‘A Petrified Forest’ brings to mind fossils, insects stuck in amber and other remnants of ages past. They are ‘Records’ that have long been around to remind us of how life was in the past, the recent past and perhaps ancient times. Likewise, the achievements of life do not necessarily disappear when we move on, or go through major change or the death of the old. Things continue to exist such as records, memories, art, literature, photographs, letters, emails, etc.

There may be a need to retrieve, sort through, or go over ‘Records’ from the past in some way. This may be the time to look to these histories or to appreciate their value and relevance to life today. However, memories from the past can freeze up life in the present and hold us in an unmovable state. Sometimes difficult or painful memories from childhood can inhibit and stop the processes of new growth in the present. Is the past stopping you from growth or are worries about age freezing you? Is the situation facing you stuck in time without a clear understanding of how to proceed? Therapies can act to reawaken memories or knowledge from out of the past, even when it looks like everything has dried up or died. Perhaps you’re learning about the importance of keeping records; the past can so easily be lost and it can be difficult, if not impossible, to accurately remember or recall it. Try looking at your ‘Records’, your memories and things such as photographs and diaries from years gone by. New life can be found as long as one is willing to look. Getting the “dead wood”out of your life, whether it is clogging up your cupboards, your relationships, your emotional life, even the garden, etc., can clear the way for the growth of new life.

Keywords: Remnants from the past. Stillness. Agelessness. Being able to withstand life’s storms. Resilience .Crystals, diamonds, gemstones. Beauty that remains ageless. Plastic surgery. Wood and lacquered wood. Coal, oil and petrochemicals. Diets. Dependability. Family histories. Keeping records. Amber. Fossils. Geology. Archeology. Ancient remnants. Mental and emotional filing cabinets. Lingering evidence. Petrified wood. Photographs and photography. Stones. Stone monuments.

The Caution: Rigidity, immobility, inflexibility. Being frozen. Not letting go of difficulties. Hanging on for grim death. Feeling stuck or frozen. Destroying things that are old. Severing links to the past. Keeping tabs. Memories that destroy the present.

Further, having too many possessions that no longer serve us can keep one unmoving and held down. It's said that one's possessions end up owning us. The question of what to throw out and what to keep may be coming up. 

Neptune, the ruler of Pisces, is right behind, so we'll be experiencing the Sun and the Moon transiting over it right before the new Moon. Neptune is on Pisces 1: A Crowded Public Marketplace. This speaks of buying and selling, having one's needs and desires met (or the issue of it), bartering, exchange, money, money changing hands, debt and big business. Money, and the control and distribution of it, is the major issue that Neptune is broadcasting now. One only has to look at the world economy to see the effects of Neptune writ large with the Euro, the US dollar and currencies all over the world. And, of course, there's much more that can be said about it.

The agenda to control the Internet is right up there with concerns going on at the moment. The Internet and social media are, after all, the world's biggest, most easily accessible 'Public Market'. Financially, people are feeling the pinch in so many corners of the world. The sanctions on Iran figure into Neptune transiting over this degree as well. 

Keywords: Human interchange. Bartering. Commercialism. Shopping centers, markets. The Internet. People fulfilling each other’s desires. Buyers and sellers. Classifieds. Consumables. Money changing hands. Products of all kinds. Globalization-its rewards and trappings. Shops and landlords. Storage, stockpiles and stocktaking. Bargains and bargaining. The rules of fair trade. Competition. Public opinion. The economy. Trade embargoes. Big business. The Stock market.

The Caution: Being too stingy or greedy to share benefits. Airing ones “laundry”, emotions or possessions in public. Panicking from feeling “crowded in”. Exploiting for greed. Disputes over costs. Monopolies. Not letting anything get in the way of making a buck. Always bargaining for one’s own advantage. Ripoffs. Sweatshops. Being too busy to enjoy people.

The degree following Neptune, and the 'Karmic Condition' (the degree before) of the new Moon is Pisces 2: A Squirrel Hiding From Hunters. This can have people wanting to hide away, to not spend much, to feel like they have to protect themselves somehow. As we know, people withdrawing from spending, or money changing hands, can stall the economy and cause things to move even slower. 

Keywords: Using tactics to ensure survival. ‘Hiding’ one’s self away. Not stepping out into the big wide world for fear of making the wrong move. Security systems. Caution and reserve. Using commonsense. Things or people that feel tiny, uncertain or insecure. Refuges and the need for them. Staying out of people’s way. Staying home. Locks and keys. Stockpiling for harder times.

The Caution: People picking on each other. Being bullied out of what you deserve. Giving those “out there” more power than they warrant. Not trusting life. Paranoia. Running away from things. Not wanting to go out and socialize. Truancy. Not speaking up for fear of being shot down. Threats of terrorism. Having to lie about one’s whereabouts. Not answering the door. Hiding away. Being caged in. Agoraphobia. Claustrophobia.

Pallas Athena is on the degree following the new moon degree - Pisces 4: Heavy Car Traffic Linking Two Seaside Resorts. This is a Symbol of movement, change, being in the flow (or working against it) and issues of being crowded in versus having room to move and to get where one's desiring to be. This degree is highlighted as it is sandwiched between the new Moon and Chiron. You could find yourself in the car more, traveling, running around and generally being active and wanting to get to your 'destination'. What is your destination? Do you keep coming back to the same place? For some, this is the ideal and wonderful, but for others there could be a sense of to-ing and fro-ing that can get tiresome. 

Keywords: Going with the flow. Running back and forth. Having to move continually. Pollution and car exhaust. Rush hour and road-rage. Plans for arrivals and departures. Public holidays. Traffic jams. Traffic banking up. Having trouble making left hand turns. Detours. Packing and unpacking. Luggage. Travel itineraries. Impasses. Nervous systems. Urine therapy. Constant phone calls. Switchboard jams.

The Caution: Creating barriers. Constant traffic stopping the possibility of real human interchange. Claustrophobia. Feeling like there is no escape. Exhaustion due to everyday hustle and bustle. Running out of fuel. Exhaust fumes. Road rage. Accidents. Traffic snarls. Taking the long way round. Blockages.

Chiron, the Wounded Healer and The Stories We Tell Ourselves, is on Pisces 5: A Church Bazaar. This is a lovely degree of the giving and receiving of things and people coming together to form community, along with people donating their time and energy (and perhaps money) to charitable causes. People come together to enjoy, barter and help each other in some way. With Chiron here, that can bring a healing outcome for all concerned. However, there can also be the flip side; do you do too much for others without any rewards coming back? Naturally, one does things for others out of the spirit of giving and not with the thought of return, but this can become an issue if the flow of giving and kindness seems to be continually one-way. 

So, this is a big line-up in Pisces. One could also look to Pisces 6, as well, it's A Parade Of Army Officers In Full Dress. This shows how one might be expected to dress up, or front up, and do 'the right thing'; putting on one's 'uniform' and getting the job done. 

Further, issues of being 'suited-up' and ready for whatever happens is shown by Mercury on Pisces 15: An Officer Drilling His Men In A Simulated Attack. I truly hope that Mercury on this degree at this new Moon doesn't mean that the talk of war escalates. Let's hope that it's political posturing rather than reality; a 'Simulated Attack'. Mercury in Pisces on this degree can have us going over and over things in our minds. This, like all things, can produce good as we may feel well rehearsed, refreshed, certain and aware of what's going on if we have been over all the various possibilities of what lays ahead. On the other hand, it can become tiresome to go over the same ground, to analyze things perhaps more than they warrant. A question could be; does this situation require action or feeling ready if action needs to be taken. 

The fact that retrograde (and thus traveling slowly) Mars is opposite Mercury can see a butting of heads, especially as Mars is in Virgo, the ruler of Mercury. Mars is on Virgo 18: Two Girls Playing With A Ouija Board. This can bring more analyzing and going over things, but it can also bring about answers and solutions that can come seemingly from out of nowhere, or at an unexpected time. Mars then retrogrades over Virgo 17: A Volcanic Eruption Bringing Dust Clouds, Flowing Lava, Earth Rumblings. Something seems set to be unleashed and things held within are likely to push out with enormous force, bringing about a somewhat cathartic release. 

Venus is on Aries 16: Brightly Clad Brownies Dancing In The Warm Dying Light. This can show miracles happening, big and small. People turn up when they're needed, help arrives and things can open up beautifully, especially if you put out affirmations that all will be well. This is a beautiful degree for Venus to be on and it can be quite magical in it's manifestations. 

To the man who himself strives earnestly, God also lends a helping hand. Aeschylus

This degree often talks about having to do the 'housework', so there is also this:

Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled; the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day. Simone de Beauvoir

Bridging places, people and things is Jupiter on Taurus 6: A Bridge Being Built Across A High Narrow Gorge. 

Building a 'bridge' takes time, energy, and most often, the help of others. Perhaps someone will act as a bridge for you, or, are you the bridge that others are seeking? Where is your 'bridge' leading you? It can be to better shores, better times and escapes from problems (the 'High Narrow Gorge').

Saturn is trining this new Moon. Saturn, the hard taskmaster can bring up situations that need some careful balancing when it comes to family, domestic issues and friends. Saturn retrograde can bring up lessons out of the past. It can push towards the need to get things organised, together and based in reality. The Sabian Symbol is Libra 30: Three Mounds Of Knowledge On A Philosopher's Head. This is a Symbol of wisdom, intellect, thinking things through and it may indicate the need for advice from someone who's qualified. 

Keywords: Looking to the signs. Wisdom that transcends book knowledge. Philosophy. Having a knowledgeable demeanor. Being an impressive figure. Making wise decisions regardless of hard-line opinion. The head, skull or cranium. Knowledge directed to intellectual or spiritual goals. Predicting the future. An appearance that shows obvious intelligence. Wit. Style. Seeing potential in others.

The Caution: Analyzing things too much and reliance on intellect. Being a “know-it-all”. Having a bossy attitude. Thinking that doesn’t clarify issues but muddies them. Taking things far too seriously.

Uranus is continuing to ask where and how we are fitting into our ideal of how we, or things, should be. It's on Aries 3: A Cameo Profile Of A Man That Suggests The Outline Of His Country.

Pluto is asking what tune, melody or lyric are we playing? The Symbol is Capricorn 9: An Angel Comes Carrying A Harp. This speaks of being in tune in so many ways. 

The Moon's north node is on Sagittarius 11: In The Left Section Of An Archaic Temple, A Lamp Burns In A Container Shaped Like A Human Body. This speaks of connecting in with our physical realities and treating the body with the reverence and respect just as you would a temple. 

As this newsletter is already weighed down with words, I'm trimming here at the end :) - however, I want to mention Lilith, as it's on a very interesting degree - Taurus 8: A Sleigh Without Snow. This can show all kinds of climactic issues, but also issues to do with petrol, oil, gas and other propellants. I believe there will be a situations around oil and control and big business interests that will come to the fore in the coming weeks. 

Don't forget to play that harp! And ask that the Brownies come and help out :)