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    Blog — Newsletters

    Love Wins: Venus Conjunct Jupiter in Leo

    Love Wins: Venus Conjunct Jupiter in Leo

    by Tony Howard

    Since Venus stations retrograde later this month, I planned to write about it in this newsletter, but I can’t resist talking about the memorable events of last week instead. For some interesting Venus retrograde insights, check out Nick Dagan Best’s excellent video download. Venus is still on my agenda though - via the current Venus-Jupiter conjunction that is gracing us with positive vibes and opportunities for growth. What makes this cycle so special though, is that Venus and Jupiter are also parallel by declination, making this the strongest kind of conjunction. To top it off, they are both in shiny, solar Leo while in a fire trine with Uranus in Aries. This combination holds the potential for sudden liberation, genius creative innovation, breaking free of constraints, unleashing creativity and growth, and unblocking restrictions to fairness, justice and equality. And that’s just for starters.

    Reflecting the high potential of this transit, the Supreme Court announcement on the morning of June 26 legalizing gay marriage came at a time when we really needed some good news. Just a week before, a tragic shooting took the lives of several innocent people in a Charleston church on the evening of June 17, at 9:05pm. 

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    The Power of Intentional Astrology

    The Power of Intentional Astrology

    Transiting Pluto is sitting right smack on my Sun. The “god of hell,” right up my nose. And yet, despite all doomsayers, I am still alive. When I was a young astrologer, I might have seen that transit coming and bet anyone five dollars that it would kill me. That was my training. I would have lost five dollars too.

    Funny how fear gets in one’s blood as we learn astrology. There’s so much of it out there. Many of my private clients come to me knowing a little bit of about the planets—enough to be dangerous. I mention an upcoming transit of Pluto or Saturn in their charts and they grow pale, as if it’s some kind of death sentence. As most of you know, I constantly preach against that kind of astrology. Am I immune to the fear? I’ve got a student who adds a cool little colophon to her emails—“Start listening to your own lectures.” That’s a good reminder . . . for me, as much as for the rest of us.

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    May 2015 Newsletter - Mercury Retrograde in Gemini

    May 2015 Newsletter - Mercury Retrograde in Gemini

    by Tony Howard

    Are you ready for another Mercury retrograde cycle? We almost never are, are we? Since Mercury will retrograde in Gemini this time - its own sign - it’s likely we’ll see more of the stereotypical manifestations of this cycle. To get in the flow, you’ll probably need to slow down in general, but especially in regards to Gemini-ruled topics, like communication, speaking, writing, teaching, and learning.

    My approach to a smooth Mercury retrograde period is to soften my will. Frustration only arises if I’m too invested in doing something at my usual lightning pace (I have natal Mercury conjunct Uranus). If I allow myself to slip into ultra-patient mode, I usually find that Mercury retrograde is pleasant. It’s one of the only times I give myself permission to slow down, let things go undone until they get done, and allow life to unfold as it will without pushing too much. Hey, I should probably adopt a Mercury retrograde attitude all the time! Luckily, Mercury retrograde happens 3 times a year, so we get 3 chances to get it right. (Did I really just say “luckily”?!)

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    Mars in Taurus: Turning Detriment into an Asset

    Mars in Taurus: Turning Detriment into an Asset

    I love planets in so-called “detriment.” Take Mars, for example. It’s not normally viewed as the most cooperative of planets, but just look how nice it is being to me. Right on schedule for this April newsletter, on March 31, it leaves Aries and enters Taurus—the sign of its detriment—where it will remain until May 11. How convenient! This gives me a chance to write about one of my favorite topics, which is underscoring how unintentionally poisonous to our clients some of our conventional astrological language can be. One out of every twelve of us is born with Mars in Taurus. How does such a person feel when he or she hears the word “detriment?” Ditto of course for anyone born with Mars in Libra, its other sign of “debility?” Words such as those can’t bring good news, huh?

    This kind of astrological language conveys the notion of a weakness or a flawed condition that is inherent one’s chart. It disempowers people. It helps no one. And, to me, words like “detriment” and “debility” simply represent bad astrological theory.

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    The Uranus-Pluto Endgame

    The Uranus-Pluto Endgame

    On March 16, 2015 Uranus and Pluto form a square aspect in the signs Aries and Capricorn. This is the final exact square in the long series of seven, which began on June 24, 2012. Interestingly, it is the first time both planets have been direct at the moment of the exact square. Thus, over a period of about three years, the furious, violent “Lord of Earthquakes and Lightning Bolts” has been squaring off against the uber-controlling “Lord of the Underworld”—also known as the “God of Hell.”

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    What We Can Learn From Saturn in Sagittarius

    What We Can Learn From Saturn in Sagittarius

    by Tony Howard

    At this point you’re probably well aware that Saturn is now transiting Sagittarius. I know a few Scorpios who were impatiently waiting for the ingress! Now the Sagittarians get to quiver (but if you’re really quivering, keep reading). For Steven’s take on this transit through each of the 12 houses, check out the audio release from last month.

    Here are the dates of Saturn’s time in Sagittarius for those who don’t have them:

    • December 23, 2014 through June 14, 2015
    • September 17, 2015 through December 19, 2017

    But rather than wax poetic about what this transit could hold in store, I want to see what folks born with Saturn in Sagittarius can teach us via the hard-won lessons they’ve already learned.

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    Working Consciously with Mercury, Venus and Mars

    Working Consciously with Mercury, Venus and Mars

    We are proud to offer our newest instructional program this month: “Working Consciously With Mercury, Venus, and Mars.”

    I love the immediacy and liveliness of teaching a room full of astrologers, and I am never so happy in that department as I am sitting with my apprentices. With serious, informed students and four or five days to work, we are able to probe deeply into the heart of evolutionary astrology.

    A year ago, I offered this particular program to my southern California students. Tony Howard brought his video camera and captured the introductory material, which is what we present here.

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    Are Men Really from Mars and Women from Venus?

    Are Men Really from Mars and Women from Venus?

    Stored deep in the antiquarian depths of my memory banks is an old giggle about the dance that heterosexual people do: “She ran away from him until she caught him.” Are the times gone when people believed that script? Is it extinct? I guess that is an essay question nowadays as the old gender assumptions pass through the wringer of cultural change.

    In any case, the saying came to mind as I watched Venus chase Mars around the Zodiac this month. At the beginning of January, Venus is speeding through the last degrees of Capricorn while Mars lies safely ahead, deep in Aquarius. Venus joins “him” there on the 3rd, but “he” quickly escapes into Pisces on January 12th. Venus tracks Mars down and enters Pisces “herself” at the end of the month, on the 28th. Mars nearly makes his getaway yet again—he just manages to cross the line into Aries in mid-February, but Venus finally catches up with him there on February 22nd.

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    November 2014 Newsletter - Mercury the Messenger

    November 2014 Newsletter - Mercury the Messenger

    Steven is just back from his annual trip to China, and after a grueling travel schedule, we're giving him a break from his newsletter-writing duties. But that doesn't mean you won't get your Steven fix this month. I've been busy editing some new audio for you and have just prepared not one, but THREE new releases-all on the planet Mercury. Details below.

    Most of us know Mercury as the messenger planet, ruling the transmission of information, transport and translation. But Mercury also has to do with omens and synchronicities, a subject Steven explores in more depth in the new programs.

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    The Ruler of Your Ascendant

    The Ruler of Your Ascendant

    by Steven Forrest

    The sun just started to blaze over the Anza-Borrego desert where I live. I am writing these words in haste since I need to pack my bags and head for the Palm Springs airport in four hours. From there, I have to make my way up to San Francisco and points north to teach one of my Apprenticeship Programs. Michelle and I just arrived here in the desert a week ago, so it hurts to leave home again so soon. We live part of the time in New Orleans and we just completed the endless, three-day cross-country drive to get here from there. When I close my eyes, I’m still hallucinating the white lines of the highway stretching out before me.

    When I get back from this teaching trip, I’ll only have about ten days at home again before leaving to teach seminars in Beijing and Shanghai. When I get back from Asia, I will once more only have about ten days at home before I leave to teach the southern California edition of my Apprenticeship Program. That one is easier—just a 90 minute drive and a five-day trip.

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