Self Growth

July 16, 2024 In Astrology, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Cliff Hanger—Full Moon in Capricorn—July 21st.

Reality is one of the possibilities I cannot afford to ignore. Leonard Cohen.

July dazzles us with a timeless expanse of placid blue sky, a glut of sport, the fizz of prosecco and picnics in the park. Stunned by sunlight, hordes of visitors amble slowly along promenades or slump, lightheaded in deck chairs on talcum beaches.

The long languid days of summer bring some relief from the hard edges of reality, yet the sky story speaks of simmering tension, dramatic cliff hanger moments and sweeping epiphanies.

Mercury makes an erratic square to Uranus from July 19^th to 24^th, the harbringer of unexpected news, upsets, sleeplessness, and nervous tension, and for some, a change of perspective. Mercury enters its shadow cycle (July 16^th– September 11^th) turning Retrograde in Virgo from August 4^th– 24^th.

Mercury Retrograde cycles correspond with upsets or delays in travel and communication, technology glitches, and an over-heated nervous system. When Mercury moves Retrograde through Virgo, the devil is in the detail, so fact-check and have that plan B.

On July 21^st, the sun in the very last degrees of Cancer illuminates the round face of the moon in the final degrees of Capricorn, signifying the culmination of a cycle. Pluto lies secreted at the heart of this lunation, an invisible reminder of painful endings, those circumstances that leave us devastated, depleted, where we feel there is nothing more we can do, but simply surrender. Pluto, now Retrograde at 0° Aquarius, charges this cosmic energy point. It is the same degree that marked a significant shift for humanity when Saturn and Jupiter conjoined at 0° Aquarius on the mid-winter solstice of 2020. This alliance of Saturn and Jupiter marked the end of an era and the precious seeding of a new vision, a new geologic epoch that will endure in the body of our earth long after this civilization has crumbled. Margaret J. Wheatley author of Restoring Sanity: Practices to Awaken Generosity, Creativity, and Kindness in Ourselves and Our Organizations says, “as a culture, we don’t honour or do well with death. Collectively, we’re approaching the dissolution and death phase… there’s too much of everything wrong, which is always the critique from every civilization that has collapsed.”

The sun slips into Leo, opposite this 0° point today, and an impatient Mars makes a trine to Pluto at the same degree, underscoring the importance of this degree point, for which the enigmatic Sabian Symbol reads: “Building survival structures within our group, both physical and institutional, provides a measure of stability.”

With this high voltage energy careening through the heavens, those of us with planets 24-29° Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius may sense a charge of energy or experience liberating or jarring “wake-up” calls that change the trajectory of our lives.

Mars, planet of war and courage has been moving close to Uranus since July 12^th and will remain in tight orb till July 19^th. This flagrant Uranus/Mars alignment has reverberated through the news and perhaps in our own lives. This is a lightning-fast, bolt-from-the-blue energy, both creative and destructive, escorting chaos and innovation.

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump was intensified by the malevolent the presence of Algol, a fixed star charged with passion and potential ruthlessness, according to astrologer and fixed star virtuoso, Bernadette Brady. This energy accompanies sudden, often shocking events that ricochet through our lives, upending our ordinary routines, shattering our best laid plans, sending a shockwave of lightning bolt energy that tosses us over the cliff edge, sets ablaze those aspects of our personality that might have lain dormant for years.

In Tarot symbolism, Uranus is The Tower card that accompanies sudden destruction, upheaval as we are forced to redirect our lives and rebuild in unfamiliar ways.

The confident appointment of JD Vance as Trump’s Vice-Presidential pick embodies this Uranian energy. Vance who has a theatrical Leo sun and Venus in Leo conjunct Trump’s bellicose Mars, will be the recipient of Uranus’s awakening. He’s likely to go straight for the jugular and will be a tactical opponent (his steamy Mars in Scorpio is also activated by this Uranus transit this year.) He will also carry this ideological Uranian energy from the caul of the collective onto the political stage.

Uranus pivots Retrograde from September 1^st to January 30^th, 2025, so will repeat this conjunction to Trump’s midheaven (exact in December and end of March) and square his Mars in proud Leo (end of July, early October and early May). Meanwhile, Pluto squares President Joe Biden’s moon all through this year, and volatile Uranus opposes his Scorpio sun and Venus all this year through to early 2025. The months ahead will be challenging for him.

Planets to note will be Mars, now moving through loquacious Gemini from July 20^th, ratcheting up the pervasive entitlement and exceptionalism that is rampant in social media. Jupiter, posited in Gemini, the sign of its detriment, begins a series of sobering squares to Saturn as a long-term issue may finally reach a cliff edge and we find a practical way of dealing with uncertainty, or limited personal or financial circumstances.

Saturn (self-discipline, responsibility, obstacles and authority) is still immovable at 19° Pisces till July 22^nd and continues its slow Retrograde journey till November 15^th as we wrestle with a sense of inertia, face financial hardship or loneliness, as we manage our expectations.

In the silence of space, the slow cycles of the planets reflect another facet of our human story. Upheavals yet to come, transformations yet to be fully understood, a long ending of a chapter in our life, sudden changes of fortune, shocking awakenings, or the quiet slow blossoming of something new.

As we prepare to descend into the valleys and climb the mountains that are always ahead, this full moon in the sign of the Mer-Goat reminds us to be sure-footed and patient, to prepare well. This moon signifies a culmination of a cycle, a coming to light of something that might not have been clear. As we start at the bottom and begin our climb, with love in our hearts and kindness in our actions, Howard Zinn reminds us “if we do act in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand, utopian future.The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory.”

To book a private astrology session please email me directly: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

June 19, 2024 In Astrology, Relationship, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Way marker—Full Moon in Capricorn—June 22nd.

How beautiful to finally understand that solitude is a mark of self-worth… to truly accept that you, alone, are worthy of your own company—April Green.

A striking full moon in the sign of the Sea-Goat stares into the heart of the sun tonight.

On June 22^nd a rare lunistice, or lunar standstill, occurs once every 18 years when the moon is at the most extreme point in her cycle. We have reached a place of pause where we can rest in this moment, reflect on how far we have come, maybe allow ourselves to turn instinctively to what nourishes our soul. This is a time to take some time alone. Perhaps to set an intention, be clear and conscious of what it is that we long for. Capricorn accompanies a steady quality that we draw upon when we set healthy boundaries, focus on goals, harness the self-discipline to put in the hard work required. Yet, this unusual moon, warmed by the intense light of the midsummer sun, carries with her a trace of something out of the ordinary. She’s just entered the sign of Capricorn, a sign inbued with the qualities of integrity and responsibility on good days; steely ambition and calculating opportunism on days when the Devil Wears Prada. As the moon moves through Capricorn in our own birth chart, she is a steady reminder of the need to stay true to qualities like maturity, integrity, and discernment, in a world where the clapping hands of social media or a hunger for worldly power can rip us from our roots, shred our self-respect.

The moon is in her “detriment” in Capricorn. When a planet is in its detriment, also called “in exile”, it journeys circumspectly across a foreign landscape. It functions in ways that might seem strange or unexpected. It can be extremely creative and innovative as it seeks new ways to be in the world, to find its highest expression. This full moon is also “out of bounds”, another technical term that conveys a quality of energy that often correlates with feelings of being an outsider, of not fitting in, of behaving unconventionally. This lunation reminds us of the ancient archetype of the exile, the outsider who behaves differently and is a stranger in a foreign land, a feeling we may experience in situations where we feel our aloneness or differentness, when we feel unheard, ignored or misunderstood. We may feel exiled in our communities, cast “out of bounds” by the choices we have made to experience a life that does not conform to what is deemed to be “normal,” or lost and adrift in frantic activities that untether us from our faith, our values.

The astrological tempo changes, at this high-point of the year. The mid-summer solstice on June 20^th or 21^st (depending on where in the world you live) marks the sun’s still point in its passage through the heavens, the nadir of mid-winter in the south, a celebration of light here in the north. The sun, Venus, and Mercury are now moving through self-protective Cancer, a sign that contains a reservoir of emotion and vulnerability. A sign that reminds us of the comforts of home and belonging in a world where so many are displaced from the comfort of home and community by famine or war, where mass migration now has become a contentious political and moral issue.

We are halfway through this year, a year of 80 elections as more than half the world’s population go to the polls. In some countries, fragile hopes for change have already been crushed by authoritarian governments; in others, pacts have been made by opposing parties to work together in cautious coalitions; while “snap elections” deliver a cacophany of harsh rhetoric devoid of fact-checking.

As Jupiter races through loquacious Gemini, and the Nodes move through Aries (self) and Libra (other) calcified ideologies are cut and reshaped by compromise. In South Africa, a collective psychological watershed has been reached. South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa (transiting Uranus opposing his Scorpio Sun) and the former liberation movement, the African National Congress have agreed to form a government of national unity with the pro-business Democratic Alliance. In France, Emmanuel Macron’s gamble on the dissolution of parliament has provoked a political crisis that may send France moving Eurosceptic hard right. Under a confusing transiting Neptune square to Macron’s Sagittarius Mercury and sun, the astrology suggests that Macron’s flutter may not end well. Here in the UK, transiting wild-card Uranus conjunct Sunak’s sun prompted another snap election punt with an election on the symbolic day of Independence, July 4th.

“After the ecstasy, the laundry,” author Jack Kornfield reminds us as governments turn to the daily task of translating the collective hope for change into an imperfect political system. Saturn, the ruler of this moon, turns Retrograde on June 29^th, a collective ebb of the tide, an invitation to slow down to allow something new to seed and gestate over the next nine months. As Saturn moves Retrograde, it’s energy turns inward prompting us to reassess, to perhaps to respond to outer events with more maturity, more caution. Typically, the last passage of Saturn over this degree point will quite tangibly manifest what was seeded and has grown very gradually over the slow months of Saturn’s slow retrogression, so it will be in our Pisces house that we may encounter a necessary delay, an internalisation, or a phase of withdrawal. Saturn begins to form a tense square to Jupiter from 17^th to 23^rd August and again in December 23^rd to early January, requiring us all to temper our hopes with a good dollop of reality, to think clearly before adding more fuel to the narrative delivered by political performers who shock and dazzle the punters with their sociopathic rudeness and preposterously impossible promises.

Tonight, as this unusual full moon casts her light over a noisy, colourful, glittering world, she reminds us that solitude is a balm for fried and frazzled nerves. May our innate integrity steady us as we take stock of what truly matters. May we move with discernment amongst the babble of voices calling for freedom and for change. May we find the courage to question our beliefs and the beliefs that were never ours to begin with—with clarity and compassion. If we allow ourselves to be still tonight, we might hear change approaching, and if we’re hesitating at the threshold, still holding tightly to a situation that is stunting our evolution, now might be the time to step over, let go and begin again.

To book a private astrology consultation, please get in touch: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

May 22, 2024 In Astrology, Relationship, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Possible—Full Moon in Sagittarius—May 23rd.

“May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope,” wrote Emily Brontë.

All things seem possible in May. Frothy hawthorn spills along hedgerows, a diaphanous train of dazzling white. Slender spikes of foxglove thrust skywards. Daisies, bluebells, buttercups, and floaty cowslips tumble over pathways. Nature rejoices in her loveliness and as change swirls through our lives, scattering summer’s petals, May’s full moon falls in the expansive sign of Sagittarius.

Under these hope-filled moonbeams, we may glimpse what is possible as we imagine what William Ury, author of Possible: How We Survive and Thrive in an Age of Conflict describes as a balcony, a place of far-seeing perspective within ourselves.

For those whose birth charts are tuned to the “wavelength” of 2º Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini or Virgo, this lunation may hitch up a yearning for freedom, hoist a longing to sample a smorgasbord of new experience, expand horizons, dare to do differently.

In Sagittarius, we soar above the triviality of daily routine. We become explorers, adventurers, pilgrims seeking signs and finding meaning. We challenge our bodies and our minds as we reach for the stars, dream the impossible dream, and are lifted and struck by a firm belief that it will all work out in the end.

Sagittarius is ruled by portly Jupiter, who so often evokes the kind of laughter that brings tears to our eyes and softens the hard edges of the world. We invoke the buoyancy and resilience of Jupiter when we keep the faith, when we look up, when we notice the silver lining in the dark clouds of circumstance. Although popular astrology associates Jupiter with “luck” and “good things”, inconstant Jupiter, the astrological ruler of Sagittarius and Pisces, is also an archetype so often imbued with a tincture of loss and longing. Despite our prayers, despite our positive affirmations, the veils of illusion go up in flames, our lives scorched to the ground. Jupiter is the roll of the fickle dice, the ever-spinning Wheel of Fortune. In myth, Jupiter didn’t stay around long, he was always off, chasing the next conquest, taking what he wanted, when he wanted, just because he could. The shadow that stretches behind Jupiter’s cheery positivity is self-absorbed grandiosity, a cavalier entitlement, which may be highlighted as Jupiter moves through the mutable, easily distracted sign of the Twins from May 26^th to June 9^th, 2025.

Jupiter’s first aspect after changing from earthy Taurus into airy Gemini is a trine to Pluto (now moving Retrograde in Aquarius) on June 2^nd, expanding the potential for healing and renewal.

This could present as a realignment of our moral compass in a relationship power struggle, a readjustment in a situation where ethics loom large. This aspect prompts us out of a stuck place, it’s a call to make an important change, or a empowering recognition that we must free ourselves from a situation that has been stifling.

Jupiter is also associated with the Guru or the Teacher archetype and its contacts to sensitive points in our own birth chart deliver opportunities to embrace something new. This is an expansive, positive prompt if we are willing to stand on that imaginal balcony and see the world with new eyes.

“There is an Indian proverb that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person” wrote Rumer Godden. As we air each room, every day, we may discover the confidence and courage to listen to the whispers of our heart’s desire.

Jupiterian themes may be prominent in our lives between May 26^th this year and June 2025 as Jupiter expands his influence across sensitive points in our birth chart and in the chart of nations. Jupiter’s presence in Gemini supports those things that require mental focus, careful choice, considered speach and attentive listening. As nature blossoms, the sun entered the sign of the Twins, on May 20^th to be joined by Venus on May 24^th. Mercury, winged messenger, also enters Gemini on June 3^rd. If we can avoid distractions, this will be a wonderful time to begin a writing project or seek new social connections. The danger here is that we may overextend our nervous system, scatter our energies, take on too much, too quickly, or too soon.

Jupiter is a complex symbol in astrology.

Jupiter’s shadow is all sparkle and shine, as arrogance and ego trick us into a false sense of our own potency and invincibility. We fall for appearances, can’t see that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes. On May 15^th, as the moon moved through self-mythologising Leo, Netflix released a three-part documentary, Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal.

Ashley Madison, the Canadian social networking and dating service dubbed as a “business built on broken hearts” was launched in 2002. Pluto and the south node were moving through the expansive, opportunistic sign of Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius back then.

In the Norse, Greek, and Roman pantheons, Thor/Zeus/Jupiter were celestial sky gods. Supreme deities, elitist, autocratic. They dispensed moral and religious justice, yet from the earliest times these self-indulgent gods were exempt from their own moral injunctions. On a whim, they bestowed good fortune, dispensed justice, and claimed Droit du Seigneur with impunity.

Jupiter and Venus were conjunct in Leo (passion, core aliveness, self-expression, feeling adored) when, in 2015, the premier destination website for clandestine affairs was hacked, exposing sensitive and supposedly confidential information, detonating the private lives of more than 37 million subscribers in 40 countries. The human cost of the data leak was devastating and tragic. The promise of security, discretion and anonymity made by Ashley Madison proved to be rancid snake oil. Reputations, relationships were ruined as the shame, the stigma around infidelity ricochetted through families, places of work, and communities. The hack didn’t destroy Ashley Madison. Business is booming, reportedly now with more than 70 million users. Jupiter sells aspirational dreams to the masses. Jupiter’s unbounded exuberance is also associated with risk-taking, the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that reaches for the sky, sets the stakes high in casinos and on racing tracks, merrily rolls the dice over a lover’s tender heart. This is Jupiter the Trickster, inflated with self-importance, flying too high, too fast, too soon.

Popular astrology associates Jupiter with luck, good fortune. There’s a more nuanced approach. We may ignore Jupiter’s bounty. Good fortune may be disguised as a crisis. A loss may actually be a gain. Over these coming months, may we embrace our human foibles and contradictions tenderly as we stand together on the imaginal balcony of possibility. “May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.” John O’Donohue.

For a personalised astrology consultation, please get in touch: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

April 18, 2024 In Astrology, Relationships, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

What Lies Beneath— Full Moon in Scorpio— April 24th.

It’s not the conscious changes made in their lives by men and women which really shape them… but a long, slow mutation of emotion, hidden all-penetrative—Nadine Gordimer.

All-penetrative change is inscribed across the heavens this month.

The sun slips into sensuous Taurus on April 19^th and a Scorpio full moon on April 24^th supports the transformative power of intention to clear the clutter from not only our physical space, but what is outworn and unfulfilled in our hearts, so that we can move more freely again.

This month’s lunation squares Pluto, primeval god of destruction and regeneration, emissary of hard truths. As we sort through those sentimental things that bind us to a past we have outgrown—dusty ornaments, clothes that no longer acclaim the person we have become, shoes that torture our toes, books that now offer no sustenance or new learning, beliefs that mire us in regret or resentment—this lunation offers the impetus for cathartic release. Taurus is a dependable earth sign. Although “being grounded” can seem like one of those self-help amorphisms, grounding, rooting, being in the power of now, affirms the richness of our ordinary lives. Scorpio involves a confrontation with destruction and darkness, and like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes, we gain insight, healing, and renewal when we drink Scorpio’s strong medicine.

This is the month of truth or dare. Mercury turns direct on April 25^th and celestial lightning rods, Jupiter and Uranus, partner up between April 18^th-26^th at 21° Taurus, prompting us to dare greatly.

This once every 14-year union offers a powerful boost of energy, an opportunity to slice through ambiguities, renew our resolve, realign with what we truly value. Jupiter, “Optimus Maximus”, philandering god of the Romans who presided over laws and agreements, represents our search for meaning, faith and hope, yet also accompanies bloated optimism, grandiosity, and greed. Uranus, ancient sky god Ouranus, catapults us into alien territory of unexpected change, with rude awakenings, abrupt events that separate us from what once we thought we valued, often constellating a frisson of anxiety, even fear that undulates through our nervous system.

Uranus transits so often accompany a sense of alienation from bedrock aspects of life and thrust us into the unchartered terrain of choice and crisis that we’ve been doggedly resisting. Expect the unexpected with Uranus. It will shatter stability, overturn what we thought was safe and sure. Jupiter expands the bitter and the sweet, lack or largesse. This is a celestial push for concrete change and innovation.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree of Taurus is “A white dove over troubled waters”, a hopeful image of peace and calm as the waters of society churn darkly and the devastating conflicts in the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine shape world politics for decades to come. This is a beautiful invitation to look for guidance in the signs symbols around us.

Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions occur every 14 years, but they haven’t aligned in Taurus since May 1941, when incendiary bombs plummeted from the night skies, raining death and destruction over London. On December 7^th that year, America declared war on Japan, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbour. Social structure was upturned as women left their homes to work in factories. Unspeakable horrors were inflicted on millions of people in the name of war.

This Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus coincided with a slow economic recovery after the longest and deepest depression in the US which lasted more than a decade.

Jupiter-Uranus in earthy Taurus symbolise the acceleration of extreme weather events like the flash flooding in Oman and UAE, and climate break-down which has resulted in a wet winter in Europe and UK and drought in places like Morocco. Expect to see stock markets shudder, food prices rise—Taurus is an earth-bound sign encompassing those things we value—money, property, sensual pleasure. Depending on where this conjunction falls in your own birth chart, we might ask ourselves, what is it I truly value? Is it worth my investment of time and energy?

This conjunction follows the turbo-powered solar eclipse in Aries of April 8^th (reminiscent of the solar eclipse of 2017 which also sliced a path across America, the cross point in Texas,) and the arrival of a Green Comet, unimaginatively-named 12P/Pons–Brooks which orbits the sun every 71.18 years. This space traveller sails close to the sun on April 21, 2024, and to close to our earth on June 2^nd, its ever-changing taillight, blue, its swirling outer coma, green, as it plummets across the heavens. Ancient sky watchers associated comets with the bloodshed and plague. They were “vile stars” that foreshadowed war and disaster. As the light and dark, death and rebirth symbolism of the solar eclipse on April 8^th still lingers like the fragrance of a sweet perfume, in world events and possibly in our own lives, we may invoke the symbolism of the full moon in Scorpio to clear and release anything vile and putrid from our own orbit and take a fresh look at what drains our energy, diminishes our capacity for joy and gratitude.

Major planetary conjunctions are usually easier to observe in retrospect. They represent important cultural shifts that shape our lives personally and collectively. The Pluto/Saturn conjunction of early 2020 heralded a year of restrictions, polarised viewpoints, cultural change, as authorities imposed lock-down and nature breathed out. The great Saturn/Jupiter conjunction on the winter solstice of 2020 was a pivot point that will affect us all for decades to come, and as Jupiter merged with apocryphal Neptune in April 2022, floodgates opened (Neptune was an ocean deity) and a sea of misinformation washed away familiar shorelines.

This full moon offers a moment of refuge amidst the distractions and the to-to-lists, a wonderous moment to commit to our own desires, to sense the thrilling return of joy after a period of arid disappointment or despair.

Although nothing and everything has changed around us, quite suddenly our heavy heart feels lighter with no more room for secret sorrows. Tonight, may a slow mutation of emotion flow through us.

Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible—Doris Lessing.

Please get in touch if you would like to book a private astrology consultation: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

April 3, 2024 In Astrology, Relationship, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Facing our Fears—New Moon Solar Eclipse—April 8th.

Courage is found in unlikely places—J.R. R Tolkien.

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse moves across North America, passing over Mexico, United States, and Canada. This is the day that a new moon in Aries slips between the familiar body of the Earth and the fierce light of the Sun.

Eclipses act like wild cards. They drop into our birth charts and catapult us from our place of comfort. They alter the march of world events. They dispatch a charge of volatility through the atmosphere. On Monday, April 8th, as millions of people gather in a darkening world to witness the quiver-touch of the moon as she slides over the vanishing sun, we may sense a collective effervescence that lifts our hearts even for just a brief moment.

The first eclipse of the spring falls at 19° Aries, and carries with it an initiatory quality, forged by the heat of fire. This solar eclipse also conjoins Chiron, (that tender place in our psyche where we are wounded) as well as Eris, (mythological goddess of strife and discord) and winged messenger, Mercury (now moving Retrograde), as they all move through the sign of the Ram.

This eclipse marks a decisive moment where we must be bravely honest with ourselves. It belongs to a family of eclipses in the Saros Series 8 North which astrologer Bernadette Brady interprets as “this newfound inspiration will pull the person away from his or her social life or relationship, thereby causing strain in the private life. This is a time when the person needs to be free, if only for a few weeks.”

Astrological Aries carries the heat of fire that ignites an ancient urge to battle and survive. There are five celestial bodies in Aries (plus the North Node) prompting us to engage with the archetype of the heroine/hero. As we feel the firepower, we may be inspired by those who challenged patriarchy, dared to risk, to speak out. As we imagine the fierce courage and commitment of trailblazers like Cornish-born Emily Hobhouse who exposed the horror of the British concentration camps in South Africa and was an avid opponent of the first world war, or Jane Goodall who has worked tirelessly for the welfare and survival of primates, and writer and sage, Maya Angelou, (all born as the Sun moved through the flames of Aries,) we will sense the potency of this astrological archetype.

The Sabian Symbol for this new moon solar eclipse translates as “being innocent and fearless in love” which describes so beautifully the sky story of this moment as we look out into a world that seems so dark, a world where we so often feel anxious and so helpless.

Venus enters Aries on April 5^th, kindling a spark of creativity, nourishing the flame of love that burns through the heavy weight of fear and resistance. Venus is our is our sensory detector, sensual barometer of our pleasure and our joy—a new hair style or bold new choice in clothing aligns with a change in our inner selves. In Aries, Venus trail-blazes new possibilities, new ways of empowering ourselves.

As Venus enters Aries, Netflix releases “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” which celebrates Venusian themes of sensual self-discovery, the joy and pleasure of sex, and the yearning for human connection.The sensitively portrayed connection between Nancy Stokes, sublimely embodied by Emma Thompson, and Leo Grande, captured with gentleness and complexity by Daryl McCormack so poignantly depict the daunting challenge of overcoming cultural conditioning and those judgemental voices in our heads. Psychologist Harriet Lerner writes, “when we think of fear, we think of a “fear of” something. Far more daunting is the challenge of how to conduct ourselves when anxiety is high and shame silences our authentic voices, closes our hearts to the different voices of others, or stops us from acting with clarity or compassion and courage. In today’s world, no challenge is more important than that.”

Mercury (the lens through which we view the world, how we communicate, and how we transport ourselves) moved Retrograde (April 1st―April 25^th) and conjoins Eris (goddess of strife and discord who takes a stand for what she believes in) on the day of this eclipse. As we collectively experience the first Mercury Retrograde of this year, (at 27° Aries) we may automatically think that travel plans will go awry, or our technology will be uncooperative. Yet, Mercury Retrograde in Aries demands much more that the superficial or mechanical. When Mercury moves Retrograde through the element of fire, it is vital to seek passion and meaning in our lives. Psychosomatic illnesses or a creative “block” may be the symptom that indicates the need for deeper change in our life, or a new way of embracing life’s many pleasures. Fire symbolism carries the momentum for creative re-imagining, for aligning ourselves with all possibilities and probabilities, focusing on the higher ground, and using the force of our will to get there. As Mercury moves Retrograde, we may shift our perspective, make significant life choices, respond with spontaneity and courage to a crisis, or start moving our bodies in a way that releases stuck energy.

Mercury turns direct on April 25^themerging once more from “shadow” (reaching 27 ° Aries again) on May 13^th and races into Taurus on May 15^th.

If we imagine the moon’s pale body briefly obscuring the light of the sun, we may sense, in the darkness, the soft presence of a deeper knowing, the urgent thrust of life force that compels us to move beyond our fear. Harriet Lerner writes, “It’s not fear that stops you from doing the brave and true thing in your daily life. Rather, the problem is avoidance. Avoidance will make you feel less vulnerable in the short run, but it will never make you less afraid.”

This new Moon invites us to stand expectantly at the edge of something new and to face our fears. Anne Lamott who was born under the sign of the Aries Ram asks “how do you begin? The answer is simple. You decide to.”

To book a private astrology consultation, please get in touch: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

March 22, 2024 In Astrology, Relationship, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Capturing the Light―Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse―March 25th.

The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower and bright are the windows of night in her tower―J.R.R. Tolkien.

The light has returned here in the north, consecrating a profusion of bridal blossoms, light as breath, that bless the earth with pink and white petals. Dandelions and white daisies thrust from cracks in the pavements, tender leaves furl exuberantly skywards suffusing woodlands and neat suburban gardens in glorious greens.

Nature awakens, we adjust our calendars, reorientate our routines.

On March 20^th, the astrological sun moved into Aries, marking the transitional moment of the Vernal Equinox here in the north, and signalling the first delicate flutter of gilded leaves in the south.

In a culture shaped by speed and the urgency to arrive at a destination, we so often race past significant frontiers, barely notice the threshold crossings that mark new beginnings. Yet, as the seasons shift, we may sense a tug of possibility, the warm pulse beat of a longing that arouses what Julia Cameron calls “spiritual electricity.”

On Monday March 25^th we enter the season of eclipses. This first eclipse of the season is a penumbral lunar eclipse. The moon’s delicate light slowly dims as she glides through the earth’s penumbra, (the earth’s outer shadow.) Not as visually dramatic as other lunar eclipses, but significant to those of us who seek meaning and symbolism in the story of the stars.

Whether we take the time to glance up at the moon tonight or not, this lunation symbolises the light and the dark of our human encounters, draws our attention perhaps to those desiccated places of disconnection that need our intention, to those relationships that have become shadowed by pain, hollowed out by neglect or injustice. John Welwood writes so beautifully, “the brighter love’s radiance, the darker the shadows we encounter; the more we feel life stirring within us, the more we also feel our dead spots…”

Lunar eclipses amplify emotions, dredge up buried feelings, obscure rational thinking, and for those who have angles or planets at 5° Libra, this lunar eclipse signifies an either-or choice of significance that might mean letting go of a situation or a relationship, or a rush of release from the statis of a relationship triangle.

Eclipse symbolism is often preceeded by a time of crisis as a darkness descends on our inner landscape. We may feel disoriented, disconnected, adrift, as we grapple with a terrifying and decisive choice that will re-shape our lives and become a border crossing between the past and the future.

Saturn conjoins Venus in Pisces on this lunar eclipse, a celestial reminder that committed relationships require maturity and compassionate hearts. Chiron in Aries conjoins the north node, symbolising the uncharted territory where we must struggle for agency, make crucial choices, exercise our will (Aries.) This calls for self-compassion as we become more self-aware, less physiologically reactive. Psychiatrist Dan Siegel reminds us that “the way we relate to ourselves shapes the way we relate to others.”

Our culture has no rituals to support our brave crossings and we may feel marooned in doubt or loneliness as we try to come to terms with what we have lost, the people and places we have left behind. Yet in the months or even years yet to come, this lunar eclipse, followed by the solar eclipse (at 19° Aries on April 8^th) might accompany a sense of release and renewal after making a difficult choice … or a literal sense of being overshadowed or eclipsed by circumstance. This solar eclipse also conjoins Chiron and Mercury, a repetition of the themes of healing and renewal as we are shaped by our encounters with others and the world around us. It belongs to a family of eclipses in the Saros Series 8 North which astrologer Bernadette Brady interprets as “this newfound inspiration will pull the person away from his or her social life or relationship, thereby causing strain in the private life. This is a time when the person needs to be free, if only for a few weeks.”

The Equinox is a reminder that a perpetual state of balance is impossible to achieve, as we continually re-create ourselves amidst the complexities of our relationships and metastasise the events that are unfolding in the world right now. Balance is as capricious as the patterns of neuronal firing in our brains, as fleeting as our emotionally charged perceptions of the world around us. This gracious Libran full moon offers the sweet promise of compromise and peace if we have the courage to step back into balance and find that still point of peace that nestles in the centre of our heart. It will be the small gestures of love and kindness, the careful harnessing of our untamed thoughts, the brave reimagining of how this world could be that keep us open-hearted and soul-directed at this moment in time.

Please get in touch if you would like a private astrology consultation: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

Paintings by Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1917); Mary Macomber (1861-1916) John William Waterhouse (1849-1917.)

February 18, 2024 In Astrology, Relationship, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Transitions— Full Moon in Virgo February 24th.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves. We must die to one life before we can enter another—Anatole France.

We are two moon cycles away from the spring Equinox. On March 20^th, the sun enters fiery Aries at the start of the astrological new year and the beginning of spring.

As the days lengthen here in the north, and the seasons begin to shift, we may already be feeling the urge to spring clean our homes or to unburden ourselves of something that has been pressing heavily on our heart.

For so many, this has been a quixotic month. Abruptly, the lives of hundreds of people have been upended as news of the insolvency of The Body Shop in Europe and the UK has left hundreds of people shocked, shaken, suddenly jobless. For some this month has delivered news of a new arrival in the family; a birth or an engagement to be celebrated. For others the death of a beloved still reverberates. On February 16^th, as Mars separated from a razor-sharp conjunction with Pluto and Venus poised on her threshold crossing into Aquarius (ethics, social causes, political issues, social restlessness), we learnt of the death of Alexi Navalny, charismatic Russian activist and courageous opponent of Putin. Alexi Navalny died in a grim Arctic prison (Pluto at 0° Aquarius square his Chiron in Taurus.) He was 47.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but human-made global warming and an El Niño heating surge have accelerated sea-surface temperatures. Meteorologists now predict that this February will be the hottest in recorded history. Extreme weather events in California in the first week of February will be amplified in other places as Jupiter advances on Uranus in Taurus. The exact Jupiter/Uranus conjunction occurs on April 21^st (21° 49′ Taurus) and will be within an 8-degree orb from 2nd March to 5th June.

On February 24^th, a modest Virgo Moon opposes the Sun in Pisces signifying some of the tension and ambiguity we may feel amidst the collective angst. Virgo and Pisces are mutable, transitional signs, and both embody qualities we may recognise in ourselves as we move through this crucible of change.

This full Moon (5° Virgo) illuminates that part of our birth chart where we spend most of our daily lives. She precides over the quiet rhythms and routines that root us in seemingly ordinary tasks.

Virgo carries the energy of pared down simplicity. The essence of Virgo is a focused dedication to our craft, the loving attention we devote to the health and wellbeing of our body and mind. The Moon trines Jupiter in Taurus which may amplify, accelerate, or bring to our attention the need for gentle self-acceptance or a soothing practice of self-care that brings a sense of peace and calm to our daily lives. At this time of high tides and heightened intuition, we may be re-imagining our lives, prioritising self-care and spiritual practice to bolster our resilience as the ripples of change ebb and flow through our lives. Executive coach, Vanessa Loder speaks about “following our energetic breadcrumbs,” a daily choice, a tiny moment, that we can all feel into when we begin to focus our attention to those seemingly ordinary encounters.

Earth is Virgo’s element, and Virgoan qualities are so often depicted in fairy tale where the heroine of the story performs tasks with humility and attention to detail. Humility derives from the Latin, humilis—down low, on the ground or of the earth. And as the Moon travels across the heavens tonight, opposing the Sun, Mercury and Saturn in Pisces, she may shine her light on those small disciplines, the little things that tether us to this earth at decisive threshold crossings.

The Sun moved into watery Pisces on February 19^th (Pisces corresponds to our lymphatic system, our feet and toes, while Virgo’s domain is our digestive organs) so this full Moon brings our focus on the quality and origin of the foods we assimilate, the health of our colon, our immune system and the comfort of our feet. Mercury (how we think, re-imagine our lives and our relationships, and how we communicate) and Saturn (responsibility, hard work, structure and boundaries) both in shape-shifting Pisces, oppose the full Moon, highlighting the need for discernment and responsibility as we make our own tender transition into a new phase of life.

In letters exchanged between Boris Pasternak and Olga Ivinskaya, this moment of recognition and deep listening is so beautifully described: “when a great moment knocks on the door of your life, its sound is often no louder than the beating of your heart and it is very easy to miss it.”

As this ripe-bellied Moon stirs the tides and moves the liquids in our bodies, may we refine our listening in the stillness of the night and withdraw awhile from the rough edges of this world allowing silence to wash over us like a spring tide. “Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves” Anne Morrow Lindbergh reminds us in her beautiful book, Gift from the Sea.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded of the right timing for all things here on earth: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens.

Now, with attention to detail and humble hearts, let us prepare for a new threshold crossing.

For a private astrology consultation, please get in touch: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

These beautiful illustrations are by Swedish painter John Albert Baurer (1882 –1918.)

January 22, 2024 In Astrology, Relationships, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

What Matters to the Heart—Full Moon in Leo—January 25th.

Chase away the demons, and they will take the angels with them—Joni Mitchell.

The first Full Moon of 2024 sails across a mantle of stars tonight, blessing the earth as she travels through heart-centred, self-mythologising Leo.

The essence of Leo is vibrant self-expression. Yet in our light-poisoned cities, in a culture where so many are infected by a sense of alienation, numbed, and dumbed by a relentless press of competition or spurred by a false sense of lack to consume more and more, our spontaneous self-expression may be injured or lie dormant.

In medical astrology, Leo rules the heart, the guardian of the soul. This lunation offers a reminder that we all have an authentic, divine spark within, an instinctual force that does not emerge from an acquisitive, competitive ego, but from what matters to the heart.

The Sun and Pluto in Aquarius oppose the Moon in Leo on January 25^th, and the New Moon of February 9^th will accent the Aquarian energy that will infuse the zeitgeist for the next two decades.

On January 20^th the Sun joined Pluto in Aquarius at the sensitive 0° as Mercury moved out of the shadow, signifying that some new force is stirring in the collective and in our own lives.

This critical 0°- point circles back across celestial song lines to the mid-winter solstice of December 21^st, 2020 when Saturn and Jupiter conjoined in the heavens in Aquarius, heralding a start of a new air sign era. Sabian Symbol for this degree is “Building structures for the survival of the group”. For new souls incarnating this month and next, the Aquarian celestial signature will be part of a life long journey: Pluto and Mercury will be in Aquarius on February 5^th, joined by the war-god, Mars (February 13^th,) and Venus (February16^th.) These personal planets rendezvous with Pluto at the supercharged 0° signalling a slow emergence of a new consciousness that will require clarity and discrimination, profound self-inquiry, and an intelligent questioning of societal norms and values.

Pluto’s entry into the humanitarian sign of Aquarius is no abstract event in the age of the Anthropocene. The first astrologers, the stargazers of Mesopotamia believed that the stars transferred messages from the gods.

Pluto returns to Aquarius after 245 years of colonisation, genocide and ecocide, a mere blip in the spiral of human his-story. Aquarius like all astrological archetypes, is nuanced and complex. There will be no sudden shift into a golden “Age of Aquarius”. It’s unlikely that “peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars.” The New Age dream may become a nightmare as we witness the rise of popularist governments, autocratic leaders, fanaticism, and groupthink, accompanied by unprecedented emphasis on science and technology.

For many, Pluto’s two-decade passage through Aquarius will incite a slow internal awakening, a deeper questioning of our place in our community. For some of us, this will mean a different approach to activism as social and environmental issues press into our ordinary lives. For others, the challenge of seeking meaningful, paid work as AI supersedes what we thought would be a life-long career.

Pluto, or Hades as he was named by the Romans, represents natural law, the cycles of life and death which involved a descent into the darkness of the underworld. In myth, Pluto is depicted as wearing a helmet which rendered him invisible, so we only sense his presence as we glimpse the shadowy truth of what has been buried alive in our own psyches. Collectively, Pluto tends to dredge up all that lies rotting beneath the surface, so we can expect the shadowy aspects of Aquarius to rise up like bloated corpses from the fabled water of this paradoxically named fixed air sign.The old order will resist change.

Pluto dipped into Aquarius briefly last year (March 23^rd -June 11^th) as ChatGPT and Nividia were heralded as the harbingers of a technological renaissance. As Pluto moves through Aquarius these next two decades our quasi-religious reverence for technology, our faith in science to provide all the answers will be challenged.

As you are reading these words, AI trawls the internet, dredging up the dross we have dumped there since the 90s and spewing it back at us again in the form of misinformation and repetition. We may find it difficult to distinguish posts by real humans from “fake”; AI art from someone’s soulful self-expression. How effective social media regulations will be amidst the flotsam and jetsam of AI generated content will be a Pluto in Aquarius concern that will affect us all. The superb ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office directed our gaze on an indifferent, omniscient institution and a flawed technology that wreaked havoc on human lives. It was a human story that touched a raw nerve in the collective and unleashed a torrent of rage. Columnist Charlotte Higgins writes, “our current tragedy is that in the 21st century we have replaced the idea of cruel, unpredictable and all-powerful deities with our very own human-made institutions that are just as terrifying as, and rather more real than, any vengeful Greek god.”

Pluto makes one last and brief visit to Capricorn from September 1^st – November 19^thand will remain in Aquarius till 2044 as humankind re-imagines the myth of progress or succumbs to the illness of alienation, a numbing soul-loss as we lose our hand-crafted lives, forget what matters to the heart.

This is a call to create a new relationship with nature, and with each small act, to tend to each other, to allow the ragged scars of patriarchy slowly heal from the bottom up. This is a call to reach out to a friend who is shrouded in the darkness of depression. This is a call to sprinkle wild meadow seeds on the barren edges of what was once a fertile marsh land, now a concrete parking lot. This is a call to remind ourselves, in the words of Paula Gunn Allen, that “snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars, molecules, microscopic entities, all come in communities. The singular cannot in reality exist.”

Please get in touch if you would like a private astrology consultation: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

January 1, 2024 In Astrology, Relationships, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

New Dawn Rising—2024 Astrological Weather

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.

Anne Lamott.

“This year will be better…” we say hopefully, perhaps as a talisman to ward off potential heartbreak and hardship.

The mood this month is serious, focused on the goal-directed activity, underscored by a determined Capricorn new Moon, on January 11^th augmented by Mars in Capricorn, a celestial prompt to get things done and as author, Doris Lessing reminds us, “whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.”

Elusive Mercury moves direct on January 2^nd and Jupiter, the planet associated with abundance and “good fortune” moved direct on December 30^th after a three-month backspin in the sign of Taurus, a sign where where change comes incrementally, one small step at a time.

The astrological signature for 2024 wraps itself around the next three years, signifying the changes that have been emerging since the solstice of 2020, in our own lives and collectively.

Pluto moves into Aquarius on January 22^nd , dipping back into Capricorn as profound evolutionary forces sweep through the collective psyche, breaking down what no longer serves us. Since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2018, we have witnessed the rise of authoritarian governments and the revelation of the abuse of power, the #MeToo campaign and the #BlacklivesMatter Global Network. As we bring our attention to any unfinished business in our own lives regarding power or powerlessness, responsibility and accountability, Pluto will finally enter Aquarius on November 19^th and will remain in Aquarius till 2043. Already, we have a sense of what Pluto in Aquarius what might be like as the climate emergency, mass migration, gruesome conflict and fanaticism cast a long shadow. The unprecedented proliferation of AI that is already hardwired into our daily lives is a taster of things to come as the Silicon Valley Plutocrats gain omnipotence. Pluto’s presence will be felt in politics this year. 2024 is the year of The Election as more than 40 countries hold national elections, some free and fair, others determined by despots.

Pluto, mythical lord of the underworld, sovereign of the dead, draws us all into his shadowy world to confront the truth with courage and honesty this year. In myth, Pluto was custodian of what has been interred: the complexes, patterns that have not yet been accepted or exorcised. As Pluto arrives at the end point of its 14-year passage through Capricorn, those who have planets in early degrees Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius will feel Pluto’s presence as it crosses over the charged 0° Aquarius once more. Saturn conjoined Jupiter at this sky point on 21^st December 2020 as we began a slow emergence from the pandemic.

Saturn and Neptune are still floating in the nebulous waters of Pisces, moving closer to a conjunction in 2025/2026 as things become blurrier and in the echo chambers of social media, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction.

When Saturn and Neptune perform a Dionysian dance in the heavens, we swoon. This intoxicating combination offers the sweet promise of redemption, intensifies our yearning to return to Eden. These are the murky waters where charismatic con men create cults that offer a false belonging, where opiates and psychedelics carry us away from the harshness of this world, and cyber criminals and hackers hunt across the dark web. When Saturn meets Neptune, wonder who or what is real, or we wake, as if from a trance, bitterly disillusioned. When Saturn (carbon) conjoins Neptune, permafrost thaws and noxious gasses, bacteria, and viruses (Neptune) are blown by the wind. This combination of celestial energies may unleash a tsunami of pent-up grief and suffering; it may surge through cryptocurrencies, drown the hype, dissolve castles in the air. This is the hungry energy of the speculator, a glimpse of hope that may be unfounded, perhaps, the realisation that as we drop the salvational fantasy we are freed up to sweetness of simple pleasures, self-acceptance, and a deeper appreciation of the poetics of life.

Uranus, Saturn and Neptune both move into new signs in 2025, and the rest of this decade will be infused with the energy of Uranus trine Pluto, Neptune sextile both Pluto and Uranus.

April may be a tumultuous month for many as rotund Jupiter aligns with explosive Uranus, an indicator of volatility in financial markets, inflation, and the potential for seismic activity. Jupiter will amplify the uncertainty and unpredictability of Uranus, and this energy will permeate society, paving the way for Jupiter’s entry into Gemini, on May 25^th which may amplify divisions and polarisation on social media platforms, or offer the opportunity to heal a ruptured relationship, offer words that land gently.

2024 ends as Mars moves Retrograde in Leo opposite Pluto (in orb from October 2024 to January 2025) with one close contact on November 3^rd, only two days before the US election and one more on January 3^rd. Mars/Pluto contacts accompany unscrupulous power struggles that have a life-or-death quality and have the potential to erupt in violence. The eclipse season begins with an Annular Lunar Eclipse (5° Libra March 25^th), followed by a Total Solar Eclipse (19° Aries, April 8^th), and ends with a Partial Lunar Eclipse (25° Pisces, September 18^th) and an Annular Solar Eclipse (10° Libra, October 2^nd.)

93 million miles away, solar storms create magnificent aurora spectacles on Earth, yet can also distort the magnetosphere, the protective magnetic wrapping of our earth, disrupting our body’s magnetic field, as well as distorting electrical grids, GPS signals and the movements of the millions of satelllites that circle our home planet. A peak of “solar maximum” between January and October 2024 will be stronger and longer than estimates made back in 2019 according to a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration statement. Neptune was backtracking Retrograde (26° Pisces) on September 1st, 1859 when The Carrington Event, the most intense geomagnetic storm ever recorded, caused wide spread fires and powerful auroral displays. This year, it might be worth noting that transiting Neptune is now moving direct (25° Pisces) and will turn Retrograde on July 2nd.

Already the days are growing longer and the primroses on the riverbanks turn their delicate yellow faces to the sun as we begin to resume the routines and rituals that ground us in our ordinary lives. As we welcome this brave new year and sit with the paradox of those things that stir our anger and release our tears, let’s pause for a while in the quiet shade of the unknown before we enter the fray.

This is the year of living bravely, soulfully, imaginatively, abandoning those things that are irretrievably broken, and reimagining our place in the world as we root, with profound gratitude into the rhythm of our lives.

Wishing you all a gentle beginning to this new year.

With love,

Ingrid.

For an in-depth exploration of your own birth chart, please get in touch: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

December 18, 2023 In Astrology, Relationship, Self Growth By Ingrid Hoffman

Approaching the Dark—Winter Solstice December 22nd

To this world you belong. To this moment, in this place where you already stand, something greater has ushered you—Toko-pa Turner.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. A demure fir tree bejewelled with baubles becomes a dazzling diva. The unassuming delivery man wears a gaudy novelty sweater with “I’m sexy and I snow it” emblazoned across the chest. In small gardens, dancing reindeer and corpulent Santas twinkle, and fairy lights garland trees and hedges. As the old year dies in the darkness of midwinter, rituals—quirky and quaint—secure threads of continuity, create meaning, beguile us with wonder.

For some, this may be a lonely wintering. For those unmoored by a cluster of losses as the darkness closes in, the gaudy glitter and surfeit of this Christmas season amplifies isolation. For some this may be a fallow time of scant resources, for some, the protracted dying of a relationship may rachet up the strength to shrug off a life that now feels too small, too tight. And for some, this festive season may be a time of joyful celebration, as we welcome a new baby into the family, or reunite with a much-loved friend.

On December 22^nd the sun enters Capricorn. The old sun dies. A new sun is born. This is the mid-winter solstice, a sacred still point in the year, the longest night, and in the darkness, something is gestating. Capricorn, like all astrological signs is multi-layered, profoundly complex. As ambassador of the mid-winter darkness, Capricorn embodies stoic acceptance, the pared down necessity of wintering through difficult times. Capricorn is an earth sign, a sign that is associated with the quiet alchemy of winter, with lean times and quiet determination. The essence of Capricorn is structure, so this is a perfect time for putting things in order, methodically getting things done.

Capricorn brings a moral awakening toughened with pragmatism, often the self-denial that strips us of those things that are stagnant or decaying and must be relinquished. In a throw-away culture where even our longest relationships can be reactively “unfriended”, where family estrangement has reached epidemic proportions and exile is often self-chosen, we may be actively seeking a new place or relationship that meets who we are becoming. Yet, so much of our conscious awareness lies hidden in the shadow. We might think we think independently, yet we are identified with institutional ageism, sexism and the insidious collective dogma that is so evident in politics, religion and corporations as warring factions separate spheres of belief and project their shadows on the Other. Jung is so often quoted as saying, “when an outer situation is not made conscious, it happens outside, as fate.”

Before we reactively severe ties this Christmas, we might remember that the archetype of the Mountain Goat is also about the endurance, the resilience, of the long-haul.

“At the heart of ‘belonging’”, writes poet Toko-pa Turner, “is the word, ‘long’. To be-long to something is to stay with it for the long haul. It is an active choice we make to a relationship, to a place, to our body, to a life because we value it. Even though that it may not be all that we hope it to be, we are keeping the long view of what is possible, and our life becomes an offering to making it so.”

The last full moon of 2023 journeys through the heavens on December 27^th. This full moon falls in Cancer, a sign that embosoms our belonging—to a place, a community, a tribe, or family. The vibratory signature of this lunation symbolises the heart fire of our emotional security, our sense of safety, life-giving friendships and soulful connections that nourish and sustain us through difficult times.

Cancer is a Cardinal water sign, so the days after the festivities may release a torrent of emotion, stir the sediment of memory, dislodge vestiges of nostalgia, and remind us, as we unwrap our gifts and hug our loved ones, of those separated from their families by conflict, or trafficking, those who have fallen through the cracks of the system and are now homeless, sleeping rough.

The astrology of midwinter aids reorientation to what we value, offers a sanctuary to reconnect with ourselves within the darkness. Mercury turned Retrograde in Capricorn on December 13^th and on December 27^th will be moving Retrograde through the fire sign of Sagittarius, conjunct Mars. This is a time to listen generously, to practice curiosity, to allow ourselves to be surprised. On a more mundane level, Mercury Retrograde times can accompany miscommunication, transport difficulties, train or air traffic control strikes, lost or stolen devices that are alarmingly now the sole point for function in a virtual world. As we enter the new calendar year, Mercury stations direct in optimistic Sagittarius on January 3^rd as Mars joins the Sun in pragmatic Capricorn. Jupiter changes direction just before new year’s eve. Jupiter has been moving Retrograde in Taurus (sensual pleasure, finances, property) since September 4^th and this cycle ends on December 30^th, which might offer impetus to act, to dare greatly, to reach for what you long for with good faith in the outcome.

As we come to the end of this year, the bare bones of winter and the dark contours of the landscape offer no distractions. This is a time to turn within, to gift ourselves with some contemplative time, away from screens and devices, so that in silence we can sense what is dying and what is stirring, waiting to be born.

“The biggest illusion about a path of refuge is that we are on our way somewhere else, on our way to becoming a different kind of person. But ultimately, our refuge is not outside ourselves, not somewhere in the future— it is always and already here—Tara Brach.

Heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported my work this year past. I am taking a break from technology over the solstice and will be looking forward to meeting again for personal astrology consultations in early January. Please email me to make a booking: ingrid@trueheartwork.com

Wishing you all a restful and peaceful festive season.

With love,

Ingrid.