Sometimes shit just happens. For no reason.

When I first started learning about predictive astrology I used to look endlessly at my chart and the transits that were hitting it and try and work out what it meant. If something crappy happened at work (and at the time, 5 years ago, crappy things were always happening at work) I would look hard for what it meant.

At the time I was having a heap of 1^st house Uranus conjunctions, a Pluto square Moon and a bit of Saturn fun. More importantly my Progressed Sun was changing signs & everything was a tad on the manky side.

I soon worked out though, that I would send myself madder than I already was by calculating this stuff out. Sometimes the brown stuff was hitting the fan simply because it was.

To be honest, these days I rarely look at my own chart. Sure I know when important things are happening, like planet return dates or really big, fat, hairy un-ignorable transits.

Yesterday a new client told me of a mini blow up he had the other day that was completely (and I mean completely) out of character. He then asked if there was anything going on in his chart that may have prompted it.

The incident started quite harmlessly. On a business trip in Brisbane, he and his mate were out having a few quiet ones at the end of a long day. While my client ducked out to take a telephone call, his mate (lets call him “Ben”) took pity on this bloke who had his lager legs on, and bought him another beer- on the condition that he drank it and then left the premises quietly.

Upon finishing his call, my client and his friend left the bar, but were followed by the man Ben had bought a beer for. He wanted another beer and was abusing and threatening Ben. Ben, staying calm, refused. My client, however, snapped and, with the sweet smell of testosterone in his nostrils and a rush of blood to the head, rushed to Bens’ defence. Rather undignified and uncharacteristic fisticuffs ensued.

Given that he tells me (and his chart confirms this) this has never happened to him before, he wondered what could possibly have been raining on his chart from a great height on that night.

When someone does something involving a sudden rush of blood to the head, I would expect to see Mars involved, probably Uranus and possibly even the Moon- the Moon often acts as a trigger to release whatever has been building.

He is in the middle of a Neptune-Venus conjunction (12^th house), so whilst that might cloud his judgement (this aspect can often be compared to a longer version of the beer goggled night before) it wouldn’t incite any sort of unpleasant behaviour (unless you count the risk of running off to Vegas or blowing your life’s savings on a “sure thing” under its influence).

There is a lot of action in his progressed chart- big action- with Mars, Mercury and the progressed nodes holding hands in Aries. Also, his progressed Sun has recently changed signs. This is a huge change that happened around his birthday last year, but is still being integrated. Again, whilst this is important, it wouldn’t explain a blow-up. Not now, anyway.

I looked a little closer. Mars, retrograde in Virgo, often brings with it pent up frustrations, and given that my client has an Aries Ascendant, he would be feeling it more than most… and has been. Mars is retrograde in Virgo, so the tendency is also for old, niggly frustrations to rear their head. In addition, Mars was, was on the day of the incident, sitting conjunct my clients’ Uranus- almost exactly. The potential was there to do something out of character, something impulsive.

At around the time of the incident two things happened which could have provided the trigger point:

• The Moon (which was in Sagittarius) moved to exactly square that point and
• My clients’ Progressed Moon changed signs. Yep, at around that time. It moved from easy going Gemini to 00Cancer00. Cancer does like to take care of things, but this was, perhaps, a little extreme. Any time the Progressed Moon changes signs is big.

The building frustration and anger had been created by the energy of retrograde Mars, the gunpowder by the Mars/Uranus conjunction and the trigger by the Moon (in Sagittarius it is like a spark). In retrospect it looks simple. Would I have predicted it? Absolutely not.

What still confuses me is that the main transit (Mars/Uranus) was happening in the 6^th house, which is usually associated with work, illness & employees. Mars rules the 1^st and Uranus the 11^th, so if I really wanted to be clever and make it fit I could say that frustrations regarding employees (6^th) caused a sudden rush of blood (1^st) to the head when he was with his friend (11^th), but seriously that would be absolute crap.

What would I have told him if he had come to see me before this?

I would have told him that a Mars/Uranus conjunction is a few days of high excitement. I would have also told him that it is a few days where he will act on impulse spontaneously and may have the need to just break free of whatever it is that he needs to break free from. I would also tell him that he might be prepared to take a few more risks, possibly do something he wouldn’t normally do and would absolutely act without reference to others. Given, however, that this is a short lived transit, I probably wouldn’t have wasted a lot of his time on this one.

I would have clocked the Progressed Moon change and spoken about that. We would also have spoken at length about the Neptune-Venus influence that will be around for the next 12 months or so. I probably would have mentioned the Pluto/Ascendant square and Uranus/Ascendant conjunction that will be impacting him in the next 12 months. Given that he has an Aries Ascendant (and has the attention span to match), I would also make a diary note for this time next year to remind him of those ones- which will be, shall we say, memorable…I certainly remember what happened when Uranus hit my Ascendant!

At no time would I have said anything like “whatever you do, at 10pm in a back alley in Brisbane on a dark Tuesday night after a few beers don’t hit anyone.” I wouldn’t have said that because it is something so absolutely out of character for this client that it would never occur to me. But I guess the hallmark of Mars/Uranus transits is complete unpredictability. Maybe what I should have said to him is “expect the unexpected….” and “sometimes, shit just happens.”

(My client has given me permission to use this story but, for privacy reasons, I won’t post his chart details).

Mosaic detail in Hong Kong. Pic by me.

Every parent knows that bringing up a child can be hard- the toughest job with the poorest pay scales and the longest hours you will ever have. They’re expensive, they’re relentless and the worry never ever goes away, but you love every hair on their head- even on those days when you don’t particularly like them. Astrology can make it easier.

Sure, your child is gorgeous, supremely talented and like no other, but if you can understand them a little better, you may also be able to deal with it a little easier.

Each month, we’ll look at your child through the signs. As children grow into their Sun signs, they will react more like their Moon sign and present like their Rising sign, so read all three.

My child, TTM, is an Aries Sun, with an Aquarius Moon and Capricorn Rising- I see all of these in her…and, being as Piscean as I am, struggle to understand these parts of her- especially when I say stuff like ‘but how do you feel about that?’ and she looks at me with that so whatever look on her face and says, ‘Mum, I’m OK. Love you. Next?’

So, you are the parent of, or grandparent of a Pisces child. How do you possibly understand this kid? Especially when this child often has no idea how to interpret or process her own emotions?

Your Pisces child will often seem like she is in another world, someplace that you can’t access or even begin to understand. She feels so much about so many things and it simply doesn’t occur to her that not every one has the same jangle of emotions that she does.

Pisces has a natural affinity with animals- they don’t cause her the same pain that people do, they belong to her, and love her unconditionally. If anyone can talk to animals your Pisces child can- she senses them and they understand her.

She will cry a lot- she can’t help this, nor can she hide it- she will also feel the pain of others very deeply. Depending on how much Pisces she has will determine just how much of this she takes on herself. Without boundaries, your pain is hers- she may not know where you end and she begins and may not understand that what she is feeling is actually what you are going through. Be aware of this and offer comfort- your Pisces child needs to know that she belongs to someone.

With understanding, she will learn to deal with these, although there is a fine line between gentle understanding and a dismissal of those emotions that are so much a part of who she is. Your Pisces child needs to be able to dream and needs to be able to feel, but she also needs to learn about boundaries- when it is ok to drift into fantasy and when it is time to pay a visit to the real world and get things done.

She also needs to learn about consequences. With such a tenuous grip on reality, she can tend to procrastinate, manipulate, blame others and otherwise get herself out of situations she has somehow found her way into. She can be extremely creative in her efforts to avoid consequences- if you know what I mean…and the interesting thing is that she will actually believe her version of the story.

For this reason, your Pisces child may require more of your attention than those born under other signs- even if it appears that she doesn’t. What she wants more than anything is emotional support. What she needs is the practical tools to deal with those who see who otherworldliness as a target for ridicule and victimisation or deception and delusion. What you need to manage is the high wire act between encouraging her creative and artistic talents and rich imagination whilst still helping her stand on her own two feet.

Your Pisces child will imbue everyone with the attitudes she sees around her and will always assume innocence even in the face of absolute proof of guilt. Part of this is compassion- she simply can’t bear the alternative and will instead feel their pain.  This is where another high wire act is required- how to provide valuable life lessons in human nature, yet still maintain that wonderful Piscean compassion?

Your little goldfish will not be that comfortable in the limelight, so no matter what your dreams for her may be, if she is not comfortable in centre stage, don’t force her into anything she isn’t comfortable with. With the right encouragement she will edge out of her comfort zone in her own time.

Attachment is a Piscean trait- and that includes attachment to people, emotions and beliefs…including self belief. Your childs’ self worth may be as blurred as her boundaries are. She sees herself only through yours and others’ eyes. Whatever you say to her or about her will form her vision of self.

As a result your Pisces child may tend towards feelings of low self-worth- no matter how talented they appear to the world, no matter what marks they bring home from school or what ribbons they win. All she will remember is those missing 2 marks from the last math test or a comment she overheard you make to a friend 3 months ago over a drink.

So, as a parent, what can you do? Above all else, discourage her from playing the victim or the martyr, yet allow her the space and the quiet to explore her dream world. This is especially important as she reaches her teenage years.

Having said that, the junior Pisces needs to learn about boundaries and consequences through gentle routine and basic rules. Breaking her spirit won’t bring her into reality, but it will ensure that she drifts away in her head to a place she feels safe and understood. Handled well, her talents and imagination have no limitations.

If your Sun or Moon is in a Fire sign, you will have difficulties getting the sensitivity of this kid. She will send out messages that you simply do not understand. If in doubt, default to a hug.

If your Sun or Moon is in an Earth sign, you may find her emotions a tad on the overwhelming side, but if in doubt, default to a hug.

If your Sun or Moon is in an Air sign, you will be best served to leave the logic in the text book- this kid doesn’t do it, logic that is. Don’t push for explanations and don’t push aside the emotions. If in doubt, default to a hug.

If your Sun or Moon is in a Water sign, you understand the emotive, intuitive side of your child extremely well- the danger for you is in encouraging her to look at past hurts rather than move it on already….nothing more

My thongs (the type you wear on your feet) & my preferred office. Pic by me.

A Pisces employee that you just don’t understand? Don’t they have anything better to do than start out the window? And just how to they manage to get the job done when it doesn’t really appear that they are doing much at all? Pisces at Work- here is the link.

Noumea, Pic by me...

I’ve spent the better part of this afternoon listening to music and “chatting” with some facebook friends.

I was supposed to be doing other stuff, but daughters’ homework load and hubbys’ old man soccer commitments sort of put paid to anything more energetic this afternoon…which had started off to be a tad on the frustrating side. Aries Moon energy needs to be used, not wasted.

But, all was not lost- a few other watery souls were also in the mood for a chat, so we amused ourselves doing Donna Cunninghams’ Planetary Tests. I’ve mentioned them before in this blog and, if you haven’t done them, they are fun to do, can be actually quite revealing…and more than a little surprising.

Many of my results were quite similar- mainly because:

• most of my planets fall between 17-27 degrees
• most of my planets aspect the Ascendant and
• many aspect the Midheaven and
• most of them fall into a grand water trine/kite aspect

In most of the tests:

• 0-15 low
• 16-25 moderate
• 26-40 strong
• over 40 off the charts

By the way, for any Aries or Scorpios out there, a high score doesn’t mean that you win…it means that the nature of that planet may be over-emphasised in your chart. And, depending how you play it out, that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Take the Sun, for instance. A solar person, or someone with a good Sun score has a need to shine and is good with all the “self” words. Exaggerate that and the not so great “self” words may start to come in. Likewise a low Pluto score may indicate someone who trusts easily, forgives easily, is very easy going and possibly misses the under-currents, whereas a super Plutonian has huge potential to achieve remarkable things, to heal and transform, but may (who am I kidding?) have issues with trust, forgiveness, paranoia and revenge…a real case of using power for good rather than evil.

A low score may mean that you have problems integrating that planets needs into your life. Eg, my lowest scoring planet was Saturn, with a measly 2 points. I have problems with structure, focus, self-discipline and long term goals…in fact anything with a completion date further out than next Saturday. What it also means, in my case, is that because Saturn is not that well integrated in my chart, I feel Saturn transits way stronger than transits of any other planet. They really shake what few foundations I have.

My other scores?

Sun                 76pts

Moon              59pts

Mercury         11pts

Venus             32 pts

Mars               25 pts

Jupiter            55pts (65 if you count Jupiter as co-ruler of Pisces which this test doesn’t, but which I do…)

Saturn             2pts (I don’t count the conjunction to the Moon as it is out of sign, so all I have is a little quincunx to Mars)

Uranus           52pts

Neptune         73pts

Pluto               74pts

I don’t count Chiron and have very few aspects that don’t count as majors ie conjunction, opposition, square, trine, sextile.

I’ve often felt myself to be more Scorpionic than the chart would indicate and, for that matter, more solar as well & the results certainly showed that- as does the number of times the word “I” shows up in my posts.

Looking at myself honestly, I do tend to play out the darker sides of these extremes more than the positives. When it comes to Pluto, I get off on power games and don’t give as much credit to the potential for healing. In regards to Neptune, I do the self-delusion thing more readily than the higher spiritual thing. Certainly some points to think about… Have a go at the tests & let me know any surprising results. Thanks to my Pisces coven for the giggles and inspiration this afternoon- if I wasn’t abstaining I would raise a glass in your honour.

As an aside, this is more intermediate astrology, so if you aren’t sure drop me a mail. If you need to cast a chart (for free), check out Astro.com and pop in your birth details. (I can’t put the link in here as it brings up all my personal info- & that isn’t a good look!)

La Luna is about to move into the comforting arms of Taurus (OK, just after midnight, Sydney time). This will help all of you who ritually start diets on Mondays and need some added resolve…and will hinder all of you who start diets on Mondays and can’t seem to stay away from the fridge.

Rather than swallowing anger, frustration, emotions along with the chocolate, try expressing them some other way- through exercise or by writing it down. Words often get caught in the throat, and feelings are better out than in.

The first aspect she will make is a sextile to Neptune, followed by a cuddle-fest with more is more and less is unthinkable Jupiter. Though temptation will come calling, hold firm and step away from the fridge, pantry or that new dress that you know you don’t need and are really only buying to make yourself feel better.

For now, Sunday afternoon hunter-gathering is calling.

I have had a few people asking me to link these together- possibly something to do with my very Piscean habit of not labelling anything in a way which could possibly indicate what it is about.

So, to complete the series:

Pisces in Houses 2-5

Pisces in Houses 6-9

Pisces in Houses 10-12

What about the Ascendant? That deserves a post on its own…