April 13/14: Nebulae weekend! Juno and the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) intensify relationships and bring on break-ups. Mercury, Chiron and the Horsehead Nebula do some interesting research, Venus and the Guitar Nebula accelerate financial and artistic issues, while Jupiter and the Witch Head Nebula calm things down and make us reflective

April 13/14:  Nebulae will play a leading role among astrological trends this weekend. To start with,  asteroid Juno is conjunct the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), squaring Saturn and Omega Centauri. The  Juno and M27 mix indicates the possibility of finding like-minded people at an intellectual level. Somehow, this means an ideological marriage, so we may expect interesting and profound conversations, as well as great attractions motivated by ideals, whether spiritual, scientific or artistic, causing a mutual admiration. This is because the Dumbbell Nebula has at its center a dying star of very high temperature, which relates to the higher mind: science, spirituality and the arts. Relationships may be particularly intense during the weekend, but they will be beyond emotional or sexual passion, they will be trascendent. Although they may have an erotic or emotional component, they are more like a friendship, as Juno is in the sign of Aquarius, emotionally distant and traditionally related to friends. It is therefore necessary to avoid triviality and emotional excesses to take advantage of this trend. But most friendly, professional or love relationships will undoubtedly be affected by this impulse that leads us to explore the ideological connections with those around.

     However, Juno is in ecliptic square (at 90°) to Saturn and the giant star cluster Omega Centauri, which represents a tensions caused by social conventions. While it is possible to chat and share in freedom, it is also possible to find strong disagreements about traditions, customs, conventions and expectations that are not met. Behind an atmosphere of freedom, many relationships may face attempts to control, whether conscious or unconscious, that may cause temporary discomfort or even break-ups or drastic and painful confrontations. This is more likely if there are previous tensions or if the limits and goals of the relationship have not been set clearly. In this sense, it may be helpful that Juno is in sextile (60°) to Uranus, which may give a positive turn to tense situations. Mutual goals may be renewed if there is the will to discuss things. But this also makes easier to break-up and to whithdraw from relationships where there is manipulation or power games. We need to drop these if we want to relate with freedom, spontaneity and mutual respect.

     Fortunately, Mercury, the planet of communication, negotiation and dialogue, is in the equinoctial point (0° Aries), in parallel with Chiron and the Horsehead Nebula. This indicates that therapeutic conversations can have good results. It is possible to address the most delicate issues and thus heal the dysfunctional corners of our relationships. But beyond therapy, this combination is excellent for research and study, as mercurial curiosity meets with Chiron's wisdom and the Horsehead Nebula tendency to highlight the occult. This famous nebula, located in the constellation of Orion, is actually a dark dust cloud located in front of a giant cloud of glowing ionized hydrogen, which serves as a bright and attractive backdrop which makes it a particularly attractive object visually. Therefore, it is an excellent day for intellectual, educational, academic activities, for reading a good book, or to find lost objects or hidden information. It is also good for health diagnoses, lab tests, to make repairs and buy tools, and of course to give and get good advice.

     On the 14th, Venus is contra parallel to Neptune, conjunct the Guitar Nebula, and at 45° from Jupiter and the Witch Head Nebula. Venus conjunct the Guitar Nebula represents either ruptures or reconciliations, as this nebula is actually an asymmetric supernova explosion in which the neutron star is moving on one direction and the cloud of debris on the opposite. This symbolizes separation, but also a great acceleration because the neutron star is apparently the fastest in our galaxy. So Venus issues, mainly related to love, art and finance, will tend to be accelerated by this trend during the weekend. Great advances in those fields can be achieved with relatively little effort. In any case, you should avoid impulsiveness (especially when spending money or making investments) as well as the tendency to emotional outbursts. A neutral attitude, moderate and thoughtful, will make things easier. Jupiter and the Witch Head Nebula indicate positive results of showing calmness, prudence and even indifference. The Witch Head is a reflection nebula, whose main characteristic is passivity and mental reflection, much needed in harsh or very energetic environments, which need objectivity, and a cool and reasoned approach.

     Have a very thoughtful weekend! To that end, I invite you to follow the astrological reflection about these nebulae during the weekend on our Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud sites:

http://www.facebook.com/GalacticGuide

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http://soundcloud.com/galacticguide



Carlos Duarte
Research astrologer