6 Months In: Cleaner Inside and Out and... Happy??!

As I got the kids off to bed, I discovered... oh my!... I'm happy!

While it's true that we're past the Autumnal Equinox so the sun in traversing Libra right now (which makes my natal Libra Moon and Pluto very comfortable), this feeling has progressively been building in me, which speaks to deeper, more gradual change.

After 6 months of clearing clutter, creating organizational systems, and cleaning dirt and dust, I have uncovered an unexpected thing: A willingness to be daring, to be BOLD. I want COLOR, FUN.

I want it throughout my house.

I want it throughout my LIFE.


All of this is a bit mind-blowing to my Taurus Ascendant, who has a steady and reserved face for the world. After all, we've put up with beige walls for many years now, and the house exterior is similarly on the basic side. But I can feel it bubbling in me, this need for color and energy and drama. The list of possible colorful changes for our house is growing and growing, but with minimal prep or expense, I've found ways to act already.



 

White junior chair for Bean at the dark kitchen table - feels like it lifts up the space!
Now I want to paint the rest of the chairs...


 

Celebrating Bean's art along the frequently used hall

Art display on Bean's playroom wall as she chooses, giving her a sense of ownership, kid-sized space, and affirmation of who she is


You may notice that these center on one of the natural sources of joy and exuberant vitality in the household -- 3-year-old Bean. Her play area is in the Creativity and Children feng shui bagua, so creating the art space there has double the impact to our home. To add to this quest for "play", both she and I share Mars in Leo, which loves this sense of being. My Mars actually is in the astrological 5th house of Creativity and Children. Looks like all this has been a long time coming! (See bottom for more comments - Mars is in Leo right now.)

I Can See Progress Now, the Stuff's [All] Gone

(I know, Johnny Nash said it better.) It was gratifying last week to find that in the midst of a flurry of preparations for having some friends over, much of the clutter that had to be moved actually could be moved to places where it in fact belonged. The tidy, managing Capricorn (Capricorn midheaven) in me was pleased to see the organizational systems do have purpose; my love of creative projects (Jupiter in Virgo in the 5th house) often causes internal conflict with my organizational side (Capricorn midheaven and Saturn in Virgo). Today is three days post event, and the house still looks tidy! While there are clusters of clutter to be sorted, it is contained and not hampering the life and activity of the house - such a win.

I know this is a warning, too - any of these clusters will cause issues if they get ignored again and now stay in their new spots for a long time. But I am heartened that the clutter clumps are progressively getting smaller and I am in fact moving in a positive direction.

Heavens Above

Clearly all of this ties with the skies, as today's transits (thank you to my astrology software) are underlining the themes in this post. I have to remind myself, though, that it is through planetary transits that we change and grow, so these parallels in my life are not indicating that the planets are causing these changes in my life, rather they are propelling me forward should I choose to work with them and the changes stay within me. Can I separate the personal impact of feng shui and my home's state from the astrological influences? Not at this point, but I'll continue to observe.

It seems today is power-packed:

• Moon in Sagittarius is in strong square with my natal Jupiter (the aspect is actually exact as I'm writing this), which points to the positive feelings I am having in general as well as the positive feelings about my home and my family
• Jupiter in Cancer is in strong square with my natal Moon, which further explains the expansive joy (Jupiter), particularly with home and family (Cancer)
• Mercury in Scorpio is in strong opposition with my natal Chiron, aiding me in seeing and processing the personal changes within me
• Saturn in Scorpio is in strong opposition with my natal Chiron (also exact), pairing with Mercury to push me to write this post
• Mars in Leo is in strong square with my natal Sun and conjunct my natal Mars, spurring me on to act
• Venus in Sagittarius is in strong sextile with my natal Venus, heightening my sense of art and beauty and creative drive (all that excitement about color and form!)

Then we have the series impacting me in long form, changing my perspectives and philosophies, supporting me in this inner questioning over the past months and in the months ahead:

• Neptune in Pisces is in strong square with my natal Mercury
• Chiron in Pisces in strong opposition with my natal Jupiter
• Pluto in Capricorn in strong trine with my natal Chiron and my natal Jupiter

So let's celebrate because we can! Six months in, six more to go.

Until next time,
  - MS ;)