Another day with Moon charging through me-me-me Aries, a sign whose mantra might well be, says astrologer (and fellow Aries) Rick Levine, “Ready. Fire. Aim!” Moon entered this trigger-happy sign with an exuberant connection to Jupiter at 1:07AM ET on Thursday. It was then challenged by Mercury at 8:26AM ET, suggesting a conflict or glitch involving mindset, communication, followed by a power play or emotional catharsis 12 hours later, as Moon makes its weekly contact with ruthless Pluto.

Some may find themselves bolting out of bed in the wee hours this morning, courtesy of the Moon’s hook-up with disruptive Uranus at 4:37AM ET.  I actually typed that on Thursday night, and here I am editing today’s forecast at 5:08AM ET. Go figure. If you’re not personally feeling the buzz, you may simply bear witness to the increased drive in others. This is intensified as we get closer to 10PM ET, when the 3rd Quarter Moon is  opposed by action-oriented Mars.  Around 2AM ET on Saturday,  Sun and Mars form an exact square, suggesting an outburst of energy for better or for worse, as was advised in Monday’s forecast. Be mindful on the roads…and around people who may be looking to pick a fight.

Mars is especially powerful now for a few reasons which I will address later in this forecast.  Better to apply the energy at the gym or other creative endeavor. Or consider a dreamy mental escape, suggested by an easy connection between Mercury and nebulous Neptune soon after midnight.  In the words of those who blithely misquote the opening line of William Cosgreve’s The Mourning Bride, “Music has charms to soothe the savage beast”.

In addition to the tension suggested by Mars, three planets will change sign or direction over the next few days. Some may feel a bit wobbly as they adjust to the new direction. On Friday (today), Venus enters watery Cancer, seeking emotional security in social expression.  At 0 degrees of Cancer (the Aries Point), we  thus expect Venusian concerns, (e.g., women, art, money) to be prominent. How interesting to see Edward Snowden, whose 29 degree Gemini Sun was conjoined by Venus yesterday, giving another interview in which the most prominent takeaway was a caution about social expression on the internet and what happens to nude photos that are intercepted by 20-something male surveillance types.  Also making news:  Pvt. Chelsea (nee Bradley) Manning will reportedly begin gender treatment while in military custody; Airbnb’s new logo sparks a feverish debate in marketing circles on whether it looks like ladyparts; while in Japan, a woman artist is arrested for “distributing data that enables recipients to make 3D prints of her vagina.”  Yea verily, and have you seen her kayak?

Moon goes void Friday at 10:18PM ET and enters stability-seeking Taurus at 4:43AM ET on Saturday. Perhaps the Moon void will take some of the edge off of the Sun-Mars square, which happens around 2AM ET.  Once in Taurus,  the Moon suggests a need to build or preserve material security, and an appreciation for these comforts is encouraged. Saturday evening is ripe for the arts, healing and more sweet music. Sunday has more gravitas, suggested by a stern face-off between Moon and Saturn around noon ET, which may manifest as a reach for ambition or an unwelcome control, courtesy of an authority. Saturn is the second planet changing sign or direction this weekend; it turns direct at 4:38PM ET. Uranus is the third planet; it turns retrograde on Monday.

OK. More news…and more about Mars.

Warrior Mars is especially potent now for a couple of reasons. First, as of yesterday it was at 26 degrees of Libra. That’s the same degree as the April 15th lunar eclipse. You may recall that eclipses create bottlenecks of energy that are subsequently released when transiting planets trigger the degree of the eclipse. For example, check out these two articles about what was going on in the Ukraine on April 15th and on April 16th, the day after the eclipse. Here’s what happened yesterday, as you must have seen in headlines everywhere: a Malaysian Airlines (!) plane is shot down by rebels using a surface-to-air missile.  I can only imagine what is going on in the horoscope of Malaysian Airlines. For the record, Vladimir Putin (mentioned here back in March) was the subject of the NYT editorial on April 15th — and again today.

Back to Mars. When Mars squares the Sun on Saturday morning, the Sun will be at 27 degrees of Cancer. The Sabian Symbol for 27 Cancer is “a violent storm raging in a canyon filled with expensive homes”. 27 Cancer was the degree of the volatile New Moon on July 19, 2012, which you may recall was the night of the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shootings — astro-analysis here.  Finally, Mars will reach 28 degrees of Libra on Sunday, which is where it was when it turned retrograde on March 1st — so this is also a sensitive point.

Back to MH17. Of course when news broke that the plane crashed, I immediately looked at the chart for the plane’s departure: 12:14PM in Amsterdam. Instantly noticed Mars at that very significant eclipse point in the 1st house; rising, and  considered that an explosion or other volatile attack was a likely cause. It is absolutely fascinating to note the position of the Moon in the flight departure chart: right on the cusp of the 7th house — same as the chart for MH370! This Moon is at 3 degrees of warrior Aries, and in contact with the angles, it suggests an event that will make prominent impact on the public (Aries is symbolized by the Ram; in this case, perhaps, a sacrificial lamb). This prominence is echoed by the 2 Libra Ascendant and 3 Cancer Midheaven, as these degrees are close to the Aries Point. It is echoed again by its square to Mercury (information/communication), co-ruler of the 9th house (suggesting an international involvement and reach).

With Libra rising, the ruler of the chart is Venus, which also represents the plane. Venus is also prominent — in the 9th house and co-ruling the 9th — and also at the Aries Point and conjunct the Midheaven. Venus is in an extremely volatile and obsessive power struggle with ruthless Pluto, which sits at the bottom of the chart, in contact with the Midheaven. The 4th house refers to the “end of the matter” for the plane; its end was certainly Plutonian, as in totally annihilated. Compare this to MH370, which had Neptune in the 4th in Pisces, exactly squaring a Gemini Moon, suggesting an end involving water and/or suffocation…and mystery. The Libra Ascendant is impacted by two other obsessive contacts: one from Uranus (aviation, accidents, shock, technology) in the 7th house (public, open enemies) and another from Chiron, the wounded healer, in the 6th.

There’s more, but you get the idea. Unlike MH370, the chart suggests that information about MH17’s fate will not be shrouded in mystery. Within hours, in fact, a transcript of an intercepted phone call allegedly between members of the rebel forces in Ukraine was published. They are talking about the plane. It seems one person is genuinely shocked to discover that it is a civilian aircraft and that the dead include women and children. You know how we’ve been talking all week about cognitive dissonance — currently symbolized by an uncomfortable tension between Saturn (old paradigm) and Uranus (new information)? In the last words of this transcript,  the speaker — perhaps the authority (Saturn) figure in the conversation — can’t process the fact that it’s a civilian plane, and that the rebels made an undeniable, murderous error by destroying it. When his colleague wonders why the plane was in Ukrainian airspace, he bends the facts to suit his version of reality:  “That means they were carrying spies. They shouldn’t be f…cking flying. There is a war going on.”

Cue Jack Nicholson now, please.

I’ll end on a hopeful note. As I am about to post, the NYT reports that Vladimir Putin has called for a cease-fire in the Ukraine…

Have a lovely weekend in pursuit of comforting Moon-in-Taurus pleasures of the senses. West Coasters can likely sleep in a bit on Monday, as the Moon will be void from 10:13AM until 12:36PM ET.

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