Allll-riiighty then!
Getting started during a Moon void can sometimes pose a challenge. Today I’m thinking about astronauts floating in space, and the way they look if pushed in a particular direction. During a void — a natural rest period — you may need that push to get moving. For more on Moon voids, look here.
Moon voids are good for taking care of routine matters and going with the flow. They are also good for resting and/or spacing out, with sometimes delightfully surprising results. I’ve had plenty of Moon void creative impulses that came totally out of the blue.
One such impulse happened just after Thanksgiving a few years ago. Circumstances were such that I would not be able to travel to be with the rest of my family for the Christmas holiday, and I was in a funk about missing the celebration. Out of nowhere, I remembered that I had bought a half dozen Christmas ornaments on sale a few months earlier — for no particular reason, since I had never gotten my own big evergreen Christmas tree. I do have a giant silk palm tree in my living room, because a real one would surely die under my watch. Impulsively, I hung the ornaments on the palm tree. They looked fabulous! Which then inspired me to go to Walgreen’s — at midnight — to buy multicolored lights and a few more ornaments. And this was all going on during a wandering Moon void.
If you happen to be working on an initiative during a void, use your informed perspective constructively. This means not getting all worked up about a twist, flake or other detour that may impede your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Don’t panic! Just go with the flow and watch how your “crisis” likely will ebb once the Moon is back in gear.
Today the Libra Moon was void of course all morning, on the East Coast. It changed gear — and got focused — in Scorpio at 11:43AM ET. There it will cruise without interference, driven by its need for power, control, depth and substance. Scorpio is an emotional sign, even though it can be maddeningly silent about its feelings…and motivations. More likely it will keep its game plan close to the chest…and brood. If it’s trivial or deemed offensive to Scorpio’s personal code of honor, it’s likely to be tossed out. You can handle that cut, can’t you? Scorpio doesn’t mess around. How will this aid your quest for world domination today through Friday, hmmm?
Just bear in mind the big shifts that will be exact tomorrow: 1) Mercury turning retrograde (DID YOU BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER); 2) Saturn leaving Scorpio for Sagittarius; and 3) big, fat Jupiter facing off against Neptune, blowing up matters of compassion, faith, delusion, bewilderment, fantasy, etc., beyond the usual proportions. It is important to remain flexible during all these planetary shifts!
And now, the news.
With Saturn at the end of Scorpio — a sign concerned with matters of life and death, it seems tragically fitting that in Oklahoma, a man — Richard Glossip — is set to be executed in just a few hours, despite “mounting evidence that he is innocent”. Meanwhile, how lucky Lewis Fogle must feel that he was not sentenced to death after being freed from prison after 34 years, when DNA testing concluded that he could not have committed the crime for which he served time. Have we learned anything in our 28 month Saturn in Scorpio journey? How fitting also that an op-ed in the NYT is called “The Rituals of Modern Death” — part on an ongoing series of op-eds in a section called “The End”. Would love to know for sure if the NYT started that series during this Saturn in Scorpio transit.
Meanwhile, more delusions are coming to light in advance of Jupiter opposing Neptune. Ever hear of a comic named Steven Rannazzisi? Me neither. But his delusional escape — from one of the towers in the WTC on 9/11, is front-page news. Turns out he lied. More delusions — OK, distortions — about U.S. intelligence on the organization known as the Islamic State — are also headline news today.
Neptune refers to oceans, and there are a few big news items to report. First, it’s bad news for tuna and mackerel, whose populations are down 74% in the last 40 years. File this also under Jupiter in Virgo, which suggests that food and food production will become an ever-expanding matter of focus. Meanwhile, it’s good news for whales and other marine life, now that the U.S. Navy has agreed to limit its bewildering insistence on blasting the ocean with sonar and other explosives.
When astrologers who Study These Things consider what may happen over the next few years, we look at what happened under similar patterns. One big pattern we just had, of course, was the Uranus-Pluto square. And the last time we experienced Uranus square Pluto was in the early 30s, the decade that brought us the rise of Adolf Hitler and his insane ideas of one race being oh-so-superior over others. So it was very interesting to read op-eds (by the same author) in two newspapers over the weekend wondering if something like that could happen again. “Hitler’s World May Not Be So Far Away,” says one, while in the NYT you might have read “The Next Genocide”.
The author points out that one tactic that facilitated the insanity was propaganda about shortages of food and other resources. I can see how that theme could tie into escalating delusional fears about foreigners and borders, as Saturn (control) progresses through Sagittarius (foreigners) and squares Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Virgo now and into 2016. No, I am not suggesting we will have a repeat of the 1930s & 1940s. I am suggesting that I can appreciate why similar issues might be up for consideration over the next few years, given the repeat of planetary patterns.
Meanwhile, what delusional fears might we see stoked in tonight’s Republican battle-to-the-death — oh sorry — debate — on CNN? It’s not being promoted as a debate; it looks more like a tournament of gladiators — have you seen the promos? It’s so depressing to see a media outlet take the low road…
Here are some random thoughts:
The debate chart — 8PM in Simi Valley, CA — has an Aries Ascendant, in contact with Uranus and Pluto. Instant power plays and upsets — oh joy! We’re off to a pugnacious start. The chart is ruled by Mars in Leo — we’ll see a lot of regal pronouncements and creative self-expression. That Mars is sitting quite close to Donald Trump’s Leo Ascendant, so we can expect his naturally assertive self to be pumped. Saturn is also square his Ascendant, intensifying his need to be taken seriously, but may also be experienced as limiting.
Whereas the last debate featured a don’t-rock-the-boat Taurus Moon, tonight’s Scorpio Moon and other wild card aspects suggest moody intensity, with the potential for brutal stings and no small about of high-flying blather, more based on belief than actual fact (that’s the Mercury retrograde/Jupiter-Neptune component). But a Scorpio Moon requires substance. Who might deliver?
Carly Fiorina’s chart may benefit from transiting Jupiter to her Virgo Sun; certainly her ego energies are expanded now. Scott Walker has Sun and Moon in Scorpio; plus he’s having a Jupiter return. Thus he’s likely to be feeling comfortable — but perhaps too comfortable to score major points. His horoscope is not nearly as active or potent as it was a few years ago, when his Koch brothers agenda first attracted national attention. Back then, he was unstoppable.
Ben Carson is a Virgo with (possibly) Moon in Taurus — we don’t have a birth time. Now you can understand why he’s comes across as so steady and calm. Transiting Jupiter is sitting right on top of his Mercury now, so you can appreciate why what comes out of his head has been getting more press. Look to his natal Jupiter-Uranus-Neptune T-square for the source of his grand faith and pioneering efforts in the world of neurosurgery. His Jupiter is in Aries, which rules the head. His Mars, like Donald Trump’s, is also in regal Leo. He’s likely feeling more assertive now, too — though perhaps less so than last week, when transiting Mars was sitting exactly on the one in his horoscope.
Jeb Bush? Tonight’s Virgo Sun is sitting right on his Virgo Ascendant — that suggests a spotlight on personal projection, for better or for worse. With transiting Mars square his natal Mars, I expect notable attacks from him or on him — we’ll see it live. Ted Cruz? Capricorn with Sun at the Aries Point; Moon in sweet-talking Libra; Mercury square Uranus suggests ya never know what rocket scientist thought may spring from his lips, but transiting Saturn is sitting right on his Neptune, so the lines between real and imaginary are likely blurred. He has a pile-up of planets in Scorpio; he’s comfortable swimming in the deep, dark waters facilitated by tonight’s Scorpio Moon.
Marco Rubio? Meh. Unless his Moon is in Cancer (we do not have a birth time) and it is being supercharged by rebel Uranus, I do not expect much. If he does have a supercharged Cancer Moon, expect him to have all kinds of innovative ways to preserve emotional and homeland security, which is the reigning need of Cancer. Rand Paul? His Mars in Leo is also being pumped up by transiting Mars, like Jeb Bush and to some extent Ben Carson and Donald Trump. But Senator Paul’s righteously opinionated Venus at 1 Sagittarius is likely feeling isolated, courtesy of transiting Saturn. This outsider status may well encourage his assertiveness and ambition, but it might not earn him any hearts and flowers. But who needs hearts and flowers, when you have Moon in Gemini? Tell him you find him ever-so-informed, and he’ll be happy.
John Kasich? Sun in Taurus; Moon in enterprising Capricorn, quietly supported by the transiting Virgo Sun and Jupiter. No big waves, other than a shockingly sensible pragmatism, compared to everyone else on stage. His dreamy Neptune-Moon square suggests his spirituality and compassion, up to a point. Mike Huckabee? Another Virgo who’s gotten a boost — for better or worse — from transiting Jupiter to his Sun, though it is fast fading in the rear view mirror. Three planets in Leo, including Mars — are you noticing a pattern, here? Mars in Leo is sooooo regally entitled. Of course it makes sense that it would expect to stand on a pedestal. I expect a outburst of indignant assertion from Mr. Huckabee next week, when transiting Mars will exactly hit his natal Mars. Right now, we can appreciate his militant stances on anything, as transiting Saturn exerting its iron fist on his Mars and Venus (he and Senator Paul can commiserate about that). Huckabee has a Scorpio Moon.
Is that everybody? Hope so. Pass the popcorn. The first Democratic debate on October 13th will also be held on a night with Moon in Scorpio…