Astrologer Bill Attride

Jupiter Turns Retrograde (August 30, 2011)

On the same day that the lesser benefic (Venus) aligns with the greater benefic (Jupiter) you also have Jupiter turning retrograde till December 25, 2011. What does Jupiter's retrograde offer you?

Jupiter is the planet of Principles; it rules Truths, Philosophy, Science and Religion. Jupiter is the planet of your higher mind. It is the planet that leads you outward as you explore the wider world, out into your "relationships of choice". Those relationships are made possible by and founded upon Jupiter's gift of your ever-expanding and greater understanding. But that growth externally must be matched by growth within yourself; a tower can only be as tall as its foundations are deep.

Jupiter's retrograde gift offers this opportunity for you now. This is the time to grow inwardly, to consider what you know and what you believe; you should look within and reexamine the truths you stand upon. Those truths form your attitudes and thereby create your intentions in the world.

Of course outward expansion will continue now, but your greater rewards, your better path, will be found by your journeys within; it will be those discoveries of the deep which will bring you closer to your truth-path. And, it will be this Jupiterian journey within that will create the building blocks for your external expansions in 2012 and beyond.

Jupiter will move backwards through Taurus during this period, so the experience will be a journey within yourself that reviews, reexamines and clarifies your beliefs as regards: 1) The nature of value, the what and why of the value of anything, 2) Your relationship of value to yourself, your self-worth, and 3) How your understanding of values and your self-worth create the experience of your relationships, whose core of connection is founded upon shared values.

Take time during the coming months to reap this harvest, this fruit of the experience about your truths. It is those truths which have guided and formed your sense of values. Do not judge "good" or "bad", for you learn from each and often more from when you stumbled.

Seek always to align your truths with the greater wisdom that is timeless. Then take out your "Sword of Severance" as you cut away the lesser, as you harvest the precious meanings of your life.

This harvest is what brings you closer, into the "Greater Understanding", and that is your real journey, that is your true path, as you become the becoming....

Choose wisely...choose the path that leads to the growth of understanding.

May the Light of Jupiter bring you Truth, Love and Understanding.

Venus Trine Jupiter (August 30, 2011)

Beauty meets Benevolence...and yes it is very, very good!

Enjoy this alignment of Venus (values/beauty) with Jupiter (principles/truth). It is the meeting of what you want with what you relate to. What does that mean?

Now you will get what you want! But do you understand why and how this works?

The true source of your good fortune is in your own hands, always. It is the end result of your walking the path of truth, of practicing right thinking and right conduct. You must always remember that your life is governed by one true and immutable law, The Law of Karma, the law of cause and effect. What does that mean?

What I like to say is quite simply, "Life is like a boomerang, whatever you throw or put out there is coming back to you". The thoughts that you think, the feelings you feel and the things that you do, well they move out from you into the universe. You are the creator and they are your children. But eventually they must return from whence they came...That is why there is, ultimately, true justice in the world for "as you sow so shall you reap".

The measure of your good luck today is the result of the generosity you have offered up in the past. You are receiving the benefits that you bestowed in the past...and you should take today's gift and do what? Why, of course, you need to create more good fortune by living spiritually; live generously, thoughtfully and compassionately for one another each and every day. For part of the mystery of good fortune is that by combining with one another we multiply our effects. In other words, you put in so much from yourself, but you reap so much more when you do it with and for one another.

Give so that you may receive....Receive so that you may give...

And may the circle be unbroken, forever and ever...

New Moon in Virgo (August 28, 2011)

Live in Beauty! Be at Peace! The Gift of Virgo is at hand.

Welcome the sixth New Moon of the Astrological Year. Each Sun Moon alignment releases a new seed-form to guide your understanding. This time it is a gift from Virgo, a gift that can move you closer to what you have always sought, Peace of Mind.

The Virgo New Moon offers you Peace through providing new insight, inspiration and practical guidance for integration within yourself, and for your integration with the world around you. You will have greater powers of discernment now so that you can make adjustments in your life and bring you and your "self" into truer alignment, into that greater Wholeness...into your State of Grace.

To "Live in Beauty" is to acquire, maintain or restore balance in life. You need to take this opportunity to examine your life, to see if there is balance in your life now. To have that peace within and without, you need to create a harmony between: Activity/Rest, Work/Play, Outwardness/Inwardness...you need to create a whole life. Instead, when you do too much of one thing, and not enough of another, well then you are moving into nonsense, you are stumbling into error...and you will suffer.

And just because you had a balance at one time will not serve you for all time; for the world is ever changing as are you...So you must stay alert and adapt inwardly and outwardly (constantly); it is quite evident what works for someone who is 20 will make no sense for someone who is 40, or 60, (and vice versa!).

When guided by this understanding of dynamic balancing, of self-discerning adjustment within and without, you move yourself in a State of Grace with a Mind that is at Peace. This is because you are moving closer to Understanding as Praxis, that you are one with the One, always. That all you need to do is listen to your inner voice, the calming light in yourself that watches over you forever...and all will be well.

To honor and move yourself along this path you can invoke the saying below which is the closing prayer of the Navajo Blessing Way. Say to yourself now and everyday:

In beauty I walk
With Beauty before me I walk
With Beauty behind me I walk
With Beauty above me I walk
With Beauty around me I walk
It is done in Beauty

 

Always remember...You are Beauty...Live in Beauty...Be at Peace.

Mercury Turns Direct (August 26, 2011)

Okay...Ready?

Now Pivot! Yes, that's right Hermes has come around and is heading forward again. You can take all those brilliant revises, revisions and reviews and apply them to your life now.

Whew! That was some retrograde but it gave you the opportunity to tune up your mind; you reexamined and adjusted your perceptions, processing and sharing of your thoughts. For the most part, you prepared yourself for today when you could begin to go outward with all that you have made ready.

With Mercury in Leo till September 9, it is time to stretch, strut and reveal your adeptness in the communication arts. The spotlight beckons...

Now show us what you've learned....

Shine on Shining Ones!

Mars Square Saturn (August 25, 2011)

Ouch! That hurt...but that's what happens when the planet of "Motion" meets the planet of "No!" Delays lead to frustrations, frustrations lead to anger...which takes you down the road of trials, troubles and tribulations...and so on. What are you supposed to do with this?

Remember, you are here to grow and sometimes that is easy, and sometimes it is hard. When something or someone is blocking you what are you supposed to do? You need to stop, (as if you had a choice), and look around to see what is the real problem. Usually it involves two points: 1) Where are you going, and 2) How are you getting there?

With Mars in Cancer and Libra in Saturn it probably involves the tension between your desire and drive for Security and Nurturing (Mars) bumping into the Reality you have made, and now confront, in your Relationships (Saturn). You need to reexamine that goal of security and see whether what you are trying to get is what you really want or need now. Maybe you have changed or the world has changed (or both), and the kind of security you really need is different than the one you are aiming for. That is why the universe is slowing you down...so you can see that. Your first challenge is that you need to confirm or change the goal.

The other possibility is that the goal is fine, that is where you need to go. But what you also need to affirm is the way you are getting there. Again, maybe you or the world has changed (or both), so that the old way of obtaining your goal is no longer appropriate or even available. You need to look at your options, at the various pathways before you and try something else in order to move to your goal.

Whichever it is, and sometimes it is a little of both, the challenge and opportunity here, as always, is for you to grow in understanding. You must not hold in your frustrations or anger, and you must not let them out either. Okay, now what?...You must take the Third Way, the Way of Understanding which is Way of Spirit and your one True Path of Growth.

This is what is known as the Red Road, The Middle Way, The Royal Road, which is the one and only way that will lead you in your unfoldment from an unself-conscious Spark of the Divine to the complete realization of your Divine nature.

This is your journey...to grow continuously, to become the becoming, as you unfold yourself upon the pathway that is Life-Consciousness-Spirit.

Sun Enters Virgo (August 23, 2011)

The Sixth Portal opens...and a Sacrifice should be made for you are entering the Sacred space that is Virgo...you are entering your Virgin Space...you are entering a time of Healing.

To be Virginal, in the ancient teachings, really means to "make yourself whole again". You prepare for and go through an initiation, to become more complete, more integrated, and thereby readied for that fuller participation in the larger world of society and relationships (which will come next as you enter into Libra's realm).

Before you can truly relate to another, you must harvest the meaning of what you have so far understood of yourself, and you must use this knowledge to make yourself more whole. You do this so that you may become more at peace with yourself and the life you have made. Then, and only then, can you move into balanced, mature inter-dependent relationships.

The days of Leo, of dramatic performances, of daring leadership, of romantic love must give way now... Outwardness again yields to Inwardness, to your need for refinement, orderliness and peace of mind. Fire gives way to Earth, your great ideas and bold plans must prove their worth in the real world...The Ideal must work and so serve some purpose...this is the message of Virgo.

Fixed determination to "Release the Self" is followed now by the Mutable adaptability of your mind as you seek to "Understand the Self". You must work now to reconcile and harmonize your life within with your world without.

The powers of Virgo, the gifts of Discernment, Analysis and Applied Self-Improvement, are here for you now; Virgo is here so that you may ascertain, correct and refine what you have so far become in your becoming. There is no "right" or "wrong"; there is more evolved or less evolved, more integrated or less integrated.

In order to bring about your development you will encounter "Suffering" in your present circumstance. It is this suffering which forces you to let go of a lesser sense of yourself and discover the Greater. Suffering is not "doled out" by some judgmental figure outside of yourself; you "attract" or bring your suffering as a less than gentle reminder that you are not yet what you can be; and you must sacrifice that lesser self and the old ways in order to move into your new and greater life.

To make a Sacrifice is literally to "Make Sacred"; you must give up something lesser, something that is not or no longer true for you in order to unfold and release your Self into your life. True Sacrifice, though involving some pain for the loss of what is passing, is Joyous as you become more aligned with the meaning and purpose of your life.  

This is the gift of Virgo; you are experiencing the Quickening of your spirit as you become the becoming. You are approaching that most Sacred gift which all the Masters and Teachers have held as the Most Precious Gift above all other treasures....you are giving up the lesser to honor the greater and so receive the greatest gift... Peace of Mind.

Celebrate the Season of Virgo...

Your Time for Sacrifice and Healing...

Your Time to Move into your Space of Peace!

Sun Opposition Neptune (August 22, 2011)

Dreaming time...The Wonder of Wonders...Worlds within Worlds...

Who am I, the Dreamer or the Dream? And, who are You?

That's right, it is another opportunity to align your "self" with the Ambassador of Transcendence, the Lord of Illumination, Neptune graces the Sun with a kiss from...

From Beyond the Beyond.

Whereas in their last embrace in May you were guided within to find the deeper sources of the reality through which you journey, your "self" that is always moving-seeking-reaching to become...Now the encounter comes through "the other"; you must look into the windows of the soul, into those eyes before you, which reveal the story that is never-ending.

The Sun is about to leave the Spaces of Leo for Virgo, but before Sol shifts you receive this parting gift from Neptune in Aquarius. The Sun's journey through Leo has re-kindled and connected your "self" with the joys of self-expression, with Creativity, Leadership and Love...all so that you could gaze upon yourself revealed by yourself and so exclaim:

"I am that, I am!"

But an actor needs the audience, a leader serves their followers and your love must be returned...Now, as you prepare to leave Leo's stage, you look to see, to see whether you are appreciated, respected and loved. You look out and the Muse of Mysteries gazes back and asks the eternal question, "Who are You?"

Neptune stands before you now, reflecting back to you the message of the Greater Cosmos that is always "Beyond", (but truly "Within"), and the message is about the Mystery of Companionship and the true Foundation for Friendship. For as you sought to express and so "know yourself" you drew upon your Well of Dreams, the Spirit of Inspiration that is within you, that Spark of the Divine Flame that is the Ever-Unfolding Core of you.

And the only reason that you could have any response from your world, from the other before you, the one and the true basis for all of your relationships to anything and anyone, is that they too are part of this same Eternal Source of Life-Consciousness-Spirit. You, me we are all Sparks of the One Divine Flame that is the Light that will never fail, the ever-present Fountain-Source from the Beginning and to the Beyond.

Today, Neptune greets the Sun and reminds you that you are the Dreamer, you are the "Imagineer" and you journey with a glorious host of fellow Monads, fellow Dream-Walkers seeking to become. You unfold your dream within the greater dream of your companions, who accompany, support and make substantial your dreams as you do the same for them.

Dream today, dream together and believe in the becoming that you are. You are the Shining Ones who together are dreaming the Song of Songs.

That is who you are...

You are a Shining One!

Venus Enters Virgo (August 21, 2011)

It's that time again, to be "picky", discerning, circumspect...yes, even critical. Venus enters Virgo for over 3 weeks and your tastes are due for a tune-up. Enough with high-sounding ideals, bold plans and dramatic gestures...what works is what counts!

While Venus was in Leo you reveled in the worlds of creativity, leadership and love; and romance, well romance was everywhere. Now you need to be "corrected" (and of course you must do unto others as they will do to you); so it is time to critique your creation, improve your performance and refine your love.

Bring to bear your chisel eye, your perspicuous point of view so that nothing is over-looked. Bring your love to the smallest of details, the refined nuances of taste, smell, touch, of sound and sight.

Your subtlety and that rapier wit will be in demand now, but show that you truly care by helping one another to find "the better angels of your nature". Offer your advice but be prepared to receive it too...

You are here to serve one another...with Love, always with Love.

Venus Opposition Neptune (August 21, 2011)

How do you measure yourself; how do you measure anything? How do you know what you are "worth"; and how do you know what another means to you? How?

You went on a similar journey of discovery within yourself in June; now the opportunity to grow seems to be taking place between you and another. The alignment of Venus and Neptune takes you beyond the beyond so that you might ponder the source and substance of Value in your life.

Are you ready to lift the veil of Maya and see what is behind this Reality? Are you ready to step through the "Looking Glass" and see that there are many realities to consider? You (should) answer, "Yes of course I am"...for then you are ready to go on Poseidon's ride into the depths of understanding.

Venus rules your Values, your notion of what is good, worthy and beautiful. It rules what you need and want. By establishing your hierarchy of values you are able to have the right relationships with everything and everyone in your life. You know what you have, what you can give and what you must get.

Neptune rules Illumination, the power of Clairvoyance (Clear-Seeing), the power that dissolves boundaries and opens you to the greater reality you really exist in. You live in an apparent (to you) Universe (which is limited by your perceptions/assumptions); Neptune will continuously keep opening the doors of perception throughout your life to a greater, more encompassing reality called the Multi-Verse, better known as Chaos (since that is how it appears to you with your more limited consciousness).

That is what is really "out there"; the Fullness of the Glory that is Creation which you can only perceive in a limited fashion. You can only encompass, hold to and see by your circumscribed point of view. Your growth depends upon expanding your awareness so that your perception and understanding becomes more nuanced, more subtle, deeper and truer.

As you do, you approach the "Truth", but you can never "touch" it. You become more valued as "Wise" to the extent that you also become more humbled. Your growth becomes real by letting go of your lesser sense of value, your lesser sense of self, so that you might discover the greater. Yet that very achievement of a Greater Awareness is balanced and confirmed by your ever waxing Humility. For no matter how far you have come, you still have very, very far to go....

So, take this wonderful opportunity today to pierce through your misperceptions, confusions and delusions of your own value and worth that will be reflected by and shown to you through your relationship with another. Oppositions work like that; you see the "thing" or "issue" or "problem" in the other, but it is that "Looking Glass", that mirror reflecting back upon you something you need to see within yourself.

Look at that reflection, imagine yourself moving beyond, through the mirror and beyond the former values and assumptions that limit you and that relationship...then you will perceive that greater space of understanding and say, "Ah hah! Now I see through a lens more clearly, the darkness is breaking into dawn".

And you smile and exclaim, "Now, I see You!"

And so you shall....

Mars Sextile Jupiter (August 18, 2011)

Steady, steady...Okay, now you are making progress!

When your Desires, Aims and Actions (Mars) are steered by your Principles and Truths (Jupiter), you are going to experience positive results. You are now able to make significant advances in understanding more about, as well as actually moving towards, your goals.

Mars is about 1/3 the way through Cancer now, still seeking to meet your needs for finding your center, feeling more secure and being nurtured. Jupiter in Taurus caresses Mars with the understanding that in order for you to reach that center, in order to create that secure space you must first be grounded, (in both inner drives and outer goals), by significant, substantial and tangible values. This greater understanding of your fundamental truths will keep you in the right spirit and on the right path.   

When you find the wind is at your back and the trail ahead is steady and sure, well then you are ready to shine indeed. Today celebrate this felicitous fusion of Action and Principle, of Energy and Intention.

Right Intention + Right Action = Right Results. Go for it!