Good Morning!

Moon is charging through Aries today — seeking to be appreciated for being Numero Uno. So much news to report — had to post — so you could say you heard it here first. I expect power plays as we approach the 6:53 PM ET tension between the Moon and Pluto, followed by conflict/heroism and disruption tomorrow between 6 AM and 7:30AM ET, as the fiery Moon clashes with warrior Mars and rebel Uranus.

First, happy early Mercury retrograde to Avid Readers who wondered why my last email contained two articles I wrote for The Mountain Astrologer.  Those were a gift from MailChimp, which sent them out as email after I added them to the Articles & Interviews page of my website. Not planned, but I hope you enjoyed them.

And now, the news…reflecting this week’s potent patterns:

• A prominent and sobering control or ambitious reach in matters of media, foreign affairs, judicial philosophy and other Sagittarian concerns, as Mercury and Saturn met up in that sign Tuesday at 1:59 AM ET. This is the first of three meet ups we’ll have between now and January 13th. Remember, Mercury in Sagittarius thinks big, but is often sloppy.
• A disruptive opposition between Mars in Libra and Uranus in Aries, exact Friday at 5:04 AM ET. Mars (action, courage, aggression, male sexual energy) in Libra (fairness, diplomacy, relationship, balance) is only at its best when it acts as a warrior for peace. Otherwise, it may behave badly, subverting its urge for expression into passive aggressive behavior and other toxic conflict-avoidance. Uranus in Aries shakes up the system in its quest for independence and/or technological advance. Examples of this over the past six years of Uranus in Aries: the gig economy, self-driving cars, flying cars, Uber and Lyft, drone warfare
• A harmony between Jupiter and Neptune, exact Saturday at 9:22 PM ET. Jupiter is in Scorpio, on a mission to expand awareness in matters of sexual secrets and other peoples money. We’re revisiting the horrifying reality show experienced a few years ago when Saturn traveled through Scorpio. Neptune refers to faith, charity, redemption, oil, scandal, drugs, delusions, refugees — expressed with a need for empathy, compassion and/or universal suffering. Why so soulful? Because Neptune is traveling through Pisces, its ruling sign.
• Added wigginess courtesy of Sunday’s exact square between Neptune and the Sun in opinionated, high-flying Sagittarius…plus a waxing Full Moon in Gemini. Emotions are on the rise this week. Oh, and Mercury turning retrograde on December 3rd.

OK, here goes:

• “A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears to be part of undercover sting operation.”   Real news crushes fake news as the Washington Post doesn’t fall for  a pack of lies. Must-see video.
• Bitcoin — virtual (Neptune) currency — reaches staggering new high. As cryptocoinnews.com describes it:

• Bitcoin eliminates power from the authorities to manipulate the global monetary system and the fiat currency system through inflationary policies. It allows its users to remain in absolute control over their money and wealth through a censorship-resistant financial network.

  As such, bitcoin provides more financial freedom and independence to the people, while weakening the leverage of authorities over the global finance sector.

  Bitcoin can’t help but increase in value IMHO, as Uranus moves into Taurus next year. Translation: revolution in all matters related to comfort and material security: banks, money, food, things, property — just for starters.

• Horrible, horrible news reported by CNN: migrants are being sold as slaves in Libya.  What could be worse? A tweet from the pathological Liar-in-Chief slamming CNN’s integrity prompts Libya to label CNN’s story as “fake.”
• “White Men Feel Stricter Gun Laws Are Attacks on Their Masculinity, Study Says“
• “Air Force Failed to Report Dozens of Service Members to Gun Database,”  including the man who murdered dozens at a Texas church earlier this month. Report them for what? Charges and/or convictions in crimes of violence.
• Sloppy and delusional ideas regarding other peoples’ money make news, as the GOP tax plan clears another hurdle (and no public hearings on the plan will be had)
• North Korea fires ballistic missile, demonstrating that it can now likely reach mainland USA, including Washington. Yesterday’s missile flew 10 times higher than the International Space Station, leaving some to marvel at how human beings can be so smart and so foolish all at the same time.

Last but not least — Matt Lauer — whose horoscope I’ve been following since 2011 — was abruptly fired from the Today show this morning. His 8 degree Capricorn Sun was hit hard by Pluto and Uranus between 2011 and 2013, when he threatened to quit Today unless he received gobs and gobs of cash. He won that battle. The relevant posts are here   and here.  Why was Mr. Lauer fired? Allegations of sexual harassment brought by a co-worker. No sordid details yet.

We don’t have a birth time for Mr. Lauer — I’ve created a chart set just after 12PM, which puts transiting Pluto in a tense square to a hypothetical 18 Aries Ascendant. We know there is going to be some action on two of the four angles of this horoscope for such a cataclysmic event to occur, so this is not an illogical choice. When a birth time is unknown, astrologers will use noon or sunrise. Both options can reveal much.  Here, in this noonish chart,  there’s plenty of action between planets in the natal chart and where planets are right now that would also reflect the likelihood of Something Big Happening. In the chart below, Mr. Lauer’s birth chart is in the inner wheel. The outer wheel shows where the planets were yesterday morning. The yellow lines show how planets in the outer wheel are making contact with planets in the inner wheel.

Even if you don’t know anything about astrology and have no idea what those symbols represent, you should still be able to see that there is CONTACT between stuff in the outer wheel and stuff in the inner wheel. Just as a radiologist makes a living making meaningful sense out of the mysterious (to the average patient) blobs on X-rays and other tests, skilled astrologers invest years of study so they can make sense of the chart below. I’d be surprised if Mr. Lauer consulted with an astrologer this year, but if he had, he would have been alerted to the high probability of an upset to his need to be Number One — and much, much more. Perhaps he would have made different choices. FUN FACT: Mr. Lauer’s horoscope has a challenging aspect between his boundary-pushing Mars in Sagittarius and Pluto (power, persuasion). We’ve seen hard aspects between Mars and Pluto in the horoscope of many men recently outed for sexual harassment. It’s like….wow….there’s a pattern here….and there’s another pattern, too: Aries,

If you find this forecast informative and meaningful, I invite you to support it by supporting the astrologer who writes it. If you are receiving this forecast by email, there is a link at the bottom that will enable you to make a donation, which will be received with boundless gratitude. It thrills me that many of you have been reading this forecast for almost ten years. Wow. Ten years!  Thank you for finding my work meaningful. If you are reading this on my website, here is a link to the Cosmic Tip Jar. And if you’d like to find out what’s going on in your horoscope — so you are not blindsided like Mr. Lauer — here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Thank you for reading this forecast. Have you backed up your computers yet?