Each month I talk about how the Taurus Moon can be one of those times of the month when one is most prone to comfort eating. For lunar types (and the Moon is exalted in Taurus) when things get too much, it can be easier to swallow feelings rather than express them.

The other reason is that Taurus, ruled by Venus, loves pleasure- earthly pleasure… and beauty- real beauty, not just the idea of it.

Taurus operates from all 5 senses- sight, smell, taste, touch and sound- and uses all of these to experience pleasure. That’s why food is important- especially in the absence of other beauty or pleasure…and Taurus does, after all, rule the throat.

The other thing that Taurus represents is the principle of storage, knowing when enough is plenty, already. What Taurus wants is to just “be”. “Be” at one with earth, with herself, enough. Taurus wants to relax into the comfort of being.

So, at this Taurus Moon, appreciate what you are, what you have, what is around you. Look at the sky and appreciate the colours, listen to the sounds around you, feel the textures of fabric, earth. And, when you do sit down for your meals, taste the food in your mouth, and how it feels on your tongue, the pleasure you feel from it. Savour it before you swallow it. Unfortunately, during most comfort eating binges, pleasure is the last thing you feel.

Yesterday Miss 14 and I had another “stay-cation” excursion (I’ll be almost disappointed when the school holidays finish & I can get some work done )- this time to walk 7.something kms fom Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. The stairs and steep hills were butt clenchingly hard, and the descents hell on the knees, but the pleasure from the effort was priceless.

About 3kms along the rain came down- just as we completed the climb up to Waverley Cemetery. Rather than complaining, we enjoyed the feel of it- and appreciated the cool down!

rock formations just before Bondi

We passed Clovelly Beach, Bronte Beach, Tamarama Beach and amazing views along the way. We appreciated real estate, pondered how you could do a nudie run to get clean knickers from the washing basket when you had no window covering, and gazed out to see looking for whales. Then when it was over we had a very tasty lunch at a friends place.

Sure there was exercise involved, but it was a Taurus Moon day.

So, today, instead of giving way to feelings with mindless fridge opening and closing, step away from the chocolate and spend just a few minutes being mindful.

If you can, schedule a massage, a facial, some other type of pampering bodywork. If you can, check out some art, some music, a view. If you can, take a walk, look at the flowers, make pictures with the clouds, smell the earth. If you can’t do any of these, pause for a while at your break, at lunch-time and savour what it is that you are doing, what you can see, what you are tasting. That’s also very Taurus Moon.

near Clovelly

If you want to follow some of my Sydney stay-cation ideas, check it out at and anyways…

speaking of things bubbling below the surface…this one is one of the smelly thermal pools at Rotorua.

So, the Moon has just passed Uranus, checked in on Facebook and moved on. Anyone feel anything? I’m in “Mum taxi school holidays mode”, so if there was any bright spark I’m sorry to say that I missed it.

Tomorrow the lunar energy is much the same. I’m taking full advantage of the JFDI (Just Flipping Do It) feeling and am doing a double training session first up…followed by Mum taxi duties.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not resentful of the taxi duties, on the contrary I am grateful. This time last year I was stuck up in Brisbane doing an office move that had, shall we say, complications. I missed school holidays completely. I missed a lot of school holidays over the last 14 years, and thankfully my daughter has always understood…and still talks to me…a lot.

I’m grateful I did the whole supermum thing for as long as I did- it has given my daughter a good sense of structure, routine & the knowledge that she has to work for whatever she gets. It also means that she is now grateful for my presence at home. She has, so far, appeared not to have received the memo that said she should hate me by now. Something else I’m grateful for.

It probably makes sense that I am stopping to feel the gratitude at present- Mercury is well within its shadow and has slowed right down in preparation to turn retrograde over the weekend. More on that later.

Also about to do the back step is Uranus. As we know, when planets appear to reverse (they don’t really go backwards, it’s just that from our perspective they do- like when you’re in a fast train beside one that is so slow it seems to be going backwards rather than forwards) they become more.

The outer planets spend a fair whack of each year in retrograde motion. During these retrograde periods, the energy which is usually pushed outward is directed internally. During the retrograde phase planets become an exaggerated version of themselves. Uranus will become more Uranian…for many (especially those in the midst of a transit by Uranus) that is a pretty scary concept.

In the case of Uranus, who really gets off on giving totally unexpected and utterly unavoidable shocks to get you moving out of your rut and into something more individual, all of that bubbling, electrical energy in happening within you instead of to you. Eventually it has to explode.

All those Uranian rebellion impulses will burst out at seemingly incongruent times, leaving those around you shaking their heads muttering “What the F&*#?” Which brings me to the other really important thing about Uranus and transits of this planet to natal planets…. resistance is futile. The more you struggle against the Freedom Fighter, the tighter the chains that bind.

If Uranus passes back across a natal planet or chart point for you during this transit, take it as a time to stick to what you know…for now. You will be able to objectively look at the results of the bid you made for freedom when Uranus first touched that planet and maybe analyse what went wrong. This is not the time to make a fresh break, if indeed a separation is what is required. The questions you ask yourself here will be put to use when Uranus retraces his path once he becomes direct. It is at that point that you have the opportunity to make the change real.

Speaking of making things real, I have a bag of groceries that needs to be turned into dinner. In case you’re interested, tonight is teriyaki chicken.

Technical Guff:

13 July 2012- 12 December 2012 8 Aries- 4 Aries

Anyone with planets or chart points between 3-9 Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn? Have you felt your Uranus transit yet? Or should I say, are you having fun yet ?

Sydney coastline taken from The Gap at Watsons Bay…

So today Miss 14 and I went on a stay-cation. She is on school holidays (again) and given that we aren’t going away on holidays we decided to take a vacation in our home city- hence the term “stay-cation”.

Last time it was the Aquarium and Madame Tussauds at Darling Harbour. Today was a ferry ride across to Watsons Bay, a walk up the coast path and lunch at the Hotel. On Thursday we have scheduled another excursion across to Bondi Beach and the coast walk there- Miss 14 just wants to look at lifeguards…

All of this water and dreaming of escape is fitting with the Moon still in Pisces…just. La Luna will storm into Aries in the next few hours, at around 10.15pm Sydney time- if you are after the details. Just a few hours after that she will come up hard against Mars in the monthly face-off that is (thankfully) short-lived. These are a few hours when you may find yourself arguing for the sake of it, or at least become more irritable than usual. Luckily those of us in Aus will be sleeping through it. In any case, it might be an idea to schedule a stress busting training session- if at all possible.

In just a few hours after this, the Moon will whisper sweet nothings in the ear of Uranus. He will in turn suggest that the two of them shake the town up a little. It could be fun.

Batu Caves, KL, Malaysia

The Moon is in Pisces, so my mind has drifted into dreams of travel. Whilst my passport is firmly (and reluctantly) tucked away for the time being, I am in planning and pricing mode for next years family holiday.

This annual discussion brings out the big questions in life:

• Domestic or international
• Resort or city
• Somewhere new or somewhere familiar
• Long haul or short haul

Given that I have a bucket list of places I either want to go to or want to go back to, this is not an easy process. Hubby has Taurus rising, so whilst his Scorpio Sun wants to explore below the touristy surface, value for money is important. He wants a spread-sheet with the prices before he makes a decision. This time we’ve got the (initial) short list down to 5 foreign possibilities and 3 domestic, and we’ve set the flight time at no more than 10 hours.

This whole random conversation made me think about what our charts say about us as travellers. Our sun sign will tell us quite a bit, but how you approach travel, can be seen by the sign that rules the 9^th house in your birthchart.

As a Pisces, I am naturally drawn to anything with water and anything where my boundaries can dissolve. But with Scorpio on the cusp of my 9^th house, I approach travel from the viewpoint of Scorpio- I like to get below the surface to the soul of wherever I go. Tour groups invade my privacy, and tend to make me feel constrained and a little claustrophobic. Top of my list this time is China…or Thailand…or Vietnam.

With as much Pluto as I have in my chart, I’m also a control freak, so generally like to make all the planning decisions, have problems trusting travel agents and enjoy independent travel. I always include a few Pisces moments where someone else makes the decisions and I can drift.

Thankfully my husband has Venus and Mercury in Libra and is prepared to leave it all to me. With a Scorpio Sun and Sagittarius on the cusp of his 9^th house, he also wants to immerse himself in culture. So when we travel, while we might stay in good hotels (my idea of camping is a 3 star hotel) with access to running water, we head off the tourist trail as much as possible, eat locally (usually that is also the cheapest option) and attempt to find out how people really live. Top of his list this time is Vietnam- but it will depend on how the prices come back.

Miss 14, an Aries Sun with Capricorn Rising, has Leo on the cusp of her 9^th house so would be quite happy never straying from the resort pool. Top of her list is Hawaii or a cruise. I’ve told her that if she just wants to lay by a pool with a swim up bar, we’ll pop open the pool lounge in the back yard and move the esky in. As we constantly tell her- when it comes to travel, it isn’t all about you…

So, what does your chart say about you as a traveller? If you know the sign that is on the cusp of your 9^th house, that is great- read both the description of your Sun sign and that ruling the 9^th.

Aries: You want to be first- that goes without saying. If you can’t explore new territory, at least be the 1^st of your group to go somewhere new. And if that doesn’t work, pick a resort where you can kick the arses off the other guests in pool volleyball, tennis, drinking games or anything else competitive. Combine the 2 and follow your favourite sporting team or army on tour. Avoid guided tours at all costs.

Taurus: Somewhere nice and conservative, but representing good value for money. You love modern cities with great shopping, good food and where you don’t have to do an awful lot. Relaxation is the name of the game, but a visit to an art gallery or a stroll through shops followed by cocktails is exercise enough. Resorts and cruises are great, but don’t go too far off the beaten track- stick with what you know and make sure you creature comforts are taken care of..

Gemini: Don’t even think about retreats… ever… unless there is a group of you going- actually unless there are a few groups going- you need the variety. Contiki tours or a backpacking holiday where you can gather friends (and facebook contacts) from all around the world- and party all night- are right on the money. If it’s Thursday we must be in Rome.

Cancer: You really don’t like to be too far from home, but when you are, you prefer to set up base in a single place and make it as much like your home away from home as possible. Apartments by the beach are great when you can get the groceries in and cook for yourself- eating out too much really can’t be justified when you can whip up a perfectly good meal yourself.

Leo: It goes without saying that you prefer to follow the sun. But don’t even think about one of those put your own tent up in the African jungle safaris. Sun and Glamour are your key words. You love a 5 star resort with cocktails by the pool, a great in house beauty salon and the perfect poolside wardrobe. Perhaps a cruise, the Greek Islands, or both. It is no less than you deserve.

Virgo: Let’s face it, you are going to get travel belly wherever you go… but I did notice when we were in Singapore recently that all the Hawker markets are graded in terms of food quality and cleanliness… no, I am not sure what standard they are measured against or the actual statistics of how many people had to get sick, but my point is, this definitely makes it easier for Virgos to eat cheaply, locally and know where their tummy bug is coming from. The best part of a holiday has to be in the planning and working out where you can get the best value for money. Don’t share with other families- you know you will be the one having to do all the chores. Organised tours are perfect for you- you really don’t like anywhere too relaxing, loud, flashy or wet.

Libra: Anywhere gorgeous where you can shop for designer goodies- just make sure you take someone equally as decorative to carry all your bags; somewhere glamorous where you can lie back with your champagne and be fed chocolates by one admirer while getting a foot massage from another; a resort or cruise where the biggest decision you need to make is which pool lounge you will drape yourself across to best possible advantage. Leave the pool games to Aries, you don’t want to break a nail.

Scorpio: I will say this once only- avoid organised tours- you have absolutely no control and people will be in your face all day. Also avoid anywhere too bright or too loud. Scorpio likes to make his own way and will actively seek out the underbelly of society and the hidden depths and the soul of a place. Being a water sign, scuba diving shipwrecks has to be the most literal translation of this. But whatever you choose, with Scorpio on the 9^th, you will be transformed by travel- if you let yourself go.

Sagittarius: Particularly drawn to skiing holidays and (yes, Virgo, I was getting to this part) skiing injuries. Sag likes anywhere where there is something to drink, something to jump off or something to jump into or something to gamble on…Consider a drinking tour of Vegas casinos. Sag is also into spirituality, so has been known to gallop off into the sunset after their latest Guru.

Capricorn: Preferably a trip paid for by someone else, but if that is not possible, book somewhere of good quality, conservative, respectable and great value for money. Plan it well and you won’t have any nasty surprises. Capricorn really does not like to relax as time away from work means someone could be making them no longer indispensable. Take your Blackberry and your laptop so you can still jump in with your vast experience when trouble strikes.

Aquarius: Admit it, you secretly want to be on one of those Moon flights. But this aside, your holiday needs to be different. Whether you are up a tree saving the forest from chainsaws or in deepest South America researching the local people, or doing the Woodstock thing, as long as it is slightly unconventional and involves other people to share ideas with you will have a great time. One on one quality relationship time with your partner? Forget it.

Pisces: Pisces uses travel to escape from whatever version of reality they find themselves in. You don’t like to plan too much, drifting from one place to the next is perfect. As long as your holiday involves water, duty free alcohol and absolutely no responsibilities you are a happy fishy. Having some bossy Tour Guide telling you what time to get up, where to go and what to do when you get there is your idea of organised hell. Having someone else make the decisions though, is pure bliss.

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

So, what’s your travel style?

this one was taken on Queenstown Hill. Saturn is the dark cloud descending…hey, I’m on my Friday night vino!

As I said earlier, I have been getting a lot of enquiries lately about Saturn in Scorpio. It’s great people are interested, but it doesn’t happen until October. We’re not even out of the shadow of the last retrograde and have another 7 or so degrees of Libra to cover. But, given that I have a store of photos of plains, mountains and cold, dry, snowy stuff that I like to use in Saturn posts and to temper the excitement a tad (Saturn is, after all, about delayed gratification), here is the technical guff.

• Saturn moves into Scorpio on 6 October, 2012
• Saturn stations retrograde on 18 February, 2012 at 11 Scorpio 31’
• Saturn stations direct on 7 July, 2013 at 4 Scorpio 49’
• Saturn stations retrograde on 2 March, 2014 at 23 Scorpio 19’
• Saturn stations direct on 19 July, 2014 at 16 Scorpio 39’
• Saturn moves into Sagittarius on 24 December, 2014

Check out the Saturn tab at the top of this page for ideas as to where this might impact you.

Laurence Hillman in his book Planets in Play has this to say about Saturn in Scorpio:

“This old man wears a dark grey cardigan with black leather patches on the elbows and well worn pants. He is holding a pipe and stares at you with ice blue eyes. In fact, it feels as though he can see right into, or even through, you. He won’t smile, but if you ask for advice, he will give you more than you bargained for.”

What did he say about Saturn in Libra?

“This old man wears an impeccable suit. His silver hair is slicked back, not a strand out of place. His tie is perfectly matched to the suit, shirt and socks, but mostly it is exquisitely beautiful. He is so friendly it almost seems saccharine. Once you start talking with him, you will have a hard time getting away.”

I think that says it all.