Good Morning!

In honor of Mercury turning direct on Sunday, this forecast will reflect the potential for confusion and chaos in communication! Not that the rest of your day has to be a reflection of that potential, so long as you maintain your FOCUS.  Ready? Here goes.

Let’s start with Saturday’s Full Moon, for those who would like some perspective on what the heck you experienced over the weekend. I wrote it on Friday — and meant to post it then — apologies for the delay. I’ve indented this text to make it easier for you to scroll down if you prefer to skip to the forecast for Monday and the rest of the week.

On Saturday, after a Moon void from 7:40AM – 2:48AM ET, the Moon enters rowdy, randy Sagittarius. This Full Moon — exact at 5:14PM ET — may be especially provocative, as action hero/warrior Mars is heavily involved, conjoining the opinionated Sagittarius Moon and opposing the blah blah blah Gemini Sun.  I would not touch an argument about politics with a ten-foot pole. Find a more constructive way to push a boundary — perhaps one you’ve erected around your trapped inner knowing and  divinely creative child. Take that little kid for a walk in the park, already. Have a heart-to-heart with your Big Picture vision and belief system. What’s true? What’s not?

With Mercury at a standstill — about to move forward on Sunday, the potential for flat out wrong facts and miscommunication is high. So is the potential to turn thought into tangible form, suggested by Mercury’s participation in an ongoing Earth Grand Trine, noted in prior forecasts. If you’re an exalted being capable of steady focus without misdirected anger, much illumination and realization is possible during this Full Moon.  It will be exact at 5:14PM ET at 2 degrees of Sagittarius, opposed by the Sun at 2 degrees of Gemini. If you have planets or angles around those degrees, you are more personally affected.

Here is what was going on yesterday (Sunday)…

…in which Mercury turned direct at 9:20AM ET, shortly after action hero Mars opposed the Sun at 7:17AM ET.  This suggests an afternoon of emotions ranging from surreal…to expansive…to a brick wall of hard-nosed opinion. Why? Because the Moon connected with a tense T-Square pattern among Neptune, Jupiter and Saturn. Patience — as our minds make the adjustment over the next few days to Mercury’s change of direction.

Re-reading that bit above helped me appreciate why I was banging my head against the wall for much of Sunday afternoon as I was working on another writing project, which is still not done! Let’s move on to….

…today!! Monday the Sagittarius Moon makes an easy connection with Uranus, facilitating innovation and unconventional connections. Huzzah! It goes void with a sigh at 11:37AM ET…not to enter Capricorn until 1:34AM ET on TUESDAY. Focus on routine concerns and chill this afternoon. Or let the drifting energy of a Moon void in Sagittarius carry you off on an mind-expanding adventure. Do remember that crises which crop up during Moon voids are often much ado about nothing.

On Tuesday Venus — which refers to women, money, social expression and aesthetics — leaves comfy Taurus for multi-tasking Gemini, where it will seek to be ever-so entertaining as it seduces you with potential double talk. At 10:38PM ET, Venus will be opposed by Mars.  Already you may be feeling a bit of tension — possibly on the juicy/alluring side — in your interpersonal relationships — whomever might be the yin to your yang.  Watch the headlines for gender concerns to pull a polarizing focus.

On Wednesday a Capricorn Moon drives the day with enterprising energy, accompanied by power plays, emotional depth and jolts as it makes its weekly clash with the disruptive Uranus-Pluto square at 10:21AM ET and 9:11PM ET. After that,  the Moon goes void until 10:27AM ET on Thursday, when it enters Aquarius.  East Coasters, that reflects the slow start you may experience on your way to the office.

The biggest planetary news on Thursday is the potentially supercharged shift  in business-as-usual matters, courtesy of a challenge between Jupiter and Saturn, exact at 8:28AM ET.  When these two planets connect, it often involves a need for a sense of purpose and rightness. They also refer to big business and big collective belief systems, such as law, religion and media/publishing. Jupiter is in Virgo, sign of service, health, workers and warm, fuzzy animals. Saturn is in Sagittarius, sign of foreigners and philosopher-clowns, among others. Watch the headlines for important stories. One I noticed last week was a Labor Department initiative raising the salary level for workers eligible for overtime. That’s pretty big…if it sticks.

On Friday, the Moon continues in Aquarius with no void and little other interference. Aquarius is a cerebral sign, ready to help your humanitarian cause or hook you up with a fresh group of contacts, the more unconventional the better. Aquarius can also be quite the stubborn rebel, clinging to an antiquated past or a pushing for a far-out future. Either way, it’s on the fringe.

Most notable on Friday is Mars leaving Sagittarius and backing up into Scorpio. Mars — which refers to the energy we apply when we take action —  is one of the rulers of Scorpio, and thus it is well-placed — for better or for worse. Mars in Scorpio can be passionate and magnetic, simmering with an aura of powerful knowing — and wouldn’t you like to know what’s going on deep down inside. It can also be ruthless and vengeful — and it will be make second hits in the horoscopes of a number of political types who where  hot in early March.

GENERAL NOTE: We are almost halfway through the Mars retrograde period that began on April 17th — six more weeks until Mars turns direct on June 30th. One of the “symptoms” of retrograde Mars is energy — often aggressive — that feels frustrated by a perceived lack of forward motion. The unconscious response is to lash out.  If you focus your energy on mastering your own demons, as opposed to attacking others for theirs, the whole planet will thank you. More on that in a minute.

And now, the news.

The Nevada Democratic Convention. Oh what a joy. It was scheduled to start shortly after a clash between Mars (retrograde) in righteously outraged Sagittarius and the Moon in order-order-order rules-rules-rules Virgo — as the forecast for May 14th said:

Saturday is driven by the organizational excellence of the Moon in Virgo. It’s a perfect weekend for making things right. Clean out your closets and files. A tense aspect between the Moon and Mars at 10:28AM ET can give you a needed push — better than finding fault (Virgo Moon) with someone’s slapdash action (Mars in Sag). Put your own house in order.

With Mercury retrograde, the convention start was delayed and it ran four hours longer than anticipated, but not after making headlines for being a hotbed of righteous outrage and  fault-finding at slapdash action. In this article, a reporter tracks down a few Bernie Sanders supporters who left ugly, boundary-pushing messages for Roberta Lange. Does it sound like they regret it? This is a textbook case of the perils of indulging in angry outbursts when Mercury and Mars are retrograde. Don’t let it happen to you. Here’s another textbook case of the perils of believing everything you read in the papers under these planetary conditions. Many respected news outlets — including the NYT — reported that chairs were thrown. Not according to snopes, but the damage has already been done.

Remember last year, when the Democratic candidates were praised for being so civil? With transiting Uranus now conjunct Mars and opposing Venus in Bernie Sanders’ horoscope, we can expect a supercharged intensity in his social expression and action throughout the summer. Transiting Jupiter about to meet up with his Virgo Sun next month (for its third and final time) suggests ego expansion, usually as a reward, but wretched excess is also a potential.

NYT columnist Maureen Dowd penned a column cynically summing up the challenge for the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.

She assumed that the fix was in, that she and the D.N.C. had arranged for the coronation that she felt she was robbed of in the tulip craze of 2008.

Everyone just laughed when Sanders, a cranky loner from Vermont with a nondescript Senate record, decided to challenge Queen Hillary…

By “coronation” and “Queen,” Ms. Dowd is of course referring to Mrs. Clinton’s three planets in regal Leo (Mars, Saturn and Pluto). By “cranky loner, “Ms. Dowd is referring to Mr. Sanders’ Moon-Mars conjunction in me-me-me Aries. So who wins? Donald Trump and his stupendously strong horoscope. Divide and conquer. That’s what will happen unless the Democratic candidates can unite their supporters, many of whom now seem indistinguishable from certain Trump supporters, given the slings and arrows they are hurling at each other, in ways that are painful to watch.

Can’t we all get along? See ourselves in each other? If we can do that, it’s a win-win-win.

Deep breath. It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

In other news,  a ton of homepage stories reflecting the fallout of yesterday’s Sun-Mars opposition: a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan appears to have killed a Taliban leader; “Untold Damage: America’s Overlooked Gun Violence”; “It’s No Accident: Advocates Want to Speak of Car ‘Crashes’ Instead” That last one is especially apt for Mars-Mercury retrograde; it’s about REnaming and REthinking — perhaps ultimately changing behavior. How about “Queens Couple Sees the Art in Bulletholes…” — I can’t make this up — it’s all on the NYT right now. This one is PERFECT for a Mars-Mercury retrograde — a plan to REvamp the NYC subway system, including adding a new line called Triboro Rx. “Rx” is the astrological shorthand for “retrograde!”

UPDATE: On Terry Gilliam, subject of one of my favorite posts of all time. With transiting Neptune making the first exact hits to his Ascendant next month, a creative vision or a bewildering quagmire might pull focus. Last week at Cannes he announced he was moving ahead with a film that has been floundering for almost 18 years. What’s it about? Oh you will love this:  Don Quixote! Cue “The Impossible Dream” now, please. The Saturn transit noted in that prior Gilliam post seems to have been reflected in the publishing of an autobiography. That would be an apt product of transiting Saturn at the bottom of the horoscope, needing to focus on home/family concerns.

In other news, much gratitude to Avid Reader Vanessa, who sent me this bit from across the Pond about “astrological food.” What?! Otherwise known as “planting by the Moon,” a practice which you could read about in any Old Farmers’ Almanac or — a few hundred years ago — in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack.  But how cool is it for planetary cycles to become hip again in the mainstream! Thank you, Jupiter in Virgo. And Vanessa.

On that “Jupiter in Virgo” link you’ll find a forecast written some months ago about what we can expect during Jupiter’s year long trek through the sign of the Virgin. Virgo refers to animals — usually ones that are smaller than a horse.  Jupiter can be a cosmic sugar daddy. Last week, when all hell seemed to be breaking loose (as reported in the media), a baby otter named Toby was REunited with its family in Singapore…and humans helped. Roll tape…and bask in the warm and fuzzies…

Thank you for reading this forecast and sharing it with others. To find out what’s going on in your own horoscope, consider booking a personal consultation. We will have a fine discussion together!