This newsletter nearly didn’t come out tonight… not because I couldn’t be bothered sending it, but because I am so completely tired that all creativity has flown the coop. It is the sort of tiredness that makes you count down how many hours there is left before you can conceivably go back to bed. That can’t be faffed and bored with the world tired.

And I have tried to fight it- using the whole mentality of energy breeds energy and pushing through the wall, this week I have trained a lot harder than I usually do. Training is generally (by default) a solitary thing for me, but this week I have had company in the gym and have loved it- even if that company has been watching (and channelling)way too much Jillian Michaels & Bob Harper (although, I could also watch a lot of Bob Harper- I just don’t particularly want to train until I puke with him).

It is about now that the violins should come out. I am feeling way too dutiful and Virgo and my Pisces planets have gone into victim mode and are curling up into the foetal position and waving the white flag.  My house needs a bloody good clean from top to bottom and my garden could quite easily support a small herd of goats on agistment. Books are breeding in my study and fighting for poll position in the pile stakes with all the unfiled bills.  Creativity has deserted me and I haven’t touched my manuscript in 3 weeks (I am seeing so much that is wrong with it) and am so unfocused that I am in danger of working my way through my video collection as a way of procrastinating around what Must Be Done. Season 2 of Spooks is pretty good, about to move onto Season 3.

This happens every September when the Sun is going through my opposite sign. I think this year has felt more draining because of the combination of Mercury retrograde in Virgo and Mars trying too hard to be charming over in Libra. Anyone else out there notice a real struggle when the Sun is in their opposite sign- or is it just me?

Anyways, I am doing what any self respecting Piscean does when confronted with too much responsibility and duty- I am cashing in some brownie points and a heap of Frequent Flyer points and running away to Melbourne for a few days to catch up with a dear friend…that (and a side trip to the Yarra Valley) ought to do the trick! As a result, posts over the back end of this week will be pretty limited, but I can guarantee I will be back at glass half full and believing and trusting in the unbelievable and untrustable (I made that word up) in true Pisces fashion by next Sunday night…and ready to whip this house and garden (and that manuscript) back into shape…although more on Venus in Scorpio later in the week J.

On the Blogs

Aside from the Daily Planets (make sure you sign up to get yours in your email each day), also on the blog: 

• For Your Career & The Cosmos, Virgo Boss
• An Astro Basics piece Elementally Speaking- warning to non astro peeps, this is supposed to be educational…
• In preparation for Venus coming into Scorpio, a reprint of what is still the most clicked piece on the site- Wuthering Heights Revisited.
• A recipe for Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding in Under the Cancer Moon- Whats Cooking?

What’s Happening Up There?

The New Moon in Virgo on Wednesday night is a biggie. In the following 24 hours Venus will be pulling on her leather, grabbing her “tool kit” and heading into Scorpio for a walk on the darkside.  I am spoiled for choice on the lyrics front for this one…still deciding whether to use Bad Romance by Lady Gaga or Robbie Williams’ version of Jealousy or the Veronicas’ Revenge is Sweeter Than You Ever Were. The intensity will definitely be brought up a notch or two over the next few weeks- especially with Mars also heading into Scorpio and Pluto turning direct.

Hoping all the dads had a great Fathers Day (I am sure you all deserved to be pampered… my dad & my hubby certainly do, and were…)

Until next time, duty and a full laundry basket calls…

What a gorgeous weekend! I ventured into the garden on Saturday and very quickly ventured back out again. My husband tells me that I need to plan properly what I need to get done- which is his way of:

1. Putting off the work- he knows how rarely I am in touch with my inner Virgo & how reluctant I am regarding planning
2. Avoiding the work (he isn’t that keen on gardens)
3. Stopping me jumping into the deep end- which is impossible anyway because the pool is currently the colour the lawn should be, but isn’t
4. Keeping me occupied- he has visions of the last time I attacked the garden & he came home to me with a crook back after chopping down what he said was a tree, but I thought was just a troublesome bush.

Anyway, today was spent horse-riding up at Glenworth Valley, about an hour up the highway from our place towards the Central Coast. A glorious day, but I am suffering already .

On the Blogs

The blog was down for most of Thursday night and Friday as some low life attempted to hack into my site. Thankfully I have the worlds smartest provider and their efforts were thwarted. I was feeling sick and paranoid and wondering who could hate me that much (it was pretty cruddy stuff they were trying to do), but apparently I shouldn’t take it personally- unfortunately that is easier said than done for me. I have to now just hope that the law of karma comes back and blows up his server- or at least reports his IP address to the authorities.

It was just one more thing in what has been the crappiest Mercury Rx in memory- and Ms Sparkles, you have permission to say “I told you so”.

Aside from the Daily Planets (make sure you sign up to get yours in your email each day), also on the blog: 

• For Your Career & The Cosmos, Virgo at Work
• AskJo- The Virgo Files: Its Got To be perfect
• Perking Up Without the Perks, is a workplace piece that I posted here instead. Sort of a continuation to my motivation piece last week. Now, to practice what I preach J

What’s Happening Up There?

Not a whole lot for the next week or so…thankfully! Mercury stations direct in another 10 or so days and Venus moves into Scorpio a few days before that. Ho hum really…

Off to do the domestic diva Sunday night routine, so until next time

All of a sudden the blossom trees are a mass of pink- when did that happen? This also means that I have enough grass in my garden beds to feed a small herd of goats. I have so much to do in that garden and seriously have no idea where to start. Possibly by stepping out the back door with a drawing and some focus, I guess. Thankfully a family gathering at the Lyons Den today meant that I could put it off for another weekend.

On the Blogs

The Daily Planets are still going up each day. This is close to being a habit for me now, and I am feeling strangely smug about it. 

• For Your Career & The Cosmos, Motivation By the Stars. What gets you out of bed on a Monday morning (besides a huge pay cheque, of course…)
• Worth the Wait? I Don’t Think So…or why I always read the back page of a book….
• Me and My Shadow- oppositions and change management- a collection of posts for Your Career & the Cosmos

What’s Happening Up There?

The Sun moves into Virgo tomorrow. While I work out some new material, here is last years post to be getting on with.

As you no doubt are aware, Mercury is well and truly retrograde. A few posts in relation to that last week:

The Myth of multi-tasking and Mercury Rx

Not on My Watch- a post for Your Career & the Cosmos- Change management & Mercury Retrogrades

Daily Planets- The Election Edition- seriously what halfwit booked an election on the 1^st days of a retrograde?

Finally in the early hours of Wednesday morning (Sydney time) the Moon will be full in the first couple of degrees of Pisces. This is a time when we can balance the intoxicating inspiration of Pisces with the reality of Virgo. My Full Moon post, is here.

Need to help Five Foot Nothing classify some aliens by decision map (its a science project), so must run…

As I write this I am yelling instructions through to the kitchen where husband and daughter are making a double batch of my brownies- she needs some for a Cake Stall tomorrow & he wants some for the office…giving new meaning to brownie points perhaps??? So far we have had one near disaster when everything just got lumped in together. Luckily the eggs had just gone in on top, so I was able to salvage it.

On the Blogs

I have actually been quite disciplined (well, for me anyway!) and am in a bit of semi habit of putting up daily astro forecasts…hopefully you are finding them of some use. If you don’t already subscribe to the daily emails, make sure that you sign up so that you get these into your inbox every day. Just remember, it is a 2 step process- I noticed the other day there a quite a few people who haven’t verified their email addresses, so have only half completed the process.

I have also spent some time over the last week re-jigging the website so that you are able to find some of the more popular series of posts more easily. In doing so, I think I have completely stuffed up the automated newsletter, so apologies if this means you are picking this up from the web rather than your mailbox.

Venus is now home in the sign she rules, Libra. As an Air sign (and the opposite to my own Venus placement) I do have problems understanding all things Libra- which is a tad difficult to admit given that I am married to a Scorp man with this placement. Lol.  In fact, as I was writing the piece I was giggling to myself as I ticked off how so unlike Venus in Libra I am- especially when my Mars in Scorpio temper is roused . Anyway check out You’ve Got Style.

Speaking of Mars, he is already firmly entrenched in Libra. My piece Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps deals with that one. I am still searching for the right structure for Saturn in Libra- if I procrastinate long enough 2 ½ years will pass perhaps…no? In the meantime, some general comments on Saturn transits in The Climb.

Did you find yourself in binge mode last week? Perhaps it was the Taurus Moon…anyway, I have had a couple of questions come through, so here is AskJo: Blame it on the Moon.

What’s Happening Up There?

There is a New Moon at 17 Leo on Tuesday afternoon (just after 1pm Sydney time). Leo is about romance, creativity, pleasure and self expression. With Mars and Venus together in Libra, love could be in the air…and with Venus opposite Jupiter and both squaring Pluto, something pretty powerful is in the air. What will you be wishing for at this New Moon? I have a pretty good idea about what I want, but whether I have the confidence to go after it is another thing.

By this time next week, Uranus will be back in Pisces where he will stay until March next year before leaving Pisces for another 80 odd years. From my viewpoint this means that the last of my really shitty Saturn transits will be done and I am looking forward to feeling all that wonderfully exciting electricity and promise of the unexpected. Note I am being optimistic, even though I know that Uranus hitting the Moon has the potential to bring both unexpected good and unexpected crap…

Anyway, these brownies should almost be ready to take out of the oven,

This blog comes with a health warning- do not read this if you are depressed- I am having a sad sack moment- hopefully it won’t last…in fact, hubby has just mixed me a martini, so it should mix beautifully with the painkillers shortly…that came out loud, didn’t it? And I am listening to pet Shop Boys with the London Symphony Orchestra (Robbie Williams’ version of “Jealousy” is amazing) so all will be good.

I have a confession to make this week. I am as flat as a tack. And I mean Flat with a capital F. In fact so flat that I can’t even do the whole fake it until you become it thing. Just flat. And for no real reason. Not sure whether it is boredom, lack of challenge, post holiday blues, post masterchef blues (although I was thrilled with the result…which I will say no more on as NZ readers have only just started the series) or just a really crappy Saturn transit.

And I am having a crappy Saturn transit, have had a crappy week at work & now have a crappy neck. In fact my daughter was helping me drive this afternoon because I can’t turn my head to the right, and my parking is, as a result, crappy. And yes, I know that is irresponsible. I can hear my mother saying “I don’t like that word Joanne!”

On the Blogs

In line with my crappy week, and a little completely unwarranted and unjustified paranoia (soooo crappy Saturn transit) on Your Career & the Cosmos Office Snitch or Office Bitch. I like gossip as much as the next person, but mean-ness is just…well, mean! Obviously the usual fine print around fictional characters & fictional workplaces applies. Also on Your Career & the Cosmos, Keeping Your Boss Happy- a piece I wrote last year, which has been re-printed across there.

A great question this week about Uranus conjunct Venus. Even if you aren’t an astro peep, this is a pertinent post. Check it out- Breaking Free.

Also from the mailbag a question about Saturn and ascendant transits. Hellooooo- in the middle of one! Feeling ugly & old? Yep. Man in the Mirror.

I am loving the questions. Whilst I really don’t tend to do full freebie readings, if you are happy for something to be used, send it in!

Mercury is now in Virgo, so with the assistance of my favourite Virgo niece, and Old MacDonald, have a peek at And on that farm he had a….. For Leo, and yes, it is all about you, I Am What I Am. This one is for my Leo sister- Leesa aka Tommy/ Lenny the Lion “nothing bad ever happens at Tiffanys”.

I still haven’t found the right song lyrics for Saturn in Libra or Mars in Libra, but isn’t indecisiveness a Libra trait? Will get there in the next day or so.

Given that Mercury is in Virgo, some stats:

July was the best month ever, with nearly 30000 people finding their way to the site. The most clicked post during July was This is How it feels- Mercury in Cancer followed closely by I am Sailing (my Venus in Virgo post) & Come Undone- Jupiter in the 12^th. Thanks so much for your support.

What’s happening up there?

 This week Venus moves home into Libra. As poxy as it is, I can’t go past Taylor Swifts’ Love Story for this one.

As the painkillers kick in, and Masterchef deprived I better check on the fish pie in the oven.