Contradictions and Course Corrections: Chodesh Menachem Av 5779

"Leo"from the Michal Mahzor, Germany 1258.

 Chodesh Menachem Av Tov!
Av 5779
(August 2 – August 30)

Our tradition tells us that when Chodesh Av comes, we reduce our joy, yet it also informs us that Tu b’Av is one of the two most joyful holidays in the Jewish calendar! It was on Tu b’Av that the daughters of Jerusalem disregarded social status and economic disparity by each loaning the other white dresses so that all might dance beneath the moonlight in equality. It was the day the 12 Tribes were reconciled after the civil war and tribal intermarriage permitted again.

Indeed, Chodesh Av is full of contradictions and course-corrections. The new moon in Leo on erev Rosh Chodesh Av scorches hypocrisy and deceit with the white-hot heat of judgment. The (delayed) fast of Tisha b’Av August 11 is sufficiently solemn with Moon in Capricorn, yet the day’s energy wildly fluctuates, with Jupiter direct, Mercury’s ingress into Leo, and Uranus’s retrograde station in Taurus. Universal rather than particularistic love reigns at the full moon in democratic, humanitarian, egalitarian Aquarius on Tu b’Av, August 15. Course-corrections are re-calculated August 23 at the last quarter moon in Gemini with the Sun’s entrance into calm, analytic Virgo. By the Virgo new moon August 30 joined to Mercury in his own sign, clarity is restored.

May Chodesh Av’s powerful potential for extreme emotion be channeled into the passionate quest for dignity, wisdom and discernment! 

"Menachem Av" with "Ari" the lion representing the zodiac sign of Leo, detail from a Torah binder, Germany, 1748

Astral Weeks September 2-8: Speeding Towards Rosh HaShanah!

Astral Weeks

September 2 – 8

August seemed to linger forever, but as soon as September comes, the speedy Mercury-ruled signs of Virgo and Gemini kick things into high gear. On Sunday the Sun in Mercury’s Mutable Earth sign of Virgo and the Moon mark the Last Quarter of the lunar month in Mercury’s Mutable Air sign of Gemini. Speedy communication is in the air as Virgo and Gemini chatter, rattle and hum their way through the long Labor Day Weekend. Monday’s sextile between Mercury in Leo and Venus in Libra fuels dramatic declarations of love, warm words of diplomacy, and fiery indignation towards perceived injustice. 

The Moon enters her watery home sign of Cancer on Tuesday, refocusing the emotional lens towards hearth and home. Domestic matters are highlighted, and feelings are either expressed or repressed around issues of food, home, mother, and money. Mercury enters his home sign of Virgo on Wednesday evening, where he’ll linger for only the shortest time (September 5^th – 21^st), so make the best of this transit of the Planet of Communication’s journey through the Mutable Earth sign by upgrading your own communication skills. 

Saturn stations Direct on Thursday after having been retrograde since mid-April in the first decan of Capricorn. The relief will be palpable as all the hard work which has felt like slogging through mud begins to pay off between now and mid-December. The Moon enters Leo Thursday evening, heightening drama as Mercury (“The Sun’s Scribe”) in Virgo trines first Uranus in Retrograde Taurus and then Saturn in Capricorn on Friday morning, shortly before the Virgo Sun’s opposition to Neptune in Pisces. Earth signs don’t traffic in fantasy, nor do they give “fake news” any quarter. We may look for unexpected news which challenges our perceptions about what is real and what isn’t. 

Saturday bring the last Shabbat of the year, as we read Parshat Nitzavim and remember that the truth isn’t in far-off heaven or hidden beneath the sea, but is very near to us, even “in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can fulfill it." Venus and Mars in the final degrees of Cardinal signs Libra and Capricorn make a hard square, challenging us to take the initiative in both thought and deed, as we prepare to greet the Jewish New Year 5779. May we be strengthened in our faith, in truth, and in love!

Astral Weeks August 19-25: How Do You Spell "Relief?" Mercury Direct & Sun Enters Virgo

Astral Weeks

August 19-25

When you wake up Sunday morning, you’ll find Mercury has stationed Direct after his long Retrograde in Leo (since July 25^th). Start your day feeling positive with the Moon in jovial Sagittarius, and if you want to go the real feel-good route, Jupiter in Scorpio’s Trine to Neptune in Pisces will give you all the watery lubrication you need. Overindulgence in food and especially drink is a possibility: take a ride share service or party at home! Hydration is the key to avoiding a hangover, and you’ll want to avoid that because the short-lived party winds down as the Moon enters hard-working, responsible Capricorn on Monday evening, spurring you on to clean up your act and get on with the show. You can be proud of any hard-won achievements Tuesday as the Sun at 29 degrees Leo says a dramatic farewell and takes his final curtain calls, bowing out (not without encores), and introducing Sun in Virgo, enter stage right, Wednesday evening. 

The Moon enters radical, futuristic Aquarius Thursday morning, making a conjunction to Retrograde Mars and sparking strong emotional energy centered on universal issues of humanitarianism and community. Moon in Aquarius opposite Mercury in Leo on Friday pits the feelings of the collective against the voice of the individual, perhaps in a very public way.  

Saturday is Shabbat Parshat Ki Teitzei, the Sun in Virgo making a hard Trine to Uranus in Taurus in the morning and another Trine to Saturn in Capricorn in the afternoon. All three Earth signs involved in these transiting Trines, calling us to ground ourselves in the loamy soil of Mother Earth and remember the common soil of our shared humanity. The Moon moves into dreamy, imaginative Pisces late Saturday evening, preparing for the Full Moon at 3 degrees Pisces on the morning of August 26^th.

Wishing everybody everywhere a great week, and may our Creator’s celestial luminaries be lights along the way!

Astral Weeks August 5th - 11th: Retrograde Season and the Dog Days of Summer

Astral Weeks

August 5^th – 11^th

This week begins the dozen days (August 7–18) during which Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will all be retrograde. These are the celestial “dog days” of summer. The retrograde motion of planets is an illusion caused by the moving Earth passing other planets in their orbits, a phenomenon relative to our location on planet Earth. The planets of our solar system themselves do not actually reverse their orbits and travel backwards: it just looks like it from our vantage point. Nevertheless, the energetic manifestation of any planetary retrograde reflects a sense of energetic impedance, feeling “stuck,” or difficulty going forward. Which is why these dozen days in August calls for vacation time, whether it’s a getaway or stay-cation. If you can’t get away physically, at the very least it’s time for a brain vacation. 

Sunday August 5^th finds the planet Venus at the very last degree of Virgo. The Moon enters Gemini on Sunday evening, energizing a double-Mercury (Gemini and Virgo) tag team between emotions (Moon) and romance (Venus). Venus at 29 Virgo is in the “critical” degree, and in the case of Virgo, this can be taken literally. Beware of being too fickle, too finicky, too fastidious or too frenzied. 

Venus moves into her home sign of Libra on Monday, August 6^th, inspiring art and creativity. Interpersonal harmony in the area of thought sounds like a theoretically great idea, and perhaps might even be possible for some as Venus in the early degrees of Libra makes a trine to retrograde Mars in Aquarius – sweet, but possibly short-lived, as Uranus stations retrograde at 3 degrees of Taurus on Tuesday, August 7^th, making an exact trine to Saturn in Capricorn. The practical Earth signs want to know: who’s paying for this party? The Moon enters her home sign of Cancer on Tuesday night, and opposes Saturn early Wednesday morning, August 8^th, ramping up emotionalism and enhancing super-sensitivity around security issues. The Sun conjuncts retrograde Mercury in Leo on Wednesday evening, during which we can expect to hear the lion roar – especially when feeling misunderstood and/or disrespected. Emotional Moon enters proud Leo the evening of Thursday, August 9^th. Tears of frustration and rage may give way to passionate venting – avoid becoming personal during conflicts with others. But – hey! Remember my advice at the beginning of this column about the vacation you were supposed to take this week? By Friday August 10^th you’ll be wishing you had taken this advice to heart at the beginning of the week. Retrograde Mercury in ego-driven Leo squares retrograde chronic exaggerator Jupiter in compelling, controlling Scorpio, raising the stakes in a very public game of “truth and dare.” Escalating one-upmanship expands gap between raw desire and the polite or impolite things you’re willing to give – or take – to get what you want.   

Those who did not take a vacation from their ego this week may be heading for a real confrontation with the relative smallness of their own existence during Saturday’s Solar Eclipse / New Moon in Leo on August 11^th. Saturday, Shabbat Parshat Re’eh, is also Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul, whose initials in Hebrew stand for “Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi Li” – I am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine. Remember who and what you love, and cling to that reality while the winds of life’s dramas and traumas swirl around you. Reduce anxiety by asking yourself: How much of all that chaos actually belongs to you– and how much just doesn’t belong to you at all, but is a product of the mass hysteria of a world in pain, screaming at you from every screen? Don’t overdose on the information wars right now, they’re only serving to stoke the flames of the collective angst. The Moon goes Void of Course shortly after the eclipse as we all simultaneously exhale, and Moon enters calm, rational Virgo late Saturday night. We’re deep into Retrograde Season, but in every seeming impediment there’s the opportunity for re-calibration. Course-corrections are worth slowing down for.