Jan 1 2012

The Birth of the New Year – 2012

Happy, Happy New Year!!! Welcome 2012!!!

Happy New Year One and All!! Birth chart for 2012 - Aries Wheel at midnight.

Intensity of Spirit, Purpose and Emotion welcome us in the first moments of 2012… There’s plenty of fiery enthusiasm and exuberant communication in the air in this New Year and the necessity to balance practicality, strong resolve, perseverance and commitment with high spirits, new ideas, unexpected change and polarized perspectives.  Soul healing is possible if you watch for the opportunities… Happy 2012 Everyone!!

Dec 14 2011

An Astrology Consultation with Michelle – The Perfect Holiday or New Year’s Gift for You and Everyone on Your List!

Looking for the perfect Holiday or New Year’s Gift for your loved ones or yourself?

An Individual Consultation is one of the best gifts you can give this year.

Now only $95 (regularly $150) – Gift priced for Holiday giving and throughout January 2012 

Perfect for New Year planning!

Email astrology@michellegregg.com for details.

In an Individual Consultation we spend an hour-and-a-half talking and learning about you! Your passions, your potentials, your challenges – and then we move into how the energies available right now are impacting you and what opportunities for growth and personal evolution they offer. We look at the coming year – emotional, spiritual, psychological and physical trends – and we figure out how to make sure that you’re the hero of your own story.

Now through January, Individual Consultations (regularly $150) are gift priced at $95! Take advantage of this great rate for the perfect Holiday Gift! Your recipient will receive a gorgeous gift certificate via email.

Relationship Consultations are also great gifts! Regularly $185, they are now $130 – priced to gift now and through the whole month of January. The perfect Holiday Gift for the lovers in your life! Your recipients will receive a gorgeous gift certificate via email.

Contact me today at astrology@michellegregg.com to finish your Holiday Shopping with a gift your family and friends are sure to love! 

And Happy Happy Holidays to you and yours!!

Dec 13 2011

Dec 13, 2011 – No More Mercury Retrograde as of 8:43 PM Eastern time… Look at Mercury Retrograde as Your Own Personal Adjustment Bureau

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau - A very Mercury Retrograde kind of movie!

So many of you have struggled with the current Mercury Retrograde… I’ve heard story after story from clients and friends – some of them quite funny and some of them very serious. I’ve had my own misadventures this Retrograde as well! 

When you realize that this Mercury Retrograde period coincided with the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius on Nov. 25, the very powerful Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Gemini on Dec. 10 and Uranus going Direct (after 5 months of being Retrograde) at the zero point of Aries, you may begin to understand just how powerful this Retrograde has been. In conjunction with the eclipses it had the potential to be life changing. 

But as of tonight at 8:43 PM Eastern Time Mercury starts to travel forward again and we can begin to get our ducks back into their neat little rows ( or maybe new rows that align with us better) and make sense out of the glitches, accidents, and miscommunications of  the past 3 weeks. Mercury went Retrograde on Nov. 24 – Thanksgiving Day in the United States. I’m sure you’ll look back on that day and laugh about the arguments, travel mishaps and late guest arrivals – once a little more time has passed. 😉

I just want to remind you that if you did experience personal, business, relationship or career issues during the past 3 weeks, they happened either to wake you up to something or to remind you that something needs a little adjusting. Remember the movie The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt? That whole story was like one huge Mercury Retrograde. There was a team of officials who reported to the Universal Master Mind/God – and who behaved and looked like the FBI. These Adjustment Bureau officials were meant to keep people living in line with the course of their destiny. That film brought up all kinds of questions about free will and fate, but setting those questions aside – I tend to look at Mercury Retrograde periods as your own very positive version of an Adjustment Bureau – not an outside force trying to keep you on their track from the outside, but an Adjustment Bureau from within – as a human responding dynamically and with intention to the energy that is around you.

If you’re strongly impacted during a Retrograde, you likely to have planets or points in your chart that are in the same sign (or a sign squared to that sign) and near the same degree as Mercury during those 3 weeks of retrogression.  You’re being given an opportunity, via communication, transportation, contract, and/or technological mess-ups to pull back, re-evaluate, take a deeper look at and restore whatever it is that’s not quite in sync with who you’ve become and who you are in fact becoming from your own mental perceptions. You’re given the opportunity to adjust your mental attitudes, the way you think about things, the way you communicate with the folks around you. It’s kind of wonderful when you think about it!

This Retrograde was in Sagittarius traveling backwards between 20 and 3 degrees (there are 30 degrees in every astrological sign). So for the signs Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo and Pisces, this would have been a great time to pay attention to any obstacles or cranks and ask why they were there. And then ask what you can do differently that would put you on a smoother track. Sagittarius is all about the belief system, your philosophies on life, your moral compass and how you judge yourself and others. It’s also about the freedom to expand and grow beyond your current parameters – which are almost definitely parameters that you have set for yourself – even if they came in the guise of job, career, or  family restrictions. So this particular Retrograde will have many of us questioning our current life path en toto – because this one is about adjusting what you believe in.

Now – the Retrograde motion itself is officially over tonight – but the planet doesn’t reach it’s normal speed until early January – the same time as it passes the 20th degree which is where it started its backwards movement. That means we aren’t “out of the shadow of the retrograde” until the first couple of days of January. So you have time to continue to reevaluate, relax, re-do, and restore whatever is appropriate. I encourage you to wait until after Jan. 1 to sign contracts and push forward fully with anything that has come into question. You’ll definitely feel the difference and do begin to flow with the forward motion. Just give yourself plenty of time to plan and lay a strong foundation for any changes that you’re making as a result of this time of adjustment.

And give thanks! Your personal, internal adjustment bureau is looking out for you – not making your decisions for you… just showing you the best places inside or out, that need a little conscious tweaking.

Dec 12 2011
Aside

The energies for the day focus on the Moon, Mars and Venus… think passion, acting from the heart, erotically charged energy with a desire for security in combination with opportunities for courageous encounters, harmony, beauty and loads of charm mixed in. 

Marilyn Monroe: Beauty, charm, eroticism, passion & insecurity - a perfect example of today's combination of Moon, Venus & Mars.

Moon in Cancer and Mars in Virgo are in a sextile combination – a sixty degree angle between them. That creates a fantastic time to act on your passions and to create some beautiful harmony and beautiful opportunities. But this is short lived so act now! It’s a perfect time to act courageously for a cause you really believe in – to be a champion for something worthwhile – particularly women and children.

Moon and Venus are moving into an opposition as the day progresses… if you balance these two energies well you get love, beauty, charm, and a lovely social environment. There can be a dreamy quality within. You may feel inspired by art – either creating or appreciating it. If these two energies are out of balance for you then you may feel a real longing for love and perhaps a need for security. You may feel that you have to choose between love/desire and security. This energy is strongest late night and into early morning Eastern Time. 

“Falling in love” is a phrase that comes to mind when I think of today’s energies. I don’t mean with a person per se, though that of course is possible. But falling in love with anything beautiful and worthy of your passion – a cause, art, a film, a child, an organization that champions something you believe in… let your heart go in this direction and see what you find yourself in front of.

When I think of the Moon, Venus and Mars combined, I can’t help but think of Marilyn Monroe. She was feisty and passionate like Moon/Mars, sexy and erotic like Mars/Venus, and always craving security, protection and love like the Moon in Cancer (today’s Moon placement and it’s natural  home).

Marilyn said:

I always felt insecure and in the way, but most of all I felt scared. I guess I wanted love more than anything else in the world.  (moon in cancer/venus)

Dreaming about being an actress, is more exciting then being one.  (moon/venus)

I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best. (moon/mars/venus)

I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it. (mars/venus)

There’s huge potential for bold action, pleasure and love today. Use these energies wisely and you may create wonderful opportunities!

Today – Love, Beauty, Charm, Passion & Marilyn Monroe

Dec 11 2011

How Does the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse Impact You?

If you have questions about how yesterday’s Lunar Eclipse impacts you and your birth chart – what areas of your life are most profoundly affected and how you can best utilize the energies at hand – please contact me at astrology@michellegregg.com for your choice of a Mini-Session (phone or Skype) or a full Individual Consultation (phone, Skype or in-person). We’ll go over where both recent Eclipses occurred in your chart, what that means to you, and how best to navigate. A Mini-Session is 20 minutes/$30 and a full Individual Consultation is regularly $150, but offered now at the Holiday Rate of $95.

Talk with you soon! And Happy Holidays!

Dec 10 2011

Total Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Gemini – Dec. 10, 2011

There’s a Total Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Gemini tomorrow – today really – Dec. 10, 2011. Those of you who have Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo or Pisces strongly represented in your charts will probably feel this event more strongly than others. Don’t just think of your Sun sign in this case – your Sun sign is a small part of the entirety of you as symbolized by your birth chart. Look at your Moon sign, your Ascendant, stelliums, planets on the angles, etc. to see what you have in these 4 signs. (If you don’t know your chart, send me your birth info.) 

Some of you, like me, may still be reeling from the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius on Nov. 25, 2011. This one will solidify, or layer what happened then. Eclipses bring endings and transformations. You may feel pushed forward into something that makes you feel anxious – but really look at the events and opportunities that are happening in your life. Understand that there’s a reason for the (eclipse) season!

This Lunar Eclipse will illuminate something to do with duality, logic, reason, mental workings, curiosity, information, knowledge – all things related to Gemini. And as all things occur on a continuum – in unbreakable relationship to what is opposite – Sagittarius meanings will be in play as well: seeking meaning, expansion, morality, judgment, education, enthusiasm, religion. Uranus, the planet of independence and revolution, goes direct at about the same time, so there’s likely to be a feeling of expectation and antsy pants… a need for something new. And Mars is squaring this lunation – so tempers may flare. At the least there will be lots of energy.

As you ponder what this eclipse can mean in your life, see if you can remember what was happening in June of this year (the first Total Lunar Eclipse of this Eclipse Cycle) and also try to remember about 19 years ago in December of 1992, the last time there was a Total Lunar Eclipse in Gemini. What was going on then may give you a bit of insight into what this event is all about.

Just remember that all endings make way for new beginnings. Cliche I know – but cliches are true for a reason!

Sep 23 2011

Fall Equinox 2011 – The Power of a Rainbow

Beautiful double rainbow...

Rainbow Story…

This morning on the way back from dropping my son off at school, my mom, who because of progressive dementia is usually not very cognizant of what’s around her, leaned over and said with joy in her voice, “There’s a rainbow!”

Her joy was contagious and as I looked heavenward and found the arching hues, I was astonished. Not just one rainbow – but two, following the same path, one over the other. On a morning that had been the typical rush and push out the door, my equilibrium was immediately restored. I felt my breath deepen, the corners of my mouth lifted into a genuine smile and my eyes were shining with delight. All because of a rainbow – or actually two.

Mom continued to look up and as we moved through neighborhood streets she craned from side to side to keep the gorgeous spectrum of colors in sight. She started talking about the rainbows she had seen as a child and lamented that she never saw them anymore. She asked with wonder what could possibly cause a rainbow? And I described to her the process of light refracting through water droplets in the atmosphere… I could see that she didn’t understand and because her short-term memory is completely gone I was asked how a rainbow is created several times… but it was so nice to be sharing something in real-time with her, both of us steeped in the natural glory of this phenomenon of light and water in the morning sky.

As I drove along with mom at my side, window down to the cool breeze, truly enjoying my new-found happiness, I realized something with a jolt. Today is the Autumn Equinox! A day when light and dark are equal… a day of equilibrium! My pleasure increased yet again. Here we were, rapt by the vision of the reaching colors, feeling connected, feeling joyous and centered – on one of two days in any year that symbolizes balance, equality, mystery and beauty – the balance to be found between dark/light, good/evil. When we stopped at the next traffic light, I took a picture so that I’d have a way to remember my lovely feelings and symbolic realizations.

Fall Equinox 2011 Astrology…

This particular Autumn Equinox occurred at 5:05 AM EDT, Sept. 23, 2011. Considering our feelings during that rainbow drive, it’s not surprising that the astrological alignments today have much to do with balance and beauty.

The Equinox happens annually when the Sun moves out of Virgo and into Libra – and Libra is all about balance, equanimity, grace, and gaining and maintaining equilibrium. Venus, Libra’s ruler, also has everything to do with pleasure, aesthetics and what we value – if you think about it, it is the things we find most pleasing that we tend to value, hence the connection. And not only is the Sun in Libra, but so is Venus herself, as is Saturn.

Venus and the Moon are in a lovely angle to one another today, and when they combine the energies brighten with a desire to socialize with loved ones and create harmony and peace. There is a gentleness to this combination.

And since Venus is also in a very nice combination with Mars, there is an alluring eroticism in the air just waiting to be tapped into by ardent lovers. (Don’t let this one pass you by!)

Saturn touches Venus as well… some may argue that this combination is barren and austere, putting the brakes on our relationships. But the orb is still wide and there is a bright side to these two coming together… Try tapping into these: Simple beauty. Enjoyment of clear forms. Pleasure through structure. The peace of stillness.

There are other prominent energies today… Uranus is opposite the Sun branding us with some volatile energy that revels in the unique, sudden and revolutionary. This coupling also unleashes the quality of the trickster – so be aware that all is not rainbows and unicorns! Still this is an opposition and mirrors the energy of finding balance and equilibrium that Libra portrays.

And of course, we have the long-standing Uranus/Pluto square, which the Equinox is energizing as the Sun is opposite to Uranus and squared to Pluto creating a T-Square, that brings our attention to the combined archetypes of revolution and breaking down the status quo with destruction, re-construction and transformation. But we’ve been mired in that energy for a very long time…

Today, for this beautiful Autumn Equinox, enjoy the more fleeting energies represented by the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars… go find a little pleasure.

Sep 21 2011

Troy Davis’ Execution – Birth and Death Charts

Troy Davis - Executed without proof of guilt. Sept. 21, 2011, Jackson, GA, 11:08 PM

“The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I’m in good spirits and I’m prayerful and at peace.”
~Troy Davis on the day before his execution 

Troy Davis was executed tonight (Sept. 21, 2011) in Georgia after being on death row for 22 years for the murder of a Savannah Police officer, Mark MacPhail in August of 1989. Troy maintained his innocence to the end of his life at 11:08 pm EDT, and asked, just before the lethal injection began to drip into his arms, that MacPhail’s family dig deeper after his death to learn the truth about his case. His last words were directed to those physically responsible for taking his life – the employees of the prison – and he said, “May God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.”

Saturn was in a  tight conjunction to Troy’s sun at the time of his death.

The chart below shows Troy’s birthchart in the inner ring and the transits for his death in the outer ring.

Birth Info from Wikipedia: Oct. 9, 1968, Savannah, GA – no birth time available. Aries Wheel used – no MC, ASC or Houses.

Death Info from Democracy Now: Sept. 21, 2011, 11:08 PM, Jackson, GA

Troy Davis: Birth Chart Inner Ring (No birth time available. No ASC, MC or Houses) Death Chart: Outer Ring. Exact death time is accurate. See above.

Below is Troy Davis’ Birth Chart in the inner ring and the night of the murder that he was convicted and executed for in the outer ring. The crime in question, the murder of Mark MacPhail, occurred on August, 19, 1989 in Savannah, Georgia. I don’t know the time of the crime.

Troy Davis Birth Chart in the Inner Ring. Mark MacPhail's murder on Aug. 19, 1989 in the Outer Ring.

I want to share this letter that went out from Amnesty International’s Laura Moye just 20 minutes after Troy died:

Dear Michelle,

I’ve been down here at death row, and we just heard the horrific news.

After a torturous delay of more than 4 hours, the state of Georgia has just killed Troy Anthony Davis.

My heart is heavy. I am sad and angry. The state of Georgia has proven what we already know. Governments cannot be trusted with the awful power over life and death.

Today, Georgia didn’t just kill Troy Davis, they killed the faith and confidence that many Georgians, Americans and Troy Davis supporters worldwide used to have in our criminal justice system.

Wende, on our Abolish the Death Penalty Campaign team, met with Troy Davis yesterday to convey the support that he has had from all of you. He asked us to deliver this message back to you:

“The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I’m in good spirits and I’m prayerful and at peace.”

Let’s take a moment to honor the life of Troy Davis and Mark MacPhail. Then, let’s take all of our difficult feelings and re-double our commitment to abolition of the death penalty.

Please pledge to continue this fight because it is far from over.

This Friday (Sept. 23, 2011) at 7 pm EST, please join us for a special call to discuss Troy Davis’ case, what your work means for the death penalty abolition movement as a whole and what we can do next.

I am Troy Davis. You are Troy Davis. We will not stop fighting for justice.

Thank you for everything you have done to make your voice heard.

In Solidarity,
Laura Moye
Director, Death Penalty Abolition Campaign
Amnesty International USA

Sep 5 2011

What’s Your Labor of Love? Creating a “you” habit…

Happy Labor Day all!

"Parsifal Fights with the Red Knight" Wall painting, probably by Ferdinand Piloty or A. Spiess, Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria. (Young Parsifal defeats the Red Knight.)

As we honor and celebrate the work, energy and contribution of all who labor in our country, you may also want to honor your own contributions and your own work… no matter what that means or how great or small you may feel that to be. And if you aren’t doing what you love, at least try to do so on this day.  If you can’t do what you love today because you have obligations that pull you in a different direction, begin to think about how you can incorporate more of what you love and more of your dreams and intentions for your life into your daily habits.

If you feel there is realistically no time to focus on your talents, dreams and intentions – start very small. Start with 15 minutes a day (or 5 if that’s all you can carve out) and in that 15 minutes (when you wake up, before you go to sleep, 15 minutes of your lunch break, when you’re in the bathroom – whenever!), connect to who YOU deeply are, give that energy free-reign, focus on the thing that you want to accomplish, and do 1 thing – any small thing, it doesn’t matter (a visualization, a phone call, placing an ad, writing, taking a walk, reading relevant information, playing your guitar – whatever you need to do) – that supports and gets you closer to your dream – to your own personal myth/story (where you get to be the hero of your own life like young Parsifal on his quest for the Holy Grail).

After a while “you” will become a habit. Do you understand what that means? YOUR life – what you intend to do with your life – will become a habit. You won’t be able to imagine your day without giving yourself and your goals that space, energy and time. And after a couple of weeks or so, then you’ll up the ante… you’ll move to 20 or 30 minutes and your small steps toward your goals will become bigger and have more impact toward fulfillment. And as the habit becomes more ingrained, you will continue to adjust your focus to more and more time spent on your dream/intention and to greater and greater step toward its achievement.

So go ahead and while you honor the real endeavors and accomplishments of others, take this Labor Day to also focus on the real labors of your life and what you want those to be – your life as your own labor of love, intention, talents used, and dreams fulfilled.

If you need help with understanding what your personal mythology is – if you’re struggling to understand your own potentials and short comings – please be in touch. I’d love to help you connect to the hero inside you who’s waiting to step forward on your true hero’s journey…  

Email astrology@michellegregg.com and see the Individual Consultation page on this site. 

Sep 2 2011

Moon, Venus, Jupiter and the Sun = Lovely Day!

Despite the fact that politically, financially and environmentally things feel like they’re falling apart (the inevitable growing pains of transformation and evolution), and despite the fact that the astrological weather of late has been – well, let’s just say a little intense – today can be a  truly feel good day if you tap into the right energy.

The Moon is in Scorpio – not a light emotional expression to be sure – but it’s in lovely angle to both the Sun and Venus in Virgo. We can find opportunities here for a warm, caring social atmosphere (a neighbor who I see daily just walked by and for the first time smiled and waved at me through my window!) and sincere, deep expressions of caring and service are possible.

Add in a connection between the Moon and Jupiter and you have a recipe for balancing instincts with the intellect… a moment in time when spirits run high and we have fertile ground for pulling together our ethics with our emotions. And anytime the Moon and Jupiter get together we can tap into simple joy – an abundance of noble emotion is there for the asking.

The last feel good ingredient in today’s cosmic soup is a flow of good vibes between the Sun in Virgo and Jupiter in Taurus… at the least we can step forward with gentle confidence (nothing overt as Jupiter is retrograde) and with the assurance of success on some level.

It’s a great day to ponder the meaning of life and your place in it and to share those thoughts with friends and family. Enjoy this moment to catch your breath and relate to those you love!