon some people's health, due to increased stress levels, there have been financial implications too, and dips in the overall sense of well-being experienced. Due to this affecting so many people, the domino effect is that we are all aware of a lower overall energy surrounding us at the moment and vitality is lower than usual.

Fortunately Jupiter in Sagittarius is keeping up the spirits in some ways and will be more impactful again from mid-August onwards.

So, in terms of this Full Moon which will be at 9:30am (UK time), on Monday 17th June, the added energy of Mercury, Mars and the transiting node making an aspect to the Saturn-Pluto conjunct will lead to a very intense time indeed.

To explain. Mercury rules communication, wherever Mercury falls in our birthchart will denote how we communicate, in which ways we excel or flounder and it can also tell us about our voice, whether we have a gift for singing or writing, or intuition. A weak Mercury may be prone to gossip, talking too much or the inability to express oneself at all, where as a well developed Mercury may be an award winning writer, a charismatic speak or a beautiful singer.

On the other hand, Mars rules our physical energy. We all know that Mars is the archetypal masculine symbol and that it rules passion, sex, testosterone and drive. Along with this it is also linked to our physical vitality and therefore our health, and where it falls in our chart will show how strong, sporty, resilient, energetic and assertive we are. A poorly integrated Mars can be a very angry person, whereas a well used Mars may be a champion sports person.

Consider these two planets together in the home, loving, family oriented sign of Cancer and we can see a picture beginning to build. Certainly there will be a lot more to talk about whilst these two are together between Sunday 16th June and Thursday 20th June. There may be a lot of upfront dialogues, and issues raised which have been swept under the metaphorical carpet for a while. The closest people to you are the ones who can hurt you the most and at this time words may very well be spoken out of turn impulsively and emotionally.

Try to think before you speak but, also trust what you feel. If there are important thing left unsaid, it is healthier for all parties if these areas are aired. After all the impact of ones feelings towards their closest collaborates can be felt, whether the issue has been discussed or not. It is far more productive to be honest and open, providing the ability to move forwards and let go, than it is to hold onto pain, grudges or allow small irritations build into large defenses. (Pearls are decidedly out of fashion as it goes).

The nodes being in the mix with all this does imply that there will be some important decisions made globally this week. Mercury and Mars together can be feisty and at times, ferocious, but with their meet up being in opposition to that heavy, life-changing Saturn-Pluto conjunction I was talking about, gravitas and impact start to become more likely.

On a basic political view, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn are there to shake things up, for better or for worse and mostly with the latter in mind first. In history humans have generally resisted change without upheaval and hardship figuring in the picture to start to rouse up the lethargy of the security-seeking, changing-fearing, everyday person. Most people don't like to rock the boat and hence, they will not try to make a difference until the boat capsizes. We've seen this time and time and again, and the human race hasn't evolved beyond this basic. Obviously this unfortunately means that, even in this day when we have all the knowledge and information available to us to make big changes, usually big events have to occur before action is taken.

I'm not saying anything momentous is going to happen this week, but I am saying that events that begin this week may lead to much bigger scenarios occurring further down the line. Saturn and Pluto only actually link up exactly once, and that will be on 12th/13th January 2020. There will be a link with what happens around this time, with outcomes that occur then.

A more political astrologer may make more definitive predictions here. As I've mentioned before, the last time Saturn and Pluto were together in Capricorn, was when Henry VIII made a treaty to unify Europe and reduce the attacks between neighbouring countries! (See Treaty of London 1518) I find it wonderfully ironic that the UK are trying to break away from Europe, under the same configuration that the Tudors used for unification. Have we evolved at all?

The pinnacle day to look out for this week is actually Thursday 20th June, as Mars opposite Pluto will pull the most punches; hopefully not literally. This is the most aggressive combination of planets and the most explosive. On a simple domestic level this is a day to be cautious; remember to turn the gas off, drive carefully, try to avoid road rage and confrontation, as things are so much more likely to escalate. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tornadoes are more likely too, so it's perhaps not the week to take a day trip to Vesuvius.

On the plus side Mars and Pluto together can move mountains with focus, and create amazing passion when two people work together in their energies, rather than opposing forces. This can be a healing time too when knowledge and awareness are used to create closeness, rather than chasms.

Disputes can happen in scenarios where there is a lack of balance between work and home also, as the featured signs of Cancer (home, family, nurture, domesticity) and Capricorn (work, career, ambition, focus) always are at odds a little bit on this one.

The actual Full Moon itself is merely a ripple in a week of high tides, but deserves a mention, as we all feel the intensity build up of a full moon from time to time. It will be at 25 degrees Sagittarius and so felt most by this who were born with their Sun near or opposite this (birth dates; 16th to 20th December and 15th to 19th June)

It throws a loose nod to the building square between Jupiter and Neptune which may throw a spiritual caste over us all and help to mitigate stress and tension. Although, so far it seems that Jupiter (excess, expansion, fun and joy) has only been bringing the more damp tendencies of Neptune (transcendence, higher love, soulfulness and ruler of the sea) to the fore; via constant rain.

The energy of the full moon should be quite positive and upbeat overall, and it is followed by Eros moving into Libra which will bring passion, and romance back where pickiness and criticism have been a little too prescient in recent weeks.

Try to let of steam this weekend and enjoy the upbeat, exploratory, joviality of the full moon in Sagittarius, and allow tensions to be released in a good way. It may help to reduce the possibilities of tensions and conflicts later in the week.

Happy Solstice everyone! May it be peaceful, loving and passionate.

Reiki blessings~~~ WaxyJo

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At a standstill – the retrograde days of May and June 2016 - aubergine

Those who follow astrology will already know that Mars and Pluto both turned retrograde a couple of weeks ago now; on Monday 18th April.

During the 10 days which have elapsed since, neither have even moved beyond the degree at which the stationed retrograde. For more than a week they have appeared to be practically stationary, from a geocentric perspective. As they begin to speed up their backwards motion, Mercury joins the retrospective gang; of which Jupiter and Saturn are already the ringleaders.

If you feel like you’ve made no progress at all so far this month, I’m afraid this is very unlikely to change during May!



On a more positive note, such a strong collective of retrograde planets does not need to be counter-productive; rather it encourages a more introspective and reflective time. There are many tasks which are benefited by the non-gregariousness of mass retrograde. For instance, whilst I would never tell somebody this is a good time to move house; it is an excellent time to review what you really want to change, the reasons you're considering moving and the pluses and minuses for such a choice.

It is also an excellent time for clearing out anything you don’t need, or haven’t dealt with in recent times. Whilst this also could be applied in a metaphorical sense, the truth is when there are this many planets retrograde anything unresolved in a physical and practical sense will become very clear.

Ghosts from the past are unavoidable with Mars retrograde, and with Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto all asking for recognition also, these can be complex times. They say, “what you resist, persists” and throughout the coming two months niggles will become issues if you try to ignore them.

Mars turned retrograde at 8° Sagittarius, so for early Sagittarians and late Scorpios this will feel more intense. For those born around 30th November this is personal! By the time Mars reaches the degree of your natal Sun sign again on 23rd August 2016 – although the retrograde itself ends on 30th June - you will have changed your mind about a couple of things that you were certain of a few months earlier. {I would have to look at the houses and position of your natal Sun within the context of the rest of your chart to be more specific}.

Many are familiar with the issues of a Mercury retrograde that often there are computer issues, technology failures, mechanical slowdowns, traffic problems. These side-effects of a Mercury retrograde are usually viewed with disdain. With 5 planets retrograde throughout the whole of May these delays will be more pronounced than ever, so let me offer another perspective here…

Firstly, a retrograde occurs when a planet *appears* to be moving backwards. When viewing the position of planets in a chart we do so from the earth’s perspective and so it makes sense that there are times when the orbits of the other planets are viewed from earth to be ‘backward’ or ‘retrograde’. The occurrence of such is completely predictable, as it is all easily calculable mathematically. Just like the times on our watches and clocks.

The timings that we live to are based upon the earth’s orbit around the Sun (1 year) and the earth’s rotation around its own axis (one day) and the minutes and hours that we live by are divisions of these simple and predictable factors. Or at least we think they are predictable, what if they are not? What if there is a variance in the earth’s rotation around the Sun? We have a leap year added every 4 years to make up the differential in the divisions, our dawn and dusk timings vary on the basis of the season, as well as on the basis of the quarter of a day inaccuracy in the system of ‘time’. What if the actual rotations are not quite accurate either? What are we living by when we are following the clock?

Every day that I work I am expected to arrive at a certain time. It is expected that I will be able to awaken at the same time, clean and dress myself, leave my home and travel to work and do all this within a particular allotted period of time which results in me arriving to work in the same way I did last time I came to work. All of this is seen to be perfectly acceptable and usual but, the longer I live the more peculiar it seems to me.

I follow the planets, I live in the moment, I try to be present in my surroundings {or not, should my thoughts be more captivating}. I know from this experience that no two days are ever the same, that even each minute can be quite, quite different. It seems that most people I meet also appreciate that life consists of inconsistency and yet….we are expected to ignore this and act as if life is the same, each day, in each way.



I could go further into the psychology of this and look at the control elements which are inherent and implicit within the procurement and maintenance of social routines. Perhaps even analyse and check the correlations between addiction and routine and how the two are not just linked but that for addiction to be a concept, habit has to be established, and for a habit to be created; a routine or sorts must already be in place. I won’t go into that though! ;-)

When considering the factors which make up the framework of ‘time’ that we are all tied tightly to in Western ‘civilisation’ then the concept of retrogrades can be viewed slightly differently. If you were living on Mercury a day takes about the equivalent of 59 earth days and year takes around 88 earth days. How would you divide up time then? Can you accept time as a concept when you view it from outside of the earth plane? If you are in a space rocket there is no time. There is no gravity, which is what gives us the illusion of aging, there is no sunrise and sunset which helps us to decide when to go to sleep (or did before artificial lights were prevalent).

Yet we still live in a world where almost everything we do is entirely dictated by the so framework of the clock.

The clock which was invented only 700 years ago.



When the profundity of time is viewed as an attempt at enforced perfunctory, uniformity it offers a new perspective upon the inconvenience caused by retrograde planets. Yes, there may be delays but why are you actually rushing to your destination. Why is it expected that you should be able to defy all that is possible on a motorway standstill, simply to sit in a room for an allotted period of time; with or without other people. If your computer is breaking down; is it really an awful thing, or could it be an excuse to pick up a pen and start writing or sketching your ideas free-form.

If your mobile phone falls in a puddle maybe it's a reminder that you used to always have a book that you were immersed in, that fed your imagination, your soul and your inner world far more than a brief sojourn with social media ever could. Perhaps that person you've walked past the last 3 mornings in a row would be heartened by a smile of acknowledgement?

Retrogrades give us an opportunity to not only look within, but to be the person that we are inside. The kind of things that are halted, are the things that are intrinsic to nothing but distraction from interaction.

I will be writing a series of articles about planetary configurations during this retrograde period. Taking the time to spill out some of the many theories and ideas I use in my readings, but rarely share on a general basis. As always I'm available for person readings. During the retrograde period these will be more face-to-face in style.

If you'd like a reading contact me at waxlobster@hotmail.com. Tarot can cost as little as £10 for a brief email/telephone reading.

Blessings of getting to know the beauty of YOU again this Summer ♥