Hello Moonbibis!
Long time no update from me - it has been a whirlwind of a Mars in Gemini transit - can you believe we have 3+ months left of this?!
My micro-business has been going through some ch-ch-ch-changes! Uranus has been toying with me - the planet of change, disruption & liberation has been coming awfully close to making an exact sextile to my 19º Cancer Midheaven* and transiting Mars has already made two exact oppositions to my natal 22º Uranus in Sagittarius, and two squares to my natal Virgo Moon and Pisces Mercury! The fact that it is all happening in Mutable signs only makes my head spin even more…
Mutable signs are adaptable, flexible, dispersing…I like to think of the Mutable signs as the COSMIC REPAIR PEOPLE of the Zodiac - their expressions are entirely dependent on the job they have been given to do - they go where they have been asked to go and work their magic - but what happens when they are asked to go in two or more different places? CONFUSION (and usually quite a bit of overextension, anxiety, and duality.) Your planets or points in Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces,) want to edit, repair and heal - they are like Santa’s Elves. And just like Santa’s Elves, their work in keeping things running smoothly from one transition to the next isn’t always fully acknowledged and appreciated…these signs can often become the “dumping” grounds - very often I see people with excessive Mutability in their charts who have reached burnout, are struggling with compassion fatigue, and dealing with injuries from their jobs - it honestly breaks my heart hearing stories from these individuals because so often they feel they must accept the situations they find themselves in and complete the work even if it is causing harm to their mental, physical or spiritual well-being.
You may have noticed I said that Mars has already opposed my natal Uranus twice this year. That is because Mars is currently Retrograde in Gemini - a cosmic experience that occurs approximately every two years. The last time Mars was Retrograde was in 2020 as the planet of assertion and movement transited its home sign of Aries. Mars is not only Retrograde right now, it is also OUT-OF-BOUNDS (OOB). If you’ve been reading my musings for awhile, you know I’m really into studying the behavior of planets when they cross the boundary limits of the ecliptic plane - when planets are OOB, they are outside of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and their expression is unpredictable and unusual - they take on a bit of an Aquarian tone as they can be detached, observant, abnormal, and boundary-pushing (rebellious and unwilling to adhere to the status quo.) The expression varies depending on the sign and the planet - from my experience in studying natives with out-of-bound planets, there tends to be heightened stress in the native’s life that seems to force them to push against something that is limiting their expression. And more often than not, I find these natives to keep more to themselves and struggle with one-on-one relationships. There’s just something different about them - sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint what it is…they just seem “out there.”
When planets (other than the Sun) are out-of-bounds, they are likely to be transiting the signs Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn or Aquarius due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis which makes the Sun’s path vary in declination at the Tropic of Cancer & Tropic of Capricorn (summer & winter solstice.) That means, if you were born in any of these seasons, you may have personal planets that are OOB and/or if you were born with your Moon in any of these signs, your Moon may be OOB. Though, the only way to truly know is to look up the Declination of your planets at the time of your birth. Any planets with a Declination over 23º are generally considered to be OOB - technically, the degree is 23º27’, and it can go to nearly 29º! The further out it is, the more pronounced the expression. This degree is NOT referring to the degrees you see in your circle chart (those are the degrees of the planet’s longitude.) - I found a Out-of-Bounds Dates Table on cafeastrology.com: https://cafeastrology.com/outofboundstablesdates.html - check to see if you were born around or between any of the dates to see if you have any planets OOB.
Back to OOB Mars in Gemini Retrograde: This Mars Retrograde transit has been the most challenging to the Mutable Signs - with the Virgo Suns getting hit the hardest as Mars squares their Sun, Neptune opposes their Sun and then the Sun squared their Sun during Sagittarius Season…it’s been like a triple threat for the Virgo Sun natives! And really, anyone with prominent Virgo placements. I’d imagine their nervous systems have been on overdrive for months.
Mars stationed Retrograde on 10/30/2022 and will be stationing direct on 1/12/2023. When Mars is Retrograde, its function becomes internalized and our motivations, movements and other Mars processes come into our direct awareness, giving us the opportunity to realign, reconsider and improve our Martian expressions. During Mars Retrograde, life seems to move a bit slower and the energy to initiate something new is lacking - that is because we’re meant to be looking back at things we started in the past - anything started during this time isn’t anything new, it is something from our past that we may be giving a different spin. Also, our libidos tend to suffer during this time, so if you’ve found sexual expression to be a bit off, that may be a sign to try a different approach with your partner - with this Retrograde being in Gemini, you may be having conversations with your partner about sex. Frustration is a common occurrence with Mars Retrogrades - you wanna do something or go somewhere but you feel like you’re being blocked or you’re too burnt-out to make it happen - oftentimes this is a sign that you really need to slow down and connect deeper with your movements.
With Mars also being OOB during this Retrograde, the changes you may be making during this period may push against all of your past movements up until this point - you’re at a vantage point when Mars is OOB - you can see how you’ve been operating and all the different roads you’ve been going down, and you may be vexed and irritated…leading you to express your ideas differently without feeling caged in by the Ego (the Sun/Solar principle.) This is a time period when we can cut out the ideas and avenues that haven’t been working and (brilliantly) rework the ideas that have been working.
Mars reached its Retrograde peak (and halfway point) on 12/8/2022 when the planet opposed the Sagittarius Sun, directly following the Gemini Full Moon. This may be when you became acutely aware of your own personal Mars Retrograde story - perhaps you were met with an experience that pushed you out of your comfort zone and forced you to look closely at your behaviors. There was likely a severance from the past in some way - being released of a label or classification that has been so familiar and common to you…but also, feeling like you had no choice in the matter.
My Virgo Moon is the ruler of my Midheaven and all this Mars & Uranus action has certainly fried my brain. Like, for real - every time I sit down to write an update or study the cosmic weather, I have felt incredibly overwhelmed - there seems to be so much to say but not enough energy to get it out. I’ve written numerous newsletters that are just sitting incomplete in my drafts folder. In my situation, since the end of October, when holiday season really started kicking off, I’ve felt forced to make concrete decisions on where I will be utilizing my (very little) energy and time - unfortunately, writing (and regular workouts) had to be put on the backburner as I focused on fulfilling holiday orders and prepping for holiday markets - and it wasn’t the best move for me! I thought I was being logical (Gemini,) but this break from my regular routine made me feel less equipped to handle my day-to-day activities. I realized that I don’t just do these writings for you, I also do them for me. It all came crashing down on me when, the day before the Gemini Full Moon, I was scammed by someone impersonating the Fraud Department at my bank - my entire business bank account was wiped clean and I felt so foolish - I feel like if I hadn’t been trying to juggle so much and gave myself more time to decompress, I wouldn’t have fallen for it - looking back on the interaction, there were so many red flags, but my brain was too fried to see them.
Fortunately, my bank reimbursed the stolen money - but those few days of feeling robbed of everything forced me to slow down and reflect on how hard I’ve been on myself to DO ALL THE THINGS. I’m a one-woman operation here at Virgo Moon, and the standards of operation I have set for myself need to change. For one, I will be stepping away from working so many markets in 2023 - I will likely continue to be present at the Ritual Market - but I will be directing more of my energy towards my online markets and outlets. As much as I love in-person markets, I have to acknowledge and honor just how sensitive my system is - the dysregulation I experience working up to and after a market is extraordinarily painful and disorienting - I need routine and even just one out-of-routine activity throws me completely off…sometimes for months!!! Really, the only way I believe I can continue doing markets is if that is all I did…but then I wouldn’t be able to do all the other things I want to do with my business, such as providing you with regular cosmic updates and education. I have to let go of this idea that I should be working markets and keeping up with my peers. (I definitely struggle with FOMO.)
Another change that I will be making - I will be discontinuing formulating suppositories** and personal lubricant in 2023. This was a hard decision to make considering I do have quite a few individuals who rely on suppositories; though, I have recently met someone else in the state of Maine who formulates them and is passionate about the work - it felt like a sign that it was time to pass this work onto them - you can find them on IG @nurturedmoon.) Moving forward, I will be focusing almost entirely on my Hermetic Candies and Syrups - I will still offer various oil infusions, balms and salves in limited batches, but my heart has been longing for more exploration into the sweet side of life and blending it with my passion for astrology & alchemy - leaning deeper into my Taurus North Node.
2022 was a powerful year for me - since 2019, I knew 2022 was going to be the year that completely transforms my commitments and expressions of my work - I didn’t exactly know what to expect, but I knew once I got to 2023, things would be looking much differently. This was the year that awakened me to my power and the potential for expressing that power in a way that feels aligned with my values. I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me, but I know this is the direction I want to be heading towards Also, 2022 was the year that I finally became comfortable with working with chocolate and I’m very excited to start incorporating it more into my work!
Thank you for being here and following along on my journey…
Wishing you well, always,
Jilly
*The Midheaven or MC of a chart is located at the cusp of the 10th House - it is the highest point of your chart and the most visible part of you. The Midheaven is associated with legacy, career, reputation, positions of authority. Transits that hit your Midheaven impact your public presence, image and career. Developmentally, it is associated with ages 54-65, which is, generally speaking, the height of one’s success and right before “retirement.”
**Remaining stock of suppositories are currently on clearance.
