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I write regularly at jessicashepherd.substack.com — soft, human words on healing, astrology & intuition:
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Gemini-Sagittarius Eclipses: Fresh Perceptions, Leaps & Bounds
It was December 2010 and my Gemini client exclaimed, ““Oh nooooo. The eclipses are coming - in my sign!” After barely surviving the Cancer/Capricorn cycle myself, I understood her foreboding. Eclipses are associated with uncertainty and the unexpected; they often mark turning points & crisis, evolutionary leaps and bounds made without the known safety net of the familiar. Geminis and Sag's: the Universe has wanted you to move forward. If you are either Sun Sign, this two-year period has...
Venus in Sagittarius: Gypsy Consort
"I've dated the sweet mama's boy, the musician rocker, the struggling artist- basically a lot of people without jobs." -Alyssa Milano (Venus in Sagittarius) "The easiest kind of relationship is with ten thousand people, the hardest is with one." -Joan Baez (Venus in Sagittarius) "Ted needs someone to be there all of the time. He thinks that's love. It's not love- it's babysitting." -Jane Fonda (Venus in Sagittarius) "Go big or go home. Because it's true. What do you have to lose?"-Eliza Dishku...
Taurus Full Moon: Slow Down To Feel Strong
Cardinal energy, courtesy of transiting Saturn, Uranus and Pluto in Libra, Aries and Capricorn respectively, has been speedy. Remember the movie ‘Speed’? Speed's plot was a moving bus, a bomb, and the only way to keep it from detonating was to keep that bus moving. That's the logic of cardinal energy, quick to respond, act and react (the bomb could go off at any time but if we keep moving, it won't). When the pervasive feeling of 'initiate, act, react' combines with an urgent need or desire...
The Eighth House & The Ancestral Legacy, Part 1
In honor of El Dia de los Muertos and the Sun in Scorpio (10/23-11/21) - the season we have greater ease of access into the deep psyche, and can potentially transmute old attachments & griefs - my three-part article on the Eighth House. In Mexico there’s a holiday ‘day of the dead’ or dia de los muertos, the one day a year set aside to symbolically honor those who have passed, their favorite foods are made, and family comes together to remember, celebrate and pay homage to the people they...
Scorpio New Moon: Hecate’s Moon & Graveyards
Wednesday's Scorpio New Moon is known by those in Pagan circles as Hecate’s Moon. Hecate is the Pagan Goddess of the Underworld and she ferries, from one life phase to another, those in seasons of transition. A three-headed Goddess of the Maiden, Mother and Crone, her energy is present during those liminal spaces of time during which we feel "in the dark"; in the dark about the future, lost, or uncertain about which way to go, or somewhere between death and new life. At times when the future...
An Interview With Practical Astrologer April Elliott Kent
I've never fallen in love over the internet, but I've fallen in major like. With a voice. April Elliott Kent's voice. April's often wry, bravely honest and hearty essays at BigSkyAstrology had me at hello. Now I've had a major crush on another lady Leo writer, too, so what is it about Leo writers?! April says, I think Leo has a gift for telling their own story in a way that helps other people see themselves in it, and inspires them to tell their own story. April & I have yet to meet,...
Aries Full Moon: A Hiss is Just a Hiss
A mystic passed through town and villagers asked his advice about a snake. This snake had been terrorizing town folk with venomous bites, and they wondered whether the mystic would talk with him and see whether something could be done. He met with the snake, explaining that the biting thing was dreadful, and if he would stop, everyone would leave him alone and everyone would be better for it. The snake agreed to the plan. Months passed. The next time the mystic came through town, he stopped by...
The Karmic Wave Breaks On Amanda Knox
Pluto in Capricorn square Uranus in Aries are acting as catalysts for so many world events -- revolution, financial & political revolt, toxins rising to the surface of political regimes and financial markets. Collectively and personally this is exciting longstanding karmas to erupt and such is the case for Amanda Knox who, after 3 years internment in an Italian prison, was found not guilty just yesterday. Given the botched DNA evidence (and that an unrelated man, Rudy Guede, has already...
Venus in Libra: Goddess of Good Grace
"I think marriage licenses should be like driver's licenses. They expire after a number of years, and in order to keep going you have to renew. What a way to keep it fresh!" "You don't need a pickup line. Just glance at a woman from across the room. Glance-- don't stare." -Jenny McCarthy, Venus in Libra "Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick ass red lipstick."-Gwyneth Paltrow, Sun in Libra "I'm basically a good, gentle person but I'm attracted to mean...
Libra New Moon: Conjunctio
Marriage is the essence of human relationships. It challenges us to be of one accord without abandoning the truth of our individuality. It challenges us to not lose ourselves in one another, but rather to walk side by side heading in the same direction. As with all relationships, marriage is an endless presentation of choices about how we want to be with one another. Each choice results in either more unity or more separation. Chose into that unity every chance you get. Sacrifice your...
