The Archetype of the Fool: The Sacred Leap Into Your Soul’s Evolution

The Fool is card 0—a circle, both empty and infinite. He is the place where endings collapse into beginnings, where innocence and mastery meet.

In early tarot decks, there were actually two Fools—one at the beginning and one at the end of the Major Arcana. From them came the Jokers in modern playing cards—wild cards that exist outside the rules. The Fool reminds us that your soul’s path is not about playing by the rules—it’s about learning to trust the flow of Spirit.

Lessons of the Fool:

    •    Trust the unknown. The path is revealed one step at a time.

    •    Travel light. Freedom arrives when we let go of baggage and control.

    •    Begin again. Every ending is an invitation to rebirth.

    •    Sacred risk. Growth and transformation live at the edge, not in the comfort zone.

    •    Feminine flow. The Fool doesn’t force or strategize—he aligns, responds, and allows life to carry him.

Shadows: Where the Fool Can Trip Us Up

    •    Recklessness - mistaking chaos for freedom.

    •    Escaping responsibility under the guise of “freedom”. Avoidance through the costume of adventure.

    •    Becoming jaded; losing innocence to cynicism after wounds.

    •    Insecurity; being mocked, misunderstood, or dismissed by a world that fears surrender.

The Fool’s challenge is to stay aligned—moving in trust with Spirit, not in avoidance. Holding on to wonder without losing discernment. Staying open-hearted, even after we’ve been hurt.

The Fool’s Gifts

    •    Creative genius: Infinite possibility springs from nothingness. Alignment with your life path and trusting the flow of opportunity often sparks genius and magical synchronicities.

    •    Magnetism: Authentic joy naturally attracts people and opportunities.

    •    Resilience: Every stumble becomes sacred wisdom.

    •    Beginner’s mind: The courage to reinvent yourself again and again.

    •    Detachment: When we release attachment to outcomes, we live in Spirit’s flow—and miracles enter with ease.

Perhaps the greatest gift: The Fool never forgets that life is meant to be lived, not controlled.

The Fool Across Wisdom Systems

The Fool shows up across countless wisdom traditions, each revealing a different facet of his medicine. Here are just a few examples of how this archetype appears.

    •    Gene Keys: The Fool mirrors the transformation from shadow into gift. For instance, the “shadow” of the Gene Key of Purposelessness often feels like wandering without direction—yet this is the very soil in which the gift of Totality (living fully engaged and present in life) is born. Think of someone leaving a career that no longer fits, feeling “lost” - only to discover that in letting go, a deeper calling emerges. In other keys, innocence matures into universal love, echoing the Fool’s unguarded, trusting heart.

    •    Human Design: The Fool embodies the Generator’s sacred response—waiting to engage with what life offers and invites rather than forcing outcomes. As this is often when the magic unfolds. Picture this: a casual “yes” to an unexpected conversation leads to a profound relationship or opportunity. This is the Fool’s magic—life opening when we are aligned with Spirit’s invitations.

    •    Astrology: The Fool channels Uranus’s liberation and sudden disruption, Neptune’s dreamy innocence, and Sagittarius/9th House’s quest for truth. Think of a Uranus transit that upends your life—painful in the moment, yet later revealing itself as the crack through which your soul light poured forth and you began to live more authentically. Whenever these archetypes light up in your chart, you are being invited to leap into your next evolution.

The Fool is the archetype that bridge all systems: he is the risk of not knowing, and the reward of discovering. In every system, the Fool teaches the same thing: alignment with Spirit’s flow is not passive—it is the most courageous act of surrender. And often, when the most beautiful magic begins to unfold.

How the Fool Unlocks Growth

    •    Creativity awakens when perfectionism dissolves.

The Fool doesn’t wait for perfect conditions—he creates as he goes. Start messy, respond to the moment, and you’ll find inspiration pouring through you. Creativity is the child of trust, not control.

    •    Fear transforms when failure becomes initiation.

The Fool knows there is no such thing as wasted experience. Every wrong turn, every fall, becomes compost for wisdom. When we shift from “I failed” to “I learned,” we alchemize fear into growth. Fear dissolves when failure becomes a sacred teacher instead of a punishment.

    •    Faith strengthens when you discover the net always appears.

The net isn’t visible until you leap. But think back—every time you dared to risk (love, relocation, new work, new path), wasn’t there always something that caught you? Spirit always meets us mid-air. The Fool shows us that life is not here to punish us, but to hold us as we risk becoming more.

    •    Joy heals because play is sacred medicine.

Play reopens the heart. It quiets the inner critic and invites the nervous system back into regulation. Joy is not frivolous—it is a spiritual practice, a feminine flow state that magnetizes abundance.

    •    Evolution accelerates when you release attachment.

This is perhaps the Fool’s deepest teaching. We cannot cling to outcomes and still walk in Spirit’s flow. Detachment does not mean apathy—it means trusting that what falls away was never meant to stay, and what is aligned will arrive in perfect timing. At some point we stop waiting to be ready, and just take the leap. And, in releasing control, we step into flow—and flow always carries us where we are meant to go.

Practices to Embody the Fool

Reflections:

    •    Where am I hesitating to leap without certainty?

    •    What identity or outcome am I clinging to that Spirit is asking me to release?

    •    How might my life expand if I chose trust and flow instead of control?

    •    How can I invite more presence into my day today?

Embodiment Practice

Dance barefoot outdoors—no choreography, no music, just the rhythm of your body. This is Fool energy: moving in presence, free from the mind’s judgment, carried only by Spirit. Embrace freedom, connection, and spontaneity in your body today in some form or way - be fully present in that moment and allow yourself to connect.

Simple Ritual Idea:

    •    Choose a talisman (stone, feather, flower).

    •    Place it on your altar as your Fool’s Charm.

    •    Each day, hold it and ask: Spirit, where are you inviting me to trust today?

    •    Affirm: “I release attachment. I leap into the flow of life, and life always catches me.”

The Fool is not foolish. He is the sacred wanderer who knows that the map is written only as we walk it. He is not here to make sense to the world. He is here to make sense of the soul. He walks between beginnings and endings, laughing at the illusion of control, showing us that alignment with Spirit is the only true safety.

To embody the Fool is to live unattached, yet deeply engaged and present. To let go of the script, yet meet each moment with your whole heart. This is where freedom lives - not in certainty, but in trust.

The Fool whispers: You cannot cling and fly and fly at the same time.

He is the bridge between masculine planning and feminine surrender, showing us that the flow of Spirit is not weakness, but the highest form of wisdom.

When you live in this flow, you discover the secret paradox:

You were never falling. You were always being carried.

Solar Eclipse in Virgo: The Alchemy of Truth, Healing, and Sovereignty

“When the lights go out, truth is revealed in the shadows.”

This is the essence of eclipses, and this one will be no exception. By their very nature, eclipses alter light — the Sun or Moon is temporarily obscured, shifting the way we see from Earth. Symbolically, when light is blocked, consciousness is too. What rises instead are the contents of the subconscious: hidden truths, unresolved patterns, and fated turning points. Eclipses reshape storylines and timelines, ushering in endings and beginnings with an often-Uranian jolt. Secrets surface, surprises unfold, and the unexpected accelerates. And because eclipses only occur when the luminaries align with the lunar nodes, they are inherently karmic — stirring soul contracts, ancestral echoes, and the work we came here to do.

On September 21st, the Solar Eclipse in Virgo opens a threshold unlike any other — one that demands clarity, purification, and integrity. Eclipses are cosmic resets, portals of fate, and this one in Virgo carries a precision-cutting blade. It will illuminate what is broken, toxic, or distorted - not to punish us, but to strip away illusion so we can rise more sovereign in truth and authenticity.

But there’s tension. This eclipse opposes Saturn retrograde in Pisces — the archetype of karmic lessons, boundaries, and the weight of spiritual responsibility. Where have we surrendered to confusion, denial, or fantasy? Where have we avoided responsibility by drifting or numbing instead of stepping into embodiment? Saturn is calling us back into alignment. And he does not always call nicely. We can expect to have some somber element of maturity here - and if we embrace it, Saturn often rewards in wisdom and maturity later.

But, there is also a glimmer of grace in the mix, as the great Benefic of wisdom, teaching, and prosperity, Jupiter is in supportive alignment. Jupiter in Cancer sextiles this eclipse, reminding us that healing is not just about discipline, but also, nourishment. The path forward is not sterile perfection, but fertile compassion. Jupiter reminds us that expansion is possible if we also root ourselves in care.

Deeper Currents: Neptune, Mercury, Venus, and the Equinox

Adding to the potency, Neptune retrograde at 0° Aries — the creation point of the zodiac — also opposes this eclipse. Neptune here asks us to take a hard look in the mirror and dissolve the falsehoods, illusions, and limiting beliefs that keep us from stepping fully into our power. This is a moment to release spiritual bypassing and embrace clarity, even when it stings.

Meanwhile, Mercury in Libra and Venus in Virgo are in mutual reception, strengthening one another. Together they weave a call to balance: harmony with order, relationship with routine, and the head with the heart. They remind us that sovereignty is not about rigidity or isolation, but about holding sacred equilibrium in our lives.

The Fall Equinox arrives just hours later, echoing this message of balance. As light and dark find equality on Earth, we are asked to seek compromise, peace, and restoration in our own lives. The timing is exquisite — an eclipse reset, followed by an equinox rebirth.

Virgo’s Razor: Cutting Away Illusion

Virgo is the sign of purification, discernment, ritual, forgiveness, and embodied truth. This eclipse is not about lofty spiritual ideals that dissolve into nothingness — it’s about boots on the ground. And it asks us to get real with ourselves and examine our lives:

    •    Where in your daily life are you out of alignment with your soul?

    •    What details are you neglecting that are costing you vitality?

    •    Which commitments drain your sovereignty instead of strengthening it?

This eclipse is a sacred audit. Not to shame, but to free you.

Saturn Retrograde in Pisces: Karma, Boundaries, and the Cost of Avoidance

The opposition to Saturn retrograde in Pisces drags unconscious patterns to the surface. You may feel the weight of karma now — the ancestral and personal contracts that echo through your choices. Saturn reminds us that while life can feel overwhelming, we still hold sovereignty over what we choose each day: our habits, our health, our service, and the energy we give or withhold.

Saturn calls us to focus, simplify, and release the unnecessary weight we’ve been carrying — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

    •    If you’ve been avoiding self-love, Saturn will show you the cost.

    •    If you’ve been hiding in illusion, Saturn will crack the mirror.

    •    If you’ve been carrying others’ burdens, Saturn will reveal where boundaries must be drawn.

This is not punishment — it is initiation. Saturn teaches through resistance. What feels heavy now is what roots you into truth later, breaking down illusion so you can grow beyond your own limitations and step into sovereignty.

Jupiter in Cancer: Hope, Healing, and the Return of Nurture

Amidst the stripping down, Jupiter in Cancer offers nourishment. It says: You are not meant to heal through discipline and restraint alone. Healing comes through tenderness, family, belonging, and ancestral wisdom.

Jupiter sextiling the eclipse is like a hand reaching out in the dark — reminding you that growth is possible, and that compassion is the soil where true change takes root.

Ask yourself:

    •    What feeds my spirit?

    •    What rituals or practices restore me?

    •    What relationships remind me I am worthy of love and expansion?

Scorpionic Depth: Why This Eclipse Matters

Eclipses are fated turning points. In Virgo, the spotlight is on:

    •    Health and vitality (your body as temple).

    •    Sovereignty over your energy field.

    •    Discerning truth from distortion.

    •    Rituals that heal, not numb or allow for escape.

This eclipse is not about surface-level “self-care.” It’s about ruthless honesty and reclamation of power. In true Scorpionic fashion, it’s about cutting ties with what poisons you — be it toxic patterns, relationships, beliefs, or illusions — so that what remains is real, sovereign, and indestructible. Virgo is encouraging you to step into sacred growth.

Reflections for the Virgo Eclipse

    •    What old story of perfectionism or “not enough” am I ready to release with love?

    •    What spiritual practice or ritual helps me stay grounded when the details of life feel overwhelming?

    •    Where have I been carrying weight that isn’t mine, and how can I lovingly set it down?

    •    What illusion or falsehood am I ready to dissolve so I can see myself more clearly?

    •    How can I bring more harmony into my daily routines, balancing service with self-love?

    •    What does sovereignty mean to me right now — and where am I being called to reclaim it?

    •    If I were to choose clarity over comfort, what truth would I finally honor?

This Solar Eclipse in Virgo is not gentle — but it is sacred. It is the kind of medicine that stings before it heals. Saturn in Pisces reminds us that illusions cost us more than truth ever will. Neptune in Aries reminds us that clarity is freedom. Jupiter in Cancer reminds us that healing is always possible when rooted in love. And the Equinox reminds us that balance is both the path and the promise.

Your ancestors stand with you at this threshold. They want you to remember: to choose clarity over comfort, sovereignty over silence, and healing over illusion.

When the lights return after this eclipse, you will not be the same. You will be clearer, freer, and closer to the truth of who you are.

Astrology for Joy & Peace: How Your Chart Can Help You Thrive in a Chaotic World

We live in an age of speed. News cycles, inboxes, and to-do lists that seem to never end. Add children, work, hobbies, house and yard maintenance, and any type of extracurricular activities and obligations, and it just doesn’t seem like there are ever enough hours in the day.

Your astrology chart holds the keys that can point you towards inviting more joy, peace, and presence. It’s not about escaping chaos, but learning how to navigate it with wisdom and meaning. And, learning how to invite more balance into your life.

Your chart is like a personal guidebook: it shows you where to rest, where to play, and how to come home to yourself.

The Moon: Your Emotional Anchor

Your Moon describes what nourishes your nervous system. When life feels chaotic, tending your Moon is like taking a long exhale.

Examples:

    •    An Aries Moon might find peace in a quick jog, catching a comedy show, or dancing in the kitchen.

    •    A Taurus Moon may feel restored by baking bread, drinking tea, tending a garden, or taking a long bath.

    •    A Gemini Moon might calm their mind by journaling, joining a book club, or having a playful chat with a friend.

    •    A Pisces Moon may need to put on music, cry, and let the emotions wash through. Or they may find sitting near the beach or joining a sound bath session becomes their favorite new destressing jam.

Tip: Next time you feel scattered, do one simple activity for your Moon sign. Notice how quickly your system resets.

The Rising Sign: Daily Alignment Practices

Your Rising Sign is the doorway you walk through each day. When honored, it makes life feel smoother and less resistant.

Examples:

    •    Leo Rising: Wear bold colors, try adding solar or sun salutations to your morning routine, tap into an inner child activity that brings you joy, give a genuine compliment to someone each day. Joy comes when you shine, light others up, and connect with your inner creative genius.

    •    Virgo Rising: Create a 10-minute morning ritual—make your bed, light a candle, write a to-do list. Order = peace. You could also try barefoot meditation outdoors, gardening, or joining a productivity or organizing app such as Finch.

    •    Capricorn Rising: Keep a weekly planner. List your top 3 must dos each morning. Morning yoga, boundaries with tech (protect your focus), evening reflection in which you write one sentence on how you honored your long term goals. Even small goals achieved bring a sense of calm progress to your Earth moon.

    •    Pisces Rising: Begin your day with meditation or prayer. Quiet mornings ripple into calmer days. Dream journaling, one small act of kindness daily, energetic maintenance, walks in nature.

Venus: Your Joy Frequency

Venus shows where you find sweetness and delight. Stress melts when you connect with your Venus.

Examples:

    •    Venus in Sagittarius → plan a spontaneous day trip, take a new class that lights you up, or read an inspiring book.

    •    Venus in Libra → rearrange your home, add some favorite flowers, or go to an art exhibit.

    •    Venus in Cancer → host a cozy dinner, cuddle, make a favorite family recipe.

    •    Venus in Capricorn → invest in a quality item that makes life feel elegant and stable. Take a structured creativity class - pottery, weaving, woodworking - something that produces something tangible.

Venus reminds us: joy doesn’t have to be big—it can be woven into small, daily pleasures.

Ceres: Your Inner Nourishment

Ceres reveals how you give and receive care. Many of us burn out because we ignore this placement.

Examples:

    •    Ceres in Virgo: Peace through meal prep, herbal teas, or organizing your pantry.

    •    Ceres in Gemini: Nourishment through books, podcasts, coffee out with friends or bookclubs, and lively chats.

    •    Ceres in Scorpio: Recharging with energy work like reiki or breathwork, shadow work, fasting, or sacred intimacy.

    •    Ceres in Aries: Restoring energy by starting something new, even if small. Other ideas include any type of high intensity cardiovascular activity like running, kickboxing, hot yoga.

Tip: Make one Ceres-aligned activity part of your week—it becomes an anchor point you can always return to.

The 5th House: Your Playground of Joy

The 5th house shows where your inner child lives. It’s the antidote to overwork and stress.

Examples:

    •    5th house in Aquarius → learning something new (like astrology!), community theater, stargazing, escape room meetup with friends, etc.

    •    5th house in Cancer → scrapbooking, cooking with kids, revisit a favorite childhood game or host a family game night with friends.

    •    5th house in Leo → painting, performing, catch a comedy night show, or even just singing loudly in the car.

    •    5th house in Taurus → nature walks, chocolate or wine tasting, picnics, investing games, any new tactile class or hobby - flower arranging, knitting, sculpting or painting, pampering spa day, etc.

The 5th house teaches that joy isn’t a luxury. It’s medicine.

The IC: Rooted Peace

Your IC is your private sanctuary—the inner home you carry with you.

Examples:

    •    IC in Sagittarius → joy in travel, storytelling, taking new classes, or decorating with global treasures.

    •    IC in Capricorn → peace through family traditions, financial or long term goal planning, or creating stability at home.

    •    IC in Gemini → joy through bookshelves, writing nooks, trivia games, and cozy conversations.

    •    IC in Scorpio→ time alone, meditating in stillness, water baths, occult studies like tarot.

The IC whispers: “When in doubt, return to what feels like home in your bones.”

Asteroids: Subtle But Powerful Guides

While subtle, asteroids can often hit uncannily true. They add nuance to your joy & peace toolkit. Some you could layer and consider might be:

    •    Euterpe (27): Look to the house in your chart where music, art, and delight uplift you.

    •    Amor (1221): How love energy softens your life.

    •    Hygiea (10): Rituals of cleansing—like yoga, baths, or decluttering—that restore health.

    •    Vesta (4): Where tending a sacred flame (a practice, altar, or project) can help add calm focus.

    •    Psyche (16): Where your soul longs for beauty, intimacy, and gentleness.

Example: Someone with Vesta in the 6th house (the house of daily work and routine) may find peace in lighting a candle before starting their daily tasks—it’s simple, but profoundly centering. My suggestion? Try an idea or two and see if they land. If they do and its something you enjoy, its worth considering at least temporarily adding to your daily routine and evaluating in a month to see if it makes a meaningful difference.

Final Reflection

Chaos will always exist in the outer world. But your chart offers you some personalized hints of where you can look to reclaim a sense of calm, nurturing self activities, and ways to reconnect to your inner joy. There will nearly always be nuances - aspects, transits, progressions, day/night chart differences, rulers, sects, etc. - but it provides a really wonderful foundation from which you can start off with and build upon. So, in summary the key placements you may want to consider starting with would be:

    •    Moon = emotional reset

    •    Rising = daily rhythm

    •    Venus = delight

    •    Ceres = nourishment

    •    5th House = play

    •    IC = rooted peace

    •    Asteroids = subtle allies

The more you honor these placements, the less life feels like survival—and the more it feels like true, embodied living.

Next time the world feels heavy, open your chart and ask: Where is joy waiting to be invited back in? You may discover something small and simple that brings you significant more life balance.

Journal Reflections:

    •    Moon Sign: “What simple ritual always soothes me when I feel scattered?”

    •    Rising Sign: “How can I honor my rising sign tomorrow morning to set the tone for the day?”

    •    Venus: “What small pleasure can I indulge in today that will reconnect me to beauty and pleasure in life?”

    •    Ceres: “What does true nourishment look like for me right now—and am I giving it to myself?”

    •    5th House: “When was the last time I let myself play without expectation? How can I recreate that?”

    •    IC: “What does ‘home’ mean to me, and how can I bring more of that energy into my daily life?”

Astro-Wellness: Your Rising Sign as a Sacred Blueprint for Daily Rhythms

The Rising Sign is not a surface mask — it is your soul’s horizon line, the incarnate threshold through which you took your first breath and stepped into this life. It describes how your body meets the world and how the world in turn meets you. Your Chart Ruler, the planet governing your Ascendant, shines like a lighthouse across the sea of your life. It helps to orient you back to your essence whenever you drift from alignment.

Together, your Rising Sign and Chart Ruler form what we could call, your Astro-Wellness Blueprint: the map of your body’s sensitivities, the style of movement and rest that nourishes you, and the daily rhythms that keep you connected to your joy. When you fall out of step with this blueprint, your body whispers through fatigue, tension, or imbalance. When you live in alignment with it, you feel restored, radiant, and in line with your soul’s original design.

This is where astrology becomes wellness: your Ascendant + Ruler don’t just tell you who you are — they help to reveal how to live in a body that supports your growth, your healing, and your joy.

Below is a list of Ascendants (your first house) and their chart rulers. This will provide you with a basic, foundational view of how this works; each chart will layer the house/zodiacal archetype of where your chart ruler falls as well as aspects that flavor and nuance how these are expressed and talk to each other. While each of us have our own unique blueprint, this will give you a broad overview and provide basic themes you can play with and contemplate.

Mars-Ruled Risings (Aries & Scorpio Ascendants)

Archetype: The Warrior / The Alchemist

You are initiated through intensity, struggle, and truth. Mars challenges you to act, learn initiative and boldness, to confront stagnation, and to transmute raw energy into sacred purpose.

    •    Body-Shadow: Excess heat; inflammation, anger, muscular tension, restless fire.

    •    Wellness Key: Mars risings need release work—not chaos, but conscious movement that transforms pressure into vitality.

    •    Embodiment Practices: Controlled exertion; breath of fire, fasting, drumming, strength training, running or kickboxing, sauna + cool immersion.

    •    Joy Path: Joy emerges when courage and fire become fuel for creation, not destruction—when action is aligned with spirit and your fire is harnessed in service of life.

Sun-Ruled Risings (Leo Ascendants)

Archetype: The Radiant Flame

You are called to embody sovereignty, to shine as a solar vessel of warmth, clarity, vision, and creativity. Ultimately, to lead and inspire others. The Sun teaches you that your radiance is not for applause, but for sacred offering.

    •    Body-Shadow: The Sun governs the heart, circulation, and vital force itself. Misalignment can manifest as exhaustion, prideful strain, spinal tension, depletion from constant giving.

    •    Wellness Key: You thrive when your body is tended as a living flame—fed with joy, expression, the warmth of connection, and renewal in meaningful ways.

    •    Embodiment Practices: Sun salutations, expressive dance, basking in sunlight, music, creative projects.

    •    Joy Path: Joy is your compass. It arrives when you create from overflow, not obligation. True joy arrives when your radiance is shared - when you create not for applause, but as an offering of your flame for others.

Moon-Ruled Risings (Cancer Ascendants)

Archetype: The Lunar Vessel / Keeper of Waters

You live by cycles, apprenticed to the wisdom of ebb and flow. The Moon teaches you to find safety not in control, but in rhythm and cycles of nourishment and release.

    •    Body-Shadow: The Moon rules fluids, digestion, fertility. Misalignment shows up as digestive imbalance, emotional heaviness, water retention, or absorbing and/or being swept into others’ emotions.

    •    Wellness Key: Moon risings thrive in cyclic alignment—tracking phases, living with lunar cycles, eating seasonal foods, and tending to rhythms of rest and renewal.

    •    Embodiment Practices: Reflective journaling, water immersion, belly breathing, cooking in rhythm with the seasons, lunar phase practices.

    •    Joy Path: Joy arises when you honor your own tides instead of taking on responsibility to regulate everyone else’s.

Venus-Ruled Risings (Taurus & Libra Ascendants)

Archetype: The Keeper of Harmony / Artist of Balance

You are called to weave beauty into daily life and embody harmony and stability in body and relationship. Venus reminds you that pleasure and presence itself is medicine.

    •    Body-Shadow: Venus governs the throat, kidneys, and complexion. Misalignment manifests as overindulgence, sugar sensitivity, imbalance or nervous tension from disharmony, or reliance on external approval.

    •    Wellness Key: Wellness comes from sensual devotion—rituals that ground you in the body through art, beauty, sound, touch, taste, and connection.

    •    Embodiment Practices: Song, sacred adornment, mindful eating, movement with music, breath set to rhythm, relational check-ins.

    •    Joy Path: Joy awakens when beauty becomes devotional, not decorative—when harmony heals and becomes the vessel of love - springing from deep, authentic abundance, rather than pleasing others and seeking approval.

Mercury-Ruled Risings (Gemini & Virgo Ascendants)

Archetype: The Sacred Messenger / The Code-Healer

Your initiation is into rhythm and translation—learning to flex and bridge body and mind, spirit and matter. Mercury guides you to heal through words, breath, and movement.

    •    Body-Shadow: Mercury rules the lungs, nerves, intestines, and the faculty of coordination. Misalignment surfaces as nervous overstimulation or depletion, worry, gut anxiety, restlessness.

    •    Wellness Key: Your body thrives on regulated rhythm—steady breath, structure and clear routines, mental stillness, and mindful flow.

    •    Embodiments: Walking meditations, journaling, mantra-based yoga, herbal medicine for digestion and nerves.

    •    Joy Path: Joy is found in coherence—when your curiosity and routines bring clarity rather than scattering and your words and practices become bridges rather than fractures.

Saturn-Ruled Risings (Capricorn & Aquarius Ascendants)

Archetype: The Gatekeeper of Time / The Sacred Architect

In ancient astrology, Saturn is the furthest wanderer, the planet at the edge of visibility. To the ancients, Saturn was the keeper of limits — of time, mortality, and boundaries. For those born under his rulership, life unfolds through tests, responsibilities, and the weight of necessity. Yet these tests are initiations, helping to sprout deep roots of profound wisdom and mastery.

    •    Body-Shadow: Ancient texts associated Saturn with cold and dryness, heaviness in bones, joints, and skin. When out of rhythm, Saturn bodies manifest rigidity, pensive or heavy somberness, or depletion.

    •    Wellness Key: Wellness comes from cultivating sacred structure and measured rhythm. Saturn risings thrive not by excess but by moderation, by practices that strengthen the body slowly and steadily, much like stonework carefully, methodically built with patience.

    •    Embodiment Practices: Dawn rituals, strength-building over time, fasting for clarity, contemplative practices (meditation, chanting, solitude), tending hearth and home as sacred ground.

    •    Path to Joy: Paradoxically, joy arrives through discipline. When you live in alignment with Saturn’s rhythm, boundaries create freedom, and limits open into deeper meaning. Joy is found in the quiet pride of mastery, the dignity of work done well, and the serenity of knowing you are in rhythm with time itself.

Jupiter/Neptune-Ruled Risings (Sagittarius & Pisces Ascendants)

Archetype: The Seeker / The Mystic Dreamer

You are initiated into expansion and surrender. Jupiter stretches you into meaning, Neptune dissolves you into unity. Together, they remind you that wonder itself is wellness.

    •    Body-Shadow: Jupiter expands - misaligned, it can bring excess in liver, hips, or circulation. This can manifest in patterns of overindulgence, excess weight, escapism, addiction, exhaustion, or immune depletion.

    •    Wellness Key: These risings need sacred expansion and flow—open horizons, water immersion, devotional practices that restore awe and immersion in the greater whole.

    •    Embodiments: Pilgrimage walks, sunrise runs, swimming, dreamwork, ecstatic dance, dream journaling, chanting, and gratitude practice.

    •    Joy Path: Joy arises as wonder—when life feels larger than you, yet holds you gently within it.

The Lighthouse and the Compass

Your Rising Sign is your incarnational doorway; your Chart Ruler, the lighthouse that orients you through storm and calm alike, and helps to guide you back to alignment. Together, they form your soul’s wellness compass:

    •    The Rising shows you where the body mirrors the soul’s shadow and struggle when you are out of rhythm.

    •    The Ruler reveals the practices that restore vitality and clarity.

    •    Together, they lead you back to your deepest joy; the joy of living in sync with your soul’s authentic design.

And yet, the sky is never still. Transits to your chart ruler or Ascendant flavor this compass, tinting its light. When Jupiter blesses your ruler, vitality often expands; when Saturn presses down, the body may feel heavier, asking for rest and refinement. Mars transits can ignite inflammation or motivation, Venus can restore harmony through beauty and pleasure, and Neptune may invite surrender to subtler rhythms.

The ancients understood these planetary movements not as random disruptions, but as seasonal teachings - temporary overlays that refine your practice and deepen your embodiment. By tracking transits to your Rising Sign and ruler, you learn when to lean into discipline, when to allow softness, and when to celebrate expansion.

Astro-Wellness then, is not static. It is a living relationship between your natal blueprint and the ever-turning heavens. Your Rising and Ruler are your constant teachers, but the transiting sky adds its color, reminding you that wellness is not a fixed state - it is an ever changing dance with time itself. It isn’t about chasing perfection or following rigid routines. It is instead about learning to live in relationship with your Rising rhythm—listening when your body signals misalignment, and honoring the guidance of your body and chart ruler like a steady beacon.

When you align with this blueprint:

    •    The body stops being a battlefield and becomes a teacher of deep wisdom.

    •    Health shifts from discipline into devotion.

    •    Joy ceases to be fleeting and becomes a living, steady current.

Where To Start:

Locate your Rising Sign & its Chart Ruler in your natal chart. Reflect on where its themes appear in your body today. Choose one embodiment practice this week as an offering. Give yourself a month and contemplate shifts and changes you notice. Consider the following daily reflections:

• What practice is my Rising calling me into today?

• What “light” (deeper insight) is my chart ruler shining on my path right now?

• Where is joy waiting for me in my body, if I choose to honor it?

This is the heart of Astro-Wellness: not a list of health hacks, but a return to your soul’s original harmony. Your Rising and Chart Ruler hold the keys. When you walk in rhythm with them, you are not only well — you are whole.

The Blood Moon Eclipse: A Choice Point of Power & Healing

Twice a year we enter eclipse season. This month offers us two eclipse events. On September 7th, the skies deliver a rare and potent event: a Blood Moon, a total lunar (or full moon) eclipse at 15° Pisces. Lunar eclipses always bring intensity and reflection—truth revealed, shadows exposed, endings and beginnings, often woven together. But this one carries an unmistakable spiritual weight, the kind that can alter the trajectory of our lives if we meet it with courage.

Think of this eclipse as the cosmic version of nuclear fusion. In fusion, immense pressure and heat ignite a process where two separate elements unite, releasing incredible energy that powers stars. An eclipse symbolically mirrors this—tremendous tension gathers in our lives, pressure builds around old wounds or patterns, and under this force, something new fuses into form. A new light is born from what once seemed impossible - or perhaps even unseen to us - to integrate.

The Pisces–Virgo Axis: Spirit and Service

Because this eclipse occurs at 15° Pisces, it awakens the polarity axis of Pisces and Virgo. Every full moon already carries a polarity story, but an eclipse amplifies this energy significantly.

    •    Pisces is considered the most spiritual sign of the zodiac. It holds the energy of compassion, transcendence, unity, and spiritual surrender. Pisces reminds us to surrender, dissolve boundaries, and trust the flow of the unseen. In its highest potential, it dissolves separation and helps us remember we are more than our wounds, more than our identities, more than the small story we’ve been living; and it reminds us that at our core, we are all connected. In its shadow, it can lure us into escapism, denial, or bypassing—losing ourselves in the fog and never ending merging nature of its vastness.

    •    Virgo, standing opposite, offers us the gifts of discernment, clarity, embodied healing, and sacred service. Virgo asks us to refine, organize, and bring life to order. At its best, Virgo grounds the dream of Pisces into daily, embodied action—it asks, how do you live this truth in your body, in your routines, in your relationships? In its shadow, Virgo can fall into over-analysis, criticism, or perfectionism that keeps us from ever truly living our full potential and feeling whole.

This eclipse on the Pisces-Virgo axis asks us to weave these forces together: to bring our spiritual longings (Pisces) into tangible, embodied practices (Virgo). To allow both compassion and transcendence, but not lose the grounded reality of real-life integration. It reminds us to release the fears and old patterns or habits that hold us back; reminding us that we don’t have to control every detail of our life to be safe and that we never have to earn our worth. It teaches us that when we release control we don’t lose power, we gain a new kind of strength - one that flows from a place of alignment and not force. And it also reminds us of the importance and value of energetic boundaries; that, no matter how well intentioned you are, you cannot pour from an empty cup. The magic of this harmonious integration happens when we blend the energies consciously: excellence and boundaries with compassion, doing with being, conscious surrender, faith with precision, intuition with discernment, vision with practicality, etc.

Fated Change and the Eclipse Mystery

Astrologers hold different views on eclipses. Some encourage ritual and manifestation; others caution against it. I personally see eclipses as fated portals—moments where the hand of destiny is stronger than our own intention-setting. For this reason, I do not manifest with absolutes during eclipses the way I would with a normal new or full moon. Instead, I tend to go inward and reflect and listen. I notice what is surfacing, what is breaking open, what is dissolving. And I reflect within myself: What wants to be healed here? What am I being asked to see that perhaps I haven’t yet seen in full? How can I embody this new change?

Eclipses are like wild cards in the cosmic deck. They can bring sudden, rapid change, insight, or illumination, that alters everything overnight, but just as often, their effects ripple out more slowly over the next six months to come. Sometimes we don’t recognize the eclipse’s teaching until a later turning point makes its pattern clear. Sometimes we see external shifts and material reality changes (relationship or job for example, beginning or ending) and sometimes it is more subtle and internal - a change in our perception or mindset. But, they always mark a turning point of some point.

When Eclipse Effects Unfold

One of the most common questions I hear is: “When will I feel the eclipse?” The truth is, the effects of a total lunar eclipse are rarely confined to the day itself.

    •    In the moment: You may feel waves of emotion, revelations, or sudden endings on the day of the eclipse. This is the raw shadow material surfacing for release. This will likely be especially prominent this eclipse as Pisces is a water sign and this is a total lunar (or full moon) eclipse which means it magnifies a normal full moon cycle which typically signifies release.

    •    Two weeks after: The energy often continues to reverberate until the next new moon, as the themes settle into your system and start shaping your choices.

    •    Three to six months: Many eclipses work like seeds planted in shadow. Their stories begin to play out over the season ahead, especially when other transits re-activate the same degree.

    •    Up to 18 months: Because eclipses are tied to the lunar nodes, their full impact can ripple through your life until the next set of eclipses, or even longer. Often you only realize in hindsight that a major shift began under an eclipse portal.

With a total lunar eclipse, like this Blood Moon at 15° Pisces, the emphasis is often on culmination and closure—a harvest of sorts, where what has been building finally comes to light. But don’t be surprised if the real transformations unfold slowly, like a tide reshaping the shoreline.

The Healing Potential

    •    Release of old cycles: Eclipses tend to close chapters that were never fully resolved. If something resurfaces now, it is not punishment—it’s an invitation to complete the loop with more intentional awareness.

    •    Acceleration of growth: What normally might take years to shift can pivot in weeks. Eclipse energy condenses time. While radical shifts aren’t always the norm, they certainly are not rare in eclipse portals. Quantum leaps can happen under eclipses. Especially when angular houses and personal planets are involved.

    •    Integration of shadow: This is not about destroying the past, but fusing it into wisdom. Like nuclear fusion, you become more luminous when you accept the pressure, surrender to the process, and let transformation burn away illusion.

How to Work with It

    1.    Ground Yourself – The intensity of an eclipse can scatter your nervous system. Get barefoot on the Earth, take salt baths, or place your spine against a tree. Breathwork, body shaking (to release trapped emotion), or simple yoga flows and walks in nature can help release the pressure.

    2.    Name the Shadow – Write down what old patterns, doubts, or stories are surfacing. Naming them takes away their power. You cannot heal what you refuse to see.

    3.    Create a Choice Ritual – Rather than “manifesting,” honor the eclipse by making a conscious choice. On the night of the eclipse, light a single candle and say aloud something simple such as: “I choose to release what no longer fuels me, and I choose to ignite my next chapter with clarity, strength, and love.” Burn a piece of paper with your limiting belief written on it. Allow the ashes to return to the earth.

    4.    Anchor the Light – Follow up the release with something that roots you in joy: singing, dancing, journaling gratitude, or preparing a nourishing meal. Transformation is not only about letting go but also about inviting new frequencies into your body and nourishing yourself.

    5.    Stay Compassionate – Eclipse portals stir emotion in everyone. If people around you act out, remember they too are under the same cosmic pressure. Hold compassion without sacrificing your boundaries.

Why This Eclipse Matters

This Blood Moon at 15° Pisces is not simply a celestial event—it’s a cosmic mirror. It shows us where we’ve hidden our light behind shadow, fear, or complacency. But like nuclear fusion, the energy of this eclipse asks us to use the pressure - surrender to it - not resist it. Pressure is the birthplace of stars, and in this moment, you are asked to become your own source of radiance.

We are at a collective crossroads. Each of us can choose contraction—clinging to what we’ve outgrown—or expansion, stepping into authenticity, truth, and true, luminous power. The choice, is up to us.

Final Reminder:

You are not being broken down—you are being refined. This Blood Moon eclipse is not the end, but the ignition. Trust that the pressure is purposeful. Trust that your soul knows the way. Lean into the emotional wisdom of Jupiter in Cancer, the intuitive knowing of Pisces, and the discernment and practicality of Virgo. Ground, release, choose, and rise.

Reflections:

• What patterns or storylines are surfacing now that may have begun 6–18 months ago? What wants to close, so something new can be born?

• How would your daily routine change if you prioritized more healthy boundaries, nervous system regulation, and micro habits over productivity? What would you add? What would you release? How can you invite balance into this area of your life?

• Where are you being asked to surrender control and trust the flow of life? Where might you be avoiding truth by escaping or numbing?

• What practices, routines, or embodied actions could help you ground your spiritual insights into tangible healing?

• What patterns, fears, self-doubt, or stories are surfacing that you’ve been carrying for far too long? How do you see them more clearly now?

• From this moment forward, what are you choosing to release, and what new energy or truth are you choosing to carry with you?

  After journaling or reflecting, sit for a few moments with your hand over your heart or belly. Let your body feel the truth of what you’ve reflected upon. Integration happens not only in the mind but in the body and spirit.

Nodes of Fate Officially Change

Today the nodes of fate officially change. This is the closing of a chapter of our lives looking at the balances between our relationship with others, and ourself as the Nodes transition from the Aries/Libra axis to Pisces/Virgo. With the North Node in Pisces, our collective future destiny is to find deep connection to our soul, immerse ourselves in the spiritual and sacred, live in full trust and surrender, knowing that we are always fully supported and guided, and follow our intuition and deep internal wisdom. The South Node in Virgo asks us to leave behind patterns of overthinking, worrying, and trying to control and hold on to things that are ready to be let go of. It is asking for us to loosen our grip of control, micromanaging , perfectionism, and overworking tendencies. Letting go of the pressure to have everything align, make sense, and be figured out. Encouraging us to sit in stillness, tap into our inner wisdom, and be in the flow.

Full Moon in Cancer - 1/13/2025

The full moon occurs at 24 degrees of Cancer on Monday, January 13th, at 5:26pm EST. This moon carries some magick with it and will be potent. The lunar nodes change signs just two days earlier and this full moon is beginning a story that will unfold through 2027.

Aspects:

• Opposes the Sun and Pallas Athena in Capricorn & Pluto in Aquarius

• Conjunct Mars (still retrograde!) in Cancer

• Sextile Uranus in Taurus & the South Node in Virgo

• T-Square with Aries Stellium - Chiron, Eris, Hygiea squaring the Moon

• Trine Neptune & the North Node in Pisces, Juno in Scorpio, & Astraea in Sagittarius

The last Gemini Full Moon came to help each of us tell and begin to live a new life story. Then, to set the tone for our year ahead and move us into deeper purpose & potential, was the Capricorn New Moon, offering us action oriented and supportive energy to achieve our goals. Now, to illuminate our way forward is the Cancer Full Moon.

The moon is at home in her ruling planet of Cancer. As the cardinal sign of water, Cancer carries profound potency. This full moon is calling us home and asking you to begin from a place of well nourished rest, introspection, connection, and deep grounding. Only from a place of deep authenticity and owning all parts of yourself in love and complete acceptance, are you able to fully tap into the innate wisdom of your soul’s calling, connection and purpose, and fully co-create the reality ahead that you wish to bring in.

The nodes which have just changed signs are prominently supporting this full moon in sextile and trine, echoing the affirmation that this begins a new chapter in the story of our lives. The deep water of Cancer & Pisces encourages us to lean into stillness, our deep, innate inner wisdom and connect with our Higher Selves & purpose. To truly sit in surrender and flow. While the South Node in Virgo, encourages us to move past any blocks that may delay this connection: overthinking, worry, perfectionism, and control. The North Node in Pisces asks us to lean into full trust of our divine intuition, faith, and fully trust and surrender to divine timing. And, to embrace unconditional love, forgiveness, and interconnectedness.

With Chiron in Aries, we are also being asked to heal wounds of unworthiness. In other words, releasing a need to look outside of ourselves for approval, validation, or anything else external that you may be using to fill a void of feeling “enough”. The Moon in Cancer reminds us that this fulfillment will only come from being deeply grounded, loved, and at home, within yourself. Nothing external will ever fill your void of self worth and love, but you. And as you accept this and journey fully back home to yourself, fiercely embracing your own love and worth, only then will you see that you no longer seek as much from the outside world and that all you need, has, and will always be, found within you.

One of the most magical aspects of this Full Moon is that she squares Chiron at 19 degrees of Aries. This is the exact same degree point of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, in which Chiron was conjunct. This offers us a huge opportunity to close old stories and heal old wounds and patterning. It asks us to get really curious and reflect back to themes of self worth. Where have you been living from your worth wounds and playing small? Where have you been allowing stories of not being good enough or limiting beliefs hold you back from achieving your wildest dreams?

Chiron is also conjunct the dwarf planet Eris & asteroid Hygiea and creates a T-Square with the Sun/Pluto and Moon offering a powerful opportunity for deep self healing and stepping into your power. At the heart of this tense aspect is a profound healing medicine. The breaking of old patterns. Eris, who was said to cause the Trojan War out of rage that she was always relegated to outsider status, is standing arm in arm in a conjunct aspect with Hygiea and Chiron - the two most potent healers of the zodiac and Greek pantheon. Let Eris show you boldly where your soul purpose lies and what patterns need to be released for you to advance on your path. These energies call you into deep forgiveness, healing, and empowerment.

Another magical thread forms as this Full Moon creates a sextile to the exact degree point of the Virgo Full Moon Lunar Eclipse that will happen on March 14, 2025. What we begin now, will be transformatively affected to this first eclipse in Spring and continue through 2027.

So, how are you becoming your own safe space and sanctuary? How are you nurturing your inner child and yourself today, this full moon, and every day? Unless we come from a place of wholeness, we cannot operate at our fullest potential. Not in relationship, not in work and service, and not in connection with our gifts and with ourselves.

We are being asked this year to live fully guided by our intuition and the Universe. Following the signs, synchronicities, and fully trusting our soul to lead the way. Our main motivating force for this year is spiritual awakening and commitment to our spiritual practices and soul growth - truly finding and stepping into our soul mission. As the Moon opposes Pluto (in an out of sign conjunction) this could not be more loud and clear. Pluto is about to spend his first full year in Aquarius since 1779 and is breaking the chains of patriarchal injustice and bringing the power back to the people. He is reminding us of who we truly are - powerful co-creators, having a human experience. Pay close attention to where you give your power away and live from the outside in. This Full Moon is calling for you to anchor in your own essence, truth, and soul, and to remember that the outside world is a direct reflection of our own inner world. It is a powerful call home to yourself, your sovereignty, and to fully claim what you desire, living in a way that is true to who you are and who you are here to embody.

To help us with this is Uranus, who is sextile to this full moon, shaking the foundations of your life and asking you to free yourself from anywhere that you aren’t fully free to be all of yourself. It is our wake-up call to action, to be authentic and ensure we are in alignment in our life, no longer playing small. In true Uranian energy, you may find yourself pushed along your path, needing to leap out of your comfort zone, face up to things you have been avoiding, or accept challenges that you’ve not felt quite ready for. 2025 is a year of true soul growth, expansion, and evolution, calling us to remember who we are and why we are here. Neptune’s trine helps to further support this, connecting us to our soul, with divine and deep spiritual connection. Allow yourself to trust and be guided to where you need to be. Surrender to your soul and know that you are part of something much greater- always being supported and guided along your path.

Cancer, the cardinal water sign, helps us to generate the water within ourselves. Our water element is what helps us to heal, connect with Spirits, and replenish and nourish our soul. It reminds us that we are both soft and fierce. It also teaches us the magic of flow and soft change. Just as the ocean gently molds the shoreline, we too can shape our own lives if we are willing to be patient. There will be times in our lives when this soft flow is needed, and times we tap into our fire, blazing in swift change with a crash. Both of these energies are beautiful in their own right and both are necessary at different chapters of our life as we carve our own place in the world.

Cancer is represented by the crab, who uses their hard shell to keep all of their emotions contained and close to heart. The challenge that Cancer carries is to explore vulnerability - the willingness to acknowledge that life is meant to be lived, enjoyed in full, and not always be hidden. That, to grow, means to put yourself out there and take risks at times. As the crab leaves the safety of his own shell to grow into a new one, he is exposed to elements that force him to rely on surviving through intuition and instinct alone. Just as the crab evolves through times of transition, so do you, even if they make you feel vulnerable or afraid. The silver lining of uncertainty is that it gives you no choice but to trust and rely upon your own inner knowledge and power. The lesson showing us that empowerment can often come through being vulnerable. So, this Full Moon, consider if you, like the crab, need to leave your old shell full of patterns, safety, and limitations for a new shell, capable of holding your new expansive self. Are fears - of the unknown or other - holding you back from taking a leap of faith in a new direction or allowing yourself to grow? Feel into what transformation is calling to you. Allow yourself to process all the emotions it brings so that you can take the steps you need to fully evolve next year.

This Full Moon will magnify your intuition as well as your emotions. Cancer teaches us that the two go hand in hand. You cannot access your deep inner wisdom without feeling your way there. If you shut yourself off from feeling or suppress your emotions, your intuition is also lost. Let the moon bring forth inner knowledge that you know, without hesitation, is your truth. For this, brings out your magick.

Lastly, I want to talk about the Cancer/Capricorn Polarity axis because these are the energies we are feeling and tuning into this Full Moon. The sun still being in Capricorn and the moon sitting in her glory, in Cancer. These two zodiacal archetypes oppose each other and have different rulers - Cancer being ruled by the Moon, and Capricorn, ruled by Saturn. This is the axis of structure - of learning to dance between the dualities of interdependence and self-sufficiency which often play out like a theme of inner emotional security vs. external achievement. Cancer, rules our emotions, our care, and nurturance, reflecting our deep need to feel safe and supported by others. Cancer also emphasizes the need for interdependence - our ability to connect emotionally and build relationships that foster belonging and mutual care. It is what allows us to build and nurture a family, or cultivate our own deep, internal “home”. Cancer teaches us to embrace vulnerability as a strength, showing us that needing others isn’t a weakness and reminding us that we are all innately hard wired for relationship and connection. Cancer, perhaps more than any other zodiacal sign, also helps us to understand the cyclical ebb-and-flow nature of life and our emotions. She is the wisdom keeper of our emotional body and helps us unlock the keys to that gift. At its best, Cancer teaches us that interdependence - forming authentic bonds and seeking support - is a fundamental part of the human experience and reminds us to trust in others. Capricorn is the polarity opposite and embodies structure and self-sufficiency. Ruled by Saturn, Capricorn symbolizes ambition, discipline, and responsibility, and is focused on self-sufficiency and drive. Capricorns thrive in environments that reward hard work and determination and seek to build a legacy through concrete achievements. It teaches us to take personal responsibility for our own success and security and to create healthy boundaries that protect our containers, independence, and autonomy. Capricorn also teaches to cultivate the gifts of resilience and endurance which are critical to weather life challenges without falling out of balance and into unhealthy patterns of reliance on others. The duality of the axis again dancing between the need for deep emotional connection vs. practical ambition, nurturing vs. material provision, healthy dependence vs. independence, and the wealth of both inner and outer success. Together these energies challenge us to learn when to rely on others and ask for help and when to lean into our own internal drive and rely upon ourselves. They teach us that both types of care (emotional nurturing and material and structural provisions) are valuable and that balance is key. Overemphasis on one vs. the other (ie. unhealthy codependency vs. emotional neglect) creates imbalance. And it teaches the importance of cultivating deep emotional wisdom and intuition as well as the need to remain grounded, practical, and emotionally restrained to achieve our material goals. Learning to cultivate a balance upon this axis is key to success in life. Cancer calls us to dive deep under our shell, get real, and cultivate our own self love and security instead of relying upon, and seeking it, within others. It calls us to recognize when nurturing becomes enabling and teaches us to set healthy boundaries. Capricorn teaches us the need to develop emotional awareness, resilience, and allow ourselves to become vulnerable, even while striving for independence. It pushes to really understand the concept that developing emotional support does not diminish our own strength, but instead can strengthen our vessel for success. This axis ultimately guides us to embody and integrate these dualities and finely balance them within us, creating a life that honors both energies and provides us with the skills for ultimate fulfillment and success.

Journal Reflections:

• Think about what makes you feel safe and supported. What are the cues that let you know you are safe to let down your exterior walls, soften, and feel safe and secure? What does emotional security mean to you and how can you cultivate this in your life?

• What is your own internal “home” frequency (ie. love, peace, gratitude, contentment, etc)? What self care practices can you create to return back to this frequency no matter what happens throughout your day? What will bring you back to yourself and your intuition? Decide how you want to feel this Full Moon, and commit to feeling that way each day as you flow with the curveballs of life.

• What emotions have I been ignoring? How can I honor and release those today?

• How do I balance caring for others vs. taking care of my own needs?

• What family dynamics or ancestral patterns are you ready to heal & release this Full Moon?

• Where are you overly self-reliant and how can you allow others to support you? In what ways do you lean too heavily on others for emotional support and how can you bring balance to this dynamic? In what ways can you nourish your inner child?

• How can you release old fears or insecurities to make space for deeper emotional fulfillment?

• What intentions can you set to nurture yourself and others more deeply in the coming weeks?

• What blessings in your life fill you with profound gratitude?

Dancing with Mars: Working with His Synodic Cycle

From Earth, the planet Mars (the closest planet outside of Earth’s orbit) has a regular, visible pattern in the sky that can be observed. We call this pattern a synodic cycle.

The Synodic Cycle of Mars begins and ends with its relationship with the Sun and refers to the full orbit of Mars with the Sun which takes 780 days or roughly 26 months. The Sun is our sense of purpose in our lives, it is the core essence of who you are - your soul’s purpose, vitality, and the light you radiate. Mars is the energy that drives and fuels your ability to act on that purpose, embodying your courage, willpower, and determination. It is the sacred warrior energy that takes the Sun’s purpose (your Divine Will) and brings it into the world through action and desire. It is the “how” that fulfills the Sun’s “why”. In other words, the Sun holds our vision and Mars actualizes it. Without Mars, the Sun’s purpose remains unfulfilled, existing only as unrealized potential. Both are dependent on the other to fully fulfill their destiny. They work together to bridge the spiritual and physical realms and, when in harmony, they align and create a balanced flow between vision and action. The esoteric journey of integrating the Sun and Mars is learning to act with purpose - Mars through the wisdom of disciplined action aligning with the higher light of the Sun, while the Sun reminds Mars to act in service of the greater good, avoiding impulsivity and self-centered ambition.

The Mars synodic cycle influences how we experience and work with Martian themes like:

• Energy & Drive - the cycle will reveal how our motivation and energy levels ebb & flow over time.

• Conflict & Action - Mars’ retrograde and opposition often coincide with heightened conflict or the need to re-evaluate how we assert ourselves.

• Ambition & Goals - cycle marks phases of initiation, culmination, and adjustment in our pursuit of goals.

In Shamanic Astrology, the synodic cycle begins with the Mars-Sun opposition. This perspective emphasizes the conflict and tension inherent in the Mars opposition, viewing it as a crucial turning point in the cycle where confrontation and necessary change are likely to occur and kicks off the transformative cycle (6 phases). In Western Astrology, it begins with the Mars Cazimi (Mars conjunct the Sun). This approach sees the cazimi as the initiation point of the Mars cycle, signifying a time of intense focus, motivation, and potential for strong action due to Mars' close proximity to the Sun.

I think both views of the cycle carry value; its a personal preference in what story framing most aligns with you. Let’s look at the Shamanic Astrology Cycle in closer detail. In its opposition with the Sun, Mars is physically closest to the Earth. This is when Mars rises in the east as the Sun sets in the west and is called an acronychal rise. The zodiacal sign that Mars is in when beginning their Synodic Cycle is called the overtone. The planet typically spends 7-8 months in the overtone sign before, during, and after, the acronychal rise.

In Shamanic Astrology this Synodic Cycle pattern is divided into 6 distinct phases which is outlined below. In this train of thought, Mars represents the archetype of the Divine Masculine and explores the ideas of healthy masculinity, such as standing in one’s power, embodying courage, and pursuing passion and purpose with integrity. If you are working with Divine Masculine healing, Mars can provide insights into your natural assertiveness and how you channel that energy in healthy ways.

Phase 1:

Beginning with the acronychal rise, Mars is retrograde for half of this phase and also at its brightest. Phase 1 ends when Mars returns to back to the original point in the sky (sign and degree) that it was at arconychal rise. Shamanically, Phase 1 is like the Call to Adventure or the start of the Vision Quest. It can also be seen as a birth and emergence as well as an early youthful period of time for the Masculine.

Phase 2:

This is the longest phase of the cycle and typically spans 10-11 months. During this phase of the cycle Mars meets the Moon on a monthly basis. In Shamanic Astrology, these are known as the Challenges and represent specific areas of growth for the masculine varying greatly on the sign and constellation that Mars is in. Phase 2 ends when Mars disappears in the glare of the Sun (15 degrees from Sun).

Phase 3:

This phase lasts 3-4 months and is known as the “underworld phase” and is a time of masculine surrender. From Earth, Mars is now on the other side of the Sun during this phase. Shamanically, it is celebrated as Native American Sundance of Okeepa initiation. It is a process of facing one’s fears and death/rebirth.

Phase 4:

This part of the cycle occurs when Mars is visible in the early morning, right before sunrise. This phase lasts 4-5 months. It ends when Mars re-enters the zodiacal sign that it was in at the acronychal rise.

Shamanically, this phase is about rebirth and growth, or harvesting the potent wisdom from the Phase 3 journey through the underworld.

Phase 5:

This phase begins when Mars re-enters the zodiacal sign of its original acronychal rise. Shamanically this represents the gift of maturity and elder wisdom. This phase ends when Mars reaches the zodiacal sign of its next undertone.

Phase Zero:

This is a period of gestation in preparation for the next phase of the Mars cycle. It includes metamorphic shift from one sign/archetype to the next, carrying with it the wisdom of the previous cycle.

The cycle ends at the acronychal rise / Mars-Sun Opposition.

Looking at the Western Astrology Approach, there are also 6 key phases, aligning with her movement and angles with the Sun:

Conjunction - Mars sits behind the Sun and is invisible as it is obscured by the Sun’s glare. This is symbolic of the “seed point” in the cycle, akin to a new moon. It represents a time of initiation, setting intentions, and beginning new actions. New energy & plans related to Mars begin to germinate.

Emergence - Mars as a Morning Star; Mars emerges from the Sun’s glare and becomes visible in the morning sky before sunrise. This is a period of growing awareness and active engagement. The seeds planted begin to take form. This is a time to act on new ambitions, confront challenges, and assert independence.

Opposition - Mars is Opposite to the Sun; this is when Mars is physically closest to the Earth, at its brightest, and is visible all night. This is considered the “Culmination” or peak of the cycle; akin to a full moon. Actions, conflicts, or themes come to full expression and it is a time for resolution or escalation of issues.

Retreat - Mars as an Evening Star; after its opposition, Mars begins to move away from Earth and appears in the evening sky after sunset. This phase represents a waning energy in the cycle. A time to reflect and integrate lessons learned during the peak; ie. analysis of results, adjust strategies, and let go of what is not working.

Retrograde - Mars appears to move backwards in the sky from the Earth’s perspective (an illusion due to the differences in orbital speeds between Earth & Mars). Mars slows down her external progress and invites an inner exploration into Mars energies (goals/action, anger, desire, conflict, and energy expenditure). This is an invitation to internally reflect on past conflicts, reassess desires and actions.

Return to Conjunction - cycle begins anew as Mars returns back to align with the Sun again.

The Mars synodic cycle aligns beautifully with the Hero’s Journey as it represents a cyclical process of growth, challenge, and transformation through the lens of our personal drive, courage, and the Divine Masculine.

• Call to Adventure - Mars Cazimi. The hero hears the call and begins his new journey. Your individual inner warrior is reborn with new desires, ambitions, and a renewed sense of purpose.

• Crossing the Threshold - Mars Evening Star Phase. The hero crosses into the unknown and the journey begins.

• Trials & Challenges - Mars Opposes the Sun. The hero’s story unfolds as he confronts external trials, allies, and enemies. It is a time of testing strength, courage, and resolve forcing you to confront fears and limitations. Emotional triggers and external pressures test your ability to stay focused, aligned, and in balance.

• The Descent & Ordeal - Mars Retrograde Phase. As the illusion of Mars moving backwards in the sky unfolds, so does this symbolize a backward motion on our journey. This is the chapter of deep inner work and integration. It is the dark night of the soul on our journey. The hero confronts their shadow, unhealed wounds, and inner demons. It is a time of reflection and re-evaluation. The Divine Masculine energy becomes introspective and invites you to evaluate how you take aligned action.

• The Atonement - Mars Direct & Emerges As the Morning Star. The hero integrates their lessons and emerges transformed. This is a period of clarity, understanding, and alignment with one’s true purpose. You will emerge with a renewed sense of confidence and drive. The lessons learned in retrograde help refine how you assert yourself and take action in the world. You will begin to engage in the world in a much more empowered way.

• The Return Home - Mars Approaches the Next Conjunction (New Cycle Preparation). As he moves closer to the Sun, he completes his cycle. The hero returns home with newfound wisdom and strength, ready to share their gifts with others and begin again on a new chapter of their journey. New rebirth and wisdom of your Divine Masculine Energy emerges.

As the Mars Opposition occurs today, it offers the reflection of clarity re. patterns of confrontation or empowerment that have surfaced:

• What situations or relationships in my life are testing my courage and assertiveness right now?

• What drives my actions today: love, fear, or anger? How can I align more with love, trust, and purpose?

• In what areas of my life do I need to reclaim my power and take action?

• How can I face challenges with strength and integrity instead of aggression or avoidance?

• Who or what is triggering me today and what lesson does this hold for my growth?

• What can I do today to balance boldness (Mars) with mindfulness (Sun)?

• Am I taking actions that align with my long-term goals and values or am I distracted by short term frustrations?

The Mars synodic cycle reminds us that most things in nature have a cycle and that attuning to that cycle can often impart wisdom and beautiful shifts in our alignment in life. As the classic phrase from the Emerald Tablet reminds us “As above, so below”, tracking Mars’ phases in your natal chart allows you to align your actions and ambitions with the natural rhythm of the cycle, enhancing your own personal effectiveness and growth.