Inspiration can strike at any moment, and be gone just like that. Where does inspiration come from astrologically? You have a few places you can look at: the 5th house, Neptune & the 12th house, and the asteroid Muses. The 5th House & Inspiration
The 5th house is the house of creativity, and the first place you look to for inspiration. The sign on the cusp and planets in the house can show what inspires you and how you’re inspired, if it comes easily to you (the Sun, Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter in the 5th house) or if it’s something you struggle with at times (Saturn, Uranus, or Pluto in the 5th house).
When you have positive aspects (sextiles and trines) by the transit (moving) planets to the 5th house cusp or planetary ruler, these can be times when inspiration is easy for you to find, and your creative energy can flow. Hard aspects (squares and oppositions) can make inspiration difficult to find, it can come and go, or you feel blocked. A conjunction to the cusp or ruler can bring heightened energy one way or the other, depending on the planet involved and other aspects occurring at the same time. When a planet transits the 5th house, this can bring inspiration and your creative energy out more, or block it more. Jupiter, Mars, or Venus in the 5th house can bring you the most inspiration, while Uranus in the 5th house can bring erratic streaks, and Saturn can bring the biggest blocks. If you want to track what the transit planets are doing every month, sign up for the free monthly worksheet! Neptune and the 12th House & Inspiration
Neptune and the 12th house rule our imagination and soul, so when either of these are being activated with transit aspects, you can experience a surge in energy for your imagination, and a stirring in your soul that inspires you. Again, the positive aspects make it easy, while the hard aspects make it difficult, and conjunctions can amplify either way.
Transit planets in the 12th house can make your imaginative energy stronger and easier (Jupiter, Mars, Venus), or harder to manage well (Saturn, Pluto, Uranus). The sign and house placement of your Neptune, and the sign on the cusp and planets in the house of your 12th house can show what inspires your soul and how your imaginative energy is expressed. The Asteroid Muses & Inspiration
The Muses are a group of asteroids that are linked to inspiration - of course! These nine asteroids can give us more creative energy in the natal chart, and when triggered by transit planets (being aspected by the transit planets) or the transit Muses are aspecting our charts, we can be much more inspired.
You can find the location of your Muses and get an ephemeris for them on astro.com for free. The asteroid Muses are: 22 - Calliope: Muse of Epic Poetry 84 - Clio: Muse of History 27 - Euterpe: Muse of Music, Song, and Elegiac Poetry 62 - Erato: Muse of Lyric Poetry 18 - Melpomene: Muse of Tragedy 33 - Polyhymnia: Muse of Hymns 81 - Terpsichore: Muse of Dance 23 - Thalia: Muse of Comedy 30 - Urania: Muse of Astronomy (and astrology!) Suggested Reading: Happiness of the Zodiac Signs Mercury retrograde is coming soon in Libra (September 17th!), bringing our attention to this planetary retrograde after we’ve just ended Venus retrograde, but what about when you have Mercury retrograde in your natal chart? (Edit: We're in Mercury retrograde right now as this is reposted, this was originally from 2015!). P.S. Make sure to sign up for the free monthly worksheet to keep track of planetary retrogrades every month! What is a retrograde planet?
For the newbies, a planet is called retrograde when it appears to be moving backward from our viewpoint here on Earth; it isn't actually moving backward, it only appears that way because of the way the planets move in relation to Earth. If a planet is retrograde when you were born, you have that planet retrograde in your natal chart (a snapshot of the planets and houses at the moment you were born from the location you were born at).
Retrograde energy differs from when the planet is moving in its usual forward motion, and this is especially true of the personal planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The personal planets have a direct impact on our personalities and preferences in life, our habits and who we are, so when any of this trio are retrograde in the natal chart, this can stick out like a sore thumb to the native. What it means to be a Mercury retrograde native:
Mercury is the planet of communication and how you express yourself and learn, and so those of you born with Mercury retrograde tend to feel very misunderstood. The energy of Mercury retrograde in the natal chart is actually very similar to that of Mercury in the 12th house (and how misunderstood you must be if you have natal Mercury retrograde in your 12th house!). You have difficulty communicating clearly with others, with being heard, with understanding others as well, and with using your mental energy properly. You can be someone who has a ton of mental energy and is far more intelligent than people realize. You just don’t know the right way to show it.
For some of you born with Mercury retrograde, you can feel that you must reject your mental energy and power. You can have so much that it overwhelms you and you don’t know what to do with it, or you receive such negative feedback from people that you feel there must be something wrong with you. Some of you were likely told you had some sort of “learning disability” (especially if your retrograde Mercury is also at a critical degree), or made to feel like you were “stupid”. Let me say right now, THERE IS NOTHING “WRONG” WITH YOUR MIND. It just operates differently from the rest of us. Natal Mercury retrograde natives can actually have really incredible minds. It’s just hard for the rest of us non-Mercury retrograde natives to understand. There’s a tremendous amount of mental energy and power that can be unlocked with Mercury retrograde in the natal chart. It just usually takes a while to let go of the fear, isolation, or insecurity that accompanies this position. The insecurity can really kill the Mercury retrograde native. You need to work on developing confidence in your mental abilities, your ideas, your opinions, your words. Growing up feeling misunderstood no doubt caused that insecurity, but it’s a skin you must shed in adulthood, or you get stuck in that insecurity forever. You can be a quiet person, one who stumbles over their words publicly, or who is unfailingly truthful. You can have a wicked sense of humor because you interpret what you see in the world differently and point out the things that are so ridiculously absurd. Traditional methods of learning may not be the best thing for you, and you can find unconventional ways of taking in information that might seem weird at first glance, but can have a hint of pure brilliance in them. Artistic and creative outlets can be beneficial to you, especially when young, because they offer the easiest ways to learn something in a nontraditional way that’s still somewhat acceptable by society. When you can do well as a Mercury retrograde native:
When transit (moving) Mercury is retrograde, this is when you thrive. The rest of us are completely hopeless, and you’re speeding along. This is because the retrograde energy is natural to you, so when Mercury is in his normal forward motion, you’re uncomfortable, but when he’s retrograde, you’re at home.
This is a time when you can make great progress and really get your point across. You should make the most of the times when Mercury is retrograde. You can also work on better understanding the proper ways for you to communicate, express yourself, and learn during Mercury retrograde, so pay close attention to that. Suggested Reading: Prominent Natal Mercury, Venus, or Mars Retrograde It's almost here! A brand new year is soon upon us, and it pays to be prepared, so allow me to help you do just that. It's an interesting year, for sure! 2016 starts with a bang, and in just the first nine days, Mercury enters Aquarius, turns retrograde, goes back into Capricorn, Mars enters Scorpio, Jupiter turns retrograde, and a new moon occurs in Capricorn. Holy planets Batman! It's going to feel like there's a ton of energy swirling, and some of it may be good, but some of it can really be dicey (I shudder as I realize primary voting for the presidential election starts here in the States early in 2016). Buckle up! Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will not change signs in 2016, which is a spot of good news, so it's more of a sequel instead of brand new chapters. Jupiter begins the year in Virgo and enters Libra in September. It's work, details, practicality early, and relationships, partnerships, equality later (likely even more of a push there, as well as more focus on women's issues). What really stands out for 2016 is a Mars retrograde. Our last one was early 2014, and this one is mid April through June. It starts in Sagittarius, where Saturn resides, so we can be extra frustrated, especially by our limitations, restrictions, responsibilities, duties. Mars will retrograde into Scorpio, and rage is an issue there, along with financial stuff and war. The Mercury retrogrades for the year will be in the earth signs, moving out of the air signs (only the January retrograde will occur partially in Aquarius, the first few days of it). The January retrograde (while in Capricorn) and December (though it ends in January 2017 in Sagittarius) retrograde will be in the sign Pluto is in, which can trigger extra unrest and anger with governments and politics. The late April - mid May retrograde in Taurus occurs at the same time as the Mars retrograde, so things can really feel like they're unraveling during that time, and we need extra heaping doses of patience. The late August - mid September retrograde in Virgo comes as Jupiter leaves this sign, complicating the exit. The eclipses for 2016 will occur in March and September. Pisces has a solar eclipse in March and lunar eclipse in September, and Pisceans get started in March and reach the top in September. A solar eclipse occurs in Virgo in September, with Mercury retrograde in Virgo and Jupiter at the very end, trying to bring some shining light into the dark maze. And a lunar eclipse occurs in Libra in March, the third and final in three years, closing a hard chapter for Libras (it's been a difficult last few years for you!), and you get some deserved good energy later in the year with Jupiter entering your sign. My real concern for 2016 is two T-squares, the first in mutable signs. The mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, and we have Jupiter in Virgo for part of the year, Saturn in Sagittarius, and Neptune and Chiron in Pisces. Plus Mars partially retrograde in Sagittarius, and Mercury retrograde in Virgo as Jupiter leaves Virgo, and three of the eclipses in mutable signs. It's a lot of mutable energy! It's a T-square with Jupiter opposite Neptune and both square Saturn. Mutable signs are more fluid, hard to pin down and figure out, so changeable, just flowing with the wind. When I wrote about the Salem Witch Trials in October, I wrote about how there was massive mutable energy at that time as well, even having Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Sagittarius like now. Mutable energy is associated with being gullible and easily led astray. They were missing Virgo for much of it back then, which made them miss out on being practical and realistic about the situation. This time, we're missing Gemini, which might mean we're not thinking things through enough or asking enough questions or gathering enough information. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out when the Sun, Mercury, and Venus are in Gemini, plugging up the hole with more chaotic energy by creating a mutable grand cross. When the Moon has done so, it's been somewhat stabilizing so far. There will be points when Neptune will be a singleton as the only water sign too, which is a little troubling in terms of Neptune's power of delusion. It's already been going on since Jupiter entered Virgo a few months ago and started this fluid energy. We all need to remember good Gemini energy: Ask questions. Ask more. Think. And think again. Gather and absorb information. Learn what you can. Use the power of thought and reason. Share the facts. I hope we can avoid falling for something we shouldn't because we didn't use our brains. Then when Jupiter enters Libra, we'll start with a cardinal T-square. The cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, and we'll have Jupiter in Libra opposite Uranus in Aries and both square Pluto in Capricorn. We had massive cardinal energy in 2013-14, which brought a lot of action (cardinal signs are active), and we've had a cardinal T-square going on in the last two months of 2015 with Mars in Libra. This can be more hectic since cardinal energy is more active, and we can see a lot of activity going on in the world. Some of it may be good, some of it may not be. This energy likes to be tied into terror activity and violent behavior in general, so we all need to take some big chill pills, and keep an eye out, stay alert, stay vigilant. The missing sign here in Cancer, so we need to remember Cancer energy: Feel. Feel more. Get in touch with your emotions. Ask yourself how you're feeling. Understand the feelings of others. Create a solid support system. Create a solid internal foundation. With Pluto being the squared planet in Capricorn, we need to avoid being obsessive in traditional thinking or unrelenting in upholding the rules. Since the squared planet is the one getting all of the energy, we can see more developments and shakeups around the world with governments and institutions. Also, Saturn is the squared planet in the mutable T-square, and it's the natural ruler of Capricorn, so Saturn/Capricorn energy is really under fire for all of 2016. Saturn/Capricorn rules governments, goals, long-term plans, being practical, responsible, mature, and doing things right. With all of the mutable and cardinal energy, we're in serious need of some fixed energy (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius). None of the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) will be in a fixed sign at any point next year, so we need to bring in some of that fixed energy, which is grounded. Ground yourself as much as you can! Those of you with fixed personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) in your natal or progressed charts will have the easiest time staying grounded with that energy amidst the chaos. So that's 2016 in a somewhat-scary nutshell! We have a lot to work out this year, but it should be quite dynamic. May it be a good year for you and yours! Suggested Reading: Your Yearly Horoscope With Christmas coming, I thought it would be fun to look at asteroid Santa, number 1288. It’s said to be an asteroid you find with a lot of philanthropists, people who are Santa-like and give a lot. I also figured it probably would be important for actors who famously played Santa, so I took a look at that as well. I’ll start with them. Edmund Gwenn (Miracle on 34th Street)
Edmund Gwenn played Santa in the original Miracle on 34th Street. Looking at his chart, Edmund had asteroid Santa positioned in Libra, and it’s conjunct his Sun and Mercury, and the apex of a yod with his Neptune sextile Mars and both quincunx asteroid Santa. He was meant for that role!
When the film came out in 1947, transit Neptune was conjunct his asteroid Santa, making it very easy for everyone to see him as Kris Kringle. Neptune is quite helpful for actors as it allows people to see them as the role they’re playing and not themselves. Gwenn won an Oscar for his portrayal in 1948, and Neptune was still conjunct his Santa. Just a few days after the Oscars, asteroid Santa conjuncted his Mars, stimulating that yod. Mickey Rooney (Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Year Without Santa Claus, and A Miser Brothers' Christmas)
Mickey Rooney voiced Santa in 3 different Christmas movies: Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus, and A Miser Brothers’ Christmas. Rooney’s asteroid Santa is conjunct his Neptune, sextile his Mercury, trine his Mars, and opposite his Moon. Pretty active!
His Santa is in Leo, and it’s always trined by transit Sun in December, which is when all 3 movies were released. Uranus was sextile his asteroid Santa when Santa Claus is Coming to Town came out, and Mars was trine with A Miser Brothers’ Christmas. With Santa Claus is Coming to Town, asteroid Santa conjuncted his north node in December 1970. With The Year Without a Santa Claus, asteroid Santa conjuncted his Jupiter (December 1974). And with A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, which was in 2008, so over 30 years since the last, he just had his Santa return - how fitting! Tim Allen (The Santa Clause)
For the young ones, Tim Allen played Santa in The Santa Clause, 2, and 3. Allen has a t-square in his chart with Chiron opposite his Mercury and Uranus square his Saturn and Neptune. Asteroid Santa just happens to fill that empty portion of it in Aries.
Mars was trine his asteroid Santa for the first movie, Mars sextile and Pluto trine for the second, and Neptune sextile for the third. Asteroid Santa was square his Sun for the first movie, returning for the second (which was 10 years after the first), and falling on his Chiron, lighting up the t-square for the third. Will Ferrell (Elf)
Will Ferrell didn’t play Santa, but was in a popular Christmas movie, Elf. Ferrell’s asteroid Santa conjuncts his 6th house cusp, the house of work. Neptune conjuncted his asteroid Santa a few months after the movie came out, and asteroid Santa turned retrograde shortly after as well - his asteroid Santa is retrograde.
3 Philanthropists:
When I wanted to look up famous philanthropists, 3 people came to mind: Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Oprah. All pretty known for their giving, so of course asteroid Santa is important for them.
With Bill Gates, his asteroid Santa falls right on his Imum Coeli, the 4th house cusp, one of the angles. This is a nurturing house, naturally ruled by Cancer. For Oprah, her asteroid Santa is actually anaretic at 29 degrees Aries. Anything at the anaretic degree is something you have to focus on, and work on manifesting positively. Oprah sure has done that! And her Santa is trine her anaretic 1st house cusp and sextile her anaretic 7th house cusp, two angular houses, and the axis that rules yourself and others. Buffett’s asteroid Santa is trine his Uranus, hence him being a little out there with his pledge to give it all away at/around his death (and his asteroid Santa is in his 8th house, ruling death). His Santa is also square asteroid Bacchus, which governs excess, which is located in his 11th house of humanitarianism, which might explain why he has no qualms giving it all away. Check your own asteroid Santa!
Look to see where asteroid Santa is in your chart, and that can show where/how you give the most. My asteroid Santa is in Libra and conjunct my 12th house cusp, so I’m quite giving but don’t want anyone to know. Actually, I pretty much never tell when I do something good!
Transit Santa can show where you’ll be in a giving mood right now, how you’ll give, or if you will at all. It’s currently gearing up to enter Scorpio on the 21st. So funny - as I wrote this post, I had my Santa return just a few days before! (originally written in 2014 but updated in 2015) So how does asteroid Santa make you give? Ho ho ho! Suggested Reading: Being Charitable: The 11th House & Asteroid Santa General horoscopes are always meant for entertainment purposes only. For a more accurate view, read your Sun sign, Rising sign, and Moon sign.
Aries January 2016 Horoscope On January 3rd, your ruler, Mars, enters water sign Scorpio, and you can have greater energy and drive to make major transformations in your life. You want to find what needs to be changed, and work at changing it right from the core. You can also do work that benefits you and others, and you find you’re more successful, especially financially, when you have a partner. Your will can be stronger, and your strength can carry you far, and you can use this to come back from defeat or failure better than ever. General horoscopes are always meant for entertainment purposes only. For a more accurate view, read your Sun sign, Rising sign, and Moon sign.
Aries: Mars in Scorpio is your intimacy sector, so you can work on having closer ties to your loved ones. If in a relationship, you want to feel closer to your partner physically and emotionally, and to understand them better in every way. If single, you want something passionate and deep immediately. The full moon on the 23rd in your love sector can be helpful to find someone new, if single, and if in a relationship, you can become more committed to your partner, or decide it’s not going anywhere. |
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