Sustaining steady contact with the energy of Venus, always good for

you, now figures especially prominently in one critical dimension of

your life: the Sixth House, which is where Venus lies in your

birthchart. What themes or issues come to the fore here?

Responsibilities, duties, and the fulfillment of your commitments.

But before we start sounding too much like the Boy Scout Handbook,

let's remember that the pivotal issue of the Sixth House lies in

recognizing the exact nature of your proper obligations, and not

letting yourself be cowed into signing up for boring,

self-sacrificial martyrdoms that are none of your business anyway.

Clarifying the exact location of the thin line between humility and

humiliation is on the front burner for you now. One rule of thumb:

when your duties have the flavor of Venus, you're on the right

track.

When Venusian energies splice together with Jupiterian ones,

opportunity (Jupiter) comes to you through other people (Venus).

Sometimes what we might call "dumb luck" makes itself felt, but it

doesn't hurt to help it along by understanding the planetary "rules

of the game." Basically, they boil down to this: you've got to ask

for what you want, you've got to know that you deserve it, and

you've got to look that way...which is to say, there's no room for

being apologetic, ashamed, or defensive.

The two factors, as we mentioned, are linked by a trine --

traditionally seen as a "good" aspect, but more accurately seen as

simply enhancing or supportive. Generally speaking, with trines

there is an opportunity...but to seize it, you must supply the

initiative.

The progressed Moon figures in our thinking again. As you may

recall, the Moon shows what you are feeling. It gives us insight

into your mood, concerns, and general attitude...into "where your

heart is," in other words.

Currently the Moon is maneuvering through your Twelfth House. As we

said earlier in the report, this is the final house of the cycle and

often suggests endings and dissolutions. A meditative, accepting

attitude is best now, letting go lightly of the things that are

taken from you, knowing that despite appearances what is lost now

has no place in the journey to come. What is to be released? A hint

lies with the Moon, as we just described it -- that part of you has

completed a major phase of its work and must now "graduate" to a new

level. But we can go further. There is also a need for some release

in connection with Neptune, which is being invited into development

by these vital resolutions and these necessary deaths -- some of

which, by the way, may be forced upon you by circumstance if you're

overdue in appreciating their necessity.

How is the progressed Moon currently impacting on you? It

squares your natal Neptune: sometime before the report period. In

thinking about this, remember that progressions are slow-motion

events, and that this event simply peaks then; it will be affecting

your mood for a period of two or three months on either side of that

date.

Close your eyes. Don't think of anything at all. Just be aware of

all that infinite, dark space. Welcome to Neptune. In your natal

chart, it represents the part of you that knows how to enter trance,

to meditate, or to "space out." Everybody's got one, and everybody

experiences that part of their consciousness from time to time. When

triggered by transits or progressions, Neptune asks you to let go,

to allow material to enter your mind uncensored and unstructured.

It's more akin to feeling than thinking, but neither word captures

it perfectly. Dreaming is the closest analogy...a sort of

free-associative state in which your own mind works like an

unpredictable movie theater. Why bother? Because such an

astrological event signals that your unconscious mind or, if you

prefer, your soul has an important message and is trying to get in

touch with you.

Your Eighth House engaged us previously in the report. Now we see it

provoked again, indicating that your attitude toward the

circumstances we're considering reflects a fundamental distortion.

It has to do with your own psychological scar-tissue, and it biases

your thinking in the direction of Neptune, as we just described it.

Follow your moods down into the labyrinths of your psyche; pay

attention to your dreams, your fantasies, and your unspoken hungers.

And speak nakedly and truly with someone of the nature of Neptune,

who will help you clarify your own real needs.

When the Moon blurs into Neptune, a season of strong dreams is upon

you. Creativity and inspiration are at a peak. Cultivate them by

giving yourself quiet, meditative time. In narrowly practical terms,

your efficiency is down now. You are probably experiencing some

forgetfulness. Don't worry, it will pass -- but so will the positive

visionary imagination be so fertile. Dream, and make note of your

dreams. Soon enough a time will come to act on them.