From my newsletter. I will now be posting that on this site weekly (or less regularly depending on life ) as a general summary.

On the Blog

So… what has been posted recently:

A beautiful Full Moon last night in Leo. It was doubly powerful for being so close to the Earth’s orbit. If you looked up through the breaks in the clouds and showers (in Sydney), you would also have seen Mars very clearly beside it. The Moon is all about the feminine, whilst the Sun is the male luminary. In last nights Full Moon, the Moon (the feminine) was joined with Mars (the ultimate male planet) in opposition to the Sun (the masculine) which was joined with Venus. Pretty cool really, and very rare, bringing all sorts of passion and romance etc into spotlight.

Which leads me nicely into yesterdays post on Jupiter through the 5^th house. The 5^th is about love etc- anything we give birth to and anything we take risks on. This will be of extra interest to anyone with their Sun or Ascendant in Scorpio, and will also impact those in the other fixed signs-Taurus, Aquarius & Leo.

During the week I also ran through Jupiter and 4^th house transits, using the inspiration of the Absolutely Fabulous Eddy and Pats in New York… incidentally I want to get my photo taken in the same pose as Patsy on the top of “the Rock”. This post will be important to you if your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, but will also impact the other mutable signs- Pisces, Gemini & Virgo.

On the www.astrology.com blog (follow the links to Work & Money) I got a little hung up on dreams, opportunity & George Clooney (as you do):

How Much are Your Dreams Worth?

When Opportunity Knocks, when should you say “no”?

 As for all of my posts, if you don’t know where planets fall in your chart, simply go to www.astro.com, enter your birth details and a computerised chart will be drawn up for you. Alternatively, follow the links on my site.

What’s happening up there?

Not a lot this week of much interest. OK, there is a relatively scary square being formed by Pluto and Saturn that has the potential to cause you grief if you have planets (especially Sun, Moon or Ascendant) in the early degrees (2-6 degrees) of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Lots is being written about this by people much more experienced than me, so if you type in “Saturn Pluto square” into your search engine you will get heaps of hits and perhaps more information than you can be comfortable with.

Mars is still retrograde. I wrote a piece on this before Xmas, so if have the Sun, Moon or Ascendant in Aries or Scorpio you may still be feeling a little slow. Read up on it here.

Until next time…

Over the last month or so I have posted a lot about Jupiter, including a series of how Jupiter transits through the houses may impact you…

 As a guide:

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces- this will be in your 1^st house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries- this will be in your 12^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus- this will be in your 11^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini- this will be in your 10^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer- this will be in your 9^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo- this will be in your 8^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo- this will be in your 7^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra- this will be in your 6^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio- this will be in your 5^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius- this will be in your 4^th house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn- this will be in your 3^rd house

If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius- this will be in your 2^nd  house

(pic courtesy www.dreamstime.com)

What would you do if all the rules as you know them are gone? What would you do if there are no limits and you can do whatever it is that you want to do and be whoever it is that you want to be? How much would you risk for that? What would you risk for an opportunity like that?

The 5^th house is about risk. Yes, it is also about creativity, how we express ourselves, our children and where we have fun. Associated with Leo and the Sun, the 5^th is about the ego. The 5^th is where we fall in love. It is where we give birth to things- literally in terms of babies, but figuratively in terms of new ventures, love affairs, projects and creative expressions of ourselves. It is where we give birth to our hopes and dreams before sending them off into the world. It is a fun and exciting place, but it is also where we accept and take risk.

Every time you give birth to something you are taking a risk. A piece of you is involved that will never be the same again. If it is a creative venture, you risk damage to your self esteem; a business venture risks your personal resources; and a baby, well, that pretty well risks your entire life.

Remember the last time you fell in love. Maybe it was requited, maybe not. Remember that wonderful bubbly feeling in your chest, the need to check your cell phone 1000 times a day in case you missed a call or a text from him. That special ring tone just for him, even though you know he rarely rings it, even though you know that if anyone else hears it they will know your secret. When you just want to talk for hours, when even saying the words out loud leaves you exposed. Falling in love is risky. Dating is risky. Getting to know you is risky.  Sex is risky. Every little step of the process asks you to expose more of yourself and in doing so risks more of yourself. You are gambling with your own self esteem.  But it makes you feel so good and is so much fun and can be so addictive. Nevertheless, gambling it is. If you win, you progress through the routine of life into a relationship- but that is a 7^th house matter. If you lose? Well, I am sure we all know the pain of a broken heart and a bruised ego, but you still dust yourself off and head back to the table for another spin.

Jupiter transiting the 5^th house may not be enough to bring love into your life, but it will certainly help you to find the courage to express yourself freely and authentically. You may find yourself with added self confidence and perhaps an increased propensity to accept risk- all of which may help develop any relationship which starts at this time. You may finally find the courage to make the first move.

Creatively you will be on fire! Whatever you produce at this point will be truly reflective of you. Even if you have previously been influenced by others from an artistic viewpoint, your voice will now be heard loudly.

Without doubt, this is a fun time. Relatively speaking this is also a lucky time. Go ahead and buy a lottery ticket, your chances may be improved, but remember that the odds are still against you.

Transits to the 5^th house will also form challenging aspects to the 11^th house (opposition) and the 2^nd and 8^th. During this transit friends may become lovers, your dreams may be brought out into the world and your hobbies may move from the back room into the shop-front. Risks taken in the 5^th house, particularly regarding gambling and business ventures may impact your personal resources (2^nd house) via a personal investment, or the 8^th house (risking other peoples’ money). Take care not to over-extend yourself financially or romantically during this time- a bad risk is still a bad risk.  

Go ahead- play, fall in love, express yourself, take a risk or two, spin the wheel, but remember not to lose touch with reality. At the end of the day when the transit has passed your debts will eventually have to be repaid- whether you have taken the risk at the roulette table, the corporate table or with someone elses’ partner. But oh how much fun you can have…

My latest post for ivillage is here.

Patsy in New York (www.pap-art.com)

There is this episode of Absolutely Fabulous where Patsy and Eddy go to New York hop on the Concord and fly to New York for a shopping trip. This isn’t just any shopping trip, Eddy is after a door handle that she saw in a magazine in the waiting room at (I think) the dentists.

In the previous episode Patsy burned the kitchen down. We see a completely burned out kitchen and Pats slumped on the table passed out with the cigarette still in her mouth. So Eddy needs a new kitchen and the door handle is the key piece of the design of her new kitchen. In fact, it the only design piece for her new kitchen. She wants the kitchen to look like the door handle.

I actually don’t see anything wrong with this concept. The main hallway, family room TV room in our house has a colour scheme that was entirely dictated by the centre of the daisy in a Garry McEwan print I bought in Melbourne. Our bedroom is based on an antique china plate I saw once and the lounge/dining on a scrap of William Morris wallpaper. I completely redecorated my study when I bought another Garry print. My daughter is no better- her vision for when we did her bedroom a couple of years ago was based on a T shirt with a frangipani on it that we bought on holidays somewhere.

I went mad with the paint brush when Jupiter last transited my 4^th house… and that is just one of the things that 4^th house transits are great for. But then again, I have Gemini on the cusp of my 4^th house, so change in the home environment is something that helps me feel secure… along with lots of books and lots of music files.

Whatever sign your 4^th house falls under, when Jupiter transits you will be looking closely at home and the stability, security (or otherwise) that you get (or don’t get) from your domestic set-up or family.

The 4^th house is at the very bottom point of your chart and signifies things that are at the very root of your being- where you came from and the end of matters. It is also about the home and real estate- the 4^th is where we buy, sell and improve real estate. To traditional astrologers, the 4^th represents the father, to many modern astrologers it is family in general and, by extension, family relationships. The Cancer stuff of life- protection, safety and nurturing.

Jupiter likes to expand and offer opportunities to make things bigger- but as we have seen, bigger isn’t always better and size really doesn’t matter.

When Jupiter transits your 4^th house you may, like me, go on a manic home improvement phase, or you may decide your home is too small and look for something bigger. Whilst comfort and the security of your family may be of increased comfort right now, any unresolved issues may be blown out of all proportions. Your family may grow- either literally or figuratively eg you may have children, more people living with you or become closer to people who provide you with the feeling of family.

You may want to move, or you may not want to step outside the front door. An chance may present itself to make money (in some way) from real estate- depending on your natal Jupiter and level of risk you are comfortable with you may choose to take it or you may choose to leave it. Jupiter doesn’t really care. Nor does he care if you over extend yourself financially in the process with all the flow on effects on relationships- his job is just to provide the opportunities.

The 4^th house also represents the basic foundations in our lives- what makes you content and stable on a psychological level. You may become interested in family history or traditions, perhaps creating some of your own. You may focus on long term security or you may “up-root” and start again.

It is worth remembering that any 4^th house Jupiter transit will form challenging aspects to the other angles in your chart, ie the 1^st, 7^th and 10^th houses. Perhaps a need to be with the family will prompt you to look closely at issues of work/life balance- it may even mean that your job changes because of things happening at the domestic level. Whenever changes happen in the home, they have flow on effects to relationships, possibly your health (moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do) and maybe even your personal freedoms.

Maybe you just have the urge to fly to New York in search of the perfect door handle. Now there’s an idea…