The Astrology Podcast

Episode 168 features an interview with Vedic astrologer Dennis Harness where we talk about different styles of conducting astrological consultations, and some potential challenges that new astrologers should watch out for when seeing clients. We begin by talking about different styles that astrologers use in order to conduct natal consultations, which can range from informational presentations of the delineation to more of a conversational style. We also talk about some potential pitfalls that consulting astrologers should watch out for, which includes the need to be mindful of elements of their own shadow. At one point we focus on a list of six challenging client styles that Dennis has identified through his years of practice, which can occasionally be problematic when astrologers run into them during the course of doing consultations. The discussion is based on an article on Dennis' website titled Vedic Astrology and Transpersonal Counseling. Dennis is organizing a conference on Vedic astrology in Sedona later this year (Nov. 30 - Dec 3. 2018), which you can find out more information about here: Sedona Vedic Astrology Conference This episode is available in both an audio and a video version, and you can find links to both below right after the show notes. Show Notes Here is an outline of some of the points covered in this episode: * Introducing Dennis and talking about his background in astrology and counseling. * Issues practicing Vedic astrology in a modern western context. * Popularization of Vedic astrology in the west in 80s and 90s. * More predictive form of astrology, different cultural norms. * Debates about ethics and counseling in the west during this process. * Power of prediction versus therapeutic and counseling concerns. * Just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should. * Different ways of conducting and astrological consultation. * Informational style * Counseling style * Psychotherapeutic style * If someone was just starting to do consultations now, what advice would you give? * Six challenging client styles astrologers sometimes run into: * The Professional * Sees diviners frequently, wants them to make decisions for them. * The Skeptic / Confounder * Does not believe astrology is legitimate * Wants to stump or confound the astrologer. * May deny accuracy of interpretation even if correct. * Often happens when consultation is given as a gift. * The Agreeable Client * Over-idealizes the astrologer as infallible, or god-like. * Potential to swing to opposite extreme. * The Confessional * Confesses misdeeds to seek absolution or approval. * Rescue Me * Expects the astrologer to magically make everything better/perfect. * The Victim * Believes negative aspects in chart mean they are being punished. * Need help turning life around by becoming more active participant. * The astrologer’s shadow * Narcissism and grandiosity * Need to acknowledge the limitations of astrology, and astrologers are fallible. * Awareness of one’s own philosophical and religious assumptions. * How those may or may not agree with the client’s beliefs.

Episode 167 of the podcast features a discussion between Chris Brennan and Adam Elenbaas about the problem of twins in natal astrology, and how astrologers deal with the birth charts or horoscopes of two people who were born at the same time. The premise of natal astrology is that the alignment of the planets at the moment a person is born have something significant to say about a person's character and future, but this premise then naturally raises the question of what about people who were born around the same time? This comes up most commonly in the horoscopes of twins who are born to the same parents within a few minutes of each other, although the question is also applicable to time twins, who are people that were born around the same time to different parents. During the course of this episode we discuss this issue and try to explore some possible solutions, both from a technical and a philosophical perspective. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream the recording of this episode of the podcast. Twins Show Notes and Episode Outline Here are the show notes, which provides an outline of most of the major points we touched on during the course of the episode: * One of the most common and longstanding critiques against natal astrology. * Variations of the criticism have been in circulation for over 2000 years. * We will address philosophical, conceptual, and technical points related to this issue. * Defining the basic parameters of the twins criticism: * Natal astrology was developed in Mesopotamia by the 5th century BCE. * Premise is that alignment of planets at birth indicates future of native. * Naturally raises the question of what about people born at the same time? * Twins who are born close together from the same mother. * Twins look the same, but have different lives. * Time twins, who are born to separate parents but around the same time. * This has been a longstanding critique of natal astrology for the past 2000 years. * Earliest surviving criticism is Cicero (1st century BCE). * "the fact that men who were born at the very same instant, are unlike in character, career, and in destiny, makes it very clear that the time of birth has nothing to do in determining man's course in life". * Saint Augustine had a similar criticism but went into more detail. * Ptolemy may have tried to respond to some of the earlier critiques. * Ptolemy says that astrology is not the only factor, but you also have to take other factors into account in order to understand the context of the chart. * Gender, race, geography, whether the chart of a turtle, etc. * Nigidius Figulus was said to have responded with the potters wheel analogy. * Point is that sometimes even what seem like small changes make difference * Ascendant and Midheaven move relatively rapidly. * Important to discern whether the chart really is exactly the same or not first. * Even two people born close together in time may not have exactly the same chart * Technical answers to this issue based on chart changes: * Sometimes a few minute time difference leads to major changes. * What are some of these major changes? * Ascendant can change signs * Changes ruler of the Ascendant * Changes all of the houses in whole sign & equal houses * Midheaven and other angles can change signs

In episode 166 astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological forecast for August of 2018. August features Uranus stationing retrograde for the first time in Taurus, the last of a series of solar eclipses in Leo that started last year, Mars retrograding back into Capricorn and then stationing direct, and more. At the top of the show we discuss the process of writing horoscopes, and some of the challenges associated with it, after Chris' recent foray into making monthly horoscopes. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download the recording of this episode. News and Announcements News and announcement from the top of the show: * Chris released a set of monthly horoscopes for August 2018 for each rising sign. * Kelly begins doing group mentoring in September * Kelly is doing a traditional health and medical astrology workshop in Sydney * Austin is teaching an online class on the Fixed Stars Giveaway from Sphere + Sundry Our sponsor this month was Sphere + Sundry, which produces materials for self-care and magic on rare and potent astrological elections. They create products using sympathetic herbs, metals, gems, and oils, and this month we gave away three sets from their new Asclepius series. For more information about these packages, as well as other useful information about remediation for natal placements and transits, visit sphereandsundry.com. Astrological Alignments for August Here are some of the major transits that we covered for August: * Venus moves into Libra August 6 * Uranus stations retrograde in early Taurus on August 7 * Solar Eclipse in Leo August 11 * Mars retrogrades into Capricorn August 12 * Mercury stations direct August 19 * Jupiter trine Neptune exact August 19 * Sun moves into Virgo August 23 * Full Moon in Pisces August 26 * Mars stations direct in Capricorn August 27 Auspicious Electional Chart for August The auspicious election this month that was chosen by Leisa Schaim is set for: * August 26, 2018 at 7:30 PM, local time, with 1 Pisces rising. There are three more electional charts that we found for August, which are available in our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections that was released today. If you would like to get access to that discussion, then all you have to do is become a patron of The Astrology Podcast on the $5 or $10 tier through our page on on Patreon, and then you will get access to the 30-minute Auspicious Elections Podcast immediately.

In episode 165 of the podcast astrologer John Green joins the show to talk about the concept of synastry, which is a technique that astrologers use to determine relationship dynamics by comparing birth chart placements. The basic premise of natal astrology is that the birth chart reflects different facets of a person's life, including information about their character or psyche. Synastry is an extension of the concept of natal astrology, which holds that the birth charts of two individuals can be compared to identify dynamics that will arise in their relationship. During the course of the podcast we have a wide-ranging discussion about some of the philosophical, conceptual, and practical details surrounding the use of synastry. John wrote a book on synastry titled Do You Love Me? The Astrology of Relationships, and much of our discussion in this episode is based the presentation in his book. For more more information about John's work see his website: PsychologicalAstrology.com He also teaches classes through the Mercury Internet School of Psychological Astrology. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream this episode. Show Notes * Basic premise of natal astrology is that the chart reflects the native’s life, character, etc. * Synastry is a natural extension of the concept of natal astrology. * Notion that each person is a permanent transit in your life/chart. * Charts can be compared to each other to see compatibility/incompatibility. * This is the premise of synastry. * Can be done for many types of relationships. * Romantic, business, family, friends, etc. * References to synastry in Dorotheus and Ptolemy indicate it dates back to 1st century. * Despite that, not a lot of books on the subject. * A couple of standard modern treatments from the 70s: * Ronald Davison: Synastry, Understanding Human Relations Through Astrology (1977) * Francis Sakoian and Louis Acker, The Astrology of Human Relationships (1973) * John says that the purpose of studying synastry is not to have perfect relationships. * Helps to understand the dynamics involved in them better. * Why do we get along easily with some people? * Why do we naturally seem to have miscommunications with others? * In some instances what look like chance-like circumstances are revealed as patterns built into the synastry. * Some major themes with different people in our lives are indicated in our birth chart. * Synastry is like a wildcard factor though, because it can further specify dynamics that come up with specific people in our lives. * Sometimes these people have natal placements that emphasize our own. * These are things outside of the natal chart. * This may be part of the answer to the issue of twins. * Synastry as one of the reasons two people can experience the same person differently. * John says that the chart is a blueprint for self-realization. * We can predict dynamics that will arise via synastry, but not how they will be resolved. * This is a really crucial point in terms of astrological counseling. * Also important in terms of the client’s expectations of what an astrologer can say * The old adage that opposites attract sometimes manifesting literally in syn...

Episode 164 of the podcast features an interview with Austin Coppock about a new book he edited titled The Celestial Art: Essays on Astrological Magic. The book is a compilation of essays on astrological magic by a number of notable astrologers, and it covers historical, philosophical, and technical issues related to the topic. The authors featured in the book besides Austin include Lee Lehman, Benjamin Dykes, Demetra George, John Michael Greer, Freedom Cole, Jason Miller, Eric Purdue, Al Cummings, Aaron Cheak, Mallorie Vaudoise, and Daniel A. Schulke. To order the book or learn more about it see: The Celestial Art on Amazon For special editions of the book check out the publisher's website: The Celestial Art on the Three Hand Press Instead of trying to talk about each paper in the book individually, Austin and I decided to have a broader discussion about some of the topics raised by the book in general, and the different intersections between astrology and magic. During the course of the show we ended up discussing the place of magic in the history of astrology, the relevance of electional astrology as perhaps the most magical branch of the tradition, the role of the Sabians of Harran in the Medieval transmission of astrology and magic through books like the Picatrix, and much more. Listen to This Episode of the Podcast Use the buttons below to either stream or download this episode:

In episode 163 of The Astrology Podcast astrologers Jo Gleason and Adam Elenbaas join the show to discuss horoscope columns, the process of writing them, and why they are still an important and useful tool for developing one's skills as an astrologer. I had been thinking about doing a set of monthly horoscopes for a while now, thinking that it would be an interesting challenge, and also wanting to broaden my audience a bit in order to bring more people into the astrological community. Last week I decided to give it a try, and did a series of monthly horoscopes for each zodiac sign through my channel on YouTube, and focused on interpreting them primarily relative to each rising sign using whole sign houses. The process of actually doing a horoscope column for the first time brought up a lot of interesting thoughts and issues, and so I wanted to talk to Jo and Adam about it, since both of them have developed expertise in this area. Jo is the Vice President of the Association for Young Astrologers, and she has been a shadow writer for several horoscope columns. She wrote a thread on Twitter in June encouraging more astrologers to try writing horoscopes, and also wrote a post on her blog recently titled Why I Still Read My Horoscope. Adam teaches and writes regular astrological forecasts each week through the Nightlight Astrology School, and also writes the monthly horoscopes for Astrograph. During the course of the discussion we talk about how horoscopes can still be legitimate or useful even despite how simple they are compared to advanced astrological techniques and forecasting. We also talk about how horoscopes are written, and some of the unique challenges that are involved. The recording of this episode is available in both audio and video versions, and you can find links to both below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-KIrp5fSKo - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Here is the higher quality audio version of this episode:

In episode 162 of the podcast astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological forecast for July of 2018. Our main focus this month is a tense lunar eclipse that occurs towards the end of the month in Aquarius, which is closely conjunct Mars and square Uranus. We also discuss a Mercury retrograde in Leo, a partial solar eclipse in Cancer, and Jupiter stationing direct in Scorpio. At the top of the show Chris discusses the possibility of writing a Sun-sign column, and some of the pros and cons that go along with that. Jo Gleason recently wrote a thread on twitter saying that every astrologer should write horoscopes at some point in their life. This forecast episode of the podcast is available in both audio and video formats, and you can find links to both below. News and Announcements * The giveaway this month is a copy of volume two of The Ascendant journal, which is produced by the Association for Young Astrologers. * Kelly is teaching a four week online astrology class on predicting with progressions, starting July 9. * Chris has a new lecture recording for sale titled An Introduction to Hellenistic Astrology. Major Alignments for July Here are the major astrological alignments for July: * Venus ingresses into Virgo on July 9. * Jupiter stations direct in Scorpio July 10. * Partial Solar eclipse/New Moon in Cancer July 12 * Mars conjunct south node in Aquarius July 20 * Sun moves into Leo on July 22. * Mercury stations retrograde in Leo July 26 * Lunar eclipse in Aquarius July 27 Auspicious Electional Chart for July The auspicious election this month is set for: * July 9, 2018 at 1:40 AM, with 13 Taurus rising There are three more electional charts that we found for July, which are available in our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections that was released yesterday. If you would like to get access to that discussion, then all you have to do is become a patron of The Astrology Podcast on the $5 or $10 tier through our page on on Patreon, and then you will get access to the 40-minute Auspicious Elections Podcast immediately. Watch the Video Version of this Episode Here is the video version of this month’s forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZnNiTgel0w - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

This is a recording of a panel discussion that took place at the United Astrology Conference in Chicago last month titled "Is Prediction Killing Astrology?" The panel was organized by the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR) as a free pre-conference event that took place on May 23, 2018, as a precursor to the United Astrology Conference, which then took place over the course of the following week. The panel featured the following astrologers, listed from right to left as they appear in the picture from the panel above: Samuel F. Reynolds, Christeen Skinner, Steven Forrest, ISAR Vice President David Railey as moderator, Chris McRae, Rick Levine, and Chris Brennan. Here is the description of the event that was put out by organizers ahead of the panel: "A 6-member panel will discuss and debate this highly-charged topic, with the purpose of creating awareness - and possibly a consensus - on the role of the astrologer addressing the issue of future events." The panel was partially organized as a result of some of the failed predictions surrounding the 2016 US presidential election, and discussions that resulted from it in the astrological community, including a piece by Steven Forrest titled The Perils of Astrological Prediction. The panel discussion ended up focusing on the role of prediction in astrology, and whether astrologers can and should predict events. The panelists were selected through a vote by the ISAR membership last year. There is both an audio and a video version of the recording of the panel available, and you can find links to both below. Watch the Video Version of the Prediction Panel You can watch the video recording of the panel on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1wRXJ6DFyM - Listen to the Audio Recording of the Prediction Panel You can listen to the audio recording of the prediction panel by using the buttons below:

In episode 160 of the show astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Spencer Michaud join me to talk about our experiences at the recent United Astrology Conference, which took place in Chicago from roughly May 23-30, 2018. During the course of the discussion we talk about some of the lectures we gave, lectures we saw, people we met, notable events that happened, and just generally reflect on our impressions of the event as a whole. This episode is available in both an audio and a video version, and you can find links to both below, right after the show notes. Show Notes Here are some of the show notes with some points we touched on in this episode: * Was at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile * Dates were basically May 23-30, 2018, when including pre and post events. * Something like 1,400 or 1,500 astrologers attended in the end. * Much higher percentage of new or first time conference attendees than usual. * Podcast event was a success. * Watch the recording on episode 159. * Chris did a bunch of video interviews. * Interviews with astrologers at the United Astrology Conference. * UAC bookstore was huge. * Austin’s book came out: The Celestial Art: Essays in Astrological Magic. * Demetra’s book was announced and pre-orders launched. * Regulus awards occurred the night of Sunday the 27th * All orgs give service awards, then community-wide merit categories: * Our very own Leisa Schaim won the AFAN service award. * The Regulus award winners were: * Richard Smoot won Community Service award * David Cochrane - Discovery, Innovation and Research * Steven Forrest - Education * Tem Tarriktar - Professional Image * Deborah Houlding - Theory and Understanding * Michael Erlewine - Lifetime Achievement Award * Astrologers memorial during closing ceremony. * Chris' gallery of some pictures from UAC 2018 * Lecture recordings are available on the conference website. * https://www.uacastrology.com/recordings/ * Would love to hear from listeners about your conference experience! * Post them in the comments section below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Noduoik-Ec – Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

Episode 159 is a live podcast discussion that was recorded in front of an audience at the United Astrology Conference in Chicago on May 27, 2018, with Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan. This was our first time hosting an event like this, or recording an episode of the podcast in person in front of an audience, so it was a bit of an experiment, but in the end it was a success! Part of the purpose of the event was to have a discussion about the future of astrology, and specifically the question of what historians will say when they look back on the current period that we live in now in the astrological community, and what they will identify as some of the most important emerging trends. The other part of the purpose of the event was to get together a group of podcast listeners and give them a chance to meet and connect with each other at the conference, especially since for many of them it was their first conference. Towards the end we also did a Q&A with the audience, and passed a mic around to answer some questions. This episode is available in both an audio and a video version, and you can find links to both below. Special thanks for Caleb Grayson for handling the audio production for the event, to Laura Nalbandian for giving us the space, Tony Howard for some last minute help recording video footage, Paula Belluomini for designing the invitations, Stephen Coppock for audio editing/post-production, Peter LeBlanc for helping us get set up for the event on short notice, and to everyone who attended the event that night! Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1GMfzCUXAQ - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

In episode 158 of the podcast astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan discuss the astrological forecast for June of 2018, which features a prominent Mars retrograde period beginning in Aquarius. This episode was recorded a couple of weeks ago, just before we all left for the United Astrology Conference in Chicago. The conference was a blast, and we are hoping to record a post-conference recap discussion sometime soon. We also recorded a live episode of the podcast in front of an audience at the conference, and that will be released as one of the early episodes of June pretty soon as well. This forecast episode of the podcast is available in both audio and video formats, and you can find links to both below. Major Alignments for June Here are the major astrological alignments for June: * June 5, Sun conjunct Mercury, 15 Gemini (Sun-Mercury is almost perfectly square Neptune!  And the Moon is conj Neptune on the same day as the cazimi. ) * June 8, Mars deep in shadow, conj South Node, Rx station 7 Aquarius * June 12, Mercury into Cancer * June 13, Venus into Leo * June 13, Gemini New Moon 22 degrees * June 18, Neptune station, 16 Pisces * June 21, Sun into Cancer (solstice) * June 26, Mars station, 9 Aquarius * June 27, Sun opposite Saturn 5 Cancer/Cap * June 28, Capricorn Full Moon 6 Cap (conjunct Saturn) Auspicious Electional Chart for June The auspicious election this month is set for: * June 11 2018 at 7:30 AM with Cancer rising There are three more electional charts that we found for June, which will be presented in our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections that was released last week. If you would like to get access to that discussion, then all you have to do is become a patron of The Astrology Podcast on the $5 or $10 tier through our page on on Patreon, and then you will get access to the 40-minute Auspicious Elections Podcast immediately. Watch the Video Version of this Episode Here is the video version of this month’s forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na01_IpXcAs Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

Episode 157 is a solo show where I discuss the tricky question of which of the twelve houses rules sex in western astrology. This is a problematic question because it turns out that over the past 2000 years western astrologers have assigned sex to three different houses during different eras. In the Greco-Roman astrological tradition sex was evidently originally assigned to the 7th house, and then later it shifted to the 5th house at some point during the Medieval or Renaissance traditions, before eventually moving again to the 8th house in modern times. The fact that sex hasn't always been assigned to the 8th house is a relatively recent revelation due to the recovery and translation of older astrological texts over the past few decades, and it presents an interesting problem in terms of how to resolve the issue. While astrologers sometimes assume that the shift in the assignment had to do with cultural changes, one of the things I point out in this discussion is that often the shift seems to have been motivated by conceptual changes in how significations were derived from all of the houses. As a result of that, this topic becomes a useful access point for understanding how astrologers developed meanings for all twelve houses in different eras. Demetra George Retreat on the Twelve Houses Some of the points made in this episode were partially based on research that Demetra George has done into the way the houses were conceptualized over the past 2000 years. Demetra is hosting a retreat later this year on the original meanings of the twelve houses, for those that want to go into much more depth with this topic: Third Annual Hellenistic Astrology Retreat: The Twelve Houses The retreat will take place September 27 - October 1, 2018, in Portland, Oregon. Listen to This Episode of the Podcast You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

In episode 156 astrologer Charles Obert joins the show to talk about the concept of essential dignities and debilities, and how they are used to determine the condition of a planet in an astrological chart. The essential dignities are essentially the ancient equivalent of the modern sign-rulerships, except it represents the original and more elaborate set, which includes multiple rulerships and co-rulerships for each of the signs of the zodiac. During the course of the discussion we review each of the five essential dignities, and talk about their conceptual motivation and interpretive value in astrology. The five essential dignities are: * Domicile * Exaltation * Triplicity * Terms/Bounds * Decans/Faces You can download a handy printable table for the dignities here: Essential Dignities Table Charlie teaches at Kepler College, and he is the author of a new book on the essential dignities titled Using Dignities in Astrology. You can find out more information about his work on his website: StudentOfAstrology.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions, and you can find both below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode The video recording of this episode is available on The Astrology School YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/pVz6xT7yHDs - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:

In episode 155 of the podcast Kelly Surtees joined me to do a live stream on YouTube where we took some questions from listeners about their birth charts, and then demonstrated how we would answer those questions as astrologers in a consultation setting. This was a bit of an experiment, as I had never really attempted much in the way of a live chart reading demonstration before, and what also made it unique is that we streamed the discussion live in front of an audience on YouTube as we did it. The questions were submitted by patrons of The Astrology Podcast who signed up through our page on Patreon, and we picked out some ahead of time that we wanted to focus on, but otherwise our answers were done on the fly with no preparation. Part of the purpose was to demonstrate a little bit of how astrologers go about answering different types of questions from clients, and to reflect on some of the broader dynamics that come up during astrological consultations. We were a little bit restricted in some of the timing techniques we could use, since we were doing things on the fly without any prep time, and so there was a tendency to just focus on natal placements and transits, and not get into other timing techniques like annual profections, secondary progressions, or zodiacal releasing. There was also a missing element of having some dialogue with the client in order to receive confirmation of whether our interpretations of past or current indications were correct, which is something we may try to fix if we do this again in the future, although one listener did join us on the live stream later in the show to give feedback on their chart. In the end we had around 100 questions submitted by listeners, so unfortunately we were not able to get to them all, but thanks to everyone who submitted one! We hope to be able to do this again in the future. This episode is available in both an audio-only and a video version, and you can find links to both below. The audio quality on the audio-only version is much better, although the video version has the charts displayed as we are talking about them. Birth Charts and Questions For those listening to the audio version of this episode, here are the questions and corresponding birth charts that we reviewed, in the order they appeared: Brianna I’m learning about dignities and debilities right now, and I used the point system to find that Mars is the most dignified planet in my chart, followed by Saturn. I have a day chart, so how does this affect my Mars’ behavior? Main Question: Does a super-dignified malefic planet in a day chart act with more maleficence, or does the highly dignified state lead to more mitigated and constructive Mars? I know none of this takes into account the aspects Mars is making. Jessica How will the major midlife transits present themselves in my life? What may show up and how can I best prepare? Eunice Am I bound to have terrible friendships? My 11th house ruler is in the 8th house and my Saturn is in the 11th house. I struggle a lot with forming good friendships and keeping them. Maren I have a pretty afflicted Mars, particularly with its square to Saturn. What kinds of advice would you give for this placement and aspect,

In episode 154 of the podcast astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological forecast for May of 2018. Much of the discussion focuses on the impending ingress of the outer planet Uranus into the zodiacal sign of Taurus, since Uranus only changes signs once every seven years or so. The Uranus ingress coincides with Mars changing signs and moving into Aquarius just a day later, and then completing a square with Uranus not long after. At the top of the show we also discuss the new royal baby that was recently born in the UK, as well as the question of why Mercury retrograde has become a more popular concept in recent decades. As usual, the artwork for this episode is from the 2018 PlanetWatcher Calendar. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream the recording of this episode of the podcast. This month’s episode is available in both audio and video versions, and you will find links to both at the bottom of this page. Announcements Links to some announcements made at the top of the show: * Chris is offering a 15% discount on his Hellenistic and other online astrology courses. * Use the promo code JUPITER during checkout to get the discount. * Kelly is including a special extra on Uranus in Taurus as part of her May Stellar Insights. * Austin is presenting a webinar on Uranus in Taurus on May 16. * We are hosting a meetup for listeners of the podcast at the United Astrology Conference in Chicago, on Saturday, May 26, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Halsted foyer on the 4th floor. Timestamps Approximate times for different parts of the episode: * 00:00 – 20:00: News, announcements, giveaway prizes. * 20:00 – 30:00: Mercury retrograde origins discussion. * 30:00 – 48:00: Royal baby birth chart discussion. * 48:00 – end: Forecast discussion for May. * 1:33:00: Auspicious electional astrology chart for May. Major Astrological Alignments for May * Mercury enters Taurus May 13 * New Moon in Taurus May 15, conjunct Algol. * Uranus enters Taurus May 15. * Mars enters Aquarius May 16 * Mars will square Uranus immediately. * This is also Mars in full shadow, same sign and decan of the retro station, which it’s sharing with the South Node. * Venus enters Cancer May 19. * Sun enters Gemini May 20. * Jupiter trine Neptune May 25. * Full Moon in Sagittarius May 29, Sun conjunct Aldebaran, Moon conjunct Antares. * Mercury into Gemini May 29. Most Auspicious Electional Astrology Chart for May Here is the primary auspicious electional chart that we highlighted for May, which was picked out by Leisa Schaim: * May 7, 2018 at 12:23 PM local time (set it so that 17 Leo is rising) There are four more electional charts that we found for May, which will be presented in our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious...