Mars in Aries is, shall we say, ever so slightly impatient.

After spending the last month or so treading water, he’s keen to get moving.

Sure he’s now in Aries where forward motion and physical energy are de rigeur, yet with Mercury still retrograde in Pisces, and Venus enjoying her rose coloured glasses, bubbles and long baths just a tad too much there’s still not a lot of momentum out there.

To make matters worse, Mercury is now stationing, so is at the most problematic part of the retrograde cycle. Couple this with the frustration of Mars and you have the potential for some seriously mixed messages.

The next two days we have the Taurus Moon in play. This can be good and bad. Good in that Taurus usually thinks before she speaks, but bad in that quite often the message gets stuck in the throat- or swallowed…usually with something carbohydrate or sweet in nature.

With the irritations that are currently around, the potential for comfort eating will be high over the next couple of days. Try and find another way to deal with the tension and force yourself to slow down. Long walks, time spent in the garden or on routine tasks will help.

The Universe has given us a Taurus Moon to step back and take things a little easier for these last couple of days of the Mercury retrograde, so try not to force issues that simply can do without being forced.

Instead take the time to savour, well, whatever. Life, the beauty of nature, art, music, the everyday. And if you are going to indulge, enjoy every single last morsel.

What if you have Aries planets (especially the Ascendant, Sun, Moon or Mars) that are seriously over all of this?

Anger expressed under the Taurus Moon tends to be last straw stuff- you know, those things that have been bubbling away until bam! Molehill becomes mountain. Like a red rag to a bull….so to speak. Best not to go there. Get rid of the excess energy in the gym or with a long walk- and leave the attitude on the treadmill (or wherever)…it’s all nearly over.

Symbalon cards...

The Moon is in Taurus- great for relaxing, letting go and feeling at one with your body and the earth. The Moon in Taurus is also great for consolidating something that needs to be, well, consolidated.

What it’s not great for is digging in your heels over things that actually don’t require your heels to be dug in quite so firmly.

The Taurus Moon is also notorious for comfort eating- especially if you have something to say that can’t be said or something to do that you haven’t quite got around to doing. In the former case you swallow your feelings…in the latter? Procrastineating. With luck (and good management) those impulses may be tempered somewhat now that Jupiter has moved onto chattier pastures in Gemini.

Other than this, there’s not a huge amount happening in the sky today. Sure the Moon will meet up with Pluto later, but its more of a handshake, how’s business and check the bank balance type of catch up than a boardroom power struggle.

Mooloolaba Beach, Sunrise

The Moon is in Taurus, and I for one have indulged just a tad too much over the last day or so. That tends to happen when the Moon is in Taurus- and if you have this position natally, you will know exactly what I’m talking about.

Taurus rules the throat and is associated with food. The Moon is about comfort, emotional security and nurturing. The Moon is exalted in Taurus, for that read “exaggerated”. Put all of these things together and you get more, more, more. Plus, for the last few hours and for the next few, the Moon makes no (traditional) aspect to any other planet. This is termed “void of course” and essentially it means that La Luna is free to do as much of the thing she does best without anyone else interfering.

This can be a great thing- if you have something that needs building, cementing, finishing, this is the perfect energy to get that done. If, on the other hand you have something which needs starting, creating or moving…well, you might just find that today (and probably yesterday) your procrastination muscle got more of a workout than your willpower muscle.

Today has been a constant struggle to stay away from the fridge. Thankfully I have had some research work for a large Astro article to be getting on with, so have been able to resist the temptation to some extent. It’s the sort of work I dislike- very little creativity, a lot of chart analysis and notes- but perfect for today.

Yesterday was not so successful. I had a synopsis to write for my novel, that just wasn’t happening. You’d think that after writing 100,000 words, the 1,000 words to describe the book should just fly off the keyboard. Unfortunately this was not the case.

I was hoping that with Mercury within spitting distance of Uranus some sort of brilliance would light up the screen for me, but no.

The interesting thing about writing your first novel is that there is always a little of yourself in the characters- that makes sense as you are writing what you know. Over the drafts, this has dissipated as my lead has developed her own voice. Now it seems that all I have given her is an occupation, a penchant for macaroni cheese and a pair of ugg boots- the rest she has carried away herself.

So, it seemed fitting that last night I indulged in the ultimate of macaroni cheese recipes- a souffled mac, or what we like to call “cheffy mac”. If you want the recipe I have blogged it over on my non astro blog and anyways…

Speaking of which, that is where I will be posting all my non astro stuff going forward- travel, food, recipes, words, whatever.

Todays pic is another from the Sunshine Coast.

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 spent today, the last day of holidays before TTM goes back to school, walking some coast paths around Coogee. The sun was hot, the views amazing and the salt air invigorating.

Especially so after a weekend spent painting.

I have miles and miles of trims that need doing in my house. And by doing, I mean taping, sanding, undercoating and then 2 coats of gloss. Every single skirting board, window frame and door jam in the house. Plus I am re-painting rooms where they haven’t been done in the last couple of years.

My husband reckons I have painted some rooms so often that they are no longer being held up by plaster, but rather endless coats of paint. I remind him that painting and decorating is cheaper than moving.

If I had more Virgo in me I would measure just how many miles I have still to do, but instead I will employ my exalted Jupiter and limitless Pisces and just add a capital letter- there are MILES of them. And while Mars is retrograde in Virgo, it is the ideal time to do such painstakingly, detailed work.

Over the weekend Venus crossed my Ascendant. This transit is usually one of the best hair days of the year. I spent it decked out in the most glamorous of glamour painting gear, embellished with the remnants of pretty well every paint job I have done in this house over the last few years- the Dulux colour chart, if you will. I am still peeling paint of hard to get to parts of me and my hair now has that glorious aroma of eau de turps as I am still trying to separate hair from enamel paint.

Over the weekend Mercury moved into free thinking Aquarius. I scouted through the backlogs of this blog and have to admit that I have never written anything on this placement. WTF? I will correct that over the next few days.

For now, the Moon has just moved into Taurus and will very soon hook up with Jupiter for a plenty feast. These couple of days each month are the most dangerous days for anyone who is trying to eat well, exercise well and manage new habits. If you use the fixed Taurus energy for good, this is a great time to solidify new habits.

Taurus loves to use all of her senses when she eats. Being Venus ruled, she is often drawn to sweet treats and chocolates…and really does not like to sweat. If you are tempted, trick your palate with meals that will satisfy your tastebuds without breaking the calorie bank.

Tonight we are having baked chicken breasts that have been marinated in a spicy, yoghurt concoction. The yoghurt tenderises the chicken and adds a lovely full and creamy texture to the mouth and some gorgeous aromas in the kitchen. I’ll serve it with a tomato, cucumber and mint salad. Just a perfect ending to the last day of holidays.

pic by me.