Finally the Moon is in gear, having entered the fiery, regal, organizing, playful sign of Leo at 12:58AM ET this morning. Find way to shine and help others shine, too! A helpful authority or a stern wet blanket may dampen your enthusiasm or modify your plans around 11:41AM, when Moon is challenged by disciplined Saturn.

As the day progresses, may you reap the benefits of a cooperative connection between the Moon and assertive Mars in Gemini, suggesting an easy flow between will and action. Minutes later, we’ll have the exact square between Venus (social expression) in Cancer (emotional security, homeland) and rebel Uranus in me-me-me pioneering Aries. Many of us were feeling the disruptive potential of that aspect during yesterday’s void, as I heard several reports of startling communication and/or emotional outbursts. The plus side of Venus-Uranus contacts include appreciation and attraction to unconventional expressions in relationships, as well as technical and creative breakthroughs.

As for the New Moon in Gemini which was exact at 11:56AM ET on Saturday, now that the Moon is no longer void, you can take some steps in your New Moon agenda. The New Moon offers us an opportunity to re-set  intentions and goals for the next lunar cycle. This week is about planting seeds to turn your intentions into reality. Around the 16th, 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 the 23rd , we can expect 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 30th, we can review our achievements, tie up loose ends and get ready to begin another New Moon on July 8th.

I’ve broken down the patterns active in this New Moon in prior forecasts (read last week’s and today). They include the pixie-dust, magical and /or delusional potential of the square between Mars and Neptune and two Grand Water Trines involving Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune, which offer the potential for inspired and structured visionary thinking and social expression. On the potential downside, we could see efforts to contain and control these issues. And of course we can’t forget the ongoing square between rebel Uranus and ruthless Pluto, which is hellbent on challenging the Established Order.

This New Moon happened at 19 degrees of Gemini, and it might feel somewhat familiar. Why? Because we had a Full Moon and lunar eclipse at 19 Gemini/Sagittarius in December of 2011. In light of the story dominating the news in the US, which involves one Edward Snowden’s “revelation” that our intelligence agencies are compiling all sorts of data on apparently anyone and everyone, including information that you, as a private citizen, might find intrusive and unwarranted, you will love the Sabian Symbol for 19 Gemini: “a large archaic volume reveals a traditional wisdom”.

In this case, I went to my Dane Rudhyar reference book, “An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle and Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases” for more on this Sabian Symbol. The “archaic volume” suggests a “reserve of collective knowledge and wisdom beyond true individual self-expression,” and “deference to past experience.” But beyond just being a collection of data (like a phone book or record of your personal phone calls), a higher potential suggested by this symbol would be an engaged discussion of what will be the “seed ideas” that will define our collective thought and thus our collective action. What do we value and how will we grow in that direction?

You are more affected by this New Moon than most if you have a planet or an angle at 19 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces.

When you watch the video of Edward Snowden explaining why he did what he did  (see link above), you’ll notice a cool, steady gaze (along with a bit of tension in the jaw — not surprisingly). Snowden is a Gemini, but that gaze suggested Scorpio, and sure enough, his Moon is in Scorpio, suggesting a need and/or awareness for depth and substance, as well as information used for the sake of power and control. More on him later

To be continued…