“But I want to extol not the sweetness nor the placidity of the dog, but the wilderness out of which he cannot step entirely, and from which we benefit. For wilderness is our first home too, and in our wild ride into modernity with all its concerns and problems we need also all the good attachments to that origin that we can keep or restore. Dog is one of the messengers of that rich and still magical first world. The dog would remind us of the pleasures of the body with its graceful physicality, and the acuity and rapture of the senses, and the beauty of forest and ocean and rain and our own breath. There is not a dog that romps and runs but we learn from him.”

MARY OLIVER, DOG SONGS

Saturday December 21, 2019

Opportunities suddenly seem restricted and our window on limitless possibility may seem to be closing. The Winter Solstice brings an especially circumspect attitude today as we begin to adopt a more protective crouch. Concerns over approval and appearance are resurrected, especially if we feel pressured to achieve more that we are capable of achieving. However, we are not without tools in this atmosphere. We have reached a place where previous planning and solid foundations pay off in incredibly powerful ways. Awareness and balance can serve to keep us on track and moving forward despite internal fears and the sense of diminishing options. Today’s pressure can lead to collapse but also has the potential to bring out amazing capacity and ability. 

Sunday December 22, 2019

Yesterday’s feeling of restriction lifts slowly today, especially in the context of spiritual connection and creative inspiration. The Sun is heading into a square to Chiron, creating extra pressure to break free of limitations and find our unique ‘voice’ and individual expression. The Scorpio Moon is generally inclined to keep the circle closed’ but the overall push here is to open up our hearts and minds in order to find something like tangible relatedness. Superficial connections are meaningless here, but the sharing of our individual truth is powerfully rewarding and is much more likely to bring reciprocal honesty — establishing meaningful, lasting connections to others. The Moon goes void-of-course at 7:24 PM PST.

ASTROLOGICAL SNAPSHOT 

SATURDAY

Today is the 355th day of 2019
1 day until the winter solstice
58 days until Mercury Retrograde
10 days until 2020

 Sun is in Sagittarius
Moon is in Scorpio
Mercury is in Sagittarius
Venus is in Aquarius
Mars is in Scorpio
Jupiter is in Capricorn
Saturn is in Capricorn
Uranus is retrograde in Taurus
Neptune is in Pisces
Pluto is in Capricorn
Chiron is in Aries

SUNDAY

Today is the 356th day of 2019
Today is the winter solstice
57 days until Mercury Retrograde
9 days until 2020

Sun is in Capricorn
Moon is in Scorpio
Mercury is in Sagittarius
Venus is in Aquarius
Mars is in Scorpio
Jupiter is in Capricorn
Saturn is in Capricorn
Uranus is retrograde in Taurus
Neptune is in Pisces
Pluto is in Capricorn
Chiron is in Aries