Welcome to Ghost of a Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Lanyadoo. I'm an astrologer, psychic medium, and animal communicator, and I'm going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.

Welcome back to Ghost of a Podcast. This week, we're going to be looking at the astrology of September 8th through the 14th of 2024. This is going to be a little short and sweet. There's only three exact transits this week. But before I talk to you about the exact transits, I want to talk to you about the upcoming Eclipse.

We will have a Lunar Eclipse in Pisces on the 17th, Tuesday of next week, not this week. Eclipses⁠—they build, and they mount. And as that is happening, what that means in really practical terms is your emotions are building. Now, to be clear, that doesn't necessarily mean, oh, you're feeling more emotional; you're tearing up at things. It means that your subconscious⁠, reflexive, habitual reactions, feelings, sensations are becoming stronger and coming more to the surface.

A Lunar Eclipse is a really intense Full Moon, and this one will be in Pisces. And I'm going to talk about it a ton in next week's episode, so make sure to tune in on Sunday, the 15th, when I drop it. But again, I want to give you a heads-up here. The truth is, when it comes to Piscean energy, things can get confusing and overwhelming. They can get fantastical in a way that is ultimately disassociative or escapist, or they can get really spiritual, really connected and interconnected. But because this is a Full Moon and because it's an Eclipse, we're meant to let go, to release.

What I want to invite you to this week is cultivating a practice of being aware of what's coming up inside of you⁠—not what you're supposed to do about it. Don't worry about what to do about it. Instead, train your attention habitually, ritualistically⁠—because the Sun is in Virgo⁠—to what is in alignment, what's true. And when I say what's true, I'm not talking about the Veridad. I'm not talking about the truth in a linear way. I'm talking about what is salient, what is present, what is true inside of you, what is true for you. By practicing aligning with that, you're better resourced inside of yourself. And that empowers you to better utilize the resources outside of yourself.

Like I said, people get weird about Eclipses. And some of that I blame on the internet and how noisy the internet is about Eclipses. But here is a simple thing to remember: Eclipses both obscure and reveal, and it's hard to know what's what while we're in the middle of it. And so don't seek answers. Don't seek certainty. Don't seek linear explanations of, "What does it mean, and what should I do?" and all that kind of shit.

Instead, practice presence. Practice alignment. Practice tapping into the nuance so that you can honor whatever truth you're feeling. And you're likely to need to practice that good, old-fashioned "and also" that we've been talking about so much on the podcast. Practice being present with and in acceptance of paradox because we're dealing with Pisces, right? And we're dealing with Pisces energies; that includes Neptune. That includes Saturn⁠—which are both transiting through the zodiac sign of Pisces.

The truth is sometimes paradoxical. "I am not happy with this person, and also, I love them." "I am really committed to doing something, and also, it's no longer serving me." There's ways that are incredibly helpful and healthy to practice being present with what is that requires your willingness to accept that there isn't clarity or answers or fixes, not in this moment.

As feelings and dynamics and relationships reveal themselves to you over the course of the next week-plus as we build up towards this first Eclipse in Pisces, again, I want to invite you⁠—don't complicate it; simplify it. "This is what I'm feeling, and also, that is what I'm feeling. This is what I'm feeling, and also, I don't know what to do about it," or, "And also, I don't know what it means." This is the best thing you can do during Eclipse Season in general and certainly in the buildup towards this Eclipse.

Eclipses are not⁠—and I'm going to repeat not⁠—the time to do rituals, okay? They're not the time for invoking. They're not the time for manifesting. The Eclipse itself is the ritual. It is the magic. Do not try to control or contain an Eclipse. That's like trying to control or contain an earthquake or a hurricane. Now, I say earthquake and hurricane; those things can be quite destructive. And certainly, of course, anything can be destructive. But Eclipses are not inherently destructive, but they're forces of nature that are meant to do a thing to you that you can't exactly prepare for.

This is the Moon we're talking about. This is not a linear energy. This is emotional. And so I want to kind of point you away from trying to harness the energy of the Eclipse. Instead, avail yourself to the energy of the Eclipse. Instead, open yourself up to the energy of the Eclipse by being present, by accepting what you find when you are present and allowing that awareness, that acceptance, that openness, to work its own magic on you. You're not going to know what it means. You're not going to know what to do about it. It's uncomfortable, but it's also incredibly fertile. Be present for it. Don't disassociate, if you can. Stay here. Stay aware. Stay curious. But don't try to force it in one direction or another.

Okay. So that's your little pep talk for the Eclipse. We will talk about what to expect, what to do, in greater detail next week. Let's start at the beginning of this week with the first exact transit, occurring on Wednesday, September 11th. And on that day, we have an exact sextile between Mercury at 4 degrees Virgo and 22 minutes, and Mars at 4 degrees Cancer and 22 minutes. This will be exact at 8:42 p.m.

Mercury sextile to Mars is a supportive transit. And what it can do is kind of speed things up. So it speeds things up because Mercury is kind of your day-to-day stuff. It's communication. It's DM. It's listening. It's what happens in your neighborhood. If you ride a bicycle, Mercury governs a bicycle. Mars governs a car, just to give you a sense of the kind of motion that Mercury and Mars perform.

When we experience a Mercury sextile to Mars, we just tend to expect a busier couple of days. More things are happening. More conversations are occurring. More plans are being made. It can make you a little bit more social where you want to connect with people, and it happens kind of organically because, of course, you're not the only person experiencing this transit; everyone is. If you're a little shy and you're working on it, like you're trying to get a little less shy or be a little more assertive, this transit is your friend. It helps you to just have the courage⁠—thanks, Mars⁠—to connect with others⁠—Mercury. It's also not a bad transit for first dates for that same reason. It can help to take a person out of their shell.

Because we're in this Eclipse buildup and emotions are running high, you want to kind of just make sure that you're not rushing too quickly to turn your feelings and thoughts or your desires or needs or confusion into plans. That's the only thing I would warn you of or to keep in your viewfinder. Otherwise, this is just a great transit for getting stuff done, making plans, making connections, connecting to people, all that kind of good stuff.

If there's something that you need to learn that doesn't require too much concentration, because neither Mercury nor Mars is great with concentration on their own, this transit is just⁠—it's kind of bubbly, and so it helps to keep that spark of interest alive. If you are a person who is trying to support your social life, make sure you're asking questions of other people and also being brave enough to share of yourself, to try to strike that balance. This transit is really supportive for all of that.

But the fun doesn't stop there. The next exact transit of the week happens the following day on Thursday, September the 12th, at 3:53 a.m. Pacific Time. We have an exact square between the Sun and Jupiter, a fantastic transit. Just wait. The Sun will be at 20 degrees of Virgo and 10 minutes, while Jupiter will be at 20 degrees of Gemini and 10 minutes.

This transit is really great for emboldening you to resource yourself or tap into the resources of the world. When I talk about resourcing yourself, what I'm talking about is tapping into the resources you've already cultivated. So that might mean remembering that your body is a resilient thing. You may, during a Sun square to Jupiter, take a chance or do something to fortify or strengthen it. That's a good way of resourcing yourself.

Another way of resourcing yourself when you're sad or when you're frightened⁠—remembering that you actually have tools. They're hard to remember to use. Maybe they're hard to use. But you have tools for supporting yourself through sadness, through fear, through anger. And even when you feel demoralized or hopeless or helpless, you can tap into your inner resources and practice using them. You can reach outside of yourself and ask for help from humans that you know in meatspace, in your material life, from people or resources online⁠—right? This is what I'm talking about with resourcing yourself. It's remembering to use the resources you have internally, externally, which, when you feel like shit, is the first thing most of us forget. We forget that we have tools. We forget that we know how to use them. So Sun square to Jupiter is a great time for remembering that you've got tools and being motivated to use them. Great news.

I guess the kind of touchy part of that is most of the time that we remember we have tools and choose to use them, there is a need for it. But again, it's Eclipse Season. Emotions⁠—they're meant to come to the surface. We're meant process them so we can release things that we're holding on to that no longer serve us. To evolve and to grow means to outgrow, to evolve beyond or past. That's just kind of part of life.

Sun square to Jupiter, much like Mercury sextile to Mars, is not really about pacing yourself. It's not really about moving slowly or having a lot of concentration. That's not what these transits offer. What they offer is the energy, vision, and resiliency to giddyap and go. And that's really valuable as long as you don't overdo it, which is always the risk with Jupiter.

Now, if you're somebody who struggles with addiction⁠—and in particular, when we're looking at Jupiter, we're talking about alcohol. We're talking about gambling, which is related to overspending money, or just taking bold risks⁠—this transit can be kind of challenging because, in a way, Sun square to Jupiter tests your proportionality, your ability to know what's too much. When we're coming to Saturn, we're often struggling with what's not enough. But with Jupiter, it's what's too much.

So practice some moderation if you know that you tend towards excess in a way that is harmful to you or the things or people you care about. That's not going to be particularly easy. However, if that's what's up for you right now⁠—the challenge of practicing moderation in the face of excesses that are harmful to you or the people around you⁠—then trust that that's part of what this Eclipse Season is about for you and that this is an incredibly fertile time to engage with those energies, to engage with those habits or those patterns. And you don't have to be perfect. You don't have to heal everything magically all at once. But this is a really valuable time for practicing, being kinder to yourself, being better to yourself and to others.

This transit can coincide with advancements in social justice, in the themes of social justice or religiosity⁠—so, in other words, in spiritual matters and humanitarian matters. So we may see some sort of advancements. But as always, my definition of what that means may be meaningfully different than yours. And so the question always is, "Whose advancements? Whose definition of connection to spirit or connection to humanity?"

So, that said, if you are actively engaged in movements related to either of these themes, this is a fertile week, and in particular, this day is a fertile day for moving things along. It's not particularly helpful for patience, but if you're practicing presence, then it can invite your own impatience to show up so that you can be present with it instead of act in reaction to it. Very fertile, very challenging⁠—but a good challenge, not a bad challenge.

Now, that brings us to the last exact transit of this week. And it is on Saturday, September the 14th, at 10:34 p.m. Pacific Time. And we have a Venus trine to Jupiter, another absolutely lovely transit. Venus will be at 20 degrees of Libra and 24 minutes, and Jupiter will be at the same degrees of Gemini. This transit is all about good feelings. Venus is related to diplomacy, getting along with people, love, care, tenderness. It's also about, of course, your values. And Jupiter is optimism and resiliency and expansion. And because of that, when Venus and Jupiter form a trine to each other, which is a really supportive flowing aspect, what you can expect to happen is really lovely.

Now, let's say you've been really struggling. You've been having a hard time. This transit can coincide with a break, some wind beneath your wings. You have a lovely interaction with a person. You have a connection inside of yourself that just makes you feel substantially better for a minute⁠—that kind of a thing. When we talk about transits⁠—and in particular, global transits, transits like I talk about on the podcast that are happening to the world and not just to your birth chart⁠—those are your personal transits. When we're talking about these kinds of global transits, sometimes people expect too much.

To be clear, what I'm trying to say is there can be a tendency to look for evidence and dramatic things happening on the outside when, oftentimes, what truly happens is subtle but meaningful and on the inside. So, when we have a lovely transit like this, some people are for sure going to experience this as having a fucking fantastic time socializing, feeling loved or liked by someone, getting your flirt going with someone, going shopping and finding that perfect item and not overspending on it⁠—there are so many excellent things that can happen with this transit, and you are likely to experience any number of them, especially if you leave the house, if you engage in Venusian things like shopping or socializing or the kind of spiritual or psychological work that taps you into your value system⁠—that's when you're likely to get kind of the most external and obvious presentations of this transit.

However, a lot of people are just going to experience ease. And I don't want you to undervalue the importance of just having a nice day, having a little less stress, being able to resource yourself a little more easily with less effort⁠—that kind of a thing. You may go to the grocery store and just make eye contact with a bunch of friendly people and have lovely, light interactions that just make you feel a greater sense of connection to your community or greater sense of faith in humanity.

Don't undervalue those things, ever, but especially now, especially during Eclipse Season, because everyone's emotions are heightened. Everyone's subconscious emotions are heightened as well as the conscious ones. And that means we're all tenderhearted. We're all vulnerable. We're all more open and porous, for better or for worse. It's not good or bad; it is. It just is. And a lot of people get activated by being porous. And you might get activated, or the people around you might get activated. But then a lovely transit like Venus trine to Jupiter occurs, and it makes it more likely or easier that all of that vulnerability, all of that openness, flows, is safe, is met with kindness, is supportive. And that is fucking lovely, if you ask me.

If you are thinking about going on a first date, let it be today. Venus trine to Jupiter is just great for connecting in a lovely way with people, and that could include going on a date, being like, "Absolutely not," but gracefully and easily leaving the experience and not having it be a big, bad deal. You know what I mean? We want to be open to how Venus trine to Jupiter shows up in any of the ways that it may show up.

As I said about the Sun square to Jupiter, this is not the greatest if you're dealing with addictive behaviors in general, but especially around body-image stuff, your finances, or alcohol. So just keep that in mind as you move through your week, and do what you can to support yourself if that's a thing for you. But really, both Venus trine to Jupiter and Sun square to Jupiter⁠—they're great transits for having a nice meal, just really enjoying the sensual experience of food or clothing or art or anything that is beautiful and inspiring to you, that satiates your senses. It's a great time for connecting with other people, for showing them what they mean to you, and receiving love, receiving like.

So these are some really lovely transits that you can experience really deeply, really on the surface, and everything in between. And I want to encourage you to not have an agenda and to be open to it all. And that's it, my loves. That's the whole entire week in the stars.

I'm going to do a quick run-through of the transits. On the 11th, Mercury forms a sextile to Mars. On the 12th, the Sun forms a square to Jupiter. And then, on the 14th, Venus is exactly trine to Jupiter. And we are building towards that Eclipse, which will happen Tuesday of next week. So emotions are building and running high.

We're going to be talking about the big emotions, the Eclipse, boundaries⁠—which is a huge theme of a Lunar Eclipse in Pisces⁠—and other good stuff over on my Patreon. So, if you want to learn more with me, engage more with the astrology and the woo of it all, join me over at patreon.com/jessicalanyadoo. And make sure you hit that Follow or Subscribe button wherever you're listening to this podcast so you never miss an episode.

Thanks again for tuning in to Ghost of a Podcast this week and every week. And I will talk to you in just a couple of days. Buh-bye.