Thanksgiving Day features a soulful void-of-course Moon in Pisces that drifts and  basks in the afterglow of a sweet connection between loving Venus and nebulous Neptune, exact at 4AM ET. More ethereal and/or escapist energy is suggested by a challenge between Neptune (again) and the Sun, exact at 2:13AM. Just decorate this web page with cuddly baby pandas already — or watch them frolic in this clip from The Daily Show (the one from yesterday’s post that apparently was not functioning– thanks to the reader who pointed that out). Add some big giant helium balloons of cartoon characters floating down Broadway in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. That’s the perfectly lovely potential of this day of rose-colored visions, gratitude and grace — certainly between the Moon void that will last from 1:32AM ET until 8:12PM ET.

Cobbler and Gobbler must know something about grace in their tiny little avian brains. They are the turkeys pardoned yesterday by President Obama in a surreal ceremony that has become a Thanksgiving tradition. Grace was evident in another headline: news of a ceasefire brokered after fighting between Israel and Hamas broke out eight days ago, on the New Moon/Solar Eclipse. Maybe, just maybe, with Neptune so prominent in current planetary patterns, the parties involved just didn’t feel like making the effort to fight. Neptune, with its need to dissolve whatever it touches, has the potential to diffuse assertive energy.  I confess I gave more weight to the potential for aggression and volatility suggested by Friday’s clash between warrior Mars and rebel Uranus and Tuesday’s powerful Mars-Pluto hook-up.  I wasn’t thinking of this latest battle fizzling out in a Neptune fog — but it does seem astro-logical. Let’s hope it lasts.

OK. Back to Thanksgiving — and the rest of the holiday weekend. At 8:12PM ET Moon enters me-me-me Aries, probably looking for a fight, a crusade, a workout or a lot of inspiration and attention. You should notice the shift in energy, especially with that volatile Mars-Uranus square we’ve been talking about all week (see Monday’s forecast for juicy details), which is exact on Friday at 5:06AM. People who are not psychically clear will likely be very much into their own fingers and toes — and quite pushy about getting their needs met. I will be very surprised if we don’t hear stories of startling acts of aggression and power plays on Friday. Battle the madding crowds at your own risk; you have been advised of the potential. On the plus side, these volatile, warrior aspects should make for some super-exciting football games.

By Friday evening, the dust will have likely settled, as Moon goes void with a sigh at 8:34PM ET…not to enter Taurus until 7:18AM ET on Sunday. And Sunday is when I’d think about holiday gift shopping — definitely not on Saturday, with its all-day void-of-course Moon. If you’re traveling back home on Saturday, be especially patient. If you’re feeling restless, do something physical that is not destructive.

Sunday’s Moon in Taurus slows the pace down noticeably. It encourages activities that make us feel comfortable and secure; feel free to indulge in the sensual and the material world (like shopping)!  You know what I think everyone on your gift list would absolutely love? Let me remind you every day until my Special Holiday Offer ends on January 1st…or at least until it is sold out : )

Have a wonderful, blissful Thanksgiving! Count your blessings, because the minute you think of yourself as blessed, you become a “have” instead of a “have-not”. This attitude of gratitude is empowering.  I am so blessed I have you to thank for reading this forecast. Pass it on!

Today’s Moon in Scorpio seeks knowledge for the sake of power and control. Add Mercury retrograde in opinionated Sagittarius…challenged by nebulous Neptune (now moving direct as of Sunday), and the quest for “who knew what and when did they know it” could produce bewildering or visionary results. If you’re reviewing old projects and trying to get the bugs out, it could be visionary. If it’s gossip or a rumor you’re chasing, it’s probably bedazzling. If it’s a really big new idea you want to ship this very minute — well, double check those facts first — and fergawdssake wait until after the New Moon, which is exact Tuesday at 5:08PM ET (unless your big idea is a brainstorm to clear up something unfinished). If you’re an artist, healer or some other creative type, you’ll thrive in this rose-colored world this week into next.

Scorpio energy is emotionally deep and intense. At its highest form, it is honor and integrity personified. A serious meet-up between the Scorpio Moon and stern Saturn at 1:28PM ET is an appropriate aspect for those who are remembering and honoring the service of military veterans, on this Veterans Day in the United States. I’ll light a rose-colored candle for my ancestor who fought in the Civil War. Then I’ll pray that by the year 2100, the only veterans we will need to remember are dead ones, because wars will have been made obsolete years before, and thus no one alive will have fought in one…and that somehow we will still be free. (bonus  for history buffs: a significant Civil War discovery was dug up last week — 150 years after a “ferocious battle” Fredricksburg, Virginia.

Two veterans who might prefer you not remember them right now are David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. The disclosure of their extramarital affair resulted in General Petraeus resigning as director of the CIA last week. Bedazzling details are still pouring in, but one detail you may not see in the mainstream media is that Petraeus and Broadwell were born on November 7 (1952) and November 9 (1972), respectively. Yes, that’s right — last week! Two Scorpios…who, as astrologer Linda Goodman once wrote, “build all the way up to Heaven or all the way down to Hell.” Which is what makes Scorpio so…”interesting.”

Even without exact birth times, it is easy to see this strong attraction — arguably of a fated kind — suggested by numerous connections from his horoscope to hers, and vice versa. But having a mutual attraction does not “mean” it has to be acted upon, right? Of course…but when we look at the horoscope of General Petraeus to see where he was at in his life development from 2011 to 2012, we note a measurement between Venus and Mars that often coincides with a new passion. A strong measurement between Neptune and Pluto suggests an “out of this world” experience. There are other measurements, but you get the idea. Petraeus was also going through his second Saturn return, a critical time in life development when priorities are reassessed and a life strategy for the next 28-30 should be put in place. (Note: the first Saturn return happens around age 29, and usually coincides with a serious, urgent focus on establishing oneself in the material world: getting married, buying a house, changing careers).

Measurements in Ms. Broadwell’s horoscope in late 2010-2012 also suggest the potential for upheaval (rebel Uranus meets resistance-is-futile Pluto); a serious focus and/or separation in love matters (Venus in a challenging aspect with stern Saturn); and a burst of personal magnetism (passionate Mars meets bedazzling Neptune). Again, these are just a few alerts to the potential for the situation that would later develop. Bottom line: even though they met in 2006, it makes sense that their affair did not begin until a few years later. I wonder how things might have turned out if General Petraeus had consulted with an astrologer beforehand…

This week, there are no Moon voids to toss a wrench in your plans to move forward in a straight line. There is only Mercury retrograde…for another two weeks. How many people from your past have you encountered since last Tuesday, hmmm?