The long void ended at 7:44AM ET when the Moon entered comfort and material security-seeking Taurus. Steady as she goes for the next couple of days. Around 9:08AM ET, Mercury retrograde challenges the Moon, suggesting a need for extra focus in transit or communication — or perhaps the spark you’ve been waiting for to push forward with an idea. The only other exact aspect is a supportive connection between Moon and visionary Neptune at 4:30PM ET, setting the stage for healing, arts or some other dreamy — yet somehow grounding — escape.

On Friday, Mercury retrograde will move back into Libra, facilitating the detached, verbal and rational in communication over the controlling, intense and emotional. Take advantage of the cooperative and expansive spirit suggested by the Sun and Jupiter’s easy alignment, exact at 7:18PM ET. Moon goes void Friday at 8:49PM ET…not to enter Gemini until 11:51AM ET Saturday.

Note the potential for unusual attractions and upsets in relationship/financial/aesthetic concerns over the next few days, as Uranus will oppose Venus on Saturday at 5:10AM ET. Saturday night features another dreamy escape when Neptune squares the Moon at 9:08PM ET. Events that happen on a Moon-Neptune square may not be as they seem, as exemplified here (last paragraph).

Overall exact patterns on Sunday are light and playful, reflecting a need for entertainment and diversification. On Monday, which is a holiday for most in the US, Moon goes void at 1:58pm ET until 7:30PM ET. Keep that in mind if you’re thinking of hitting a Columbus Day sale, as impulse purchases made during voids often prove not to be useful. Moon enters Cancer at 7:30PM ET. You’ll be so happy to be home, if you’re coming back from a long weekend escape.

News, news, and more news.

Markets have been volatile, as has often been the case when Venus makes a challenging contact with the Uranus-Pluto square.

Better late than never news from underground: a 100-year-old time capsule is unearthed in New York.

Yesterday I wrote about a Mercury retrograde glitch in The Guardian, but neglected to supply the link. Ha! The outdated photo of SCOTUS has been replaced, and apparently the Guardian does not have a current photos of the justices on file. Bummer. On Tuesday, Speaker John Boehner (or his staff member in charge of Twitting) clearly was not focused when he tweeted a new jobs plan with every single key factor omitted — much to the delight of critics, who offered their own suggestions.

Meanwhile, reflecting the empowered perspective involving women and money (Pluto square Venus) combined with the shock value of Uranus, comedienne Sarah Silverman launched a provocative video fundraising campaign skewering the fact that women earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. She calls it “the vagina tax,” and if you enjoyed Monday’s new item about lab-grown penises, you’ll be delighted to see a few of them in her video.

In other news, a fracking (Pluto) company has teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Foundation (Venus) and is promoting breast cancer awareness with its nifty, new pink-colored fracking drill bits. Totally bizarre (Uranus), but perfectly reflective of planetary patterns.

These patterns directly affected the horoscope of actor Stephen Collins, star of the WB TV show, 7th Heaven, in which he played a pastor. Now that show (now in syndication) has been pulled off the air and Collins was fired from the movie Ted 2 after TMZ published an audio tape secretly recorded in a therapist’s office in which he allegedly confesses to indecent exposure and other unsavory behavior involving young girls.  Collins was born on Oct 1, 1947 in Des Moines, Iowa — and a quick look at the noon chart for that date shows it is lit up like a Christmas tree. His Venus (social expression, women, popularity, money) is at 15 Libra — exactly eclipsed — and under fire from Uranus (the truth will set you free) and Pluto (no matter how ugly it is). Transiting Saturn has just completed an anguishing square to his natal Saturn and Pluto (so deal with it), perhaps recalling actions taken 7 and 14 years ago.  Interesting to also note that Mercury turned retrograde on his natal Mercury-Mars square, suggesting a release involving a challenging “get away with murder” Mars in Leo.  Also interesting that he is a Libra with Moon in me-me-me Aries, just like yesterday’s Full Moon. There’s more, including a nasty divorce, but you get the idea.

I found the Stephen Collins story interesting in light of an op-ed in Sunday’s NYT arguing that pedophilia is a disorder, not a crime, and that society would be better off if it spent more energy on treatment of the disorder than on punishment. Is that naive? Another item arguing for a more integrative, less isolating  and punitive approach is this story about how Salt Lake City is dealing with its homeless population by giving them homes instead of throwing them in jail. It is saving the city a jaw-dropping amount of money, and chronic homelessness is apparently down 72%. An empowering (Pluto)  innovative (Uranus)  social expression (Venus), reflecting a shift in perspective (Pluto)?

Meanwhile, there’s a movie generating buzz now — Gone Girl — based on the book published in 2012. It’s a thriller, but apparently also a psychological drama involving a train-wreck of a marriage between two arguably very flawed people. And the woman who wrote the book, Gillian Flynn, apparently has a dark side, too — a Venus-Pluto witchy-bitchy type in her younger days — as noted in her Wikipedia biography. But don’t we all have a dark side? And if we do, how do we live with it? Deny it? Avoid it? Suppress it? Joshua Rothman at the New Yorker wrote a provocative analysis of Gone Girl which ends thusly:

“Gone Girl” has resonated for a reason. It has found a creepy, confused, and troubling part of us, and expressed it.

Current planetary patterns suggest plenty of creepy, confusing and troubling things brought to light, especially for those whose horoscopes are personally affected. Actor Gerard Depardieu made headlines some months ago when his horoscope was hot, and now his Mercury (mind, communication, writing) is being supercharged by the Uranus-Pluto square. He’s just published an autobiography detailing a truckload of troubling behaviors. Of course he did.

In another Vanity Fair piece, actress Jennifer Lawrence has come out swinging weeks after nude photos of her were stolen and distributed online (she’s experiencing some challenging Saturn transits). As a woman (Venus) expressing an empowered perspective (Pluto), she says:

“I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he’s going to look at you.”

Yesterday’s potent Full Moon suggested a focus on polarity and integration in relationship, but with Mercury retrograde, we have the added suggested benefit of going within to focus on polarity and integration in ourselves.  How are we liking ourselves these days? Are we getting along? Are we appreciating ourselves or beating ourselves up?

If we’re not happy with ourselves, how can we be happy in relationship with someone else? If there’s something we don’t like in someone else, is it because we fear we have the same quality in ourselves and need to distance ourselves from it? Can you accept that you’re perfect just the way you are and forgive yourself for all of your real or imagined transgressions? Because if, after having taken stock of your relationship with yourself,  you can then forgive yourself for every perceived fault, studies show that you will move into a position of greater freedom (Uranus) and empowerment (Pluto). And when applied to your relationships with others, forgiveness will improve those, too.

Here’s the 411 on personal astro-logical consultations, including a little Mercury retrograde special. Thank you for reading this forecast.