The week begins with the Moon in Cancer. Its need for security may be jolted around 9:50 AM ET by its weekly clash with rebel Uranus, after which it goes void. Oh, did the market just drop below 22,000? That could be called a jolt.

But then…happy happy…merry merry…as soon as the Moon enters Leo at 11:58 AM ET. Upside: it’s party time! Downside: roars of regal entitlement from drama kings and queens who feel they are not being recognized for their inherent superiority. Adding big brushstrokes of rose is a square (tension) between Mercury (how we need to think) and Neptune (fog; idealism), exact tonight at 7:33 PM ET. Upside: there’s magic in the air. Downside: deception and bewilderment.

The rest of the week goes like this:

• TUESDAY: Moon in Leo all day, supported by easy connections to Mercury and Jupiter in the early part of the day; Santa Claus was likely to be generous. A square between the Leo Moon and Venus in Scorpio may be experienced as a spat over values and aesthetic expression, sometime around 4:37 PM ET
• WEDNESDAY: Happy Kwanzaa! The Leo Moon goes void with a sigh at 10:36 AM ET, entering Virgo at 12:50 PM ET. You can sleep in, space out or return unwanted gifts during the void. Once the Moon enters Virgo, you can apply its organizing and perfecting drive to putting your house in order and making to-do lists for 2019. Have you thought about scheduling your annual check-up with your astrologer? Now is the time to map out your year. How will the “Big Dream” potential of 2019’s three Jupiter-Neptune squares be reflected in your life?
• THURSDAY: The busiest day of the week, as the Virgo Moon makes contact with six planets. Righteous ambition colors the early morning, followed by a potential miscue around noon ET, as the Moon is opposed by foggy Neptune. A squawk in the headlines may occur at the close of business, as the Moon is square by a sloppy-thinking Mercury in Sagittarius. Money and values are on the table.
• FRIDAY: the Virgo Moon goes void on a provocative opposition from Mars (combat, action, assertion) at 11:27 AM ET. Chill and focus on routine concerns until 3:23 PM ET, when the Moon enters Libra. In Libra, the need is fairness, balance and harmony in relationships. A change of perspective in values and social expression is suggested by a cooperative alignment between Venus (money, women, art) and Pluto (breakdown, transformation, power, resources) at 4:27 PM ET. 
• SATURDAY & SUNDAY: are driven mostly by the Moon in Libra. By now we will be noticing action hero Mars at the very end of Pisces. Stories of self-sacrifice are likely to make waves. Avid Readers will recall that a planet at the end of Pisces is oh-so-close to the beginning of Aries, also known as the Aries Point. When will Mars enter Aries? On MONDAY at 9:20 PM ET — New Year’s Eve. That’s about when we are likely to see significant action on the illumination and release received on the Dec 22nd Full Moon at 0 Cancer. Got that?

And now, the news.

Speaking of the Aries Point, it is not surprising to see people with planets at the Aries Point now making headlines in the wake of the Winter Solstice and that Full Moon. Add current patterns among Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune to the mix, and we see the potential for really big, dumb ideas made even dumber by fog, deception and delusion. Exhibit A: “What Was Steve Mnuchin Thinking? Three Possibilities” (after putting out an “alarming and confusing” press release on Sunday evening). Mr. Mnuchin (and his evil twin wife Louise Linton) was born on December 21st — with the Sun at the Aries Point. I imagine we will see more breaking news about him when Mars enters Aries next week.  In other news, we do not have a birth time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, we can see in his horoscope that he has Mars at the end of Pisces and Venus in early Aries, both within range of the Aries Point. He’s currently under attack from P45, who today claimed that “the central bank is the only problem our economy has!” What do you have at the Aries Point, hm?

Under the weekend’s Cancer Full Moon at the prominent Aries Point,  the need for nourishment and nurturing challenges the decidedly unemotional, status-seeking ambition of the Capricorn Sun. A farmer sheds light on the conflict like so: “Dairy farming is dying. After 40 ears, I’m done.”   This growing trend will be in our face once Uranus (technology, disruption) moves back into Taurus (food, earth) next April — and with truly revolutionary force in 2022.

Meanwhile, I looked at the charts for the potent Winter Solstice, set at Mt. Etna and in Banten, Indonesia. Both locales have aggressive Mars in Pisces and the Moon in contact with angles (extreme pressure points) in their respective charts. Indonesia was hit on Saturday by a freakish and devastating tsunami; Mt. Etna erupted this morning. Coincidence or conspiracy? I do not know.

UPDATE: the drone sightings at Gatwick Airport, which shut the place down last week. I was scratching my head at this one, writing:

I’d expect to see this next story on a square or opposition (not a Sun-Uranus trine), but “Drone Sightings Cause Disruption at Gatwick Airport”  does feature the Uranus in Aries theme of robot warriors in flight — taken to Sun in Sagittarius new heights.

Now it appears that others were perplexed and bewildered over these drone sightings, too — with some going so far as to suggest that there were no actual drones sighted at all! Police are still saying there were drones…but still…what a fascinating reflection of the bewilderment over high-flying ideas —  suggested by planetary patterns (Mercury-Jupiter in Sagittarius square Neptune).

In closing, a couple of stories reflecting the upside potential of the current whether forecast.  Exhibit A: “Fishermen Rescued by Cruise Ship in ‘Christmas Miracle.'”   Neptune refers to fishermen, ships and faith. Exhibit B: take Mercury conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius (a “sky’s the limit” idea, arguably short on exact details, but boosted by a high-functioning element of luck from a foreign land). Add Venus trine Neptune (heartfelt charity; a dream come true). Mix it with the Sun at the Aries Point — of course we are going to hear about it. From WaPo: “A girl in Mexico attached her Christmas list to a balloon. A man across the border found it.” Guess what happened next…and cue Kleenex box now, please.

Thank you for reading this forecast. May faith in all that is light and good prevail against the alternative.