A couple of shifts of note on this Presidents Day, a US holiday that celebrates Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and mattress sales nationwide. First, at 7:02 AM ET the Sun enters Pisces, joining Mercury, Mars and Neptune in the dualistic sign of the dreamy Fish. Keywords for Pisces energy include “sensitive, intuitive, emotional, escapist, imaginative, impressionable and compassionate,” says my Celestial Calendar. This ups the ante of the what we’ve already been experiencing with three other planets in this watery flow. Go with it.

The other shift is Saturn, planet of ambition and necessary controls/structure, turning retrograde at 12:03PM ET in Scorpio. This can put a damper — or a structural review — on some plans for expansion…at least until July 7th, when Saturn will once again be direct. Those who are likely to feel it the most are those born around the 30th of January, April, July and October…or who have a planet or angle at 10-11 degrees of Aquarius, Taurus, Leo or Scorpio. Whatever squeeze you’ve been feeling since the beginning of 2013 will be back for a second adjustment for the next several weeks — until mid-April or so. The resolution of that squeeze will likely make itself known in October when Saturn once again hits 10-11 degrees of Scorpio.

Frustration is a common feeling under Saturn transits, and is fascinating that Marco Rubio (R-FL), currently with three planets hit by Saturn, made his now-famous desperate grab for water right after saying “frustrated” in last week’s rebuttal to the SOTU.  Seriously! Meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently dubbed “the nasty newcomer” in a recent Times op-ed, has transiting Saturn sitting on his Mars. Which admittedly can be rather cranky.

Shall we look at the Sabian Symbol for Saturn turning retrograde? Ooh, let’s. At 11 degrees of Scorpio, we find “an embassy ball,” which Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee notes is an “exclusive gathering of the elite, gathered mostly for their mutual benefit. When positive, integrity and excellence shine; when not so positive, elitism, disdain and specious superiority show forth”. Right. Well, we’re sure to see plenty of headlines supporting that theme continuing over the next few weeks, eh?

In your own personal world, as you focus on projects of ambition and structure, consider “having a ball regardless of social barriers; make the social rounds”…and see where it takes you. Certainly with Mercury retrograde Feb 23-Mar 17, making the social rounds and RE-connecting with people from the past makes perfect sense. As does having a ball. Even if you’re feeling squeezed or frustrated.

Saturn entered Scorpio in October and almost immediately made itself known in the headlines. How so? Well, the last time Saturn was in Scorpio was between December 1982 to 1985. Scorpio is concerned with issues of power and control, of building all the way to Heaven and all the way down to Hell.  More than any other sign, these depths and heights apply in  matters of sex, death and (other peoples’) money. Saturn in Scorpio forces us to face the nitty-gritty consequences of our highest and basest instincts; we simply can not look away. For example, one of the biggest stories of Saturn’s last transit through Scorpio was AIDS, certainly a matter of sex, life and death. How did this story transform consciousness? What were the highs and lows?

Since October, I’ve noted more than a few nitty-gritty headlines in a Scorpionic vein. One was the story of the Hindu woman in Ireland who suffered a misrcarriage and died after doctors refused her an abortion in November.  Changes to the Irish law are now in the works…sort of. Interesting to note that Northern Ireland’s first private abortion clinic opened in October. Abortion continues to be a hot-button issue; just yesterday it made headlines in New York.

Another nitty-gritty story with brutal consequences happened in India, and  so awful it saddens me to write about the details, except to hope that it, too, will spark a major transformation of consciousness. It is already transforming laws, and transformation is a positive potential of Scorpio. So look for more nitty-gritty headlines over the next couple of years, in the areas of sex, death and (other peoples’) money.

If I have buried you with information in today’s forecast’s, blame today’s Moon in Gemini, always the information junkie. Note the possibility of a heated dispute about information and/or faith around 8:02PM ET, as the chatterbox Moon is challenged by steamed up Mars. Overall, patterns are light this week. Should be dreamy…