Moon entered Cancer at 8:57PM ET on Tuesday, driving today and tomorrow with a focus on home/homeland and emotional security concerns. What will best nourish you over the next couple of days?

An easy alignment between the Moon and Venus at 5:44AM ET gets the day off to an agreeable start, and a rose-colored alignment between Moon and Neptune at 3:10PM ET may add to the glow. At 4:26PM ET, Jupiter and Pluto will be in a significant easy alignment (a trine), facilitating reward and empowerment, especially if you have a planet or angle around 17 degrees of just about any sign, but especially the Earth Signs (Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn) and the Mutable Signs (Virgo, Pisces, Gemini, Sagittarius).  17 Leo and 17 Aquarius…maybe not so much. Paul Ryan has transiting Jupiter sitting right on his 17 Virgo Midheaven, and this week John Boehner suggested nominating Speaker Ryan at the Republican Convention in mid-July. Jupiter will have just hit Ryan’s Midheaven for the third time, and transiting Uranus with be opposing his Libra Moon, potentially intensifying needs for personal fulfillment. Interesting.

On Thursday, Moon makes its weekly clash with Pluto and Uranus at 4:08AM and 7:39AM ET, so we can expect a jolt or power play to make headlines or disrupt your own personal world if your horoscope is directly affected.  An easy alignment between Mercury and Moon facilitates a flow of communication at 12:17PM ET. Then it’s clear sailing for the rest of the day. Moon goes void at 12:09AM ET on Friday, entering Leo at 3:54AM ET. Party on dudes, like it’s the End of the World, as the Sun enters the last degrees of Pisces. Cue R.E.M. now, please.

And now, the news.

President Obama is scheduled to announce his pick for the Supreme Court today at 11AM ET. One of the possible nominees — currently considered the “likeliest” — is Sri Srinivasan, who now sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. I looked at his available birth data (2/23/67 in Chandigarh, India) a few weeks ago.  Pisces Sun; Moon in regal Leo. Seven out of ten planets in Water Signs, reflecting the predominance of Water in current planetary patterns. Uranus at 23 Virgo; Pluto at 19 Virgo; both of these triggered by transiting Jupiter in Virgo in recent months. Jupiter in contact with Uranus and/or Pluto suggests expanded resources and “lucky” breaks. We’ll see very soon how lucky he will be today. Donald Trump’s Uranus is at 17 Gemini, currently charged by transiting Jupiter.

UPDATE: President Obama picked the Other Contender, Merrick Garland, who looks a lot like most of the people in the Senate. Will that help? Sun in Scorpio; Libra Moon, like John Boehner. His Jupiter is at 15 Taurus, and will be hit twice by transiting Jupiter between now and mid-June. That can be lucky. Three planets in his horoscope will be intensified by transiting Uranus in May, along with transiting Saturn conjoining his natal Mercury at 14 Sagittarius in May and November. That can be heavy. So the month of May is looking hot and heavy for Mr. Garland (November 13, 1952 in Chicago — no birth time).

Meanwhile, North Korea continues to make headlines. Using astrologer Jamie Partridge’s proposed birth time of 12:39PM, we see transiting Mars at 3 Sagittarius just crossing North Korea’s Moon and Ascendant at 2 Sagittarius. We’d expect action, potentially in an aggressive/assertive vein, as noted on Monday. Yesterday it added more fuel to the fire by sentencing an American college student to 15 years hard labor — for “allegedly attempting to steal a political banner” from a Pyongyang hotel.

What a nightmare, and one might shudder to think how a President Donald Trump would handle this diplomatic crisis. Otto Warmbier, the unfortunate young man, was born December 12th, 1994, presumably near Cincinnati — no birth time available.  The horoscope has a volatile T-square pattern among Mars, Jupiter-Pluto and Saturn. It was triggered — and continues to be triggered — by transiting Mars. This can be aggressive. Mr. Warmbier has an idealistic Sun in Sagittarius conjunct Mercury; the Moon is in impulsive Aries — possibly being hit now by Pluto and/or Uranus, suggesting upsets and prominence.

It’s not surprising to see the astro-logical connections between Mr. Warmbier and North Korea. His volatile T-square is in provocative contact with North Korea’s Moon, Ascendant and Saturn. We can see how North Korea might react sensitively and harshly to an imagined slight on the part of Mr. Warmbier. His Pluto square to North Korea’s Saturn suggests an added dose of brutality. Sigh.

When assessing the potential success of a political candidate, astrologers often look at the relationship between the candidate’s horoscope and the horoscope of the country/state/city the candidate hopes to lead. Barack Obama’s 18 Aquarius Ascendant conjoins the U.S.’s Aquarius Moon; his 1 degree Venus is conjunct the U.S. Venus at 2 Cancer; we expect a personal, potentially caring connection.

How does Donald Trump’s horoscope connect with the U.S.? What jumps out immediately is Trump’s 22 Gemini Sun and 21 Sagittarius Moon in almost exact contact with the U.S.’s delusional Mars-Neptune square. His 17 Gemini Uranus adds a potentially reckless spin to an already wiggy combination. Trump feeds right into one possible manifestation of the U.S.’s charged need for romanticized, gun-slinging cowboys.

So what about Bernie Sanders? Yup. His 19 Gemini Jupiter makes contact with the U.S. Mars-Neptune square, too — amplifying another facet of the American Dream. Many critics argue he is too “pie in the sky”. Other aspects between Sanders and the U.S. suggest, however,  a stimulating intellectual rapport and a call to action. Hillary Clinton? Remember we do not have a confirmed birth time. If we use the 8:02AM chart, her 22 Pisces Moon ties into the U.S. Mars-Neptune square. Both proposed horoscopes would have her natal Mars-Pluto conjunction at 14 Leo almost exactly at the cusp of the U.S. 4th House (homeland security). Mars-Pluto can be a ruthless warrior. And you wonder why Mrs. Clinton is perceived as such a hawk…

Isn’t astrology amazing? See how you can use it to understand yourself and your relationships, even your relationship with where you live? Here’s the 411 on personal consultations, if you’d like to learn more about your own unique horoscope.

UPDATE:  on my market research project involving Avid Reader feedback on why most do not follow through on their noble impulse to show appreciation for the time and effort put into making this forecast possible. As a result of last week’s post, a whopping SEVENTY people clicked on the suggested guidelines. How cool is that? The jury is still out, given that only four — yup — just four — Avid Readers followed through. I’m trying not to take it personally, while expressing much gratitude for what is, not for what could be.

The silver lining was that Avid Reader Diane signed into PayPal and arranged for $6 to be charged to her credit card each month (less PayPal’s 50-cent cut). What genius! So I updated the suggested guidelines accordingly. What do you think — $1.50 per week — is that too much to ask? I’d like to keep this forecast open to all who might stumble upon it in Google searches, which is why I’ve resisted the notion of locking it up behind a paywall, as many news sites do.  It’s fun to be stumbled upon. I welcome your thoughts…

Meanwhile…

A huge joy of writing this forecast (for seven years!) is that it has connected me so many amazing people I never would have met otherwise! One is Avid Reader Karen, a gifted artist and all-around lovely soul. This week we were discussing her horoscope (she gave me permission to tell you that), and her latest artistic inspiration. It is so lovely and so appropriate for today’s nurturing, fertile Cancer Moon and sensitive, intuitive Pisces Sun, that I asked if I could share it with you. The rose is white — one of the colors of Cancer. The birds are crows — magical and oh-so-smart. And all of that gold!!

Take a look at this beautiful image — and note these words:

Our acceptance of annunciations is a personal and private awareness: a gathering of our own connections, a drowning out of consensus reality. 

…which echo a bottom-line symbolism of last week’s New Moon, expressed so well by Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee:

…if one is never one’s own master, there is danger of being swept away by the strong current of someone else’s take on things.

I’m thinking Avid Reader Karen’s visions would be awesome if painted on the inside of a dome. If you happen to need a dome painted beautifully, or know someone who does, get in touch with Karen.

Thank you for reading this forecast.