Good morning!

The start of the work week is driven by the Moon in Aquarius, seeking to be appreciated for the social significance of whatever makes it unique — while hanging with other weird birds of the same feather. There is absolutely nothing contradictory here; it’s just the nature of Aquarius. Arise, go forth and network, stimulated by the buzz of whatever hits the wires in the wake of the 2:16 AM ET opposition between Mercury (how we need to think and travel) and Uranus (technology; aviation; innovation; gender-benders).  More surprises and upsets to the status quo continue as the Aquarius Moon squares Mercury and Uranus at 10:32 AM and 11: 36  ET. Meanwhile, the Libra Sun (patriarchs, CEOs, authority figures, heads of state) is squared by a high-functioning Saturn at 3:07 PM ET.  Events that were hot in the second weeks of July and April may be back in the limelight, taken to a new level.  Links to headlines from past Sun-Saturn squares may be found here.  You are feeling the streamlining pressure more than most if you have planets around 13 – 22 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn — or were born around the 5th – 14th of January, April, July or October. Resistance is futile. There is definitely an upside.  Consult your astrologer for details.

After today’s Sun-Saturn square, there are no exact contacts among the planets — except from the Moon — until Saturday night. These stretches of little t0 no planetary action should not be thought of as times when nothing is going on. We last had one of these “lulls” back in — oh, lookie — mid-April (around the last Sun-Saturn square). These apparent lulls are often deceptive. It’s like looking  at a giant ice shelf on the most sparkling sunny day ever…and then, for no apparent reason, half the shelf crumbles into the ocean. So if an “other shoe” drops in the headlines, I will not be surprised, and neither should you. It is interesting that — as with the April “lull,” we are warming up for a Full Moon, which will be exact on Sunday night. The rest of the week goes like this:

• TUESDAY – An easy flow in the early part of the day. The Aquarius Moon goes void at 2:27 PM ET — ship it beforehand, then take care of routine tasks for the rest of the business day. Roll with the twists and flakes. CHILL OUT if a crisis crops up; it’s likely much ado about nothing. This is a loooooong void; Moon enters Pisces at 12:05 PM ET on Wednesday. Meanwhile, at 1:06 PM ET, Venus exits Libra and enters Scorpio. Venus in Scorpio needs depth and substance in social expression, along with passion, for better or for worse. “For worse” would be revenge, served cold. It’s an honor thing with Venus in Scorpio. There is a certain code that must be followed. It’s a tough, but somebody’s got to do it. Point is, Venus in Scorpio will be reflected in news about social expression, women, money and other values until November 1, when Venus enters Sagittarius.
• WEDNESDAY — If you sleep through the alarm, no big deal. Moon is void until 12:05 PM ET, when it enters Pisces. How apt for Yom Kippur, a.k.a. day of atonement. Pisces invented empathy, compassion and forgiveness.
• THURSDAY — More of the same — but no Moon void.
• FRIDAY — Moon goes void in Pisces at 5:55 AM ET — for the rest of the day. Are you skipping out early for a long holiday weekend? You won’t be missing anything of consequence at the office. Monday is Thanksgiving in Canada says my calendar.  It’s Columbus Day in most of the USA, although as of April,  more than 60 states and cities have renamed it “Indigenous Peoples’ Day”.
• SATURDAY —  Moon charges into Aries at 12:46 AM ET; alerting our senses and demanding our focus. The buzz in the air is the unconventional attraction reflected by the annual opposition between Venus and Uranus at 6:06 PM ET. We’ll see disruptive news about money (watch the markets on Friday), women, art and social expression. Love at first sight?
• SUNDAY — Moon in Aries continues its me-me-me-first crusade (unless it’s looking out for the nearest underdog). Aries is fearless and inspiring at best; reckless and selfish at worst (which explains why that jerk cut you off on the freeway). But since you are now aware of this planetary pattern, you won’t react in anger to that jerk, right? You’ll just roll your eyes and know that things will settle down once the Moon enters Taurus, which happens around noon ET on Monday. But first you must live though this day, which begins with a bit of a wet blanket at 5:36 AM ET, as the me-me-me Aries Moon is squared by authority figure Saturn.  Hmm. Take a second look at that “creature like no other” you might have brought home last night?   Your moment of sobriety may be soon lifted by a jolly and cooperative connection between the Sun and Jupiter, exact at 2:02 PM ET (and in effect a few days before). But wait — there’s more! The Full Moon is exact at 5:08 PM ET, 51 minutes before the Moon’s weekly clash with Pluto, and just hours away from Pluto’s square to the Sun. There’s much to be released over the next couple of days involving power plays, resources, news from underground and emotional catharses. Will write more on this Full Moon later in the week.

And now, the news.

I finished the first half of this forecast around midnight, just as a surprise  announcement (Mercury opposing Uranus at 2:16 AM ET) from the White House that after P45 spoke with Turkish  Prime Minister Erdogan yesterday, P45 was pulling US forces out of Syria, “getting out of the way” of a planned Turkish invasion. “Getting out of the way” also means “abandoning the Kurds, our longtime allies in the fight against ISIS,” which would be a potential reflection of today’s brutal Sun-Saturn square, as in “life sucks, then you die.” But don’t worry, the Trump Tower in Istanbul is going to be just fine.

The Turkish invasion was a surprise to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC & Senate Judiciary Chair & P45 golf buddy) — who was relying on “press reports” for details early this morning, according to his Twitter feed. Graham would be feeling provoked today, with Mars squaring his Venus, after Uranus squared his Jupiter two days ago. Usually a Uranus-Jupiter square suggests a windfall opportunity, though astrologer Robert Hand opines that “Jupiter symbolizes our ability to go along with the social and economic system in which you live and make it work for you. The square from Uranus tests your ability to handle your relationship with the system.” Hand also suggests that this transit may reflect a reality check on an otherwise unworkable viewpoint. Graham is a homeland/emotional security-seeking Cancer, driven by an adaptable Pisces Moon (July 9, 1955 in Central, SC). His Sun is at 16 Cancer, meaning it was squeezed by Saturn in February and July, with a third Saturn opposition on November 17th. But that’s not all, as the first quarter of 2020 is dominated by two solar arcs (another way astrologers measure time) suggesting disruption of the status quo and a significant loss (SA Pluto = Uranus and SA Saturn = Sun, for the astro pros reading this forecast). Graham’s latest tweet said that he would introduce a resolution in the Senate opposing the US withdrawal from Syria.

Bear in mind that the pattern driving most of action between now and January is the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on January 12th. This is a no-frills attitude to authority and responsibility,  taken to extremes. There’s no dreamy/visionary pattern (e.g., Jupiter square Neptune) to soften a stark perspective. We are even seeing this in news coverage, as WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin writes today: “The media figured it out, just in the nick of time.”   Jupiter is the media; Neptune is fog; the fog is fading. Time to get real!

In other news, we need to keep an eye on October 19th, when Mars will be at 10 Libra, triggering the July 2nd solar eclipse. That will be an especially expansive week for P45, as noted in prior forecasts. Jupiter will be at 20-21 Sagittarius, activating P45’s Sun-Moon-Nodes and the US Mars-Neptune square.

Meanwhile…

Mercury in a challenging aspect with Uranus symbolizes humor of the wackiest kind. RIP to wacky comic Rip Taylor, a mainstay on the deliciously bizarre Gong Show.  Bizarre humor and a stark patriarchal perspective (Sun square Saturn-Pluto) is clearly reflected by Joker, which smashed box office records this weekend and has been hailed by at least one critic as a sign of the times.  Joker star Joaquin Phoenix was born with an exact Mercury-Uranus conjunction — one of several patterns in his horoscope that would enable him to step into that particular character.

In other news…

Reflecting last week’s Pluto change of station, suggesting breakdown in infrastructure and corruption exposed:

• “Structural issues may have caused Taiwan bridge collapse.” Duh.
• Large chunk of glacier on Mont Blanc in danger of breaking off
• Big monster iceberg breaks off Antarctica
• “Son of late Deutsche Bank executive offers trove of documents to FBI, House Democrats.” 
• “Federal government has dramatically expanded exposure to risky mortgages” (also file under “Uranus in Taurus square Saturn in 2021”)

With Pluto squaring Venus last week, life and death matters involving women included

• Restrictive Virginia abortion laws upheld
• Restrictive Georgia abortion laws blocked
• “As Missouri restricts abortion, Planned Parenthood builds massive clinic across the state border.”
• “Supreme Court to hear Louisiana abortion case” — which is “nearly identical” to Texas case it decided three years ago. As times change.
• Ground-breaking opera singer Jessye Norman dies at 74
• Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger convicted of murdering unarmed neighbor
• Stunning expression of grace and forgiveness by neighbor’s brother in courtroom — must-see video here.
• Days after giving key testimony in Amber Guyger trial, key witness Joshua Brown is murdered

Other important SCOTUS cases to be heard during this stark period of planetary patterns involve gun rights and LGBT rights.

With Mars (men, desire, aggression, assertion) at the Aries Point and not behaving at its best in Libra last week, naturally a jockstrap had to make news, as Stephen Colbert explains somewhere in these clips.  Meanwhile, I told you Elizabeth Warren’s horoscope (Sun-Uranus conjunction) would be activated by this transit, and here she is smacking down tech mogul Mark Zuckerberg, and here she is smacking down absurd allegations by a lying ex-Marine…and here is SNL’s Kate McKinnon turning those absurd allegations into another brilliant sketch.

Andrew McCabe’s horoscope is triggered by planets at the Aries Point. “Judge to DOJ: decide on charging McCabe by Nov 15 or face release of FBI records.” A grand jury has yet to return an indictment.

UPDATE: Joe Biden has Neptune at the Aries Point, with Neptune ruling the area of his life related to home and family; transiting Mars activated the area of his life related to children. Mars on Neptune suggests scandal, deception, idealism, escapism, vision, victimization, drugs, alcohol. Thus we should not be surprised that Biden’s son Hunter is having his name dragged through the mud regarding past business dealings in the Ukraine because hid dad’s run for office is a threat to P45. What’s interesting about the timing of these events — from an astrological perspective — is that we can see in Biden’s horoscope that Neptune will soon be opposing his 19 Virgo Midheaven, both by solar arc (exact on January 1) and by transit (in 2020 and 2021). This suggests an element of confusion/fog and other Neptune themes in matters of home, family and public/professional status.  Another interesting astrological element is that I had not looked too deeply into Hunter Biden’s story, but The New Yorker ran an in-depth piece back in July, when the Cancer Sun was opposing Saturn and Pluto And, as I said, stories that were “up” at that time are likely to be back this month….and again in January 2020 because planetary patterns repeat themselves. And here we are. I did not know that Hunter Biden had struggled with so many Neptune issues…until now. And we see them being brought forward at this time by action in Joe Biden’s horoscope.   For more on this story, I refer you back to Jennifer Rubin.

UPDATE:  Rick Perry has Uranus at the Aries Point. Last week’s Mars trigger activated areas in his horoscope related to his professional status, hidden enemies and self-sabotage. Meanwhile, transiting Uranus (ruler of his Aquarius MC/point of professional status) is squaring Venus, ruler of his Taurus Ascendant. Translation: SURPRISE! Last week P45 blamed Rick Perry for making him call the Ukrainian president and ask him to do him a favor in return for US military aid. Yes, it’s all Rick Perry’s fault — and now he’s stepping down as Secretary of Energy in November. Well, his Mars is at 8 Libra, conjunct the toxic South Node and the fixed star Diadem.  My trusty astrological software posits that one of the influences of Diadem in the horoscope is “to sacrifice oneself.” Oh. As of two hours ago, Rick Perry says he’s not stepping down.   OK, let’s see where he’s at in mid-2020, when transiting Uranus will be putting continued pressure for change on his Venus AND his 9 Aquarius Midheaven.

UPDATE: Mitt Romney is also under attack. And like Rick Perry, he has Venus in “I love you, but don’t take it personally” Aquarius conjunct the MC, only Romney’s MC is under pressure now, whereas Perry has to wait several months. Here is his horoscope, which I’ve written about many many times — search the archives. Last year it was obvious that he’d win his bid to serve as a US Senator from Utah, and current measurements suggest expanded expression of his values, generally well-received. But next year, patterns shift. That’s why it’s good to check in with your astrologer every six months to a year, btw — because patterns — like the weather — are always changing. Anyhoo, we see that Neptune will be activating Mitt Romney’s horoscope in ways that are somewhat similar to Joe Biden: home/family/country/core foundation — in a cloud or fog.

Random hardcore reality checks reflecting Sun square Saturn-Pluto, from the Sunday New York Times:

• “In the Land of Self-Defeat: What a fight over a local library in rural Arkansas taught me about my neighbors’ mythology of self-sufficiency and P45’s appeal”
• Add in Mars (cars) at the Aries Point: “Cars really are death machines; self-driving tech won’t change that”
• Harvey Weinstein’s horoscope is also activated by the Aries Point, making it an apt time for a former assistant (not glamorous actress) to tell her Weinstein horror story

Ending with a couple of uplifting (literally) headlines reflecting technological innovation (Mercury opposing Uranus) and Sun square Saturn (bones, especially spine):

• “Paralyzed man walks again with brain-controlled exoskeleton”
• “NASA’s experimental electric aircraft is one step closer to flight.”

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