As Venus Makes Its Opposition With Neptune

Thursday, August 23, was a morning of thinking about fantasy and illusion. I sat on my porch swing spending my morning time daydreaming and reading The Power of Nowby Eckhart Tolle. I started to wonder about the meaning of “now” for me. I’ve always found the thought, “you should be in the now” a little off-putting. If I had to constantly sit and be aware of “being in the now”, would I be bored? I love to fantasize about the future. Thinking about driving down the street to my favorite ice cream store, choosing a flavor and deciding on a cone or a cup is almost as much fun as the real thing, but there is so much pleasure being "in the ice cream moment" with the glorious taste, texture and that sweet coolness.

This makes me think that past, present, future are all the same and that time really is an illusion. Is it the five senses that make the “now” so powerful? I often wonder how it is in the afterlife with no material form, no ice cream, no velvety fur to stroke on your loving pet.

It has been almost four months since I lost most of my possessions in a fire. Replacing my wardrobe has been fun, but the thought of it has been even more fun. I lived through the summer in t-shirts and jeans, but now it’s time to think about sweaters, and bundling up in a hand-made sweater. I like to knit and when I knit, I think about what I will work on next. I get lost imagining the colors, textures and different color combinations. One of the first things that people who knit will say, “It is so relaxing”. Maybe that is why knitting is so addictive. If I knit something in a simple stitch, my mind becomes very mercurial wandering all over the place, dreaming, and scheming. Perhaps it is my Mars in Virgo that causes that mercurial mind to come to life when I knit.

I have Mars in Virgo in the 5th house. Mars in Virgo is a signature of knitting. The 5th house is creative, and I always have a creative project around, even if I’m not working on it. In fact, a pair of knitting needles, and a sweater in progress, were the first things I retrieved from my home after the fire. The owner of my local knitting shop said there is a comfort in being surrounded by needles and yarn.

I am also replacing all my artwork. I am a watercolorist. However, when I do watercolor, my mind does not wander; I am focused on the work at hand.

As I sit on the porch swing wool-gathering and daydreaming, I return to the now, I am in the moment, thankful for the cool breeze. Soon the sweltering heat will return for a spell. I think of my friends in the south and wonder how they are surviving.

These are my musings as Venus, the planet related to pleasure in material life, makes an opposition to Neptune, the planet of mystery, illusion, and fantasy.

In my chart, pleasure-seeking Venus at 20 Leo is transiting within two degrees of my practical natal Saturn at 22 Leo. Venus also squares my ascendant at 20 Taurus. Meantime, imaginative Neptune transiting at 20 Aquarius fills in a t-square in my chart. If this is what this t-square brings me, in this moment I am very appreciative.

I wrote this a few days ago, and now the heat has returned. My days are slow and not much has been accomplished. I haven’t seen any intense outward manifestations of Venus oppose Neptune other than three knitting projects ripped out. They didn’t turn out as I imagined. Don’t let Venus fool you, she can bring intense manifestations, but for now, she has been gentle with me and is affecting only my creative projects. Neptune is making my imagination work overtime, and my writing a little rambly. I may see a bigger outcome in the future, for my creative imaginings have included my future.