Buzz, buzz, buzz…the information buzz of a stimulated Gemini Moon continues today. A self-indulgent challenge to Venus (women, money, beauty) and a harmonious connection with the proud Leo Sun are two reasons why you could wake up with a big smile on your face. I don’t know about you, but on my morning commute I noted hardly any horn honking and no jams at all. I hope your travels were equally pleasant.

Also adding to the cooperative spirit, especially among normally warring factions, is a lovely connection between Venus (women, social expression) and Mars (men, action/aggression), exact on Friday at 4:35PM ET. How fortunate for those of you with dates and other social engagements this weekend, as making love and peace becomes — for a brief moment — more important than making war. Why, even the warring factions in Congress managed to get something done yesterday, when they voted to reset and cap rates on student loans. Meanwhile, a debate on chivalry and other social graces was posted on the NYT homepage….and not a moment too soon.

We are in the balsamic phase of the lunar cycle. This is a time to wrap up projects from your New Moon agenda; the next New Moon happens Tuesday evening (ET). Ship it if you can by 12:48PM ET, when the Moon goes void-of-course until just after midnight on Saturday. Otherwise, be prepared for a restless lull best suited to chilling out, creative brainstorming and drafting (but not signing or sealing) and contemplating the stunning breakthroughs and breakouts we’ve witnessed in the past several days. You really know what I’m talking about in your own personal world if you have a planet or point around 9-13 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn…or if you have a significant planet or point at around 4-7 degrees of Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo and Taurus. Been busy, have you?

With yesterday’s challenge between action-hero Mars and rebel Uranus, exact last night around 11PM ET, we expected breakouts, breakthroughs and a bit of bad (rash, reckless) behavior. How fascinating to wake up this morning and read that Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia, releasing him from the confines of the Moscow airport transit zone. In a related story, details of the XKeystore program were also released. This is the genius bit of technology that allows an entity such as the NSA to collect “nearly everything a user does on the Internet”. Also in technology: a “milestone” is reached by a company that converts waste matter into fuel — potentially way cool. Another breakout making headlines: convicted felon OJ Simpson was granted partial parole — but he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Also going “nowhere”, but still making breakout headlines:  in Texas, George Zimmerman was pulled over for speeding — and yes, he had his gun with him (students of astrology will note the position of Saturn and Uranus to the angles of the chart for traffic stop: 12:54PM CT 7/31/13 in Forney, Texas). Reckless behavior headed for a full stop?

Last, but not least — this just in from outer space (also a Mars-Uranus concern) or at least some outer dimension. Sound healer Tom Kenyon posted the latest missive from a group of disembodied entities who call themselves The Hathors. Someone turned me on to Kenyon’s website ten years ago, and what I found fascinating was that whatever the Hathors had to say was always in tune with planetary patterns. What they talk about in terms of climate change, government/institutional breakdowns & breakthroughs — and especially the crisis in spiritual evolution and consciousness that we face collectively on Planet Earth — is mirrored by the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square and other significant alignments, etc., etc.  What they als0 offer (via Kenyon) is a number of practical meditation techniques to keep you grounded and clear in these challenging times. That is why I find their posts relevant and helpful. If you decide to check out the The Hathors, I recommend starting with the first posts on Kenyon’s site. Their recent posts explaining how they see the true nature of physical reality and how human souls are connected energetically to that which we do not ordinarily perceive, may be daunting. However, the latest post is pretty self-contained.  You’ll have plenty of material to explore and maybe try a meditation over the next two days, during this verrrrrry long Moon-void. Enjoy whatever twists and surprises crop up in your journey…