Today is driven by a righteously opinionated Sagittarius Moon. It went void at 4:22 AM ET and won’t enter the next sign — Capricorn — until 5:49 PM ET. Roll with any twists or flakes that may disrupt your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Consider how you may implement the rose-colored potential of this afternoon’s opposition between Venus (money, women, art, social expression) and Neptune (music, surrender, faith, vision) into your wandering.  Double check everything thrice. Why? Because any day with a strong Neptune increases the potential for confusion, not to mention the other patterns happening this week, as I outlined in the forecast last Friday:

• On WEDNESDAY at 7:34 AM ET, we’ll have a  square between the Leo Sun (leaders, life force, willpower) and Uranus (disruption, technology, seismic activity, aviation, etc.). Already we are feeling the buzz.
• On THURSDAY at 1:03 AM ET, Mercury goes retrograde at 23 Leo,  suggesting a review of how we need to think about play, showmanship, creative self-expression, regal pronouncements and entitlements. Watch the headlines over the next few weeks for stubborn and grandiose miscommunication. Don’t believe everything you hear! Mercury turns direct on August 19th at 11 Leo. If you have planets between 11 and 23 Leo — and especially on those exact degrees, you are especially affected by this  Mercury retrograde. Regardless of your own unique horoscope, everyone should BACK UP YOUR COMPUTERS NOW! Other general guidelines for surviving Mercury retrogrades may be found here.
• On FRIDAY, an especially assertive/courageous or simply combative opposition between Mars in rebel Aquarius and the regal Leo Sun, exact at 1:14 AM ET
• On FRIDAY at 4:20 PM ET, a Full Moon/total lunar eclipse at 4 degrees of Aquarius — opposing the Leo Sun. How will we balance the eclectic needs of the collective vs. the birthright of the individual, hmm?
• The next exact aspect after the eclipse is a harmony between Venus (money, women, art, social expression and value) and Pluto (power, resources) on FRIDAY at 9:22 PM ET. Venus is in Virgo; Pluto is in  Capricorn. These are Earth Signs — concerned with the material world. Virgo seeks discernment, perfection, cooperation, service, process; Capricorn seeks status, achievement, establishment. I zeroed in on this Venus-Pluto trine when reading Beth Owl’s Daughter’s always in sync Tarot Card of the Week. It challenges us to take serious stock of what we value and how we use it. With Uranus now in Taurus (material comfort and security), we see strong potential for disruption in matters we believed were rock solid. When will that start? I am not certain, but I suspect we will have taken notice by mid-2021, with a whiff of things to come around June 2019.

The Sabian Symbols for Thursday’s eclipse echo a need for focus on the material. For the Sun: “rock formations at the edge of a precipice.” Sabian Symbol Guru Blain Bovee notes that these “large, hard stones…may be teetering…on the brink of a deep fall.” For the Moon: “a council of ancestors called to guide.”  Bovee offers a curious interpretation: “Where do you go when you fall asleep? Into the arms of our ancestors.” Lynda Hill, another Sabian Symbol expert, notes the dichotomy here between the material (rocks) and the spiritual (wisdom of the ancestors/those who have gone before). Hmm. So in order to get out of this material predicament  — i.e., of teetering on the brink  — I reckon we need to tune in to the spiritual, which is exactly what is suggested by so many planets — especially Mars and now Mercury — being retrograde at this time.  This notion was reinforced this morning via the musings of another intuitive friend — sound healer Norma Gentile.   On the subject of abundance, she writes:

My guides have shared with me that we are many, many years away from the unity of consciousness that many people seek. They suggest that what we must first do is enter into the sacred versions of male and female within our polarized reality. Then we will take some time to understand the full spectrum of expressive energies that exist between them as well. The Divine Feminine has been awakening throughout our world for many centuries, and it is only now joined by a consciousness awakening of the Sacred Masculine. Spirit can now begin to flow through all aspects of our world that lie within polarity.

The first motion of this Spiritual flow is to reveal the non-sacred versions of masculine and feminine energies in our world to which we have become accustomed. Then as we sense and see the Sacred Masculine and Divine Feminine, we choose which to interact with. This choice is made by each of us as individuals, and our choices influence the percentage of sacred and non-sacred energies continue to express out into our shared world.

And, as we are learning, a simple majority does not make the choice go one way or the other. Only when a Golden Mean (3/5ths) of our world’s population chooses the sacred over the profane version of something can we as a planet move fully past that particular choice point. And so it seems we are in the process of endlessly taking a step forward, and then back. Repeating it over and over again until 3/5ths of all the souls within our world agree on that step forward. Then we begin to tackle the next step.

I have the coolest friends.

Other Moon voids this week: THURSDAY 9:41 AM ET until FRIDAY 6:41 AM ET. Well, that’ll make for an interesting first day of Mercury being retrograde.

And now, the news.

• Of course Paul Manafort’s trial– scheduled to begin on the day Mercury turned retrograde — would be delayed. Duh.
• Other signs Mercury might be stationary retrograde: Fox “News” thought they’d booked Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democratic congressional candidate who does not favor abolishing ICE.  Guess who showed up instead? Barbara L’Italien, a Massachusetts state senator who opposes P45’s immigration policies. Not that the anchors noticed the booking error…until they finally did. D’oh! But hey…confusion about an ideal woman (Venus-Neptune opposition)…a disruptive Sun-Uranus square…we can see how this would happen.
• Naturally the play I went to see last night was canceled, because the theater was on fire.
• Subtract the Mercury retrograde and we have “How tech’s richest plan to save themselves after the apocalypse”   In their dreams…
• Not a dream, but a nightmare: Eleven babies die after Dutch women given Viagra in a drug trial
• Meanwhile, this week’s tension among Mars (retrograde), Sun and Uranus — which will continue into next week — coincides with exceptionally aggressive headlines with a technological spin. For example:  DIY 3D-printed guns get go-ahead after P45 administration strikes court deal; multiple injuries and fatalities caused by a gun-wielding assailant in Toronto.   Even the weather continues to be aggressive: dozens killed by wildfires  in Greece;  Sweden continues to burn; record heat (106 degrees) kills dozens in Japan; record heat in UK; heat wave warnings in LA.
• Hydroelectric dam collapses in Laos;
• P45 administration considering using “seismic testing” to search for oil in Alaska wilderness….
• …not to mention P45’s screaming ALL CAPS Twitter tirade, threatening Tehran.  My money says he failed to read  this offering from the NYT: “Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead.”  And even if he did, it wouldn’t compute, given his horoscope. He continues on a path suggesting reckless action and communication. Last month it was a solar arc between Mars (action) and Uranus (reckless); next month it is a solar arc between Mercury (mindset/communication) and Uranus (reckless), exact August 19th. This Mercury retrograde cycle activates his Midheaven (public status) this week; on August 19th, when Mercury turns direct, it will allllll-most be exactly on his natal Pluto (power and resources). Something to consider when reading headlines about P45 considering stripping security clearances from people who say things about him that he doesn’t like.

UPDATE: Stormy Daniels was served with divorce papers with transiting Mars exactly squaring her 4 Scorpio Moon. Her Moon co-rules her 7th house of partnership and will be affected by this week’s lunar eclipse. We can see the potential for a change in domestic/relationship status. Here is her horoscope.

UPDATE: Geologists are now saying that lava will likely continue to flow from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii “for months to years.” File that under “I told you so,” based on patterns in Hawaii’s horoscope.

RANDOM FUN FACT: in May and June, the NYT and WaPo quoted twice as many Republicans compared to Democrats. Surprised? Perhaps this explains why Democrats are faulted for not having a clear message.

RANDOM USEFUL ANALYSIS: James Hohmann of WaPo’s Daily 202 breaks down the facts about Carter Page and the recently released FISA warrant.

OBLIGATORY CLOSE ON A POSITIVE, LIFE-AFFIRMING TOPIC: “You Should Actually Send That Thank-You Note You’ve Been Meaning to Write,” says the NYT, reflecting the perfect Miss Manners’ potential of today’s Venus in Virgo opposition to blissful Neptune.  The reason people do not follow through on the impulse to express gratitude, says the article, is that “they undervalue  the positive impact they can have on others for a tiny investment of time.”

Thank you for reading this forecast. To find out what all these retrogrades and eclipses mean to you personally, here’s the 411 on scheduling a consultation. To support my tireless efforts to report on the astonishing synchronicity of daily news and planetary patterns, here is the link to my Cosmic Tip Jar. With gratitude.

Which reminds me: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?  is a must-see film — and a beautiful reflection of the potential in Mister Rogers’ horoscope — discussed on Friday. Hope you make time to see it.