Archive for category Current Events

Mercury Retrograde – 10 Ways to Engage

Aug 18

Posted by Ellen in Retrograde Motion, What to do now | No Comments

Mercury the Trickster stops to fasten his sandal.(Wikimedia Commons)

Hello, everyone.

On August 20 Mercury enters its retrograde phase for three weeks. Mercury retrograde is an opportunity to turn our attention from our normal “pedal to the metal” style of thinking to a more reflective and inwardly-tuned focus.

This may sound inefficient but it’s actually an important part of our mental cycles to pause and review whether there are red flags that we’ve been moving too fast to notice. The trepidation people often feel when they hear that Mercury is moving into retrograde motion stems from ignoring the cues to take a break from direct action and forward motion. One of Mercury’s guises is the Trickster and he does have a way of getting our attention if we won’t occasionally slow down.

Retrograde Mercury signals a time when information from our unconscious mind can rise to the surface and come into conscious awareness. While we’ve been moving full-speed ahead, our deeper self has been grappling with the issues and challenges that we don’t have time to address in our busy business lives. With retrograde Mercury, solutions born of connections, synchronicities, and impressions that we may have missed along the way have an opportunity to present themselves. New information will emerge if we stop trying to figure it all out with our logical, left-brained minds.

So if you don’t take direct action during this time, what do you do? We obviously don’t want to just drop the ball and say, oh, Mercury is retrograde so I’m going to the beach for three weeks. (Or do we?) While we put our current plans on the back burner, this is an excellent time to examine past actions and correct any loose ends that may be sapping our energy day to day.

The RE words are an excellent place to start. Here are 10 actions you can take while you let your creative thoughts simmer for a while:

Rebuild – Yes, I mean that computer system that you almost implemented but is still hanging everyone up with bugs every day.
Recall – If you’ve got your own company “sticky accelerator” this is the time to ‘fess up to your customers and have them let you fix it.
Recap – This is an excellent time to look back at your financial, marketing, or production efforts and see where the gains and losses have been to date. Charts, graphs, and spreadsheets can tell the story of the past.
Receive – I’m thinking about Accounts Receivable. Do you know where your receivables stand, how many days past due, which customers are behind? This is the time to get clear about what is owed to you and to have the frank discussions with your customers to a committed repayment plan. Don’t worry – it’s good for them with Mercury retrograde to clean up their debts too.
Reciprocate – Do you owe somebody a favor, a dinner, a hand? Have you been meaning to show someone how much you appreciated their recent help? Now’s the time to express your gratitude in a tangible way.
Recommit – What are the half-done projects that are sitting in file folders waiting for your attention? Now is the time to review them and either recommit to them or put them away for good.
Reconcile – Is there someone in your business or local environment that you’ve been at odds with, someone whose support you need? This is the time to make the move to right the misunderstandings from the past and begin again.
Reconsider – Look over the past few weeks. Is there something you categorically rejected but keeps coming up in one form or another? Get the facts in front of you again and see if there’s something you missed or new information that makes a difference to your decision.
Refine – A great time to look at your systems and processes and refine your approach. What can be done better, more efficiently? What can be automated? Can you reduce the scope while making it even better?
Rejoin – Clubs, associations, charities. Have you let yourself become too busy or disheartened to attend to this aspect of your work? Are you still attending but your attention has wandered? This may be the time to rejoin, to give and receive, and to support your colleagues through this challenging year.

To read more about Mercury retrograde and retrograde motion, see these posts:

10 Best Practices for Mercury Retrograde

Astro4Business Basics – Mercury

Elegant Stillness

Retracing Your Steps – Retrograde Motion

What did you miss?

For an overview of the week, see the Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – Aug 16 – 22

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – August 2010

Do you have a question for Ellen? See the “Work with Ellen” tab at the top of this site for my Straight to the Point Response service.

Tags: astrology, business, Mercury, Mercury Retrograde, Retrograde

A4B Today – Uranus Back in Pisces

Aug 12

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Today, Uranus in Pisces | No Comments

Source:Wikimedia Commons

Good Day!

Today Uranus in retrograde motion moves back into the sign Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac. In case you missed it, this is what I wrote about Uranus in the monthly forecast for August:

In July Uranus entered its annual cycle of retrograde motion. During the entire month of July it slowly traveled back through the very first degree of Aries, and now in August it will move back into Pisces where it will remain until next March.

Since May 27, when Uranus entered Aries, we’ve been getting to know a new face of Uranus. Aries is the spark of entrepreneurial spirit, the initiating drive toward independence and individuality. You may have noticed new ideas incubating and a spirit of bold entrepreneurship in and around your business. But when Uranus moved into retrograde motion, there was probably a disruption in this full-speed-ahead current. You may now feel ambivalent or dissatisfied with your new ideas and initiatives.

And when Uranus moves back into Pisces there’s another major shift. Yes, this is familiar territory; Uranus was in Pisces for most of the last seven years, since March 2003. But it may feel bizarre to be stepping back in time. From our new entrepreneurial spirit we again enter the realm of collective ideas. From our recent forays into a new style of leadership, we fall back into flattened hierarchies and committee decision-making. From enhanced independence we’re back to collaboration and alliances.

Our whole society will seem to be taking steps backwards. Must be something more to learn!

Employee Engagement

In honor of Uranus retrograde and since Pisces is a sign concerned with the emotional connections between us, let’s re-look at the concept of employee engagement. An engaged employee is defined in Wikipedia as:

…one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests …Engagement is distinctively different from satisfaction, motivation, culture, climate and opinion and very difficult to measure.

Yes, it may be hard to measure but we know it when we see it, don’t we? And we know it in ourselves, too. It’s worth our while to pay attention to employee engagement since some studies have found that engaged employees are up to 43% more productive and that there is an almost 52% gap in operating incomes between companies with highly engaged employees and companies whose employees have low-engagement scores. (Source:Wikipedia)

In case you don’t know what you can do to specifically foster engagement, here are some questions adapted from Workforce Management. Ask yourself these questions about your employees and then have a second go and ask them about yourself:

Do your employees know what is expected of them at work?
Do your employees have the materials and equipment they need to do their work?
At work, do your employees have the opportunity to do what they do best every day?
In the last seven days, have you given your employees recognition or praise for doing good work?
Do you really care about each employee as a person?
Do you encourage your employees’ development?
At work, do your employees’ opinions count?
Does the mission/purpose of your company make your employees feel their job is important?
In the last six months, have you talked to each employee about their progress?
In the last year, has each employee had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

How did you do? Let’s take advantage of Uranus back in Pisces to shore up our relationships with our employees, our colleagues, and all our business contacts. Pisces is the sign of cohesive unity and as I said above, we must still have more to learn about it. Let’s take a step back to examine the points above and address any weaknesses we find. Then next March, when Uranus moves into Aries again, we’ll have the fully unified force of our collaborators behind us to push ahead into new territory.

Have a great weekend!

To read more about Uranus in Pisces, see the category to the right.

For an overview of the week, see the Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – Aug 9 – 15

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – August 2010

For more info on the business descriptions of Uranus, see Uranus

Tags: business, Employees, Uranus, Uranus in Pisces

A4B Today – August 11, Planning your Next Project

Aug 10

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Today, What to do now | 5 Comments

Source:Wikimedia Commons

Good Day!

Yesterday with the New Moon in Leo, we talked about picking a new project, an audacious project to develop during the coming month. Did you pick yours? If not, later in this post I’ll give you some hints as to where to look.

Today the Moon progresses into the sign Virgo, continuing the emergence of the new inspiration born at the New Moon. With the Virgo energy we can begin the transformation of our bold idea into a solid, useful product. How? Using the Virgo traits of analysis, practicality, and an orientation toward service. The seed that sprouted at the New Moon just begins to take shape today and in order to continue to grow it needs the detailed planning that only the Virgo energy can bring. It needs the systems orientation and the love of craftsmanship and simplicity. It needs an organized approach.

The Virgo Moon also joins Mercury in Virgo today. This is excellent for getting a plan or drawing down on paper; the beginning of a chronicle of your process to refer to and expand as the project unfolds over the next month. This planning process will help you to recognize the resources and tools you will need to pull it off. A cash flow projection will help you to recognize whether you have adequate cash on hand or whether you need to tap other sources of funds. And a project budget will reveal the total costs involved.

This is the kind of analysis that Virgo loves, things with initials like ROI and EBT. Today is the perfect day to get your project plan in writing. You can do it yourself or bring your team in to help, pulling the pieces together over the next couple of days while the Moon is in Virgo. The Virgo energy will give you excellent attention to detail so that as the month ahead unfolds you’ll have a firm foundation on which to build your work and delegate assignments, knowing you’ve considered every angle right from the start. And if you realize you missed something as you go along, add it to the plan so it’s in place next time you begin a new project.

Hints for your new project

In case you didn’t catch your next project idea, here are some hints based on where the New Moon in Leo emerged in your chart. The New Moon was at 17 degrees of Leo on Monday night. Simply look at your natal chart or the chart of your business for the house that contains 17 degrees of Leo and read the hints for that house below. See if these keywords spark the new idea that’s waiting to be discovered. If you don’t have your birthchart, see the sidebar for how to request one from this site.

1^st House – apparel, make-up, ornamentation, the body, fitness.

2^nd House – money, personal finances, investments, jewelry, gemstones, soil.

3^rd House – learning, teaching, news, books, writing, transportation, tools, telecommunications.

4^th House – land, real estate, housing, domestic products, property, the elderly, parenting, ancestry.

5^th House – fun, recreation, sports, romance, art, children, humor.

6^th House – health related matters, diet, food, pets, human resources, gardens, employment, customer service.

7^th House – partnerships, legal affairs, relationships, conflict resolution, contracts, negotiations, coaching, culture.

8^th House – taxes, inheritances, insurance, banking, venture capital, shareholders, conception, birth, death, legacies, metaphysics.

9^th House – adult education, publishing, global matters, law, medicine, travel, religion.

10^th House – Leadership, self-employment, honors, parenting, executives, hierarchies, boards of directors, heroes.

11^th House – Community, team sports, social networking, politics, corporate responsibility.

12^th House – Hospitals, nursing, institutions, military, charitable organizations, the underserved, trends.

Have a wonderful day and please share your new project idea with all of us in the comments section.

For an overview of the week, see the Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – Aug 9 – 15

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – August 2010

For more info on the business descriptions of the planets mentioned today, see

The Moon

Mercury

Tags: astrology, business, Business planning, Mercury, Moon, New Moon

Straight to the Point Response Update

Aug 6

Posted by Ellen in What to do now, Your Questions | No Comments

Hubble Photograph (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Hello, everyone.

We just launched our new service, SPR or Straight to the Point Response, last week and already the questions are streaming in. It seems that people really appreciate the personal style (“I felt understood, perceived and reassured.”) as well as the information (“You are very insightful. It was so helpful.”)

I encourage you to take advantage of this service. It’s inexpensive and “straight to the point,” a quick and timely response to the business issues you are facing during this astrologically challenging time.

For the many new readers who join every day, here is the explanation of this new service.

Dear Friend,

Astro4Business is the premier astrological site combining business expertise and astrological knowledge. Ellen Longo, CPA, CFP has over thirty years experience in business ownership and executive level leadership and she brings this unique perspective to every astrological consultation.

Many readers of the Astro4Business Intersections blog have requested consultations with Ellen. We are offering a new service for busy business owners and leaders: the Straight to the Point Response (SPR for those who like acronyms.)

This is how the SPR works:

Email your specific question to ellen@astro4business.com. I will also need your astrological information if you are a new client. The charge for each response is $40 and will consist of a two page answer or a recording specifically related to you and your question.
I will send a PayPal invoice for you to pay online.
Within one week of the date we receive your payment, I will send your Straight to the Point Response.
After you have read or listened to your report, you are welcome to send up to three clarifying questions at no additional charge. (A clarifying question is a question you ask to make sure you’ve understood my response correctly.)

What kinds of questions are common?

Here are some examples of common questions. Of course, there are as many questions as there are specific situations; this is just to get you started. And remember, a general question will elicit a general answer; a more specific question will elicit a more specific answer; and the more background you can give me, the more the answer will meet your needs.

I am considering taking on a partner or investor. Is this a good time to make this move?
Is this a good time to open a branch office?
Everything seems challenging in my business right now. What’s the best approach?
What can I do to make sure my boss notices the work I’m doing?
A senior staff member and I keep clashing. Is there anything I can do to smooth things out?
I’m developing short-term career goals. Any advice, based on my chart?
I have to decide between two opportunities. Which has the most promise?
I feel stuck. Is there something else I should be doing?
I’m considering going back to school. What do you think?
My job requires public speaking, which I hate. Any tips on how to overcome this fear?

I hope you will find this new service a useful source of knowledge and support.

Best always,

Ellen

Tags: astrology, business

A4B Today – August 3, Hold Steady

Aug 2

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Today, Cardinal T-square 2010, What to do now | No Comments

Source:Wikimedia Commons

Good Day!

To take action or not; this seems to be the question on a lot of people’s minds these days. Obviously we’re in a time of great change: structures all falling, skeletons are coming out of the closet, people and institutions we relied upon in the past are no longer there for us. We’re naturally inclined to want to change something in these circumstances and sometimes we feel that any change will be for the better.

When we are going through a time like this summer when the planets indicate a massive realignment of energies and priorities, it’s just as easy to make a bad decision as a good one. In my experience, when the outer planets are active, as they are now, it can take months or even years to fully understand what the process was really about. Someone just asked me this morning if I thought she should move ahead now and make a break with her career. I know where she’s coming from, the conflicting planetary configurations of this summer are directly impacting her chart and therefore her business is being buffeted from all sides too.

These energies are massive, affecting world politics, the preservation of life on earth, the ability of people to freely express their highest desires, and when these energies reach this level of intensity we don’t always process them correctly while they are happening. We have to get through them before we can discern what has changed and how we should respond to that change.

I’m sure you’ve experienced this. You go through a period when life seems so volatile that it’s all you can do to just get through the day. You have no perspective or context for the many upheavals going on around you. Then when the smoke clears you can see the meaning and all the pieces fit together in a way you just couldn’t recognize when you were in the middle of it.

This time is like that. Even though we feel pushed into making some kind of adjustment in our business lives, it’s best to wait a while. There was a good example of this in the Harvard Business Review Management Tips today. The article addressed how so often executives begin a restructuring project in their organizations just so they can take some action to address the problems. Yet restructuring is most often a waste of time and money because it doesn’t address what is fundamentally in need of change in the company.

Let’s be smarter than those executives in our businesses. Let’s take smaller steps, make incremental improvements. Is everyone clear how decisions are made? Does your team have the information they need to get their jobs done well? Do you have the right people in the right positions? Look at each of these in turn, rather than a massive restructure.

With the Sun in Leo and the Moon in Taurus today, our motto should be, “hold steady.” Let’s not bite off more than we can chew, and certainly let’s not be tempted to act before the time is right, before we understand the truth about our situations, before we’ve taken everyone’s benefit into consideration. This is not the time for change for change sake; it is a time for measured and skillful action supported by patience.

To read more about this summer’s rare and conflicting aspects, see the category to the right, the Cardinal T-square 2010.

For an overview of the week, see the Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – Aug 2 – 8

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – August 2010

Do you have a question for Ellen? See the “Work with Ellen” tab at the top of this site for my Straight to the Point Response service.

Tags: astrology, business, Cardinal T-square 2010

Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – August 2 – 8

Aug 1

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Week, Cardinal T-square 2010 | 4 Comments

Anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Hello, everyone.

This week channels more of the major aspects of our summer of transformation right into our personal lives, especially into our personal and business relationships. Mars and Venus enter the degrees of the zodiac where they meet and then transmit the Jupiter/Uranus/Saturn/Pluto T-square with immediacy. Conditions we are used to seeing enacted on a global stage with distant entities such as the government, the media, or big business intersect with our daily lives again this week. Now we get to interact firsthand with the challenges of today and we also get our opportunity to do our small part to resolve them. The global becomes local this week.

Monday

Monday hosts one of the biggest transits of the summer, although you may not feel it on that particular day. These transits carry so much weight that they are really in effect for two weeks before and after they are exact. Jupiter and Pluto, two heavyweights, square off against each other in the ring and only time will tell which will prevail. It reminds me of the recent movie, Clash of the Titans, with Jupiter and Pluto at odds and poor Perseus had to react to their drama with his all too human vulnerabilities.

One aspect of this clash I’m becoming aware of is in the tension we’ve seen between the press (Jupiter) and the government (Pluto in Capricorn) due to the leaking of military information through Wikileaks to the New York Times and other newspapers. But how does this aspect apply to our businesses?

I think we should all keep this in mind: the truth will come out. Jupiter rules justice and what we consider to be lawful and fair. Pluto rules the deep, dark, taboo places that no one wants to admit are there: secrets about life, death, sexuality, and our intimate interactions with each other including financial transactions. With tension between these two, my best advice to you for this summer is to keep your dealings above board and squeaky clean. Pay your payroll taxes. Make your loan payments on time. Keep your negotiations on the table. Take your lawyer, accountant, or HR Director with you when you need to confront someone. Check the regulations that apply to your business. Make sure you’re following the letter of the law.

The energies of this time are about revealing what is hidden, pulling to the surface transgressions and subterfuge. So if you’ve got skeletons hiding in the closet, open that door, let the light in, and with expert advice if necessary, disinter and disinfect while it’s still in your power to do so.

Tuesday

On Tuesday Mars in Libra joins the fray, bringing the potential for a clash of principles which could erupt between you and your team or between two factions within your business. There is a powerful urge for dominance and territory when Mars meets Jupiter and Pluto, although the Libran Mars may coat its urges in sweet-talk. But have no doubt, there’s steel beneath that soft exterior and a strong will to win. Put this to work for your business. This is an excellent time to get to the truth of matters, to finally understand what’s been blocking your forward momentum, and to strategically remove obstacles.

These energies need a strong hand. Bring the best of your leadership skills to each situation, and if you need support and back-up, ask for it.

Wednesday

At this point in the week Venus comes on the scene, although on Wednesday she may bring more confusion than assistance. At the very end of her travels through Virgo, you still may not be satisfied with the lack of clarity around your finances and still not have a plan to address it. But today, with Neptune in Aquarius crossing every attempt at efficiency, you’re probably as far as you’re going to get this time around.

Your social interactions today range near and far and I wouldn’t say practical productivity will be high on the list today; but inspiration could be as long as you’re able to weave and meld far-reaching influences into realistic product design and useful creative output.

Friday

On Friday, Venus enters Libra for about a month which should help balance and soothe the energies of August. Venus in Libra is a time when we reach for harmony in relationships, as well as turn our attention to art, design, fashion, and beauty. We are more than usually willing to give others the benefit of the doubt; we’re interested in teaming with rather than fighting against others.

Group efforts pay off and financial rewards come through partnership with Venus in Libra. Create opportunities for your staff to interact; invite collaboration and teamwork. Send teams into presentations rather than going it solo; you’ll make a better impression when clients see your ability to cooperate.

Saturday

On Saturday Venus opposes Uranus in Aries, which could set off some fireworks. There’s excitability about this contact and a desire for unconventional behavior. There’s certainly a creative spark in the air and if you are working today your team should be able to produce some of the most unique work you’ve seen in a while – as long as you give them free rein. Don’t worry – you can pick up the pieces tomorrow.

Sunday

On Sunday, everyone’s feet come back onto the ground with a Venus/Saturn conjunction. After the excitement of the week, this is a great day to see where you stand. Take the best of the week and put some structure around it – today’s the day to confirm any business agreements you’ve made. In fact, what you put in place today will stay in place for a good long while and will bring firm judgment and conservatism to your business relationships. Don’t make it too heavy though; allow for some enjoyment and laughter along the way.

Have an excellent week!

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – August 2010

For more info on the business descriptions of the planets influencing the week, see

Tags: astrology, business, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, Venus

Fire on the Field – Seven Suggestions to Handle the Heat

Jul 29

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Today, Cardinal T-square 2010 | No Comments

Source:Wikimedia Commons

Good Day!

These next two days, July 30 & 31, bring this summer’s transits of transformation front and center. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto are all involved in a conflicting pattern of energy and today and tomorrow Mercury, Mars, and the Moon deliver this conflict right to our doorsteps. No longer will it seem “out there” or only happening to someone else.

With the Moon in Aries we’re ready for a fight. It’s like that movie line, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” We’ve had enough, our patience is gone, and we’re emotionally ready to stand up to anyone or anything that smacks of injustice or deceit. No matter how much we’ve been focused on our own sphere of business, work, and personal life, we’re all reaching the tipping point with the global news and with people who have put their own interests in front of fairness to everyone.

When the Moon is in Aries we normally tend to blow off a little steam but with the pressure cooker of these outer planet aspects don’t be surprised if the lid flies off. A warning though: everyone else is boiling now too and if you provoke an argument, watch out.

The Mars and Mercury aspects will also play a part. Mars opposes Uranus on Friday and joins forces with Saturn on Saturday. Although Mars, the planet of aggression, is enfeebled in Libra, the Uranus propensity to incite rebellion could translate into a dangerous defensiveness. If you light a fire on Friday you’ll spend Saturday trying to get it under control. Levelheadedness will return, but not before bridges are burned and some cherished self-images are singed around the edges.

Mercury will bring this all out into the open, with coworkers and colleagues wanting to hash out differences and come to some neat package of resolution. Not necessarily! There’s so much fire on the field today and tomorrow, shouting and accusations are more likely than the precise communication Mercury in Virgo would want to bring to the table.

So what should you do? How should you handle these energies? Here are seven suggestions to handle the heat:

Come up with constructive outlets for anger, frustration, and disappointment. Physical play is good as long as there are clear and negotiated boundaries for what is fair.
Turn up the air conditioning. I don’t tend to use air conditioning because of the impact on the planet, but Friday and Saturday are exceptions. Keeping physically cool will go a long way toward keeping tempers cool. If it’s winter where you live, you’ve got a better chance to come away unscathed.
Work hard! Channel these energies into constructive action. Challenge yourself rather than others. Set a goal only you can accomplish. Work it today and finish it tomorrow.
Play calming music – no acid rock today. Believe me, there will be enough motivation without heavy metal.
If you don’t feel well, take care of yourself. Stay home. Have soup. Watch movies – in the air conditioning.
Steer clear of people who tend to be domineering. Nothing will be gained from confrontations so cancel those meetings. Hang out with friends and supporters.
Trust the universe. If you run into delays, take it as a sign that something more fortunate is on its way. Turn your attention to another project.

Stay cool…and let me know how it all turns out!

For an overview of the week, see the Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – July 26-Aug 1

For an overview of August, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – August 2010

For more info on the business descriptions of the planets influencing today, see

Tags: business, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus

Astro4Business Monthly Forecast – August 2010

Jul 28

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Month Ahead, Cardinal T-square 2010 | 8 Comments

Hello, everyone.

We’ve arrived at August, the astrological height of the year 2010. What are the planetary influences this month and how can we work with them?

We’ll start with the most long-range and overarching influences, the planets Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus, which you will notice do not travel far from month to month but stay in the same sector of the sky for many years.
Then we will look at the mid-range influences, Jupiter and Saturn, which stay in the same sign for 1 – 2.5 years.
We’ll look at the personal planets, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Sun which stay in their respective signs for much shorter periods and primarily influence our day-to-day lives.
And last we’ll look at the sign and dates for the New and Full Moon, as these mark the waxing and waning cycles in our daily lives.

Pluto in Capricorn

We’ve spoken at length about Pluto in Capricorn (see category at right), where it will remain until 2024. In a nutshell, this long transit will bring deep change and upheaval to many of the structures we have come to rely upon: government, religion, the economy, industry, and the military, to name a few. This transit carries the energy of revolution and evolution and can be dramatic and at times overwhelming. Pluto exposes what is hidden, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

Pluto hastens and intensifies the processes of endings and new beginnings, and in Capricorn will bring about the ending of our business pursuits that are no longer suited to our growth and personal evolution. Whatever has been slowly leaking vitality will go ahead and die, including old business models, practices, and products.

This is formidable energy, and your best strategy is to tune in and work with it. Find an area in your business life in need of renewal and begin the process before Pluto reaches planets in your chart and forces the issue.

Everyone with planets in the first seven degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn is already dealing with this energy. You’ve probably noticed a deeper and deeper probing and cleansing all year long, related to the issues mentioned above. Pluto transits can be difficult, but when the work is through, they are the most rewarding because we are irrevocably freed from a long-standing, but hidden, issue.

Neptune in Aquarius

With Neptune in Aquarius (see category at right) from 1998 to 2011, we’ve seen a growing global consensus regarding the equal value of all beings, shared responsibility for our planet, the distribution of technology to all nations, and the right of each person to contribute to and further the base of common knowledge.

The best way to work with this energy is to allow your rational mind to open to waves of inspiration from the collective whole, from your local community to the global community. Expect to be inspired by your neighbors and friends, both near and far.

If you have planets between 25 and 28 degrees of any sign expect to experience a subtle but powerful dissatisfaction with certain areas of your life and a yearning for a more meaningful connection to others. This disconcerting influence can dissolve the forms in our life that have no real content for us anymore. This can be disorienting and confusing while it is happening but once these deeper connections are made, the benefits are rewarding and long-lasting.

Uranus in Aries/Pisces

In July Uranus entered its annual cycle of retrograde motion. During the entire month of July it slowly travelled back through the very first degree of Aries, and now in August it will move back into Pisces where it will remain until next March.

And when Uranus moves back into Pisces there’s another major shift. Yes, this is familiar territory; Uranus was in Pisces for most of the last seven years, since March 2003. But it may feel bizarre to be stepping back in time. From the entrepreneurial spirit we again enter the collective. From our recent forays into a new style of leadership, we fall back into flattened hierarchies and committee leadership. From enhanced independence we’re back to collaboration and alliances.

Our whole society will seem to be taking steps backwards. Must be something more to learn!

Saturn in Libra

In July, Saturn entered the sign of Libra where it will stay until October 2012. Saturn is exalted in Libra which means it has a special affinity to the sign and if you’re willing to do the work, there is a promised payoff. See the category to the right on this important transit, but in a nutshell: what is the work of Saturn in Libra? To develop patience, persistence, responsibility, and humility in relationships. What is the payoff? Cooperation and mutual support.

Until October, Saturn is in square aspect to Pluto in Capricorn (see above). The stress of this square aspect will bring the end to structures that are no longer working in our businesses (and in our world.) The Saturn energy will attempt to install the Libra values of equity, parity, diplomacy, collaboration, and cooperation while the Pluto energy brings more and more destructive patterns to the surface for all to see. This configuration becomes exact on August 21 and we can expect this conflicting energy to build until then and then begin to taper off.

Jupiter in Aries

In June, Jupiter, the planet of opportunity and expansion, entered Aries. Aries is an initiatory sign and Jupiter thinks big. Your former goals may have felt too limiting and you may have experienced a passion for growth, expansion, competition, and claiming new territories

Then Jupiter entered retrograde motion on July 23. We may have found our enthusiasm flagging for our new products and plans. The forward momentum we’d been enjoying may have reversed, and now we find ourselves more restrained. This is an important phase for realistically assessing how much we can get done, to curtail overdoing and over-committing, and to take the time to slowly grow a project to completion.

During August, Jupiter opposes Saturn which may cause you to feel that you don’t know whether to brake or accelerate. The energy of conservatism is strong from Saturn’s placement in Libra and Jupiter’s enthusiasm is weakened due to retrograde motion. So a gentle foot on the brake is called for, or how about down-shifting so you don’t have to ride the brakes at all?

During August Jupiter is also in difficult aspect with Pluto. This can bring you face to face with the material realities of this time, whether governmental, regulatory, or economic. Even nature can seem to thwart your every move. How to work with this energy? I’d say wait it out. Patience can help you simply witness all the comings and goings, knowing that this time is paving the way for opportunities once some of the dross has been burned out of the system.

Mars in Libra

Mars spends the month in Libra, another indication to bide your time and let matters take their course. Mars, the planet representing action, aggression, and applied energy, is weakened when in Libra, and with all of the other planetary conflicts this can be a good thing. When Mars is in Libra we are more circumspect and concerned with the impact of our actions on other people. So if you feel your competitive drive is weak this month, use your time and energy to support others. This will rebalance and replenish your drive.

Venus in Virgo/Libra

Until August 6, Venus is in Virgo where she has a bad reputation for being nit-picking, perfectionistic, and fault-finding. Not us, surely! When Venus is in Virgo our happiness, creativity and productivity comes from our daily routines. We like nothing better than to arrive at work on time, put in a good day, and then eat a nourishing meal in the evening. The more you can build a productive, repetitive schedule into your day, the happier you will feel.

When Venus enters Libra on the 6^th, we find our day-to-day happiness in relationships, art, beauty, fashion, and generally getting along and supporting each other. This is another major boon as we work through the difficult outer planet conflicts. We will be more than usually accommodating and willing to compromise and so will the folks around us.

Mercury in Virgo

Mercury is in Virgo all month and this is great for writing, documentation, and detailed project plans. Also great for getting that bookkeeping caught up! Mercury in Virgo loves to talk, write, and think about commerce and wants to accomplish practical outcomes by the end of each day.

And the good news is we get a good long spell of Mercury in Virgo, because Mercury turns retrograde on August 20 for three weeks. More and more astrologers are spreading the news that Mercury retrograde can be a good thing, not the demon many people think it is. See the link below for 10 Best Practices for Mercury Retrograde.

Sun in Leo/Virgo

The Sun in Leo until August 23 supports us to step into the limelight. As the leader of your team, this is the time of year par excellence to set direction and reinforce your authority. You may become hyper-sensitive to issues of loyalty, recognizing who on your team is really on your team, and who is just passing through. Of course, loyalty is a two-way street, usually only given when it is received in kind.

When the Sun moves into Virgo, your style of leadership changes completely. You know the saying, To Lead is to Serve? (There is also an excellent book of the same name by Shar McBee.) That phrase is the perfect expression of the Sun in Virgo. Come down a notch and see what your team needs from you, and then offer it. This will keep them productive and you in touch with the practical details of your business. That’s the Sun in Virgo!

Phases of the Moon

The New Moon is in Leo on August 9, waxing to full in Pisces on August 24. We’ll examine the lunar phases in the weekly and daily forecasts in August.

Monthly Recap

Another big month in our summer of transformation! With all of the outer planets except Saturn in retrograde motion we will find ourselves retracing our steps and reevaluating our progress. With Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto in a most difficult configuration, we take the support of Venus and Mars in Libra to keep us balanced, steady, and compassionate amidst the turmoil. Share some art or music with others to raise your spirits and bolster your relationships. The Sun in Leo will help you be generous with your staff and colleagues and when the Sun moves into Virgo and joins Mercury there, service becomes the keyword for the rest of the month.

Have a great month and let me know how it all plays out!

Key Dates and Keywords for the Month

August 2 Jupiter (Expansion) Challenges Pluto (Transformation)

August 3 Mars (Force) Challenges Pluto (Transformation)

August 9 New Moon in Leo

August 16 Jupiter (Expansion) Opposes Saturn (Limitation)

August 21 Saturn (Limitation) Challenges Pluto (Transformation)

August 24 Full Moon in Pisces

For tips on how to use Mercury Retrograde to your advantage, see 10 Best Practices for Mercury Retrograde.

For more info on the business descriptions of the planets, see

Tags: business, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Neptune, Pluto, Retrograde, Saturn, Sun, Uranus, Venus

A4B Today – July 26, Gotta Serve Somebody

Jul 25

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Today, Cardinal T-square 2010 | No Comments

Source:Wikimedia Commons

Good Day!

Today is a big day, one of the top days of the year. In the weekly forecast we already discussed the Saturn/Uranus opposition which is exact today. This is the last of a series of five oppositions over the past two years, the first of which was exact on the day Obama won the U.S. Presidential election. This last exact opposition caps a cycle of conflict between the past and the future, the tried and true and the innovative, the safe and the risky. With a foot in both worlds, we’ve had to learn to proceed boldly into our uncertain futures while holding on to the best of the past. And that’s been quite a challenge!

But that’s not all that’s going on today. This is also a major day highlighting the planets Jupiter and Pluto, both retrograde and in a very challenging aspect to each other. This brings our sense of optimism crashing into the cold, hard realities of the current economic and political times. Both planets form aspects to the Sun in Leo today, which brings the whole matter into our personal sphere and tests our leadership skills to the max.

When the Sun is in Leo we want to lead: unimpeded and as an expression of our own creativity. You could say the Sun is the “leader” of all the planets and since it rules Leo, Leo is the sign of leadership – not the Capricorn style of executive management but true leadership, the ability to rally the energies of others and direct them to a common goal. The urge to lead when the Sun is in Leo is strong, and the Sun is the symbol of the owner or leader in any organization, tribe, or team.

But what does a leader do when there are forces more powerful than they are? The economic recession, political wrangling, and the uncovering of dark corporate misdeeds that are symbolized by Pluto in Capricorn, coupled with the recent reversals or brain drain symbolized by last week’s Jupiter retrograde, can throw even the most solid organization into turmoil. Strong leadership is required now and is the gift of Sun in Leo, but strength must be informed by a levelheaded assessment of today’s realities. Hubris has no place when there are such strong forces as we are experiencing this summer.

I just spent time with my brother, a leader by any measure. He is a U.S. Army General, stationed at the Pentagon. He is in charge of all of the training for the U.S. Army. He is also one of the most conscious and thoughtful people I know. He spoke to me about leadership and the seven core values of the Army: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. He said that he would add one value to the list: humility. I agree. Humility helps us realistically gauge where to put our efforts for long term success, what we should fight for and when to surrender.

Here is a really cool video of Booker T. and the M.G.s playing a song by Bob Dylan that’s been on my mind as I’ve been contemplating these complicated times. I looked up Bob Dylan’s astrology chart, wondering if he had a similar configuration in his chart to today’s Sun/Jupiter/Pluto forces. Sure enough, he does. In his chart the Sun, Jupiter, and Pluto are harmoniously aligned and support a full and positive expression of the essence of these planets. So we can take his wisdom to heart today to help us navigate these turbulent waters. The song gives us a powerful perspective. Let me know what you think!

For an overview of the week, see the Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – July 26-Aug 1

For an overview of the month, see the Astro4Business Month Ahead – July 2010

For more info on the business descriptions of the planets mentioned today, see

Tags: astrology, business, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn, Sun, Uranus

Astro4Business Weekly Forecast – July 26 to August 1

Jul 24

Posted by Ellen in Astro4Business Week, Cardinal T-square 2010, Saturn Uranus Opposition, Saturn in Libra, Uranus in Aries | 7 Comments

(Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Hello, everyone.

This is a very active week, hosting several of the major configurations astrologers have been talking about all year. It is also the week that Mercury and Mars change signs and then add their input into the mix of outer planet shenanigans. If you like riding roller coasters, you’re loving this summer. In fact, this week is so charged that I’m only going to cover one of Monday’s major aspects in this post. Stay tuned as we fully explore each day as the week unfolds.

But what if you’re not experiencing anything out of the ordinary at all? This is because all of the activity within these major configurations is within an extremely small range of degrees of the zodiac. Each sign of the zodiac has thirty degrees, counted from 0 to 30. All of the major planetary activity this summer is between 0 and 3 degrees. Giving some latitude on either side, if you have planets or chart points such as Ascendant or Midheaven between 27 and 30 degrees of any sign, or between 0 and 6 degrees of any sign, then this summer’s transformation is especially for you. And I have no doubt you know it!

If you’re in the rare circumstance of having absolutely no planets or points in those degrees, well then it’s your task to lend a hand. Your colleagues and staff need you as they battle their inner and outer dragons!

Saturn/Uranus Opposition

Monday is the big day of the week, although with aspects of this magnitude the effect has been building for a week and will linger for another. Three aspects vie for supremacy today, each strong in their own right.

Probably the most powerful is the fifth out of five Saturn/Uranus oppositions which have been playing out in the sky for a couple of years. I’ve written several posts about this major aspect which I’ll list with links at the bottom. In a nutshell, we are pushed and pulled between the past and the future; between the tried and true and the untested potential; between the reliable and the risky. If circumstances force us to tether ourselves to what’s worked in the past, we’re chomping at the bit for change. If we’ve been catapulted into something brand new, we long for the security of what we know. We need to adapt to today’s unique environment and yet we don’t want to let go of what has worked in the past. And we shouldn’t!

(Source:Wikimedia Commons)

As I was driving across Texas in my recent move from the East Coast to El Paso, I saw an image that perfectly represented for me this Saturn/Uranus opposition. I was staring out the car window at huge wind turbines, the really tall ones with the three pronged arms. There is a stretch of highway in Texas where there are hundreds of them and literally hundreds of miles of electric lines carrying the power away. Suddenly I saw a freight train wending its way across the desert with a long line of cars and I then noticed oil wells drilling away under the turbines. A man on horseback rounding up some longhorns completed the picture. The oil wells, the freight train, the man on horseback: each an innovation from the past that is still extremely valuable today. And the wind turbines: a new technology and potential energy solution springing from a very old idea, harnessing the power of the wind.

This mix of the old and new is what we’re grappling with under this Saturn/Uranus opposition. We’re being required to recognize the importance of each, and to use the appropriate tool at the appropriate time. Oppositions can appear as either/or propositions but there are other ways to deal with them. One is to find the point where you can appreciate both sides equally and mediate solutions for those who insist it has to be one or the other. Another is to seesaw between the two, keeping each in its place for the value it brings to specific situations. Another is to combine the two, like sending the oil drilled in those fields by way of freight train to refineries, or routing the energy from the turbines overland to preexisting electrical grids.

The best of the past in service to the potential of the future – that’s the balance to strive for under this Saturn/Uranus opposition. How have you managed to combine the old and the new? Please share with all of us in the comments. Don’t be shy, this aspect has been happening for two years – I’m sure we all have an example or two.

For more information on the Saturn Uranus opposition, check out these posts:

April 26 – Saturn/Uranus Day

Flaws & Perfection – Handling the Saturn/Uranus Opposition

Need Inspiration? Enlist Your Saturn!

For more info on the business descriptions of Saturn and Uranus, see

Saturn

Uranus

Tags: astrology, business, Saturn, Uranus