Moon moves through Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and into Sagittarius this week. Moon reaches its fullness on 4.15 at 2:41 CDT while in Libra. More details below as well as in my current planetary report + horoscopes for the waning Moon cycle.

Monday, 4.14

Sun is now exalted in Aries, joining Ketu there as well. Sun is in weak degrees until Wednesday so try to get away with using less energy; don't push too hard.

Moon finishes up its transit through Virgo today, crossing over Mars directly around noon (the hottest part of the day) and is in close degrees with him throughout the day. This can heat the emotions, create aggression and stir the Pitta. Watch your temper and emotions and if anger arrives, notice what boundaries you allowed to be crossed. Did you say yes, when you should have said no?

Moon is in Hasta nakshatra the first part of the day which is ruled by Savitr. He grants us awakening, the dawning of awareness as well as increased creativity and healing potential through the hands. Be present to some stirring, some dawning within you today. What new understanding or insights arrive this morning? The Moon/Mars conjunction can also bring a deepened connection with the Divine Mother- notice where she gives her blessings. Use Gayatri Mantra to start your day.

As Moon moves to Chitra at 12:10 CDT, the connection with Vishvakarma strengthens. He is the celestial architect, who helps our building and planning become actualized. He is especially connected to artisans and those wishing to expand their potential. This also marks Hanuman Jayanti, the celebration of Hanuman's birth. The festivities begin when the waxing Moon is at its fullest (15th tithi) and enters Chitra nakshatra during this particular season of the Vedic calendar. Hanuman is considered a Rudra (a god of intense strength and power) and overcame many obstacles and opponents (the rakshasa/demon Ravana and his army) out of love, devotion and service to Lord Raam and goddess Sita. May he serve as a reminder to us of what odds can be overcome, what power we each posses, and what love and devotion can accomplish.

The lunar eclipse begins at 11:55 pm CDT as Moon reaches its fullness and crosses paths with the Sun.

Tuesday, 4.15

Moon enters Libra just after midnight joining Rahu and retrograde Saturn there as well. It reaches its peak fullness at 2:41 am CDT while in Chitra nakshatra. The lunar eclipse reaches its maximum at 02:46am CDT and continues until 05:36 am CDT.

With the direct gaze from Sun and Ketu in Aries, and Jupiter in Gemini, as well as an eclipse, this full Moon is one of intensity and a great collision of energies. It is a good time to evaluate where we are using sheer physical strength and stamina and where we are not effectively using beneficial mental strategy to help us achieve our long term goals and objectives. Become aware of how to do less, while maximizing your efforts. In other words, the mantra "less is more", is still pertinent to the day and to the weeks ahead. This is certainly a time of pruning and cutting out all that is unnecessary. More on the meaning of this full Moon for the coming waning cycle in my planetary report. 

Moon crosses directly over Rahu late morning. Moon moves to Swati nakshatra at 12:37 pm CDT (ending the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations) which is ruled by the planet Rahu and Vayu, the wind god. The mind and body will likely be clouded today so allow extra time for going about your day. Be careful while driving and traveling today especially.

The lunar eclipse marks a delicate two week period until the solar eclipse on the 29th. In the Vedic tradition, this is not a time to take risks, start new endeavors, or to over-exert. It is a time, however, of turning inward, of meditation and contemplation, and a time to take extra care of the physical body with good routine etc.

Wednesday, 4.16

Moon moves to Vishaka nakshatra at 12:35 pm CDT ruled by the dual natured god, Indragni and the planet Jupiter. Seek alliance and support today. Notice where you can make changes in your life to create greater assistance for your Self and get things done more efficiently. Are you forgetting to ask for what you need? Are you pushing too hard? Where are you resisting change? As Moon nears Saturn, it is extremely important and valuable to listen to our bodies for subtle insights. What messages is the body giving you?

Thursday, 4.17

Moon finishes up its transit through Libra after crossing directly over retrograde Saturn in the wee hours of the morning, then moves to Scorpio at 6:17 am CDT. Moon is considered debilitated in Scorpio which makes the Moon extra sensitive. This sensitivity can be helpful for intuition and a refined awareness, however, it must be handled with care. As Moon moves into Anuradha nakshatra at 12:08 pm CDT, this sensitivity heightens, especially for the physical body and the mind/body connection. Stamina may be lower, so find ways to self care and treat the physical and mental bodies with TLC. The tendency, however, may be to do the opposite. Avoid getting lost in the details, try to zoom out and get a bigger picture if necessary. Reach out to friends and alliances for support and comfort. Work with the theme "giving and receiving."

Friday, 4.18

Moon moves to Jyeshta nakshatra just before noon at 11:21 am CDT just as Sun nears exact conjunction with Ketu. The mind and body may be extra sensitive today so take this into consideration if irritations arise. With Indra and Mercury ruling this nakshatra, and the current planetary transits, it is an excellent time for self tracking. Likely the irritations in the mind will be a result of some physical need not being met. Can you trace the issue back to the need? Can you find a healthy way to get your need met? It may require self care strategies, alone time, and restructuring previous plans. You may also need to shift your relationships around. Do what it takes to preserve your mental comfort and physical support.

Venus moves into Purvabhadra nakshatra today. We may notice an increase in relationship and financial support as a result over the next 12 days, while using a one pointed focus and agenda. This can also be a time of purification and change as well; allow the change, don't resist it.

Saturday, 4.19

Moon moves to Sagittarius and into Mula nakshatra at 10:17 am CDT and receives direct drishti/gaze from Jupiter seven houses away in Gemini, retrograde Saturn in Libra, as well as retrograde Mars in Virgo. Mula is also a challenging nakshatra that often is responsible for a sense of chaos and dishevelment. Don't plan to be anywhere on time today- or expect to arrive in an orderly fashion. Best use of time and energy is with restorative measures for the mental, emotional and physical bodies.

The rulers of Mula are Ketu and Nirrti (the dark goddess married to adharma- against dharma). She brings uprooting, change and removals, but the end results can be greater overall health and wellness. With Ketu and Sun in close degrees today and in Ashwini nakshatra respectively, this is a great day to pay special attention to the physical body, to use healing remedies and to put attention on self care regimens. Additionally, Mercury is weak in degrees in its sign of debilitation which requires careful navigation of the mental body, communication and decision making. Use your inner wisdom and go for silence today.

Sunday, 4.20

Mercury moves to Aries at 6:56 am CDT, joining exalted Sun and Ketu there as well. Moon moves to PurvAshada nakshatra at 9:01 CDT. Apas the water goddess rules the day. Allow flow to happen. Where are you stopping fluidity in your life? Where is the resistance to movement, change, growth and new possibilities? Focus your efforts and attention on abundance, life giving support and your own vitality today. Right now it is all about self care.

Moon Mind {for the next 3 days}

03.19

Moon has entered Libra (the center of our attention for the past many months) and transits Swati Nakshatra. Ruled by Vayu, the wind god, there is movement, strength and change to be harnessed today.

As Rahu has now moved to Chitra nakshatra where sandhi/retrograde Mars is transiting, the desires to build, gain momentum and create, strengthen. An increased push for financial support heightens as well as the mental vigor required to "get the job done". With debilitated Saturn sandhi right now at the edge of Libra, this is not the time to push the physical body. It's a time of contemplation and silence as dictated by the nearing of Navaratri. (See this week's transit report for more details.)

Let your creativity be sparked. Let it flow. Softly and quietly plant your seeds. Let the Universe know your intentions. It is enough. You are enough.

03.20

Moon moves to Vishaka at 5:57 am CDT. Joining sandhi Saturn there. Remember that Saturn is in its sign of exaltation (Libra) but since it is currently retrograde, it is considered debilitated (uccha banga). This has effects on the physical body and all things represented by Saturn. We need to slow down and turn inward. Meditation, yoga and the mandates of Vishaka and Indragni request attention to our eating/nourishment habits. We may also notice a slowing of commerce, trade, relationships both personal and work. Clean up, clear out, let go of the old, outworn bits and pieces hanging on in your life. The barnacles. Let them go.

Use today to ask for what you really want.

03.21

Moon enters Scorpio at 00:00 CDT, its place of debilitation. This can be a highly receptive location for the Moon, however. Moon moves to Anuradha nakshatra at 05:58 am CDT, ruled by Mitra and the planet Saturn while also being in a sign of Mars (Scorpio). Connect today. With emotions. With friends. With details that need attention and intention. The day will request a slow, introspective approach, so find a way to accomplish and create without forcing or taxing the body/mind.

You as mother
as Ma
as angel near
as ascended master
You
as gray crane standing on one leg
or white egret
You
as hooting owl
or swooping hawk
You as Ma
eternal
now within me
in new ways
Now without me
in unknown
and sacred ways
You
my mother
who is neither
here
nor there
not in a form
not housed in a body case
Yet you whisper
still
and answer my prayers
and sing my songs
though I can't hear
your voice
It comes in breezes
that suddenly stir
and in
the calls of the birds
I only hear while walking
in the woods
desperate and alone.

-Swati J. Miller

Moon is waxing (shukla paksha) and transits Gemini, Cancer, Leo and into Virgo this week. Moon is in its own sign of Cancer from the 11th to the 13th.

Full Moon on 3.16 at 12:07 CDT in the first few degrees of Virgo and in Uttarphalguni Nakshatra. Because it will be high noon at its fullest point during the 15th tithi, we won't see the fullness in the sky, but will feel it internally. The night of 3.15 will be our night to view its fullness in the dark sky. Uttarphalguni is ruled by Aryaman, one of the twelve Adityas, who gives sustenance, support, health and physical strength. He is related to repaying the ancestors through family and children, things that sustain unions, contracts and marriage as well as other 12th house matters. The month of Phalguni is a time of spring which connects us to fertility, growth, abundance, colors, flowers and blossoming. Aryaman and Uttaraphalguni usher in the abundance of life.

This Full Moon also marks the Holi celebration in the Vedic calendar which roughly coincides with the vernal equinox and the arrival of spring (for the Northern Hemisphere). No matter the hemisphere you are in, both spring and fall are considered "sandhi" times of year- or in between seasons. These are sacred times, when the veil is thin, sensitivity is heightened, and in Ayurveda we attend to necessary physical rituals that help the body cleanse and purify. Holi comes at this sacred junction and is a time to "plant seeds" so to speak. It is a celebration of fertility, abundance and the awakening of Shakti within Nature. This full enlivening of Ma is celebrated during Vasant Navaratri- the nine days of Mother Divine beginning on the last day of March this year. We can consider this her "kick off" celebration however when we plant our desires and create our fruits. Let this Full Moon bring you a sense of spring and possibility. Use this week's Creative Engagement activity (below) for your cultivation process.

Mercury moves into Aquarius on 3.11 at 22:43 CDT where it joins Sun there for only a few short days before Sun moves into Pisces. Mercury receives drishti from Rahu while in Aquarius (considered Rahu's own sign) as well as Jupiter, and stays in Dhanishta nakshatra for the remainder of the week. This can present some tension for Mercury as well as expansion through effort. Notice where you are pushing too much for results and see if you can back off.

Sun is sandhi starting 3.12 as it moves out of Aquarius and moves into Pisces on 3.14 at 12:12 CDT. Sun is weak in degrees (sensitive) until late in the day on 3.16 but is thankfully happier in Pisces than Aquarius. Pisces is the sign where Venus (creativity, passion, artistry, the feminine) is exalted and currently Venus is receiving drishti from retrograde Mars and will get Moon drishti the 11th to 13th. This combination can enhance creativity, relationships, passion and drive. Connect and socialize on these days. Work it! But as mentioned above, also note where you may be putting your Self into overdrive.

With three retrograde planets in Libra currently (Mars, Saturn and Rahu- which is always retrograde) we have increased "returns" coming to us in all ways connected to Libra. This is also a sign ruled by Venus and is associated with relationships (work and personal) as well as commerce, the marketplaces, business and creativity. The desire for Libra is a sense of balance- balance in relationships and from hard work. Desires, in general, are extra strong right now. The retrograde planets are helping us remember what isn't working as well as what is. Old relationships blowing back in and making reappearances? Patterns and behaviors rearing their ugly little heads? Discomforts and discouragement on the rise? Physical fatigue and overwhelm setting in? Pay attention and make adjustments where necessary.

Retrograde Mars is moving back towards Virgo and pulling that Virgo energy into his dance which gives an extra essence of Mercury (Virgo's ruler). This can enhance communication and commerce, connections and creativity, but can also bring some confusion and mismatched action steps. Use good communication (internally and externally) at this time to express your needs and healthy boundaries. Being clear about expectations is very important right now. Be realistic about what you can actually accomplish by working backwards and mapping it out. Read more about the unusual dance of Mars until September.

As per last week's post on Retrograde Saturn:

Now that Saturn is retrograde, there is a greater emphasis on the physical body; a demand of sorts. A unique perspective of Jaimini jyotish dictates that when an exalted planet goes retrograde, it becomes debilitated. Saturn in Libra is considered exalted, retrograde now, and thus debilitated. He is also giving direct drishti to his sign of debilitation, Aries. The results of this will vary individually, but the overall effect will be a slowing down of systems, structure and a greater request from Saturn to focus on, well, all things Saturn. Saturn loves routine, gives prosperity with time and consistency, wants meditation, physical movement and hard work. He rules the physical structures of life (time quite literally) and within the body this means bones and muscle tissue.

Until Saturn goes direct on July 20th, we may notice increased physical fatigue, depression, heightened worry, a need to focus on our physical body more directly- either through awareness or force. We will also be "re-structuring" areas of our life that involve relationships, creativity, nourishment, receptivity, vulnerability, business and commerce, contracts and obligations, boundaries and balance. Leave it to retrograde Saturn to help us re-purpose and resolve what is not working in our best interest. Remember that if there is excess pressure from his means and ways, it is likely a place we need to look for a resolution. Ask: What is working? What is not? What do I need? What needs to shift right now for greater harmony and balance? Where am I pushing too hard? What am I resisting and where am I not letting life flow?

If you are curious about Saturn's movements through Libra, you can read my articles on his transits here:

Part 1: Rahu and Saturn in Libra
Part 2: Saturn Retrograde + the Influence of the Nakshatras

For increased awareness, utilize my jyotish inspired Body-centered Expressive Art Therapy articles. Each week I post a new Creative Engagement Activity to help inspire your own unique creative process, Self-tracking, and to enrich your cultivation of presence. This week we will revisit a Full Moon activity from the archives.

I still have a few sessions available for April. Schedule a yearly progression with me in order to make your New Year a truly transformational year and to make the most out of the current transits.

*Horoscopes are based on your Vedic rising sign. You can also check your Moon and Sun signs for further insight. Do the same with your Navamsa signs for further clarity. Do not use these horoscopes with your “Western Sign” as there is likely no correlation. These horoscopes are meant to be used as a broad overview of the current transits and obviously do not address the specifics of an individual’s unique chart.

Aries:
Here we go again
You're dancing with the fire
You're dancing with the Beast
You're still hungry-
I'll take you to the feast.

Here we go again
The rage is a craving
The thunder is your song
The power is misfortune
The misery is strong

Here we go again
The spirals and the chaos
The torment and the chains
No steps to the mirror
Oh! The Beast lives on.

Here we go again
I'm waiting with my palms
I watch you burn and writhe
I sing your laments
Still waiting for your dawn.

-Swati J. Miller

Taurus:
THE HOUSE OF BELONGING

I awoke
this morning
in the gold light
turning this way
and that

thinking for
a moment
it was one
day
like any other.

But
the veil had gone
from my
darkened heart
and
I thought

it must have been the quiet
candlelight
that filled my room,

it must have been
the first
easy rhythm
with which I breathed
myself to sleep,

it must have been
the prayer I said
speaking to the otherness
of the night.

And
I thought
this is the good day
you could
meet your love,

this is the grey day
someone close
to you could die.

This is the day
you realize
how easily the thread
is broken
between this world
and the next…

-David Whyte

Gemini:
It doesn't interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.

I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.

—David Whyte

Cancer:
How do trees deal with injustice?
They grow a branch wherever they were cut.
And how do sparrows deal with grief?
They open their tiny wings and swoop at anything that glistens.
So why am I all cut & hungry?
Because I do not know the tree that is my soul and refuse the sparrow in my heart.

- from Finding Inner Courage by Mark Nepo

Leo:
Everyone who terrifies you is sixty-five percent water.
And everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes
you cannot even breathe deeply, and
the night sky is no home, and
you have cried yourself to sleep enough times
that you are down to your last two percent, but

nothing is infinite,
not even loss.

You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day
you are going to find yourself again. 

- F. Butler

Virgo:
"Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated."

-Terry Tempest Williams

Libra:
SWEET DARKNESS

You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.

-David Whyte

Scorpio:
The Thing Is

The thing is..
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hand,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you again.

-Ellen Bass

Sagittarius:
Be taught now, among the trees and rocks,
how the discarded is woven into shelter,
learn the way things hidden and unspoken
slowly proclaim their voice in the world....
Find that far inward symmetry
to all outward appearances, apprentice
yourself to yourself, begin to welcome back
all you sent away, be a new annunciation,
make yourself a door through which
to be hospitable, even to the stranger in you.

- David Whyte

Capricorn:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

- Mary Oliver

Aquarius:
Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

- Mary Oliver

Pisces:
What To Do In Darkness

Go slowly
Consent to it
But don't wallow in it
Know it as a place of germination
And growth
Remember the light
Take an outstretched hand if you find one
Exercise unused senses
Find the path by walking it
Practice trust
Watch for dawn

- Marilyn McEntyre

Moon Mind

2.21

Moon transits Libra in Vishaka nakshatra with Mars, Saturn and Rahu there and receives drishti from Jupiter. Moon is in the 7th tithi ruled by Saturn. Today can offer a sense of expansion and a productive agenda towards goals. As the there is much movement being felt energetically with so much Rudra energy here, it is important to effectively harness his strength and momentum. Be practical in your to-do's and set mini goals for maximum achievement. Take time for embodiment and bring conscious awareness to the physical body and the "internal winds"- ie. prana. It's too easy to get "blown around" right now and not be grounded. A three level check in is a great way to Self track and check in with your own needs. Close the eyes and do a scan for Mental body, Physical body and Emotional body.
Listen to their messages.

2.22

Moon moves to Scorpio (its sign of debilitation) and into Anuradha nakshatra. Debilitated Moons give us the ability for refined sensitivity, an internal focus and heightened intuitive awareness. Use your Saturday for stillness, inward attentiveness and grounding. Embodiment ensures a certain ability to "hear" what your needs/wants are so you can better address them. As Anuradha is ruled by Mitra and the planet Saturn, paying attention to the details of the physical body is assisted here. Today is the halfway point in the waning Moon (Krishna Paksha) as the Moon transits the 8th tithi (Ashtami). Let the pull be to the inside. We are nearing Shivaratri on the 27th where the silence is tangible. Though the planets are inspiring an outward pull, it's essential to attend to the calling of the inner realms as well. Today, if we pause, we can move towards greater balance and harmony. Go slowly.