Happy, happy August!

Here’s a recap of planetary patterns driving the day — as you may recall from Monday’s Sneak Peek at the Week:

• THURSDAY — the day begins with an optimistic harmony between the Leo Moon and Jupiter, planet of expansion. Ease on down the road — but not full speed ahead, as our minds need time to adjust to Mercury’s change of direction. A regal outburst or executive action may manifest around 4:48 PM ET, when the Moon meets up with Mars in Leo, a placement more likely to get away with murder than any other. Moon goes void after the Mars meet-up, so take time to chill and do not make mountains out of molehills.

If you are new to this forecast and unfamiliar with the term “Moon void,” know that during these natural rest periods, we have a higher than average probability of twists and flakes that disrupt efforts to move forward in a straight line. If you’re the one that flakes, do not worry. Stick to routine tasks, as initiatives launched during voids are likely to be of little consequence. Crises which crop up during Moon voids are usually much ado about nothing — a theory that was proven consistently when I worked in news. A hot project would land on my desk that had to get done not now, but RIGHT NOW — and invariably the crisis would fade into a classic Emily Litella “Never mind.”  For more on Moon voids, here is a detailed primer.

The Moon enters the next sign — Virgo –at 9:20 AM ET on Friday,  determined to restore order in the aftermath of the Leo Moon’s party.

Now about yesterday’s New Moon in Leo. It was exact at 11:12 PM ET,  when the Sun and Moon met up at 8 degrees of Leo. There’s still time to make a list  and light a candle today. A New Moon offers us an opportunity to set  intentions and goals for the lunar cycle.  Around  August 7th, on the First Quarter Moon, we can expect a challenge to those goals, with appropriate adjustments made. At the time of the Full Moon on August 15th,  we may have illumination on the success or failure of our goals for the cycle. If we succeeded, we can consciously release our success into our reality; if we failed, we let go of whatever did not work. After the Third Quarter Moon on the 23rd, we can review our achievements, tie up loose ends and get ready to begin anew, with the New Moon in Virgo on August 30th.

Here is the New Moon chart set in Washington DC:

Leo refers to the heart.  A Leo Sun comes to the table with the energy to be recognized; a Leo Moon needs, needs, needs to be loved, honored and respected.  Here, the Sun and Moon are separating from Venus and on their way to Mars. Thus we see a need for ginormous love, applause and creative self-expression, with a dramatic dose of idealism and possible regal entitlement.  How are we going to manifest the creativity that gives us the recognition and love we need? Those are our marching orders for this lunar cycle.

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon  is “glass blowers.” I have found that these New Moon Sabian Symbols have an uncanny way of working their way into the headlines. The Sabian Symbol for the last New Moon was “a clown making grimaces.” Exhibit A:

• “Boris Johnson Plays a Clown…“
• “NY Daily News Mocks Trump as a ‘Clown’ on Independence Day” (two days after the July 2 New Moon)
• “There Was No Clown on Board: Cruise Ship Company Denies Report of Violent Brawl Started When Passenger Dressed Up as a Clown” (when Mercury is retrograde, don’t believe everything you read in the headlines)

How will this New Moon’s Sabian Symbol be reflected in the news? I don’t know, but it will be. Sabian Symbol sage  Blaine Bovee notes that glass blowers are challenged to craft their work “without blowing it out of proportion or shattering [it].” He observes that a skilled application of temperature is key to a glass blower’s success. When is it apt to heat something up, cool it down or break it and start over? We are advised to apply this Symbol with “a mind to the art of animating a base material into a living thing” (italics are mine — I suspect those words will crop up in the news). Bovee has more to say here.  We’ll probably see plenty of headlines about temperatures, like this one from today.

Wherever 8-9 Leo falls in your horoscope is the area of your life in which you may experience a crafting and/or re-crafting of a heart-centered creative ideal. If you have a planet or angle at 8-9 degrees of Aquarius, Taurus, Scorpio and especially Leo, you are even more affected by this creative challenge. Aiding and abetting your creative spark — as reflected in the New Moon chart — is the courage to innovate. Venus — which represents what, whom and how we love — is squared by Uranus (exact on Friday). Venus-Uranus patterns suggest unconventional attractions, gender-benders, free-spirited women and disruption in matters of money, value and art. As Susan Sontag told my Wellesley class at our commencement, “Be bold, be bold, be bold.”

Meanwhile, Mercury  — how we need to think and communication — is also strong in this New Moon chart, as it turned direct minutes after the New Moon. Avid Readers will recall that a planet at its stationary point is demanding focus, the way an insistent driver demands focus when he/she leans on the horn. Mercury turned direct at 23 Cancer; its Sabian Symbol is “a woman and two men on a bit of sunlit land facing south.” In other words (advises Bovee), this is an image of a classic love triangle, suggesting that a choice between two perhaps worthy but different options must be made. The “sunlit land” is the issue highlighted that must be decided. The last time this Sabian Symbol demanded our focus was…on the New Moon in July 2015.

And now, the news.

Round #2 of the Democratic candidate debates happened over the past two nights, and everyone declared CNN’s format the loser.  The Moon was dead’ Mercury was stationary; some were declared listless and/or confused — reflecting the potential of those planetary patterns. Meanwhile, the candidates with the hottest horoscopes got a ton of attention for being hot, to no skilled astrologer’s surprise.

• MARIANNE WILLIAMSON — is having a banner week. I’ve been writing about her horoscope since 2012 — here and here. After her debate on Tuesday, she was the most Google-searched of all the candidates in every state but Montana. She scored the most new Twitter followers, too. No one who has seen her horoscope is surprised by her straightforward address of challenging questions such as racism in America and how that needs to be dealt with before we can move forward with a wonky action plan. Marianne Williamson is driven by a Capricorn Moon; taking care of business and making things happen is her top priority. This week, she’s reaping the potential success of transiting North Node on her rebellious/fiercely unique Sun-Uranus conjunction in Cancer. Her revolutionary prescription for establishing emotional and homeland security is likely to connect with the masses at this time. Meanwhile transiting Mars will be exactly on her Pluto this week, supporting a forceful and empowered application of energy. Also facilitating a successful expansive public outreach: transiting Jupiter opposing her clever Gemini Ascendant three times in 2019. While I am not convinced she will become the Democratic nominee, patterns in her horoscope are ripe for continued expansion into early 2020.  Part of her success is the timing of her message, as it reflects the needs of planetary patterns impacting us all. And those would be the need to address matters of faith (symbolized by the ongoing Jupiter-Neptune square) and the need to have a solid and authoritative action plan (Saturn-Pluto in Capricorn).
• STEVE BULLOCK — he’s the governor of Montana, and thus was the most-Googled candidate in his home state. I told you he would be a notable contender back in May, when he announced his candidacy. Did it matter that he didn’t qualify for the the first debate in May? Hell, no. Born on April 11, 1966 — time unknown — he is a pioneering Aries driven by a Capricorn Moon. His 21 Aries Sun is being supercharged by transiting Pluto, just as AOC’s horoscope was when she “came out of nowhere” and trounced her incumbent opponent. Resistance is futile. Also, Bullock’s exact Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo gives him revolutionary potential, which was activated this year by Mars (solar arc — another way of measuring time) and by transiting Jupiter. In July 2020, he will have transiting Jupiter square his Aries Sun, another suggestion of expansion and recognition. His big campaign issue: getting “dark money’ out of politics.
• JOHN DELANEY — another Aries with Moon in Capricorn — April 16, 1963, no birthtime. His 26 Aries Sun is not reaping the full empowerment potential of transiting Pluto (waiting until 2021), but it’s possible that Pluto may be on his Moon, reflecting exceptional zeal. Or perhaps his Moon is closer to transiting Saturn right now, as after Elizabeth Warren zinged him for being a wet blanket, his Wikipedia biography was hacked and he was declared dead. Saturn refers to ending and limitations, doncha’ know. As for why John Delaney has suddenly burst upon the scene…well…think about this. What  planet is associated with “sudden?” And if you’re thinking “Uranus”, congratulations — because Uranus is all over John Delaney’s Sun (by solar arc), so we can see the lightning bolt potential happening right now, for better or for worse.

None of the above candidates have qualified for the third Democratic debates, which are scheduled for September 12 and 13th. Here are the seven who have — all have been discussed in this forecast — search the archives. Meanwhile, reflecting the tech innovations of Venus and Uranus with respect to relationships, the NYT has just posted a wacky op-ed that presents the candidates as if they were prospects on Tinder. Will you swipe left or swipe right?

Meanwhile, this week’s Sun-Venus square to Uranus suggests unconventional attractions and technology. Cue convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose personal horoscope suggests he’s in for more than a year of freakshow scandals, to the extreme. Still, even I wasn’t prepared for the extreme freakshow reported yesterday: “Epstein reportedly hoped to establish super-race of humans with his DNA.”   Oh, and…“Jeffrey Epstein wanted to freeze his head and penis after dying.”   This is going to get weirder and weirder — and I’ve written more about Epstein for the next Mountain Astrologer. But while we’re on the subject, here’s a WaPo article about the 2004 real estate deal that happened just before Epstein and P45 apparently severed ties. How does this saga reflect planetary patterns, you may be wondering?  It reflects the likely healing focus on toxic masculinity that Chiron’s March ingress into Aries offers — and here’s the podcast.

In other news…

Venus square Uranus nearly always coincides with an unconventional item in the world of art.  It’s just been announced that “Portraits of Courage” will be the first exhibit at a new space at the Kennedy Center. The artist is George W. Bush, who created this series of 66 paintings  to honor the armed services.  The exhibition at the Kennedy Center opens October 7, exactly when transiting Jupiter opposes his natal Uranus. Jupiter rules his 5th house (of creative self-expression); Uranus rules his 7th House (public outreach). Jupiter in contact with Uranus can reflect a windfall opportunity. The timing of this announcement happened with the Leo New Moon on his Leo Ascending Mercury and Pluto. Of course it did! Astrology is amazing!!

And now that I’m looking at Dubya’s  horoscope, 2020-2021 has change written all over it. A fresh start, a geographic relocation, a declaration of independence or other upset to the status quo, coupled with a transformational empowerment involving home and homeland is on the horizon.

Thank you for reading this forecast — and for sharing it with friends.