Aries Full Moon - September 26, 2007

Shacking up with someone has its benefits, but there comes a time when you don't want to spend every waking moment with your partner -- you want to do your own thing, even if it disturbs the equilibrium of your relationship. However, if you make too many sacrifices to please your partner, you end up feeling resentful.

During this Full Moon, the spotlight shines on your needs. It's "me" time. Meanwhile, the "we" is tugging at your sleeve, wanting to talk talk talk, when all you want is to do do do. Now is not the time to start something new, as much as to recognize how you've been neglecting your impulses to carve out your own direction in life.

Doing your own thing does not necessitate moving out or moving on. However, to maintain an independent spirit within a relationship, you have to make sure you don't neglect the needs of your partnership. There's no easy formula like, "I'll see The Jane Austen Book Club tonight with my girlfriends, and tomorrow we'll see your friend's band together." Each relationship is its own ecosystem, and you have to figure out how to maintain homeostasis. A general rule of thumb, though, is that too much time either separate or together can threaten the delicate balance.

Look to your Sun Sign (or better yet, Rising Sign) below to see in which area of life you want to charge forward -- without having to ask your boyfriend or girlfriend's permission:

• Aries: The Full Moon is in your sign, so it's all about you and your appearance.
  
• Taurus: What you need more than anything is retreat. Go to an ashram for the weekend.
• Gemini: Spend time with your friends. And don't take your spouse with you!
• Cancer: Just this once, it's OK to spend too much time at the office.
• Leo: Run to the airport and book a flight to another continent. If you're on the cheap, read a good book.
• Virgo: Start psychoanalysis, or study the occult. What a little magic can do!
• Libra: Ah, there's the irony. You just can't escape your need for relationship, so don't even try!
• Scorpio: Take the dog on a walk, go for a run in the park. Or go to lunch with a co-worker.
• Sagittarius: Lock yourself in your studio and paint. Or go to Las Vegas for the weekend.
• Capricorn: Visit Mom and Dad. You know their daughter- or son-in-law doesn't like them anyway.
• Aquarius: Chat it up with the neighbors or your grocery clerk. Or just go for a solo drive.
• Pisces: Stop daydreaming and start making some money! Or think about what you really value.
  

Aries New Moon - April 17, 2007

It's springtime in Brooklyn, and the cherry blossoms are blooming. As we Northern Hemispherians come out of winter and witness the beginnings of new life, it is natural to think about making a frest start. In the cold, we withdraw into our cocoons, dip into reserves, and conserve our energies to keep warm. When the weather heats up, it's time to come out.

But what direction do you take? Do you want to jumpstart your dating life? Take the next step in your career? Upgrade your house? At the Aries New Moon, we all feel the need to take initiative, but our natal charts show us how and where we take that important first step.

The New Moon always falls in a house in your chart, an area of experience such as work, home, marriage, health and so on. The house where Aries sits on the cusp is where we naturally have a go-to-it attitude, jumping in without worrying about consequences -- a place where we feel impulsive and pioneering. This part of your life may feel dormant until a planet transits the house, or your natal Mars (the ruler of Aries) is stimulated by transit or progression.

During the Aries New Moon, this part of your life comes alive -- you are meant to plant the seeds of a new project related to the concerns of the house where the transiting Sun and Moon fall. Additionally, if any planets or angles (like the Ascendant or Midheaven) are near 27 degrees -- especially of cardinal signs like Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn -- the impulses of that planet (as well as the house it inhabits) will also receive a burst of energy, an incitement to bloom.

To use myself as an example: I have natal Mars at 29 Aries in the 9th house. Aries is on the cusp of my 9th house, so it is also ruled by Mars. This Aries New Moon stimulates a desire to aggressively (Mars) promote myself (9th), or take action (Mars) to publish (9th house). With this placement I'm already inclined to do these things, but the Aries New Moon provides the kick in the pants needed to motivate myself.

Comment below: Where does the Aries New Moon fall in your chart? How do you want to jumpstart your life?

Want to Get to Know Your Chart? Jeffrey Kishner is available for astrology readings.

Libra Full Moon -- April 2, 2007

Relationships are difficult. It takes an ability to achieve homeostasis for a partnership to thrive. Even when waves rock the corny boat of love, equilibrium is (eventually) maintained in a healthy twosome.

One of the major challenges in a relationship occurs when one individual has a need that upsets the balance of the partnership. Let's say Jack wants to go to a concert on the same night that Jill has her regular girls' night out -- if you'll pardon my heterosexist example. Jack's favorite band only tours every couple of years, but Jill relies on the sustenance derived from her weekly ritual, and they can't afford babysitting nowadays. ("What, you can buy a $60 ticket, but you won't spend the same money on a sitter if we want a night alone together?") It seems that somebody has to give. Jack and Jill cannot both get their needs met simultaneously. A compromise must be made.

This Libra Full Moon illustrates the challenge of negotiating my needs versus our needs, with the Moon in relationship-focused Libra opposing the Sun in self-focused Aries. The light shines on the Libra side of this polarity, emphasing the need to shift a little. Compromise does not entail being a doormat, or surrendering to the other's desires and then feeling resentful. It is about a healthy give-and-take in which two partners sit down and negotiate their needs, both as two individuals and as a couple. Ideally, one partner is willing to forego their own immediate pleasure (Aries) out of love for their partner (Libra). This requires open communication, reflecting Libra's Air nature.

Full Moons are culmination points, and as such, energy comes to a head. In our relationship lives, the balance of "we" has been thrown out of whack by too much "me." How two individuals sort this out will be the dance of this Full Moon.

There's more to the story. Mars (ruler of the Aries Sun) in Aquarius is making stressful eighth harmonic aspects (135 degrees and 45 degrees) to the Sun and Moon, adding an "edge" focused on being independent, acting to detach from intimate partnership. This causes friction, and supports Aries' side of the equation.

Additionally, the Sun and Moon are making soft angles to Jupiter and Saturn. The Aries Sun is in a Grand Fire Trine with the planets of expansion and contraction, drawing on the supportive relationship between these social planets. What does this mean for our partnerships? Our one-on-one concerns take place within a larger framework -- religion, law, corporations. All the elements of culture that have been developed to support (or regulate) relationships are on our side. Although we may sometimes feel restricted (Saturn) or judged (Jupiter) by the powers-that-be, during this Full Moon we may turn to them to help iron out our differences. Use this opportunity to turn to a religious figure or a wise elder for assistance.

The Fine Print: This Full Moon mostly impacts those individuals with personal planets or angles near degree 12 of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).

Houses: If you are familiar with your natal chart, you will be able to determine which houses (areas of experience) tenant this Full Moon. By noting which houses are involved, you may be able to predict which "actors" you may struggle with during this period.

• 1/7 - your husband or wife, long-term partner, best friend, business partner, client, open enemy.
• 2/8 - psychotherapist, accountant, investment banker.
• 3/9 - siblings, neighbors, teachers, gurus, people from a foreign country, in-laws.
• 4/10 - Mom, Dad, the boss, the realtor, any authority figure, any nurturing figure.
• 5/11 - friends, groups, children, lovers.
• 6/12 - service people, co-workers, prisoners, hospitalized persons, monks, nuns.

Want to Get to Know Your Chart? Jeffrey Kishner is available for astrology readings.