CHODESH ADAR BET, TEKUFAH NISSAN AND PURIM “AD LO YODEA”

Read Astrolojew Horoscopes for Adar Bet in the Jerusalem Post 

Adar Bet (March 7 through April 5) is colored with courage and conviction “ad lo yodeah” this year! 

 

"Pisces" from the Leiden Aratea, 9th Century

Because 5779 is a shanah meuberet (a “pregnant year") on the Hebrew calendar, we added Adar Aleph, the extra (thirteenth) month. This makes Adar Bet overlap Tekufah Nisan, the Spring Equinox, when the Sun enters Aries.

In years when Purim of Adar Bet falls during Solar Aries, Redemption is an action word, not merely a theoretical, theological hope! 

 

Adar Bet (and Adar during any non-leap year) is associated with the Tribe of Naftali and the mazal of the Mutable Water sign of Pisces, “dagim” – represented by a pair of fish swimming in opposite directions. This symbol reminds us of the deep waters of the subconscious and unconscious mind which is the realm of Pisces: the place of unbridled imagination, deepest dreams and fantasies, the universal, the immortal, the undifferentiated one-ness and unity of souls beyond ego constructs and personal identities. 

Pisces has dual planetary rulers: Jupiter (Tzedek) in classical astrology, and Neptune (Rahab) in modern astrology. This year’s transit of Jupiter through Sagittarius enhances Pisces’ prophetic gifts in harmony with Neptune’s innate idealism.  The New Moon in Pisces March 6 activates spiritual insights and ignites devotional passion. Like Tribal ruler Naftali whose legendary swiftness was supernatural, Pisces energy empowers us to break through the natural barriers of reason and logic with the tensile strength of unimpeded faith.

Purim begins at sundown on March 20, just hours after the Full Moon in Libra and Tekufah Nisan, the Vernal Equinox, as the Sun enters Aries. That’s a recipe for a rocking Purim, sure to ignite fresh, fun, and stimulating encounters. 

May courage and conviction join hands with passion and purity “ad lo yodeah”, uniting idealism and self-sacrifice in the service of the greater good!

From "Adar" Poster, Rumania, early 20th Century

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.