…and it’s off to the races we go.

The first half of the work week is driven by a Taurus Moon, still fresh out of the gate after last night’s New Moon in Aries. While a Taurus Moon may seek to preserve the status quo, comfort and material security, there’s a buzz in the air. That’s courtesy of the Aries Sun’s upcoming meet-up with rebel Uranus, exact on WEDNESDAY at 9:59 AM ET.  Meanwhile, a high-functioning Venus in Taurus is in harmony with Pluto, but in a tense face-off with expansive Jupiter.  Those patterns are exact on TUESDAY at 9:02 AM ET and 2:59 AM ET, respectively. We’re likely to see stories of abundance and excess, for better or for worse — with significant illumination on issues that sparked when Venus was conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio last November.  That was when revelations about the Harvey Weinstein atrocities really got going, along with other sexual abuses by men behaving badly. Venus refers to money, art and social expression, as well as women.

Three other planets — Mercury, Saturn and Pluto — are in the process of  changing direction and are at virtual dead stops. The image that comes to mind is one of focus — in the way an impatient driver sits on his or her horn while stuck in traffic. The focus is related to a heavy, pioneering mindset (Mercury in Aries), executive authority (Saturn in Capricorn) and corporate power (Pluto in Capricorn).  Mercury turned direct yesterday ta 5:21 AM ET; Saturn turns retrograde at 9:47 PM ET on WEDNESDAY; Pluto turns retrograde on SUNDAY at 11:23 AM ET.

Retrograde planets suggest a time to look inward for authority in whatever matters ruled by that planet. They also suggest delays or reconsideration.  Pluto is power, control, regeneration, transformation, healing.  Saturn refers to plans structure, discipline and ambition. You’re more personally affected by the retrogrades if you have planets or angles around 9 or 21 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn. Book a consultation and we’ll talk about it.

Mercury moving forward suggests we’ll need a day or two of adjustment in thought, communication and travel.  Don’t get me started on the mess of a subway trip I had yesterday. You? Over the next few weeks – until  about May 3rd — we may see the flaws in the so-called bright ideas that came up since late March. That’s how long it will take Mercury to get back to the place it was when it turned retrograde.

Finally,  Chiron, the Wounded Healer is also pulling focus.  It’s changing signs — from Pisces to Aries on WEDNESDAY. This isn’t a casual visit. Chiron will be in Aries until April of 2027, perhaps offering us an opportunity to repair some of the most disruptive effects that happened during rebel Uranus’s seven-year stay in Aries. Uranus in Aries brought you me-me-me to its shockingly self-reliant max: the gig economy, selfies, cars without drivers and drones come to mind. But what does it MEAN to be self-reliant in  a world that feels like it’s falling apart? What’s our connection? Who are we, anyway? Right now Chiron is  the verrrrry end of Pisces — it can’t see past the feeling that we may have reached the end. It can’t see a re-birth that’s just around the corner, as Chiron enters Aries. The poster child for this potential depth of despair is David A. Buckel, a prominent  human rights attorney and environmental activist who set himself on fire  early Saturday in a Brooklyn park —  to protest how our use of fossil fuels is destroying the planet. He had a partner. He had a daughter.  Why? He was only 60 — no birth date available yet.

Another poster child for the  downside potential of the weekend’s planetary patterns: the miserable young woman on the subway who for some reason believed that two other women had somehow invaded her space. They apologized, to no avail. The woman screamed that she had “nothing to lose'” and spat at them.

Anyhoo…

Yesterday’s New Moon, happened at 9:57 PM ET.  A New Moon offers us an opportunity to re-set  intentions and goals for the next lunar cycle.  Make a list, light a candle, say a prayer — yes, there is still time. This New Moon  was in Aries.  The need is to be a courageous, inspiring pioneer and/or warrior, preferably on the side of the angels.  At its best, Aries is a champion for the weak, the vulnerable, the underdog. It inspires people to take initiatives and defy the odds…yes, sometimes foolishly, but hey — if Plan A blows up, there’s always a Plan B, a Plan C and D. A true Aries never never never gives up. To Aries, there is always a tomorrow.

At its worst, well…let’s just say Aries can be utterly self-absorbed and go to disturbing extremes in order to be thought of FIRST.  Astrologer Rick Levine likes to say the Aries operating principle is, “Ready…Fire…Aim!” Wherever, whatever…so long as something gets started. I like to say that Aries falls down stairs because it is faster than walking. You got a problem with that?

As volatile as this New Moon may be, the upside potential suggests opportunity for new beginnings, necessitated by the need for change. You will feel this need more personally if you have a planet or angle around 27 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn.  This New Moon squares the 26 Capricorn Midheaven of the P45 inauguration chart, so his administration’s status is activated. The New Moon squares the U.S. Mercury, so our collective minds may be blown.

The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon is “lost opportunity regained in the imagination.” I’ll defer to Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee for thoughts on what this Symbol suggests.

Your Moon voids this week — times to chill and stick to routine: TUESDAY 6:05 PM ET until WEDNESDAY 8:02 AM ET; FRIDAY 8:05 AM ET – 10:26 AM ET.

And now, the news.

Thanks to Avid Reader Beth for making sure I did not miss this story about riots in a South Carolina maximum-security prison. Seven inmates were killed. Were Mars and Pluto on all four angles of the chart for the start of the fights Sunday at 7:15 PM ET in Bishopville? Of course they were — and the Aries Sun, Moon and Uranus pile-up were in the 7th.  That’s a lot of rebellious me-me-me energy in everyone else’s face. The fights were not contained until after 2 AM Monday, after the Moon had completed it’s meet-up with rebel Uranus. Astrology is amazing.

In other news, P45 ordered missile strikes on Syria to distract us from his numerous personal scandals. The Moon was void of course at the time the strikes began. Much ado about nothing? No consequence? I don’t know, but today the stock markets seem to be doing their Moon-in-Taurus best to preserve material security and the status quo.  Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders appears to have clarified a photo she tweeted  which seemed to suggest that VP Mike Pence was in the briefing room when the strikes were ordered. This would have been impossible, as the VP was in Peru, looking forward to  “a banquet hosted by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski .”  Does it matter if  Mr. Kuczynski resigned three weeks ago in a political scandal (and thus was not likely to be hosting a banquet for the VP)? What – EVER…and all hail, Mercury retrograde! Does Mike Pence have planets hit by Mercury retrograde in recent days? Yes — his Saturn — and possibly his Moon (we don’t have a birth time for the VP).

Finally, here’s to the start of a new beginning: a telescope named Tess is scheduled to launch today. Its mission: to search the galaxy for as many at 20,000 habitable planets. We might need them some day.

Thank you for reading this forecast.