Good morning from 35,000 feet!

My seat belt is fastened — literally and figuratively speaking. These next couple of weeks should be interesting, as the Chinese might say. As in “interesting times,” and all that.

The work week (Monday) began with the Moon in enterprising Capricorn, facilitating efforts to take care of business — and no whinging, if you please. The earthy, practical drive continues through today (Tuesday), going void on WEDNESDAY at 1:10 PM ET. Moon enters Aquarius on Wednesday at 7:52 PM ET, driving the rest of the week with a need for social significance and networking. You can start the weekend early on FRIDAY, when the Moon goes void….not to enter Pisces until 8:27 AM ET on SATURDAY. Focus on routine concerns during these long voids. Roll with whatever twists and flakes disrupt your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill, as crises which crop up during voids have a weird way of dissipating once the Moon changes gears into the next sign. Chill!

Notable planetary patterns this week:

• TUESDAY (today): Mars (action, courage, machismo, aggression) squares Uranus (aviation, rebels, technology, innovation, seismic activity) for the third time since May 15th; the second time was August 6th. This third square happens at 7 PM ET. Upside: technological breakthroughs and gender-benders seen in a positive light, e.g. news about Cuba contemplating a new Constitution which would prohibit discrimination based on gender and/or sexual identity. Downside: accidents and other forms of spontaneous combustion; rash/reckless actions; men behaving badly. The potential for “badly” is amplified by Mars about to meet up with the South Node, a point of destruction and toxic release. That happens on Saturday. Meanwhile, note the potential for a power play or emotional catharsis around 9:03 PM ET, as the Moon makes its weekly clash with Pluto.
• WEDNESDAY: harmony among the Capricorn Moon and the Sun and Mercury in Virgo at 10:20 AM ET and 1:10 PM ET facilitates willful communications of executive authority, possibly blinded by their own idealistic light. Moon clashes with Uranus at 11:35 PM ET — note the potential for shocks and other upsets.
• THURSDAY: A feisty assertion of independence is suggested by a Moon-Mars meet-up at 12:23 AM ET, followed by a stubbornly self-indulgent expression of values around 9:46 AM ET, as the Moon squares Venus in scorekeeper Scorpio. At 9:52 PM ET, idealism crests with prominence, as the Sun and Mercury (how we need to think and communicate) meet up in the last degrees of Virgo, close enough to trigger the Aries Point.
• FRIDAY: Note the potential for an exuberant or excessive surge around 1:13 PM ET, as the Aquarius Moon squares Jupiter. In the ensuing Moon void, Mercury leaves Virgo for Libra at 11:40 PM ET. The quest for perfection and exacting detail in thought and communication is replaced with a quest for fairness and balance — at least in theory.
• SATURDAY: Happy Autumnal Equinox! With the start of a new season, the Sun enters the cardinal sign of Libra at 9:55 PM ET. Avid Readers will recall that cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) are turning points (that’s what “cardinal” means). And this is why any planet around 0 degrees (the beginning) of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn is reflected with prominence. Just to confuse everyone, these four points are collectively known as the Aries Point. We pay attention to the start of a season, as things are about to change, right? Is that why the Wheel of Fortune is Beth Owl’s Daughter’s Tarot Card of the week? Well, her cards are always in sync with planetary patterns, doncha’ know. In the news, watch for especially prominent news involving leaders; e.g., CEOs and heads of state.
• SATURDAY: Some of what we read about our dear leaders may be toxic, as Mars meets up with the South Node. And there will be more to come next week, as Mars returns to 4 degrees of Aquarius on September 27th, triggering the total lunar eclipse we had on July 27th. I expect headlines involving a bottleneck of energy released. If you have planets or angles around 4 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius, you are more affected than most.
• SUNDAY: Emotions are on the rise as the Moon waxes to fullness in Aries on MONDAY at 10:52 PM ET. Meanwhile, gravitas and streamlining in communication and leadership are likely hot topics in the headlines. Why? Because on Sunday at 12:46 PM ET, Mercury will square Saturn (authority, control, patriarchy); next Tuesday the Sun will square the cosmic karma cop. If you have planets or angles around 2-3 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn, you’re likely to be feeling the squeeze more than most.

Bottom line: at least two weeks of disruptive breakthroughs and revelations, for better or for worse, involving action, aggression and way-too-macho men.

And now, the news.

Hurricane Florence did make landfall 10 miles east of Wilmington, NC — as intuited — and during last Friday’s Moon void. It hit the coastline as a Cat 2, with much less force than feared, though record-breaking rain is doing plenty of damage. Wilmington became an island, completely cut off from access by land. Wow. Meanwhile, another monster storm — Typhoon Mangkhut — landed in the Philippines before heading towards Hong Kong.

Storms, storms and more storms:

• Dianne Feinstein continues to reflect her Moon-in-Gemini’s need to be the smartest kid in the room. For the third time in four years, we’re writing about her making headlines for making sure people know about Certain Information. Here’s a post from 2014 (with a link to her horoscope); here’s one from January of this year. Her Cancer Sun is at the Aries Point, suggesting she is born to prominence. This year she’s been feeling the squeeze of transiting Saturn opposing her Sun, along with the pressure to “change or die,” suggested by a measurement between Pluto (transformation) and her pioneering Aries Ascendant. In February, the Democratic Party declined to support her bid to stay on as the senior senator from California (ouch!), but California voters handed her a victory in the primary anyway. I expect we will see plenty of courage and initiative from DiFi through the year, sparked by a measurement between her Mars and Sun.
• Right now, DiFi is moving heaven and earth to stop Brett Kavanaugh from becoming the new kid on the SCOTUS block. Ever the information junkie, of course she would have a letter from a woman — Christine Blasey Ford — alleging that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her back when they were teens. And now they will both be testifying about it before the Senate — on Monday, during an almost-full Moon in Pisces…void. Hmm. And now there are report that Ms. Ford’s appearance is not confirmed. Well, there is sure to be some empathy, in between the hard-nosed heaviness of aforementioned patterns among Mercury, Sun and Saturn. In Kavanaugh’s horoscope (birth time unknown), we note that transiting Jupiter has moved on to his natal Neptune (as I type!), suggesting an expansion of ideals, faith, spirits of all kinds and scandal.
• Monday’s testimony is just one chapter of the encyclopedia we’re reading for the next few weeks on Men Behaving Badly. Some say boys will be boys and we should forgive them their youthful transgressions. On the other hand, it’s difficult to forgive what has not been acknowledged and owned. Let this compelling essay — “I Believe Her” — spark your next water cooler conversation.
• UPDATE: Paul Manafort continues to feel Saturn’s squeeze all over his horoscope, as anticipated.  Last week he copped a plea rather than face a second trial. Not only that, but he’s agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller. Even better: the millions of dollars in assets he will forfeit more than covers the cost of Mueller’s investigation. Now that’s what I call draining the swamp.
• UPDATE: As you know from a recent post, P45’s horoscope suggests that now is the time for close and formerly close associates to tell us what he’s really like — in gory detail. As if Omarosa, Anonymous White House Op-Ed Guy/Gal and Bob Woodward haven’t given us enough disruptive revelations about P45 and his (lack of) administration, here comes Stormy Daniels with the naked truth about his lackluster performance and penchant for cheating. Her book, “Full Disclosure,” will be published next month, further realizing the potential noted in her horoscope earlier this year for hard-nosed thinking, publishing and a potential windfall. Note that her Moon is at 4 degrees of Scorpio and will be affected by transits from Mars and the South Node. Last time this happened (over the summer), she was served with divorce papers.
• In other news, McDonalds’ employees in ten cities are on strike today, protesting the company’s culture of “sexual harassment.”
• Meanwhile, a small town in Missouri will soon have a new newspaper — The Uranus Examiner. The town thinks it’s pretty funny — and it is, in a provocative Mars-square-Uranus way. Though if they spelled Uranus correctly, i.e. “Ouranos” — pronounced Oo–RAH-nos” — perhaps it wouldn’t be the butt of so many jokes. Thanks to Avid Reader Katya for making sure I didn’t miss that one!
• This just in…“Russia Blames Israel After Reconnaissance Plane Downed by Syrian Air Defense.”   Also Mars (aggression) square Uranus (aviation, accidents).
• Keep an eye on this reckless act of aggression involving prominent communication: “P45 Orders Russia Investigation Documents Declassified.”
• UPDATE: Hillary Clinton’s Scorpio Sun is being squared by Uranus, suggested a need for greater independence and a potential for disruptive actions and experiences. Last week The Atlantic published her gripping essay, “American Democracy is in Crisis.”  Meanwhile, the Texas Board of Education voted to drop Mrs. Clinton from school curriculums, along with Helen Keller. Moses, however, was voted in.
• UPDATE: California continues to live up to this year’s revolutionary potential, noted in prior forecasts. Supercharged by transiting Uranus, it has recently announced plans to launch its own satellite to monitor climate change; ban for-profit charter schools; eliminate cash bail for suspects awaiting trial; and defy the FCC’s anti-net neutrality ruling. We’ll see more more more of that pioneering spirit in the months ahead.

Couldn’t watch the Emmys last night — too busy packing. Did notice that neither Elisabeth Moss nor The Handmaid’s Tale won this year. Ms. Moss’s Leo Sun was eclipsed last month. Coincidence or conspiracy?

Thank you for reading this forecast. To find out what all of these planetary patterns mean for you, consider booking a personal consultation. But don’t just take it from me. Take it from Avid Reader Meg, who writes:

“Take a leap and get a reading with Elisabeth.  She’s bright, articulate, funny, and sensitive. She knows her stuff. I’ve worked with a good number of astrologers over the past 40 years. I like variety and new perspectives. This was a fresh start for me and right on time. Thank you!” —  Meg R.

I am delighted to be of service.