We are pleased to announce that we’ve teamed up with one of our favorite astrologists (and talented yoga pro), Chani Nicholas, to bring you weekly horoscope readings. Check back each Monday to see what’s in the stars for your week! Aries & Aries Rising You are off the hook for a moment as the attention rests on your friend Taurus. Monday’s solar eclipse is in that sign and in your Second House of financial freedom/shekel struggle. Because Mercury is in the mix, you might just get a little perspective in this area of your life. This is a time to consolidate the boundless and wild energies of the last week and harness the potentials that are brewing. Having said that, it is also important to remember that we don’t have any real clue exactly how the tree will grow. Best plan of action is to plant the seeds that you want to grow and tend to them as best you can. I really, truly believe that we know the things that are right for us instantly. Generally our body will speak volumes when something is right or wrong. Some things are simply neutral and necessary to get us from A to B. The worst case scenario this week is for you to pick the things that feel neutral. Best case scenario this week is for you to move towards the things that light you up. You are not going to go for the things that make you feel like stabbing yourself in the eye would be more fun, so we aren’t even going to go there. This is an exercise of self-affirmation, in fact let’s say it together now… New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: I choose the very best option for myself in every situation that I am in. I value my energy and I want to use this resource as a way to further my development. Sometimes the best option involves giving freely of my resources to others without any expectation of return. Taurus & Taurus Rising More than likely, you don’t need me to tell you that it’s a bit of an intense time. Monday’s eclipse in your sign makes this point even more poignantly. It’s far, far, far from the most challenging eclipse that I have ever seen. However, it does seem to want to bring up aspects of your former incarnations as you move forward with the larger projects of your life. Don’t fall for the tricks and temptations of your younger self. Every time you feel yourself starting to meander backwards, demand that your energy return to the present moment. Refuse to make up stories about what others are or are not doing. Understand that not everything is about you; everyone around you is dealing with their own suffering and pain and doing the best that they can do. This eclipse can and should be used by you as a jumping off point; a radical moment of clarity about who you are and what value you bring to the table. This isn’t based on anything that you own or even anything that you have accomplished. It’s based on your own essence and vitality as an aspect of divinity having been manifested as a physical being. Eclipses weaken the light in some way; they weaken our life force (which can sound worse than it is). When the more dominant aspects of us are overshadowed or eclipsed, the other components of self have a chance to come out and take a swing at whatever curve ball is coming our way. Sometimes these are our non-integrated shadowy bits that can catch us by surprise. Sometimes it’s the softer more gentle parts of us that usually get trampled by our domineering traits. Be attentive, receptive and gentle with what gets revealed. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: When I take the time to connect to myself, tending to my needs and make conscious contact with Creation everything in my life works better. I remember that this too shall pass: this good, this beauty, this darkness and even this despair. Everything in life rises up and falls away. I remember to step back and view my life through a different lens this week as I allow the shifting light to bring in new insights. I give my body extra love and attention and do not fret if energy shifts. I simply get more sleep or make time for more exercise. Gemini & Gemini Rising It is the perfect time to pause, drop in and see what is lurking about in the back rooms of your psyche. There is a tremendous opportunity to connect with your dream life this week and/or reclaim some of the more disenfranchised components of you. You know the aspects of you that feel inept, unloved or terminally flawed in some way? You know the parts that you wish you could disown? Well those parts or aspects of self are actually transformative gateways of greatness my friends. I say that because we spend so much energy trying to cover them up like Michelle Bachman’s gay husband (my assumption only, why else would someone be so homophobic?) and his “Pray The Gay Away” bootcamp. If we could be less attached to looking like we have ourselves under control and are more invested in our liberation and freedom, we may actually have the opportunity to bust open into new paradigms. You know, ugly cry and then move on. This week these aspects of self want your attention, wanting your awareness and wanting your acceptance so handle them with care. Our wounds can become wildly fascinating and like tide pools of energy sucking ridiculousness. Do not go down with the ship. Do expose these complexes and deal with them with generous amounts of love, fantastic boundaries and a good dose of humor. Have a tough love talk with your inner victim, bully and/or escape artist (but good luck finding them), then get on with living your life. It is the perfect time to remember and practice meditation, prayer and stillness. It’s the perfect time to unclog the drains of your unconscious and let the stagnant memories of loss and betrayal be flushed away. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: I align with the wisdom that is inherent within me: the wisdom that is found in nature, the wisdom that resides in my gut and the wisdom that is activated in every hair follicle when truth is spoken. I honor and respect my past but I do not reside in the past. I am not only my past; I am becoming myself in this moment and each moment I choose who I want to become. Cancer & Cancer Rising It’s not always easy to understand who we are to others — what space we occupy, what projections we are reflecting or what role we take on. But is it really any of our business? It’s not a good idea to abuse any kind of power dynamic. However, short of being cognizant of that, being less concerned with how others perceive us and more concerned with whether or not our current actions are true to our original intentions is where it’s at. It’s like this: a lot has been breaking open for you in terms of your career and the space you take up in public. Like, a lot. So this is definitely the time to be making changes that boldly redefine your location. You are being supported by a transit (Jupiter having been in your sign since last July) that only happens once every twelve years. And it’s almost over. Do not panic. Under the transit itself your mind should be expanding in every way. Your ideas about life and what is possible should be opening. Your sense of self is having a chance to flourish under the kind light that Jupiter has cast. When the transit is over, when Jupiter moves in Leo later this summer, you’ll have a chance to actually do something with the energy and find ways of being supported by it (hopefully financially as well as philosophically). Don’t get lazy with it, get busy with it. Use this time to currently believe in the power of possibility without getting an overblown sense of self-importance. Monday’s new moon occurs in your Eleventh House of good fortune via the folks that you are connected to. This doesn’t mean that being in community will be a cinch this week; it does mean that whatever comes up there is something you can be grateful for. Be humble about receiving the lessons that stroll across your path. Be gracious; see who is giving you the good graces of their attention, love and energy. Be grateful for all of the contacts that are supporting you like little life rafts linked together so you can find your way across choppy waters. Be kind and return the support. Be the benefactor. Be the source of opportunity of those around you and rejoice in all of their abundance. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: My personal opinion of my actions is more important than any public opinion. I use my interactions with others as a meditation for self-reflection and an opportunity for growth. I let everything that comes my way flow straight through me so that everyone may benefit from my good fortune. Meanwhile I still maintain healthy boundaries and taking excellent care of myself. Leo & Leo Rising Do not fall prey to old doubts about your career or value in the world. Do not fall victim to worldly thoughts about success (when you die, you literally can’t take any of it with you). Do not get lost in bottomless pits of despair of over-identification with the comings and goings of public approval (aka Facebook “likes”). We’ve quickly morphed into a culture of observing each other virally instead of interacting with each other in risky, physical, face-to-face fashion. We’ve become cowards. Well, most of us anyway. The next couple of weeks occur as a series of movements that continually ask the same question in different ways: why do this job? Is it the best use of MY energy? Am I cheating myself (and the future people that I work with) by staying here when I know I need more? Am I burnt out? Don’t let this line of questioning get you too down though; there is something akin to a giant cosmic hug coming your way. I don’t want you to waste the entire year long transit of Jupiter in your sign by giving it the cold shoulder. This isn’t starting until July, but I want to give you a light to look forward to and put a bee in your bonnet about how to use your next birthday to birthday solar year. If you have been paying attention, then you have been busy creating a strong foundation both to stand on and to rest your weary head upon come nightfall. Keep working on it. Foundation is everything. Is there something else that you might need to learn/create/invest in or sturdy for the next leg of your journey? When you think long term, like seven years from now where do you want to be and what do you need to do now in order to make that happen? New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: I do the things that I need to do in order to keep the ball rolling in the right direction. Part of which is making sure I tend to my need for security, home and foundational comforts. I take moments to pause especially when I am at work so that I may be very considerate and mindful of what I am doing with my energy. I think ahead so that I might be able to support not only myself but all my future colleagues, clients, associates, students and fellow travelers on this path. Virgo & Virgo Rising Maybe if we could remember that this isn’t the whole enchilada. Maybe if we could put something more meaningful at the center of our lives. Maybe if every thought was “checked” by an internal system that said, “Hey beautiful, there’s no need to feel inadequate or foolish or competitive right now. You are adored, totally adored, exactly as you are.” Maybe if we could really see and sense validation and encouragement from within instead of demanding that it come in the form of praise from others. Maybe if it was ok to disagree and still have room to respect each other. Maybe if it was ok to find our own way towards meaning, purpose and fuck up along the way without fear of being hacked to bits by those more powerful than us. Perhaps then we’d be able to grow at a sufficient enough speed to save this planet from its impending doom. Maybe if we just felt loved, like really loved, we could bear the tragedy of being human instead of trying to numb it, escape it and negate it all the time. No shame or shade there either though; we all need to make it through this labyrinth the best way we can. Knowledge is power, but love is the only thing that’s going to get us out of this mess; if not get us out at least get us through with some grace. When I look at your chart my heart screams, where the fuck is the LOVE?! As the new moon pulverizes the old and grinds you into what can feel like and existential undoing, please remember to focus on one thing and one thing only: L O V E. That’s going to mean as many different things as there are people. Just move towards your version of it. Now. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: I am wise enough to remember that I am loved, right now, exactly as I am. Momentary amnesia of this fact is merely momentary and is always followed by a remembering. I am allowed to be imperfect. I am allowed to struggle. I am allowed to change my mind. I am allowed to find my way. I am allowed to love myself imperfectly. Libra & Libra Rising Have you had enough, my sturdy buttercup? Are you ready to relinquish the frayed fringes that are left in your bawled up fists? Are you finally done, like done? Good, then we can get to work. Monday’s new moon/solar eclipse occur in your Eighth House of dark days, but this is a dark moon we are talking about so the themes match. No clashing patterns here. You are serving monochromatic realness and it works. So you’ve been a little raw, a little edgy, a little revved (read: human); all that juice is about to be put to good use in your career. It will be especially helpful if you can embrace your individuality. “My what?!” you ask? Yes, that part of you that stands alone (yikes) and finds the strength to regenerate itself. That part of you that is strong enough to find the meaning in the mud. You don’t have to be a superhero. You don’t have to overcome. You don’t have to win the Facebook Olympics for best status update, figure out how to turn shit into passive income. You don’t have to defy the laws of gravity to be worthy of living another day with dignity and respect. The experience this week is meant to be internal. The experience of this week is meant to draw your energy down and within so that you might experience an easier parting. The Eighth House teaches us about death and dying; it asks us to get real with what we have, what we lose and why that’s okay. Every human that has ever lived has one thing in common: they don’t get out of here alive. This week’s new moon wants you to remember that and see how it affects your actions. Do what you would do if this really was the last day you were to spend here: The last hug, the last meal, the last fight, the last stand. Then sleep soundly knowing that you really lived, at least for today. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: I relax about it, all of it. I see that this life is fleeting and my energy is eternal. I want to spend every drop of it on the things that really matter. I let go of micromanaging and I find new ways to trust the process of the day. I am at ease knowing that I have no control and every reason to enjoy. This. Moment. Scorpio & Scorpio Rising Every good thing that happens to someone else is evidence that this is also possible for you. (However, racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia and classism are real institutional barriers that can make us feel insanely inadequate and utterly hopeless. Yet we must move forward, find other ways, our ways, and outsmart the outdated systems-or die trying.) But it’s important to understand who we are actually looking at. Are we wanting the hopes and dreams of others? Are we concerned with winning first prize in a category that doesn’t actually resonate with us? Are we unwilling to own our own dreams and instead settle for being another fish in the stream? This Monday’s solar eclipse/new moon is occurring in your Seventh House of intimate relationships, so be on the lookout for flair ups with the friends you get frisky with (professional relationships included). Also be on the lookout for the ways in which you tend to give your power away to codependent patterning. It’s really important to have other folks that inspire us but it’s equally important to know that no one has blazed the trail that is ours to blaze. The coming weeks are going to want to pry a lot of emotional baggage from your firm and amazingly strong grip. This eclipse is just the beginning of a series of movements in your life that will remind you that a) you can’t control anyone, b) people are more fun when you let them do what they want to do, c) commitments need to grow and change with time and d) when you make sure that you take care of your own needs, everyone else is a lot less annoying. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: All of my important partnerships give me a plenty of opportunities for reflection, for pause and for deepening my awareness to my primary partner: myself. I consciously celebrate (especially when envy arises) the accomplishments of others. I will see their moving forward as a sign from the universe that this is possible for me to do so as well, as it pertains to my life. I want what I have. I have all that I will ever need in this moment. Because of that I am ready for the all the miracles this life would like to reveal to me now. Sagittarius & Sagittarius Rising In this kind of astrological weather it’s best to feel out the next bit of road. Kind of like when you are walking in the dark and your eyes have yet to adjust, you put your foot out and tap, tap, tap the ground to make sure it’s really there. This is a physical sense that becomes an extension of your sight. Find the terra firma before you take your next step. Monday’s new moon/eclipse is occurring in your Sixth House of work and service and although it’s a good time to plan for future work situations it’s not your usual kind of new moon. This one might tend to be a little sticky, creating tempting scenarios to sleep walk through the monotonous motions of our day. That would be a less than fantastic way to spin this. Although, sometimes we might need to do a little bit more “investigating” about a behavior that acts more like a road block than a block party. Sometimes it’s good to remember why doing that thing leaves us feeling this way. Sometimes we can remain awake and engaged with our patterns and choose Door #2 as an experiment, exercising our right to do it differently and gather new information. The point is this: do the things that you hope to be doing more of. Set the patterns of your day up (if even just for this week) in ways that your dream days would flow (to whatever degree possible). Act as if this is your new schedule, deemed so by your inner most desires. Eat the foods that make you feel powerful. Sleep as much as you can/need. Enjoy the natural elements as much as you can. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: To the best of my ability I make conscious choices to construct my days in the most nurturing ways possible. I set my schedule to one that suits my rhythms. I choose to spend time enjoying sensual pleasures rather than wasting time stressing about things I have no control over. Capricorn & Capricorn Rising Oh for goodness’ sake, let it go! You don’t have to win this one. You can’t, actually. No one is going to love you because you need them to. Love is free. It costs only your respect and you pay this by never demanding, devaluing or denouncing how it comes to you. Instead, let yourself be rocked by it. Let yourself be rolled, broken, torn and scared by it. Yes, my pretty, scars are pretty too. Be pretty with mud on your dress; get dirty with the clean smell of fresh earth. Dig down into the soil of your fertile imagination and plant seeds that will frustrate complacency. Strangle apathy and over take distracting drama. Pour all that sexual frustration, broken hearted blunderings and single “lady” loneliness into something creative. Trust, it’s so fulfilling. It’s so much better to be obsessed over creative pursuits than it is over two legged hurricanes. I mean they are fun too, but why not create something that you can share with yourself or the world? Creative juices that flow into something makes coupling more heated because we have something to get back to. Romantic love is so fun for, like, the length of a Beyonce video then it makes you brain dead like watching any large amount of any mainstream media. Get romantic with anything that sustains you, drives you and deepens the dig in your dance. Romance is dead! Long live romance! New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: I begin here. I claim this ground that I stand on as sacred territory that is witness to my unfolding. I don’t subscribe to anyone’s version of wealth but my own. I find value in the things that give me the greatest kick. My God is a wise-cracking, hip-shaking, dancing Queen who rules this universe with a cosmic cackle and a voracious appetite for inventive children. She rejoices in my willingness to redefine realness. Aquarius & Aquarius Rising Home is where the heart is, home is where the heart is, home is…where? Certainly looks like there is a shift in consciousness about what one might call “home” these days. Physical space may be a piece of this, but there also seems to be an emotional unraveling as well. This is not a good or bad thing, necessarily. Emotional unraveling could also be seen as unveiling, unmasking and unearthing. Certainly there are themes of security, scarcity, sustainability, support, connection, your private thoughts and longings that have found their way onto your current path. Like an old dog, these are to be walked regularly, but not too vigorously. You need time to pause and integrate the lessons that are being revealed, because they are that valuable. You may feel a deepening connection to your ancestors and their hopes and dreams, for themselves and maybe for you. You might envision the kind of home you wish to create; the kind of family, the kind of creative mix of individuals that you choose to have at your side and in your space. You may do or feel none of these things and that would be just fine as well. But if there is anything that you need to investigate, on your own, in private, in seclusion or incognito I say go for it. Turn a corner onto a street that knows you not and see what exactly it does for your internal sense of support. The “old” home is disintegrating and another is being built. Lay the bricks as they suit you. New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation: “Home”is here, even if I feel dislocated, even if “here”is also “there”and maybe even “nowhere”. It’s OK to be in multiple places at one time and to be unsure of what “home”means. I can feel all sorts of ways about it and not be wrong. Home is this body, this breath and this moment and so I put my awareness on what is. Pisces & Pisces Rising Love erupts and dismantles, washes off and erodes. Life sweeps us away as if we were a little cobweb vainly clinging to the ceiling; covered in dust, imagining immortality, incensed that a bundle of straw would have the gall to come so close. Our lives are beyond fragile. We are impermanent in this form and yet we could not be more attached. What cruel fate is this!? We don’t get what we deserve. We don’t get to say that we know anything really or for sure. We are left alone in the stadium of experience with nothing but a bat that we can swing at the curve balls that come our way. You might just be more comfortable with all this nonsense lately, you might just be. If not, it looks like you get some practice at being ok with the shifting tides of your days. So, ok, nothing in your days are certain, big deal. If we can truly get down with that then we are more apt to enjoy the time that we do have here: acknowledging the good that is present. Monday’s new moon occurs in your Third House of divination; of daily movements, of communication and of cross roads. I made that last part up, but I like it so we are going to go with it. An eclipse in this part of your chart screams (in a mellow Taurean way). Hey, you! You have some choice here. You have the choice to get still and centered and remember to consult the oracle. You have the choice to watch for signs; you have the choice to pray if that kind of thing works for you. You have the choice to PAUSE and wait for information. Let’s call that your New Moon/Eclipse Affirmation. For more information please visit Chani’s personal blog, UntilTheStarsFallFromTheSky, or for personal astrology readings please contact Chani directly at chani [at] chaninicholas.com.