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Traditional Beltane gatherings include dancing, feasting, and wild lovemaking (especially outdoors). Houses and gardens are decorated with flowers to celebrate the season of growth. The Celts would light great bonfires to mark the transition from spring to summer.
Beltane honours fertility – nesting birds, mating livestock, blossoming trees, and buzzing bees. Traditionally anything went during this festival, so use your imagination!
- Aries – adventure, risk and spontaneity
- Taurus – comfort, security and predictability
- Gemini – intellectual stimulation and variety
- Cancer – emotional support and understanding
- Leo – fun, success and admiration
- Virgo – service, practicality and healthy habits
- Libra – beauty, harmony and companionship
- Scorpio – intensity, emotional depth and passion
- Sagittarius – freedom, growth and wisdom
- Capricorn – stability, wealth and power
- Aquarius – humanitarianism, progress and justice
- Pisces – romance, fantasy and sensitivity
Armed with this information, you can also use this six-point checklist on relationship compatibility. In my astrological practice, I find the final item (lack of shared long term goals) to be the most common reason for break ups.
- Are you physically attracted to each other?
- Do you enjoy hanging out together – talking and doing things?
- Do you have an unspoken understanding of each other?
- Do you share the same values – spiritual, ethical, philosophical?
- Do you like each other’s friends and family?
- Do you have shared long-term goals?
The Descendant sign is always opposite your Ascendant or rising sign. For example if your rising sign is Gemini, your Descendant will be Sagittarius (count forwards six zodiac signs).
The Descendant plays a significant role in all committed and long-term relationships, especially marriage and business partnerships and client/therapist relationships.
Many people marry or go into business with someone whose sun, moon, Venus, or rising sign matches the sign on their own Descendant. For example, people with a Libra Descendant will often attract those with Libran qualities and those with a Gemini Descendant will attract those with Gemini qualities.
The Descendant can also symbolise our psychological projections – ‘The Shadow’ in Jungian psychology – the qualities we despise or admire in others yet are unable to recognise or acknowledge in ourselves. So for example, a person with Aries (a reckless and fearless fire sign) on the Descendant may see others as selfish and irresponsible or put those who are brave and adventurous on a pedestal! The Descendant also represents our rivals and enemies.
To find your Descendant, go to www.astro.com and look for the sign opposite your Ascendant or rising sign. You will need an accurate time of birth. Then look up your Descendant in the table below to find out what you need and what to avoid in a partner!
Mars in the birth chart is CEO to the sun, externalising the ego’s desire for accomplishment and helping us express our individuality. Mars themes include will, desire, libido, courage, passion, energy, spirit, and anger. When the sun and Mars work well together, we are able to achieve our goals in a constructive fashion. Not so when Mars moves to oppose the sun during the Mars retrograde cycle…..the wilful CEO goes his own way instead of following orders from above! The symbolic purpose of the Mars retrograde cycle is therefore to force us to align our actions and goals (Mars) with our true nature (the Sun).
Because many of us live lives that are far removed from our core values, dreams, and goals, when Mars is retrograde, plans are often thwarted. We are suddenly forced to reconsider, realign, and reject ideas and projects that seemed essential or important only weeks earlier. This can be very frustrating, particularly for those who find introspection challenging or a waste of time. If you find yourself feeling angry or frustrated when Mars is retrograde, take time out to focus on what needs to change in your life.
On 30th October, Mars turned retrograde at 25º Gemini and began his backward journey through Gemini. This most challenging part of the cycle goes from the beginning of November to 8th December, when Mars at 16º Gemini moves to oppose the sun at 16º Sagittarius. This is also the day of the December full moon, which will intensify the energy.
Those with birthdays between the 1st and 14th June; 1st and 14th December, or with planets in mid Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces will be most affected.
COMMON MANIFESTATIONS:
- External drive and energy changes direction.
- Daily progress is suddenly filled with effort.
- Projects are delayed or cancelled.
- Bad luck or fate appears to intervene.
- Feeling ill, exhausted, depressed, or weak.
- Loss of interest in what might have been an important project or relationship only weeks earlier.
- Suppressed feelings of anger come to the surface.
- Feelings of liberation and sudden recklessness.
- Irrational action and enforced introspection.
- Resignations and break ups.
COMMON MANIFESTATIONS:
- A battle between conscious will and unconscious intent.
- Festering energy explodes creating rage, passion, heat, libido, and ambition.
- If the Sun-Mars opposition hits a planet or angle the effects are even more powerful.
- War is declared on oppressive situations.
- Problems can no longer be ignored.
- Feelings of freedom, liberation, lightness, and release.
- Radical change of plans and lifestyle.
Once Mars has turned direct (13th January) it is time to deal with the fallout from the past couple of months. We instinctively know if a situation, circumstance, or condition is unsustainable – and we are likely to make radical changes. There is usually a total re-evaluation of the course of action needed to reclaim personal power. Matters should return to normal by mid-March, but life will have changed for good.
On 8th November we have a lunar eclipse at the Taurus full moon. An alignment between the Scorpio sun, planet earth and the Taurus moon casts a shadow on the full moon, turning it blood red. The eclipse will be partially visible in East Coast Australia after sunset and fully visible in South and West Australia and the Northern Territory.
Eclipses always bring change and new perspective, but Taurus and Scorpio are fixed zodiac signs, meaning they dislike and avoid change. Taurus enjoys comfort, money, predictability, and security. Meanwhile, Scorpio keeps feelings and emotions private, to maintain control. The lesson for both of these zodiac signs (and for us at this full moon) is to let go, be flexible and embrace change.
The full moon in Taurus aligns with Uranus, planet of sudden and unexpected shifts and fresh insight. The sun in Scorpio travels alongside relationship planet Venus and communication planet Mercury. Saturn, planet of karma and discipline, sits exactly half way between sun and moon. This promises to be a most powerful eclipse, but not an easy one. Not only do we need to be flexible and embrace change, we also need to think carefully about the consequences of our decisions and how they will affect others.
Sagittarius is a pleasure and freedom-loving energy with boundless optimism and zest for life. Wherever you find yourself emotionally, mentally, or physically, take time out to enjoy fresh air and nature, move your body, and make plans with friends and family. Late November is also an excellent time to book a trip, sign up for a New Year course, and/or make a bucket list.
Scorpios are strongest and most resilient of all the water signs, but the Scorpion’s sensitive nature makes them prone to psychosomatic illness. Scorpio rules the reproductive system and organs of elimination and detoxification. Their tendency to hold onto emotional hurt can lead to physical ailments such as boils, constipation, and urinary issues.
Working up a sweat through sports, saunas, or hot baths is great for both emotional and physical congestion. If illness strikes it’s best to leave them alone so they can heal and recuperate in peace.
- Drink plenty of water
- Fresh fruits and vegetables with plenty of fibre
- Mix hot water, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar, and drink in the mornings
- Exercise, sweating, and water therapy
- Quiet time alone reflecting or enjoying nature
- Sharing feelings with trusted friends, mentors, and/or professionals
- Dandelion or liquorice tea
- Aloe vera juice
Stella Woods is an astrology teacher, writer, and consultant. Contact Stella at stella@stellastarwoman.com or www.stellastarwoman.com or
www.facebook.com/stellastarwoman
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