15 Apr Brief Candles ~ April 17th-23rd, 2017

Brief candles in her mind
Bright and tiny gems of memory
Brief candles burn so fine
Leaves a light inside where she can see
What makes it all worthwhile
Her sadness makes her smile…

This week, the final sigh of the Venus Retrograde is over but relief from the weight of the memorial past is nowhere to be found. This is the week where Pluto turns retrograde, joining retrograde Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn.

Just as in the song, Brief Candles, you may feel like languishing in your inner world this week, enchanted by the “tiny gems of memory” that glitter in the dark. The beautiful moments, no matter how brief, are enough to make life worthwhile. Even in sadness you remain forever illuminated by remembrances of love.

Brief Candles reminds you of what life is truly like: an orchestration of many somber verses exalted by a triumphant chorus!

In the middle of the week, the Sun will move into Taurus tempering some of the frenetic cardinal energies. The bright light of enthusiasm may seem to dim, but the sensual luster of life will grow warmer and more golden with each passing day.

The season of Taurus is both ripening and fructifying, so expect this week to have a sweetness at its center. Thus, your relationships and your most cherished endeavors will be brought into a more refined vision of potential this week. All the glaring flaws and insecurities that have been revealed to you in the recent past will begin to transform into an instinctual understanding of evolutionary rhythms.

What may seem like mistakes, errors, or calamities in the heated moment of Aries season can finally be seen as interesting mutations, just nature’s way of experimenting with the principles of form. In Taurus season, patience will become the finest virtue that you possess for it only through this virtue that flaws become great assets. With patience, the full development of any plan can be realized.

To demonstrate the necessity of patience, consider the story of the Zombies, whose magnificent album Odessey and Oracle (released in April of 1968) was a complete commercial failure at first. Though they had experienced some success in the mid-sixties with their single Tell Her No, their tremendous album, Odessey and Oracle tragically fell on deaf ears.

But then, a year later, one of the album’s songs “Time Of The Season” finally got picked up as a single in the United States, gaining such momentum that it sold over a million copies, peaking at #3 on March 29, 1969. The best-selling single was a triumph, but the album as a whole did not gain the attention it deserved for many more years. In hindsight, it has become one of the greatest records of the 1960’s, worth mentioning along side anything else considered to be classic.

Over the years, the veneration for Odessey and Oracle has continued to appreciate in value. The album is without a doubt one of these best of the whole decade and yet it took its time to seep into public awareness. It had a protracted mulling period, an aging process that it required to be fully understood.

The Zombies were not like the other psychedelic musicians at the time. They were formally trained musicians with overt interests in “art music”, jazz and great literature. They offered a baroque form of pop music that required the patience of many years to truly comprehend.

Remember this story as the week unfolds. With so many retrograde planets and the Sun moving into a fixed Earth sign, the joy of life will not be found in the speed of development. This is the time of the season to savor, enjoy what you can, and cultivate patience.

Monday/Tuesday: This Mood Will Pass

After Venus moves direct in Pisces, she will make a supportive aspect to Mars in Taurus, which will help you to establish harmony wherever there has been discord and to resolve any heated conflicts. In love relationships, this is an aspect that can deepen your affections and strengthen the integrity of the bond that you share. 

The impulse to restore order will be very strong.

The Sun in its final degrees of Aries will make a trine with Saturn in Sagittarius, an aspect that will summon a flush of common sense and sobriety. Under this influence, you will see a vision of your future success being built upon many years of hard-earned experience rather than overnight miracles. And you will reminisce about how your greatest achievements in life thus far have all followed a narrative of adherance to proper principles.

Because Saturn is retrograde at this time, you may confront the painful reminders of times where you failed to follow through on practice, discipline and restraint. The consequences for some of these missteps may still be lingering, but Saturn’s retrograde period is the time to rededicate yourself to the integrity that you know you need to maintain.

This is very good time to listen to those who know more than you, respect your elders, and patiently wait your turn.

Wednesday/Thursday: Burn So Fine

The middle of the week bring the Sun’s grand entrance into Taurus. Let the pace of life slow down as it is wont to do. Instead of rushing, become attuned to the wisdom of the body, which demands rest, relaxation, and plenty of sensation! Stop losing so many moments to the frenzy of mismanaged senses. Make some multi-dimensional memories by consciously slowing down, really listening to music, really tasting your coffee, and really kissing your lover with warmth.

Immediately after the Sun’s entrance into Taurus, the Sun and Mercury retrograde will conjoin. This is termed the inferior conjunction and it represents the center of Mercury’s retrograde journey. Thus, this will be an intensely focused and intimate experience of your mind, crowned by unusual depth and foresight.

The depth might even scare you because this inferior conjunction coincides with Pluto in Capricorn’s retrograde turn.

Over the past several weeks, the square between Pluto and Jupiter has been  magnifying your desire for influence and success, making your dreams all too baroque these days. Now that your lust and your enthusiasm has been brought to a crescendo, this retrograde turn of Pluto will begin to reveal what is going to have to be sacrificed in order for you to achieve your aim.

It is not always fun to have to make sacrifices, but they will be demanded now, lest you sacrifice the dreams themselves.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: What Makes It All Worthwhile

On Friday, Mars will leave Taurus, its place of debility, and enter into Gemini, where the driving force of will can find more room to grow.  Your ideas may become inflamed by passion: your speech and your writing, suddenly lubricated by the sensation of free flowing intelligence. Such a relief.

With Mars in Gemini, it is true that your ideas are empowered, but you must guard against the inertia of giving in to distractions.

Also on Friday, Venus newly direct in Pisces will make her final square to Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius. This is moment where the great shuffling of cards experienced throughout the Venus Retrograde will finally be dealt as a clear hand. You now know what you have to bring to the table and what you don’t. Strategic decisions can now be made.

Mercury now retrograded back into the sign of Aries, will be drawing nearer and nearer to Uranus. If you want to know when you’re luck might change, it is around the period between now and April 28th, when Mercury and Uranus finally conjoin. That will be a time when your words may erupt in flames, making you famous or notorious in one sensational moment.

No matter what you do with your time this week, set the intention to make beautiful memories each and every day. Touch, taste, smell and feel into the moments you are given. In this simple act, you will find the greatest pleasure and success.