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I write regularly at jessicashepherd.substack.com — soft, human words on healing, astrology & intuition:
Blog
Virgo New Moon: An Unfinished Life
In an attempt to organize and streamline my unfinished office, I bought a unfinished desk. I had spent months looking for a great desk and I finally made a practical choice, a plain but sturdy one, which, with elbow grease, has potential. Fretting that I had just purchased something more to add to my to do list, I asked my husband, who thought the desk was just okay, how he would refinish it. He snarkishly replied that he’d send it back to where it came from, aptly reflecting my mounting...
The Private Lives of Pluto in Libra
As a card carrying member of the Pluto in Libra generation, this planet-sign has always been hard for me to really feel in my gut. There's the shadow of Libra: obsession with appearance & beauty, rejection/repression of the baser qualities that make us ugly/unlikable, obsessing over relationship, hiding our dark not-so-nice urges, etc. But as such mental gyrations only scratch the surface of Pluto's depth, I was happy to stumble onto The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, a movie that was...
Women, Martial Anger & Stayin’ Alive
Mars, the Warrior, transits Cancer- the sign tied to emotions, nurturing, safety, family, memory and women- from August 3-September 17. The other night I told my husband that I hope he can handle me in the long term because I'm only going to get awnrier, harder to handle, and even more loud-mouthed over time (he replied that he didn't doubt it). My Moon is in Aries (so is my Mars). I need to let off steam. As an aside, one way you will always know I am comfortable with you is that I will start...
Venus in Leo, The Lion Goddess
"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." - Coco Chanel (Venus in Leo) "When you stop putting yourself on the line and you don't touch your own heart, how do you expect to touch other people?" - Tori Amos (Venus in Leo) “Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.” "Better to live one year as a tiger than a hundred years as a sheep." - Madonna (Venus in Leo) If you were born when Venus was in the constellation of Leo, the Lion... Old astrology texts like to...
Venus in Taurus, Bodacious Babe
"In Europe, 40 is really the right age for a woman. That's when we hit our peak and become this ripe fruit." "My ambition is to have beautiful encounters, not to make money." -Juliette Binoche, Venus in Taurus "Life excites me- just little normal everyday things, getting out of bed, getting dressed, making food. I find it all exciting." -Liv Tyler, Venus in Taurus If you were born when Venus was in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull... In theory, Venus being in her own earthy sign of Taurus...
Saturn Transits The Twelfth House: What Have You Got To Lose
Saturn has been transiting my Twelfth House for almost the full 2 ½ years and it's taken me that long to write a blog about this incredibly mysterious and profound transit. What is time though? This is the Twelfth House House where minutes turn into days, years into minutes. When Saturn, the planet that gives authority and structure to the days of our lives, and self-governance to our ego, the planet who normally greases the wheels of our day-to-day with a relative level of predictability,...
Help, Agent Aphrodite! Calling In Your Venus
In my solar return Venus is Ascendant. Thus, in addition to receiving awesome gifts; a kick a** purse and gorgeous shoes for my birthday, my love mailbag has been brimming with questions. A friend wrote me last Thursday, right before the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer: I've got Cancer on the cusp of 2nd house. I need security, relationship and relating, intimacy and nurturing. Actual physical presence (nourishment) of humans (i.e. partner!). These are the days of progressed Venus exactly...
Saints of Summer Solstice
This is a repost from 2007, in celebration of today's Summer Solstice. Todos Santos, All Saints, in Baja Mexico is on the Tropic of Cancer, and it's where I find myself this summer solstice 2007. How on earth am I at the right place, at the right time?! These 3-4 days around June 21, the Sun reaches his northernmost point at the tropic of Cancer, that latitudinal line in space where the Sun is directly overhead at noon. We are experiencing the longest days of the year, and the shortest nights...
Full Moon Sagittarius Eclipse: Life Is The Teacher
When at the tender age of 18, I first picked up Jungian Analyst and astrologer Liz Greene’s books at The Ark bookstore in Santa Fe, a dream was ignited inside of me to someday somehow find a way to be her. I believe in having heroes and heroines, people to look up to on our own journey – as the people, ideas, books we surround our self with tend to rub off in a magically influential way, or in this case a psycho-magical way. So over the course of a long dark sojourn with multiple Pluto...
Venus in Gemini, Mercurial Minx
“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” – Frida Kahlo, Venus in Gemini "I always wanted to be a character in a book...like the adventures I devoured as a kid." - Maria Bello, Venus in Gemini "I found my inner bitch and ran with her." - Courtney Love, Venus in Gemini If you were born when Venus was in the constellation of Gemini, the Twins… Darling, you are a natural flirt. You know how to start a conversation with just about anyone. Whereas some folks avoid casual...
