Allll-riighty, then!

Big news  is Mercury turning direct yesterday at 9:57AM ET. Patience and focus as you move about and attempt to communicate or work with gizmos that allegedly facilitate communication. On Tuesday I was certain I’d posted the forecast early in the morning, only to discover after 12PM that I had failed to complete the posting process. I started writing this forecast yesterday morning, but kept needing to step away from it until now. You do not want to hear what’s going on with my printer. Patience. Focus. Breathe!

The Scorpio Moon goes void at 12:32AM ET, not to enter Sagittarius until 11:46AM ET. Regular readers know that Moon voids suggest natural breaks in the action, offering opportunities to chill or focus on routine concerns. The flake factor is higher, as efforts to move forward in a straight line are more likely to be subject to unexpected twists and delays. Crises that crop up during voids are often much ado about nothing.

Spirits tend to lift when the Moon leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius — huzzah, huzzah!  It’s an apt time to expand your horizons, go for a gamble or a gambol, take in a foreign film or other entertainment outside your comfort zone.

And now, the news.

Funny how the news continues to be The News, as we’d expect with Saturn in Sagittarius suggesting a major reality check in mass communication and belief systems. First, Jon Stewart made headlines Tuesday night when he announced he would leave The Daily Show at the end of the year. Then, NBC announced that Brian Williams would be suspended without pay for six months for saying things that were not true about his experience in Iraq. It didn’t take long for one newspaper to suggest they just switch jobs.

In the linked article, Mr. Stewart notes that he’s been feeling restless, and frankly, we’d expect him to be questioning his purpose in life over the past two years, given that nebulous Neptune has been making contact with so many planets in his horoscope (birth time unknown). His maverick sensibility is clearly evident, as is no small amount of idealism and a need for social expression that reflects substance and artistry. But it’s likely been quite a fog in his quest for new vision. I’m glad he hasn’t set an exact departure date, as the fog is not likely to lift until after March. Whatever projects he pursues next, however, the progress of Saturn through his horoscope in 2015 suggests a pressing need for serious ambition and gravitas is likely to blossom. End of the year seems like an apt time for a separation.

Elsewhere, transiting Pluto is now exactly squaring the U.S. Saturn, suggesting a particularly difficult, anguished exercise. Pluto challenges us to change our perspective. It insists we face the truth. On Tuesday, for example, the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, published a report on the history of lynching in America. The report lists close to 4000 names of African Americans who were killed in the South between 1877-1950. Bryan Stevenson, the director of the organization, has proposed that the sites of these brutalities be marked with a plaque. Perhaps raising awareness will foster a greater understanding and healing of racial prejudice and inequality as it exists today.

Meanwhile, reflecting upheaval in matters of power and resources suggested by the Uranus-Pluto square, Apple announced this week that it is going solar — the wave of the future! Elsewhere, more Pluto in Capricorn corruption was exposed at  a financial institution. This time it’s Swiss bank HSBC, which “helped clients dodge taxes and hide millions.” And on Sunday, the NYT published the first of a four-part series, “Towers of Secrecy,” investigating the buyers of multimillion dollar condos, many of whom are foreign and use shell corporations to conceal their identities. What might the NYT have been seeking to discover?

Federal banking guidelines are clear: “Banks should take all reasonable steps to ensure that they do not knowingly or unwittingly assist in hiding or moving the proceeds of corruption.” This means screening customers to determine whether they are “politically exposed people” — foreign officials and their relatives and associates — and filing a “suspicious activity report” if the customers transfer unusually large amounts of money.

But such checks are not required on money flowing into the country through shell companies to purchase high-end real estate….

Finally, some feedback I received from a 13-year-old Scorpio reader, who thought I could have done a better job with Friday’s forecast. Let’s call him Rex, because it means “king” and this boy is nothing if not noble. This isn’t the first time his feelings have been hurt by something I wrote. He’s objected to my use of the word “ruthless” to describe the typical Scorpio, and given certain sensitive and empathic measurements in his horoscope, I can appreciate that.

Truth be told, I use that word partially in jest, as Scorpios are often teased for scaring the bejeebus out of people based on the fact that they exist. But a closer look at my online dictionary defines “ruthless” as “merciless” and “cruel”. That does seem too harsh for all Scorpios in general. Thus I put it out to Scorpios reading this: if there was one word you’d like people to use in describing your awesome Scorpio-ness, what would that word be? Do drop me a line, and I will share the results.

Rex thought “ruthless” would be a more accurate word for ISIL, which he’s discussed in his 7th grade current events class. He objected to my effort to segue between two news items reflecting the fiery illumination suggested by last week’s Full Moon in Leo, opposed by Jupiter. Connecting a story about the inner workings of the Sun with the most recent ISIL atrocity using clever wordplay was “crude,” he thought. Calling the perpetrators “unfeeling” did not go far enough:

“I think America can be unfeeling at times and then not so much sometimes, ’cause we just are who we are – sort of see things in our “American” way, but we always try to “get” what other people feel.  But those people are BARBARIC in the literal meaning. No, worse. They need a new word: Isilisticism…’cause their “way” is to not EVER  see ANYBODY else as equals or human.”

Not being able to see oneself in the eyes of another; i.e., “as equals or human,” is exactly what I was trying to express with the word “unfeeling”. Plenty of thinkers have opined that people who do horrible things lack empathy. They do not see the Divine in others; they do not understand that what they do to other people, they also do to themselves. I agree with those that believe we all come from the same Source; we are all connected. That being said — dear Rex — please know it is never my intention to offend. I thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.

Do you remember what I said about Friday’s Sun-Jupiter opposition offering the potential for recognition or an expanded reach for anyone with a planet or angle around 17 degrees of Leo, Aquarius, Scorpio or Taurus? Rex has Mars at 17 Aquarius and Venus at 16 Scorpio. We’d expect his need for deep social expression, supported by a need for humanitarian action to be expressed — and it was!  Neat, huh?

“But how would I know if I have a planet at one of those degrees?” wrote Mark, another avid reader. Answer: order the Astro-Basics Report for $18, and you will receive a copy of your horoscope, a computer-generated report listing your planets, what signs and houses they are in, and how they relate to other planets. I will include a personal note about the reigning need of your horoscope. When you understand your reigning need, then you can take conscious steps to fulfill it in ways that are productive and satisfying. You’d be amazed at the number of people who do not fully appreciate what they need in order to be happy. Thanks for asking,  Mark!

And thank you for reading this forecast.