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I got a great question from a client a few weeks ago. I felt it was rich enough territory for a newsletter. Let me open with her words:

“When you have come through a major transit or progression and totally fail to get it right, what does the high road look like from there? In practical terms, we often just have to live with whatever consequences that may become a non-negotiable part of our lives after a less-than-optimal response. Life goes on, the stars continue to spin, new challenges await. But is it worthwhile to ask if any of the higher potentials of a "botched" transit/progression are actively recoverable? Or is it simply a time to assess, acknowledge the loss and the lesson, and move on?  Is it all, you know. . . starlight under the bridge once a transit is over?”

Let me get rolling here with a question that has become a cliché: is there really any such thing as a mistake?  I’m a Capricorn, so my answer is pretty simple: yes indeed – mistakes are part of life. The word serves a useful purpose and we need it in our vocabularies. And when we do make mistakes, there is always a price to pay.

Tem Tarriktar, the beloved publisher of The Mountain Astrologer magazine, passed away last July 8th. He had thyroid cancer. In the Age of Facebook and Instagram, most of you reading this probably knew of his illness and his heroic battle against it over the past many months. Likely, you knew of his passing within hours as well.  Astrology is a small world, and at times such as this, our field and all of us who comprise it feel like a family. Death draws us all a little closer to the ancient hearth-fire.

All the standard things one might say in the face of such a loss remain true, even though familiarity might weaken them to the point that they sound like cliches: Tem will be sorely missed. Our hearts go out to those he left behind. We will always remember him. We know he lives on in spirit and in his legacy of great work.

by Steven Forrest

Beware! Beware! Mercury will be retrograde from July 7 through the last day of the month! I’ve found that Mercury doesn’t even have to be retrograde for it to be blamed for every minor misfortune, miscalculation, and misunderstanding that might arise.  Say “Venus retrograde” or “Jupiter retrograde,” and you get a blank look. But utter the fearful words, “Mercury is retrograde” and the blood drains from people’s faces."

For some reason, this little piece of technical astrology has lately entered the popular imagination just as deeply knowing that you are a Gemini or a Taurus. And, to people who only know a little bit about astrology, Mercury retrograde spells trouble.

Ask any experienced astrologer, at least one who does not require mood stabilizers, and you are likely to hear a more nuanced attitude: “Mercury retrograde is a real phenomenon – but don’t sell your earthly possessions and join a doomsday cult because of it.”

Keep some perspective, in other words.

Saturn is transiting over my natal Sun, so I am trying to walk my talk – working like a maniac, in other words, trying to keep my eye on the prize.

At the same time, my progressed Moon is passing through the twelfth house. True to form, I don’t know exactly what I am doing.

It is a strange astrological combo-platter, as you can plainly see.

At times such as these, my appreciation of astrology really goes through the roof. I look into that bright mirror in the sky and, among other benefits, I feel a whole lot less crazy than I might feel without astrology.

I bet that you feel that way too, or you wouldn’t be tuning into my monthly astrological ramble.