A Few Punctuation Marks Away
As a author for a few years, I’ve labored with a lot of editors. One of the best have had one thing vital in widespread: their focus was on what was proper with my work, as a substitute of what was fallacious with it. Finally, we received round to refining the disjointed ideas and cleansing up the sentences that often trailed off with none ending in any respect. On this, they have been each bit as exacting as their job required. However the course of started with their enthusiasm for the most effective of my writing, adopted by teaching designed to assist me carry the remainder of it as much as the identical stage.
All that is soothing for the author’s ego, in fact. However there’s additionally a sensible lesson in there for any of us who discover ourselves able of critiquing others, as dad and mom, bosses, coaches, and even mates: more often than not, excessive requirements mixed with encouragement conjures up higher outcomes than criticism alone.
This week’s Virgo New Moon (Sep. 2, 2024, 6:55 pm, 11º04′ Virgo), with the Solar and Moon in a irritating opposition to Saturn, is an effective time to meditate on one of many key phrases generally related to this signal: criticism. Virgo’s criticism derives from two different qualities, discrimination and discernment. Like its reverse signal, Pisces, Virgo is idealistic, embracing desires of perfection—however Virgo could be a bit pessimistic concerning the capability of mere mortals to reside as much as these beliefs.
Whereas Pisces (even with Saturn at the moment within the signal) is blessed with the flexibility to miss imperfection, Virgo is tasked with seeing every failing that stands between us and the imaginative and prescient. Typically, it have to be stated, Virgo indulges in adverse criticism; the world is stuffed with faults and mediocrity, and Virgo’s lack of ability to disregard these items can flip her right into a cranky scold. However generally, Virgo criticizes as a result of she is enraptured by a imaginative and prescient of greatness that lies only some punctuation marks away.
The Charming Quick-talker
In case you’ve ever let your self get talked into one thing by a captivating fast-talker, whilst your instinct was thrashing madly like a fish attempting to detach itself from a hook, you may have some thought of the potential risks of Mars in Gemini sq. Neptune in Pisces (Sep. 2, 2024, 9:09 pm PDT).
The world strikes at a dizzying velocity. We’re surrounded by countless messages urging us to do issues, purchase issues, go locations, and as soon as we’re grownups we acknowledge fairly shortly that these messages are hardly ever designed to be in our personal curiosity. Whether or not it’s shopping for a automotive, submitting our taxes, or negotiating to purchase a home, we now have to be taught to defend ourselves in a fast-talking world. This implies sharpening our minds, studying to belief our instinct, and placing on the brakes if we want time to suppose issues via.
The Energy All Alongside
Mars enters Most cancers (Sep. 4, 2024, 12:46 pm PDT) on the heels of many lengthy, cross, exhausting weeks in Gemini. It’s such a aid to maneuver on to a brand new battleground that it’s simple to neglect that Mars isn’t all that comfy in Most cancers, the signal of its fall. Mars prefers to sort out issues head-on, however Most cancers’s model is indirect and protecting.
However, Mars in any signal symbolizes the way in which we react to threats and the issues we really feel are value preventing for. As Mars enters Most cancers, we’re decided to make our approach house, both actually or figuratively. Perhaps we really feel estranged from our religious middle. Maybe somebody we love is at risk, or we’re desperately longing to reunite with these we love and from whom we’ve lengthy been separated.
However there could also be conflicts with these family members, too. Not everybody sees eye to eye about every thing, perceives the identical threats, shares the identical imaginative and prescient. Nevertheless, Mars applies to flowing features throughout this transit – a trine to supportive Saturn, sextile to revolutionary Uranus, and importantly, a trine to mild, loving, “all is forgiven” Neptune. By the point Mars makes this facet (Oct. 28), we’ll understand we’ve had the facility to get house all alongside.
The Protagonist
There’s a narrative we inform about ourselves, ranging from our earliest experiences and encompassing all of the milestones as much as the current day. The experiences we select to focus on in that story – and most significantly, the way in which we body ourselves as hero, sufferer, victor, or loser – are as much as us.
As Mercury, the storyteller, clashes with Uranus (Sep. 6, 2024, 9:21 pm PDT), the final in a collection of three such features (the others have been on July 21 and August 18), it’s time to rewrite that story. Mercury has made these features whereas nonetheless in Leo, so by all means, place your self on the coronary heart of the narrative; however do not forget that all of us have blind spots, and being a real protagonist means incomes your heroism, not defending your flaws.
Jasper’s Wall
My neighbor’s pleasant cat, Jasper, spends most of his days outside. From our home, I can see him tempo out a really particular route via the neighborhood. Typically, as my neighbor and I are embarking on a stroll, he materializes to escort us. However about midway down the block, he stops in his tracks as if he’s run right into a glass wall. He stands there and meows plaintively as we disappear from sight, however he gained’t breach that invisible wall.
Like Jasper, most of us are inclined to have a way of our limits. We all know how far we are able to wander earlier than we’ve left our territory and issues start to really feel unsafe.
When the assured Solar opposes Saturn (Sep. 7, 2024, 9:35 pm PDT), we wish to strut proudly across the neighborhood, flexing our muscle mass – however Saturn is the invisible barrier that holds us in examine. We might expertise Saturn’s boundaries within the individual of a troublesome boss, a strict guardian, or different authority determine. However typically, what’s holding us again is just our personal inner glass wall, a boundary that’s meant to maintain us protected.
On a regular basis Extraordinary
Peer via a microscope at one thing peculiar. Faraway from its bigger context, one thing like pollen or cells taken out of your cheek turns into artwork. You lose the larger image as you zoom in, however isn’t it superb to see its particular person parts in such element?
Mercury, the planet of notion, places on its magnifying glass when it enters Virgo (Sep. 8, 2024, 11:50 pm PDT). Whereas it’s on this detail-loving signal (via Sep. 26), the on a regular basis turns into extraordinary.
Writing and pictures © 2017-24 by April Elliott Kent
For extra on this week’s planetary information, take heed to my podcast!
