Welcome to the Stella Starwoman March AstroUpdate – sorry it’s a bit late – I’ve been so busy this last week with
all the new courses and workshops, plus a lecture at the Tarot Guild on Saturday in Blackburn – thank you to those
of you that came along and bought copies of my book! Hope you enjoyed the afternoon.
Talking of workshops – we had the first of our four SUNDAY MORNING TAROT WORKSHOPS on Sunday 2 nd
March and it booked out! Sorry to those of you who missed out – make sure you book in plenty of time for the next
workshop on Sunday 6 th April – more details below.
And as we farewell Venus and Mercury retrograde, this month it’s the turn of Mars to begin his retrograde cycle
which lasts a whopping 80 days until late May – read on to find out what this cycle might mean for you!
Mars Retrograde
Aligning Actions & Goals with True Nature
Mars is the ‘he-man’ of the planetary pantheon. The red-blooded warrior. The god of war. However Mars has two sides to his character – the civilised and the primitive. The Roman god Mars represents the civilised side of Mars – the desire to be powerful and the ability to take risks and set and achieve goals. By contrast, the Greek god Ares (cf Aries) represents the more primitive side of Mars - a fierce warrior driven by impatience, passion, rage and lust and the primary force behind accidents, arguments, injury and violence. This primitive side of Mars comes to the fore during the Mars retrograde period, which occurs for 2-3 months approximately every two years. Mars in the birth chart is CEO to the Sun, externalising the ego’s desire for accomplishment and helping us express our individuality. Mars themes include: will, desire, libido, courage, passion, energy, spirit and anger. When the Sun and Mars work well together, we are able to achieve our goals in a constructive fashion. Not so when
Mars moves to oppose the Sun during the Mars retrograde cycle…..the wilful CEO goes his own way instead of following orders from the Board! Many of us suppress
our true needs or nature in an effort to please others and keep the peace. The symbolic purpose of the Mars retrograde cycle is to force us to align our actions and goals (Mars) with our true nature (the Sun).
Key Dates and Symbolism of the 2014 Mars Retrograde Cycle
In mid-February, the Sun and Mars were in harmonious aspect (trine) and projects and relationships flowed along
smoothly and almost effortlessly - the calm before the storm...
On the 2 nd March, Mars turned retrograde at 27º Libra and began his backward journey through Libra. Imagine a large truck going into reverse. This most challenging part of the cycle will last until 9 th April when Mars at 19º Libra
moves to oppose the Sun at 19º Aries. Those with birthdays between the 4 th and 14 th October or with planets at 14-24° Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn will be most affected.
Common Manifestations – 2 nd March – 9 th April
During this five-week period, any underlying grievances will become apparent, particularly if you have been ignoring gut feelings and intuition. If you have a copy of your birth chart, look up the houses containing Aries and Libra to see which areas of your life will be affected. Aries is all about me, myself and I - my desires, my passions and my rights, whereas Libra is all about cooperation, sharing and partnership. This Mars retrograde transit asks us to consider our own needs as well as those of others. Here are some things to watch out for:
- External drive and energy changes direction
- Daily progress is suddenly filled with effort
- Bad luck or fate appears to intervene
- Feelings of illness, exhaustion, depression or weakness
- Suppressed feelings of hostility come to the surface
- Feeling psychologically depleted or completely liberated
- Loss of interest or focus on what might have been an important project or relationship only weeks earlier
- Irrational action and enforced introspection
- Relationship conflicts
- A battle between conscious will and unconscious intent.
- Festering energy explodes creating rage, passion, heat, libido and ambition
- If the Sun-Mars opposition hits a planet or angle in your birth chart the effects are even more powerful
- War is declared on oppressive situations
- Problems can no longer be ignored
Look out for more info on the Mars retrograde transit in next month’s AstroUpdate!
Stella Starwoman on Facebook
After resisting for years, I’ve finally taken the plunge and set up a Stella Starwoman Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stellastarwoman which I plan
to update regularly. I’d be most grateful if you could pay a brief visit and ‘LIKE’ my page, add me as a friend or share the page with any friends you think might be interested. I’m looking forwards to this whole new journey into social media!
Featured Sign-Pisces
From the 19 th February to the 21 st March this year, the sun travels through mutable water sign Pisces, noted for her
dreaminess, escapist nature and love of fantasy. Pisces is the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac with keywords, “I
merge” and “I seek redemption”. With Pisces, the inner self is preparing for retreat from the world and as the ego
dissolves, boundaries are weakened and impressionability and sensitivity increases. Pisceans are versatile and
adaptable, gentle and compassionate. They are often psychic and highly attuned to the spiritual plane. Those born
under the sign of the Fishes excel as counsellors, healers, actors, artists and musicians. Many are attracted to the
fashion, beauty and movie industries whilst others work with those on the fringe of society – the elderly and sick,
people with a disability or special needs and those in jail, detention or rehab centres. At best Pisceans serve humanity
and practice unconditional love. Negatively, they can be victims and martyrs, known for self-sabotage or self-
sacrifice. There is also a tendency to rescue or ‘save’ others. In medical astrology, Pisces rules the toes, feet and
lymphatic system. There is sometimes a reflex effect on the abdominal region governed by opposite sign, Virgo.
When Pisceans are out of balance they often suffer from foot trouble, intestinal diseases and fluid build-up.
Addiction to drugs and alcohol is also common. The Pisces colours are sea green, purple and the various shades of
blue. Pisces greatest lesson is to learn discrimination and to protect and ground themselves.
Glimmer Twins Celebrate Golden Wedding
Iconic rock group The Rolling Stones are gracing our shores this month for yet another world tour entitled ’14 On
Fire. Despite the ups and downs of their personal lives and an often hostile and passionate relationship, lead singer
Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards (aka The Glimmer Twins) started playing music together in their late teens
and have been together for better or worse ever since. They’ve worked together for over 50 years and written over
500 songs - a remarkable partnership by anyone’s standards! To quote Richards: “He needs me and I need him.”
Astrologers love to dissect the ins and outs of relationships and see exactly what chemistry keeps people together, or
indeed blows them apart. So what exactly is the Jagger-Richards magic formula? The pair first met at a railway
station in Dartford, Kent on the morning of October 17, 1961 when Mick was 18 and Keith was 17. They recognised
each other because they’d both attended the same primary school. Mick had a bunch of American blues records
under his arm, all by artists that Keith worshipped - it was love at first sight.
Mick Jagger was born on 26/7/43 at 2.30 am in Dartford, Kent, with no less than six planets in showy and
competitive fire sign Leo - the perfect signature for a rock god. Mick’s rising sign (personality) is in youthful Gemini
conjunct rebellious Uranus, giving him that androgynous look combined with an incredible amount of energy and a
penchant for flirtatious and provocative behaviour. However that youthful persona disguises an innate stubbornness
and conservatism with his Moon (emotions and inner life) and Mars (action planet) both in sensible, practical and
hard-working Taurus in the most hidden part of his birth chart, with Venus (relationships) in sensible and modest
Virgo. As a youth Mick attended the prestigious London School of Economics and has always loved shows of
wealth and status, owning a chateau in the Loire Valley which he describes as: “A haven of peace in the Valley of
the Kings.” Keith Richards has openly criticised “Sir Mick” for accepting a knighthood from the British
Establishment – the very people who tried to jail the Rolling Stones for drug offences in their early days.
Keith Richards, a Sagittarian was born on 18/12/43 at 6 am also in Dartford, Kent. Richards is more of a maverick
than Jagger, with his chart ruler Mars in Gemini conjunct unconventional Uranus. His wealth has bought him the
freedom that all Sagittarians crave, plus the ability to live outside the system and explore his musical interests. A
Scorpio Ascendant and 12 th house Venus in Scorpio account for his mystery aura and love of black leather and skull
jewellery. Scorpio has taken him into some dark places – he was a heroin addict for 10 years and has always been
attracted to people on the fringe, coming close to death and imprisonment on many occasions. In his autobiography
‘Life’ he notes that all his best friends have been in jail and that drugs were his way of dealing with fame and putting
up a barrier so he could focus on the music. However Keith’s innate Sagittarian luck has kept him alive and got him
out of many a scrape. Like a true Sagittarian, he’s lived much of his life outside his native land and is married to an
American. And behind his bad boy image, Richards is incredibly well-read with his own private library where he
spends hours listening to all types of music including Mozart. With the moon in caring and practical Virgo, he has
helped hundreds of people, many of them anonymously. Keith is a loyal friend and his mother describes him as ‘a
shy boy’. In fact with all that Virgo and Scorpio, he hasn’t always enjoyed being a rock star. “I’m not really that way
inclined”, he says, “I’d have been happy to make all those records anonymously.”
So, both Jagger and Richards are fire signs (Leo and Sagittarius) with earth sign Moons (Taurus and Virgo) and
therefore very compatible. Astrologers call this ‘the steamroller combination’ - fire has the vision and earth carries it
out. Fire performs on stage and earth does all the hard work behind the scenes. Richards is famous for exhausting
band members and sound engineers spending days on end in the studio without sleep, perfecting recordings and
doing multiple takes. Jagger manages all the band finances and the two of them work as a team, though we could say
that Mick is probably more driven by fun, fame, status and money (Leo and Taurus) whereas Keith is driven by fun,
freedom, wilfulness and perfection (Sagittarius and Virgo).
If we combine their two charts to form a chart of their relationship, the Sun is conjunct Venus, planet of beauty, love
and creativity, meaning that deep down, these two love each other deeply and enjoy creating together. They also
have a Jupiter-Pluto-North Node conjunction in Leo in their relationship chart - a combination connected with ego,
wealth, fame, success and achievement. The Sun forms a stressful angle to the Moon – that’s why they fight, break
up, but then get back together again.
On that fateful October day back in 1961, Keith had transiting Neptune conjunct his natal Venus and both of them
had transiting Venus conjunct natal Neptune. Transiting Jupiter conjuncted Juno, goddess of marriage in their
relationship chart. These are soul mate combinations and this day marked the start of a romantic and creative
relationship that has lasted over 50 years. As Keith writes: “Mick and I had a totally identical taste in music. We
never needed to question or explain. It was all unsaid. Everything was to do with sound. We’d hear a record and go.
That’s wrong, that’s faking. That’s real - I love the man!”
I’m a big fan too and can’t wait to dance and sing along with the rest of the audience
paying tribute to my fire sign heroes at their ’14 On Fire tour later this month.
Tarot Minor Arcana Workshop
Sunday 6 th April – 16 Places Available - Book Now!
When you’re learning Tarot, it’s easy to get seduced by the glamour of the Major Arcana and the subtle psychology
of the Court Cards. The humble Minor Arcana should not be overlooked. These cleverly designed images describe
the nuts and bolts of everyday life. Who’s cheating on who? How can I stand up to my sister or lose weight? Will I
be able to buy that house? Who’s going to fall pregnant? And why didn’t I get a promotion?
Over the course of the morning we’ll cover the Ace to Ten cards of each of the four suits – Wands (Fire), Pentacles
(Earth), Swords (Air) and Cups (Water) – forty cards in all. Once you’ve grasped the meanings of the cards, I’ll
show you two different spreads to make the cards come alive in your own life.
Specially designed for those with little or no knowledge of Tarot who’d like to learn more about this fascinating
subject, this workshop will also appeal to those who’ve studied Tarot in the past but would like to brush up on their
skills. It’s designed to be both practical and esoteric, both fun and educational. By the end of the morning you’ll
have learned heaps about yourself and I guarantee you’ll be itching to get home and try out the spreads you’ve
learned.
Hi Stella - Just a quick note to say thank you again for yesterday’s workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop
because you seem to be very grounded, real and practical while still being connected to spirit. Not airy, fairy or too
esoteric for the sake of it. This is what I was looking for in a teacher of the Tarot. See you at the next workshop!
Nicole. Xx
MYSTERIES OF THE MINOR ARCANA
Date: Sunday 6 th April 2014 (9.30 - 1.30 pm)
Cost: $125 includes morning tea and Minor Arcana Workbook
Venue: Elwood Neighbourhood Learning Centre
87 Tennyson Street, Elwood, Melbourne
Call Stella on 03 9534 5021 with your CREDIT CARD details or
BOOK ONLINE with PayPal/Visa/MasterCard or BANK TRANSFER to
Account Name: Stella Starwoman, BSB 063-131 Account Number 1009 0630
March Moon Calendar
Launch projects at the New Moon, bring them to completion in the period from just before the Full Moon to the
Third Quarter phase and wind them down and reflect on developments in the week before the next New Moon. The
period between the New Moon and the Full Moon is the waxing moon (moon getting bigger and fuller). The period
between the Full Moon and the New Moon is the waning moon (moon getting smaller and thinner).
You can use this moon table to select the most favourable days to slow or increase hair regrowth. Full instructions
can be found in my Lunar Hair Care guidelines at www.stellastarwoman.com/files/LunarHairCare.pdf but to get you
started I’ve marked the best dates for waxing/shaving to slow regrowth in yellow and the best dates to cut hair for
thicker, lusher growth in green. If you’re serious about Lunar Hair Care - order your own Moon Calendar from the
Stella Starwoman Store then you’ll know exactly what time of day the moon changes from one zodiac sign to the
next meaning you can fine-tune your activities with confidence.
Thanks for being part of AstroUpdate. If there’s something you’d like to see featured, or have something you think
would interest others, please contact me at stellaw@ozemail.com.au
PS – Don’t forget to check out your March Monthly Stars at www.stellastarwoman.com
to see what’s coming up for you this month.
Happy Stargazing
Stella Woods