pic by me

The other day I had a couple of trees removed from my backyard. Aside from causing damage to the electrical works in our pool area and lifting pavers, neither tree was healthy. We had another tree pruned and dead-wooded in order to help it flourish, and it now looks like a new tree.

Since they have been removed, and the other camphor laurel pruned and shaped, the light and the view is incredible.

When I posted it on Facebook the other day (amongst some comments about eye candy and tree surgeons), a friend asked if I was having a Pluto transit- you know, all the removal of dead wood.

I’m not, at present, but have for the last 5-6 years had a cycle of Pluto transits that is now almost complete:

• Pluto square Moon (this one went on for ever)
• Pluto square Saturn (so did this)
• Pluto sextile Mars (8^th) and Mercury (12^th)
• Pluto sextile South Node and trine North node- this one is happening now

I mentioned in a post after Christmas how leaving work and holidaying in Bali felt like a closure of all the crap that had been going down over those last 5-6 years.

Removing the deadwood and opening up the view feels like a metaphorical closure of that and a beginning to something new.

For the last year or so I have resisted doing readings- with work, with my writing, with family, I really didn’t feel that I would be doing the best job by my clients or myself. Things are now different, and from February 1, I will be doing readings again, so if you are interested, please email me (jo@jotracey.com.au) for rates and times. Interestingly since making this decision I have received the first few enquiries for readings in a long time.

Also for the last couple of months I had closed off comments on the website- mainly to discourage the spammers that were having so much amusement at my expense. The silence is, however, deafening, so comments will be open again.

Anyways, to the big transit of the day- the annual hook-up between Mercury and the zodiacs’ enforcement specialist, Pluto.

Mercury= information, communication, messages, data

Pluto= secrecy, power, control, ambition, transformation, truth

Capricorn= serious, mature, timely, business, ambition

Put them together and you get…the next 24 or so hours. You also get a very timely reminder that words can be powerful, have the power to hurt, to heal and to transform.

I was reminded of this during an unrelated conversation earlier this morning. For the next couple of days, think carefully about both the words you use, how you react to those used by others and just what to do with any information you receive. Treat it maturely, treat it responsibly and treat it with respect.

The Moon in Virgo adds a critical and analytic energy to this vibe- can you handle the truth?

Adding to the earthy, practicality in the air at the moment is a trine between the Sun and Mars. This will peak within the next few hours, so if you have any serious planning, forecasting or analytical work that needs to be done, today is a real get it done day.

I am about to visit my local plant nursery to check out some options for landscaping the vacant area that is now around my pool. A blank canvas, in full sun = limitless potential…and a perfect use of all of this earth energy.

Todays photo is something I shot in Bali that reminds me of the beauty of nature. Speaking of beauty, I will pop back in later today to talk about Venus and Neptune…until then…