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Astro-logical Forecast for Monday 5/9/2016: New Moon in Taurus; Transit of Mercury; Jupiter Direct; Sneak Peek at the Week

An information junkie Moon-in-Gemini has been driving whatever buzz you may be feeling since 12:34PM ET on Saturday. At 12:15Am ET on Monday, that Moon will go void with a sigh, not to enter Cancer until 1:24PM ET. There’s your explanation for any foggy morning false start, or if the barista at your local coffee emporium cheerfully greets you with “Good Afternoon!” instead of “Good Morning!”  She would be cheerful — and perhaps a  bit dreamily-spaced out.  At 8:41Am ET, Venus and Neptune form an easy alliance, suggesting an artsy or musical spin  — or something healing, charitable or spiritual. Whatever it is, it’s likely to reflect a need for a beautiful ideal, along with a bit of indulgent idealism, as Venus is also in harmony with expansive Jupiter — exact Tuesday at 3PM ET.

Even earlier on Monday — at 8:16AM ET, Jupiter turns direct at 13 Virgo, where it’s been hanging since April 17th. If you know what area of your horoscope is ruled by Jupiter (hint: it’s the house with Sagittarius on the cusp), it may feel like you’ve been in a holding pattern in the areas related to that house since January 7th, when Jupiter turned retrograde. A horoscope with Jupiter ruling the second house of finances and self worth, for example, may have experienced a delay regarding those issues over the past five months.  With Jupiter turning direct, forward motion can now be expected.

But wait — there’s more! Mercury — which refers to information, mindset and communication makes a rare conjunction with the Sun at 11:12AM ET. Why is it rare? Because the Messenger Planet will pass in front of the Sun and this Transit of Mercury will thus be visible in various parts of the world. These transits  only happen a dozen or so times in a century. The last Transit of Mercury happened back in 2006; the next one will happen in 2019. What can we expect?

First, see where 20 degrees of Taurus falls in your horoscope. This is the degree of Monday’s Sun-Mercury conjunction. Look back to 19 April, when Mercury was last at 20 degrees of Taurus. Note June 3rd on your calendar, which is when Mercury will hit 20 degrees Taurus again, once it turns direct on May 22nd. Consider that Mercury in Taurus refers to thoughts and communication about  material comfort and security; values, banking, money, sensual pleasures — just to name a few. So wherever 20 Taurus falls in your horoscope, this is the area of your life which may be receiving information about these material concerns you simply can’t miss. I find it fascinating that May 9th is when we can expect the next information dump from the Panama Papers, in the form of “the largest ever release of data on secret offshore companies and the people behind them.” Coincidence or conspiracy?

I also find it fascinating that the Sabian Symbol for 20 Taurus is “wind,  clouds and haste,” suggesting, as Blain Bovee points out in his wonderful book, “an image of accelerated ideas that create a stir, excitement or massive confusion…extremes of revelation and being heavily covered; shedding light on something previously hidden.” Extremes? We’ll see how that plays out over the next few weeks.

Once the Moon enter Cancer at 1:24PM ET, we can expect the next few days (and the headlines) to reflect a focus on building and maintaining emotional/family and home/homeland security. The Moon will be void again on Wednesday between 3:34AM ET and 5:32PM ET, after which it enters Leo, looking for a party or a ginormous stage. A cluster of alignments among Mercury, Venus and Pluto on Thursday and Friday suggest depth in communication and social expression, with more potential for revelation. Moon goes void on Friday at 1:02PM ET — sounds like a fine time to skip out of town early.

Speaking of which, I skipped out of town last Friday — heading to Philadelphia in the dark of the Moon with two artsy friends. Our mission: to see a special exhibit at the Museum of Art. Thus I did not post a forecast for the New Moon in Taurus, which occurred at 3:29PM ET on Friday, at 17 degrees of Taurus. Let’s talk about it now.

A New Moon in Taurus suggests a focus on values, finance and other material concerns.  It needs to build material comfort and security — preferably meant to last. One major pattern in the New Moon chart is an Earth Grand Trine among love/money/beauty Venus, the Sun and Moon, Jupiter and Pluto. This suggests a projection of material self-sufficiency — big time. And there I was in a big ginormous museum, stuffed to the gills with treasure. I was so happy to be spending the day in (five planets retrograde) contemplation, wandering the galleries and taking in the art on display. It was a relief to gaze upon images that weren’t moving. I was grateful for the chance to pause and focus on these static moments in time. It was humbling to think of how many hours had been invested in creating them — and how many hundreds of years had passed since then.

One painting’s monochromatic glow stood out from the others in the gallery. I was intrigued by the artist’s combined use of ink and oil. It’s called   Sine Cerere et Libero freget Venus (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus Would Freeze).  There is no love without food and drink. How apt for a Taurus New Moon, with patterns suggesting contemplaytion — the typo is intentional — on simple core values.

Another major pattern in the New Moon chart is this ongoing loose T-square among Jupiter — opposed by Neptune and squared by Saturn. Here’s what I wrote about it back in September of last year:

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.

After a lovely grey, rainy day gazing at art, we headed to the Greyhound bus terminal to catch our pumpkin coach back to New York. There were just over 50  of us waiting to board the bus, and in front of me stood a serene, small-sized dumpling of a woman wearing a bright pink and green hijab. She was number 50 in line, and she was asked by the ticket taker for identification. As she fumbled in her big, black purse for her papers, her little suitcase on wheels tipped over. I picked it up and held it upright while she searched her purse. The ticket-taker — not a security officer, mind you — almost pulled her out of line — for what? Questioning? I have no memory of the ticket-taker asking anyone else in line for ID. The woman managed to produce her “papers” just in time.  She had  a U.S. passport.

This episode of “security theater” — in the words of Artsy Friend #1 — has been bothering me all weekend.

The Sabian Symbol for the New Moon at 17 Taurus is “a battle between the swords and the torches.” It was one of the two Symbols in the Full Moon in Scorpio back in May of 2012 — how time flies. Blaine Bovee is the go-to guy for further explanation:  “strife between powers of the mind and powers of spirit and passion…of that which cuts apart and that which twines together. ” Possible manifestations include “matters of spirit over ideas…Gothic romances where passions collide with social and political realities; campaigns to supplant cold technology with agrarian simplicity…choosing between cutting away from or twisting together.”

And now, the news.

Was there any news  over the past several days? Surely I jest. Ted Cruz and John Kasich abruptly dropped out of the Republican race for president, perhaps in a fit of Mars retrograde frustration. If you are tempted to impulsively toss in the towel between now and June 30th, the conventional wisdom suggests you carefully reconsider. On the part of Cruz, it’s a textbook case of the likely fizzle/backfire of impulsive alliances formed under Mars Rx conditions. Carly Fiorina lasted nine days as Cruz’s would-be VP.

Which leaves only Donald Trump standing — ready to claim his official nomination at the Republican convention in July. You, dear Avid Reader, are not at all surprised. Nor are you surprised that House Speaker Paul Ryan did is reserving his endorsement at the moment. Trump is not pleased — not pleased at all –– but you read here several weeks ago that Speaker Ryan’s horoscope is building to a release in mid-July.  You expected a bit of drama.

You’re also not surprised that Bernie Sanders won Indiana last week, even if the rest of the media was “shocked.” With his second Saturn-Sun square behind him, Sanders can now look forward to an expansive period into June. After that, we’ll see. Meanwhile, with transiting Uranus moving into closer contact with his Venus and Mars, you won’t be surprised to see the words “erratic” and “Sanders” in the same sentence.

The United States isn’t the only country whose political process and voter preferences are bewildering. The Philippines seems set to elect a president who is definitely not of the Establishment. Austria’s Chancellor has suddenly resigned after a nearly eight-year run.   There’s a ton of other news to discuss — stay tuned for the next forecast. And if you’d like to find out what all of these patterns suggest for you personally, consider scheduling a consultation.  We will have an excellent discussion together!

Thank you for reading this forecast.

venus at the museum

 

 

 

 

Astro-logical Forecast for Thursday-Sunday 11/19-22/2015: Thoughts on Saturn Square Neptune; Fear vs. Love

A Pisces Moon drives the day with a need to identify what is ideal. Pisces needs to be impressionable, intuitive and emotional. Its suggests mysticism and healing; spirits of all kinds; and escape from this mortal, material coil. There are lots of ways to make that trip — some more sublime than others.

Around 6:08PM and 7:27PM ET, the Moon will be challenged by Saturn (reality, controlling) and Neptune (surreal, dissolving). A righteous  ambition inspired by a compassionate vision would be one potential. Or we could opt for controls imposed out of fear and bewilderment.

Social expression is amplified, reflected by Venus about to clash with ruthless Pluto on Friday at 8:59PM ET. Tensions between the planet of love, values, money, aesthetics and women and the planet of uncompromising, penetrating perspective suggest the potential for emotional intensity — possibly overkill — but ideally, empowerment. On Monday, the other shoe drops, as Venus is opposed by rebel Uranus, needing an expression that disrupts the status quo in its quest for freedom. So add that layer of Venus-Pluto-Uranus activity to the real/unreal, control/compassion, fear/love polarities we’re seeing in the headlines.

Also in effect now — and for the past few days into the weekend: an obsessive relationship between Mars (action, guns, aggression, fire) and Uranus (rebels, technology, astrology, aviation, shocks, seismic activity). Watch the headlines and pay attention on the roads. In my ‘hood, we’ve had a rash of fires, accompanied by more than the usual wailing sirens. Very unusual and unsettling.

The Pisces Moon continues through Friday, its impressionable qualities inflated by Jupiter at 5:06PM ET, just in time for Happy Hour. A reminder that also on Friday, mental Mercury ditches Scorpio for Sagittarius at 2:44PM ET, where it will remain until December 9th. In Sagittarius, Mercury suggests a need for righteously opinionated thinking and communication, often focused on the Big Picture, and damn those pesky details. Thus we can appreciate the potential pitfall of Mercury in Sagittarius: aiming for the stars is noble and inspiring, but it may not be enough to reach the goal. Detailed analysis helps. But what kind of analysis?

Mercury in Sagittarius working with Jupiter in Virgo may amplify the potential for sloppy righteousness, if you ask me. A righteous idea that is not sound isn’t going to be made sound no matter how many detailed supports are presented, as Jupiter (expansion) in Virgo (details) needs to do. We may see some colossally unsound ideas being floated over the next few weeks — in great detail.

On Saturday, Moon goes void between 8:23AM and 10:12AM ET, before charging forward into me-me-me Aries. The initiating drive of Aries flows easily all day until around 7:15PM ET, when it is opposed by Mars (action!). Not the time to pick a fight, although you may notice a few outbursts in your ‘hood, even if it is just more than the usual amount of sirens howling down the street.

On Sunday, Moon makes its weekly clash with Pluto and Uranus, at 9AM ET and 2:16PM ET, adding depth and intensity to the super-charged social expressed symbolized by Pluto and Uranus in a tense pattern with Venus. The upside potential is empowerment and emancipation — a chance to get clear or make an advance. There is always a potential upside!

Also on Sunday: The Sun leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius at 10:26AM ET. If you are a Sagittarius born in the first several days of the sign, you may be feeling 1) squeezed, streamlined and bewildered or 2) ambitious, focused and visionary, courtesy of Saturn and Neptune adding themes of real/unreal to your naturally optimistic Sun. Similar themes may be experienced by your Pisces, Gemini and Virgo kindred spirits. Would you like to talk about it? Here’s the 411 on personal consultations. FYI, my rates will increase after the Thanksgiving holiday. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

The Aries Moon goes void at 2:16PM ET on Sunday, not to enter stabilizing Taurus until 11:26AM ET on Monday. Moon voids suggest a higher potential for twists, delays and detours in your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Avoid the malls, focus on routine matters and do not turn a molehill of crisis into a mountain. Chill!

And now, the news…

…which I’ve been watching mostly out of the corner of my eye this week. Not much is terribly surprising, given how these stories reflect planetary patterns that were written about in this forecast months and even years ago — here and here and too many other places to mention. So how can awareness of potential events, suggested by planetary patterns, be helpful? And here I’m referring to the awfulness of the headlines reflecting violence and fear.

I think it helps to be able to  see clearly — on a tangible piece of paper (i.e., in a calculated horoscope) — that there are certain patterns which reflect the potential for a bewildering reality meltdown, as we see, for example, with Saturn (fear, ambition, control) and Neptune (dissolution, delusion, empathy, suffering, etc.) being in a tense relationship to each other (90 degrees apart — i.e., square). This clarity of perspective can keep you grounded. You understand why some are being swept up in the “negative” potential. As frustrating as it is to witness, this understanding can reduce some of the angst and upset. You understand…and then you can CHOOSE for yourself how you personally are going to react.

Saturn – at its worst — is fear. Neptune — at its highest — is love. These two planets 90 degrees apart (square to each other) suggests a tension between fear and love. Would you agree? In the language of astrology, these planets symbolize other issues, too — e.g., borders/foreigners/control (Saturn in Sag) and no boundaries/refugees/compassion (Neptune in Pisces).  These are only a handful of issues related to these planetary symbols. If you’ve been following this forecast, you’ve learned some of them before. Astrology is a rich and complex language requiring years of study to master.

Saturn needs to create structure and boundaries. Where would you be without Saturn? Living in a field under the open sky, that’s where you’d be. You need Saturn to build a house. But if you sat in your house all day, isolated from the rest of the world, fearing that everyone else out there is nothing like you, then we could have a problem.

Neptune needs to dissolve boundaries. It rolls in like an ocean wave, wiping out sand castles and footprints, reincorporating those statements of separation into the unified whole. Neptune embraces everything…as does true love. It sees itself as part of every other self. When overwhelmed by the restrictions associated with Saturn, some Neptunian types may reject the material world altogether, escaping their mortal coils and returning back to the whole. Gosh we are getting deeply philosophical, on this Moon in Pisces day. Saturn vs. Neptune. Real vs. unreal. Separation vs. union. Fear vs. love. That’s the lesson we are scheduled to be studying, according to the Cosmic Academic Calendar.

As if on cue, NYT columnist Paul Krugman’s effort this week is titled “Fearing Fear Itself”. NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof has penned “They Are Us” — in reference to the refugees.

OK, news.

Who saw the Betagoogle link in which Google offers to predict your future? How many thousands of people clicked on it out of curiosity? This Betagoogle thing is a clever gimmick, perfectly in sync with Neptune (mysticism) turning direct yesterday in its dance with Saturn.

Neptune refers to philanthropy and bewilderment. Yesterday a philanthropist pledged $177 million to fight dementia. Neptune refers to oceans, fish and aquatics. Behold, a locker-room scandal involving a women’s swimming team (adding a corruption-exposing Venus square Pluto to the mix). Lo! The franken-salmon cometh. Neptune refers to oil and toxins. Plastics are made from oil, and Congress is scheduled to vote on a bill to ban microbead hygiene products because they are trashing oceans, harming fish and birds. It’s about time. Do you have a microbead hygiene product on your shelf. Knowledge is power.

Neptune refers to film, fantasy and confusion. Gotta love this headline: “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing when I made The Hobbit” says director Peter Jackson. Neptune refers to illusion and deception. Add in the obsessive Mars-Uranus connection and it’s interesting to read that police are searching for a man dressed as a JetBlue pilot who disappeared at LAX. Meanwhile, the explosive potential of Mars-Uranus is reflected in the entity who shall remain nameless publishing a photo of the device it  says was used to destroy the Russian plane in Egypt last month. This obsessive pattern is also reflected in Gail Collins’s cheerful column, in which we learn how a bill involving freedom and aviation is making its way through the Senate, sponsored by one of the most seemingly-ignorant and self-important persons in it. And yet, that dunderhead is still human. Like me. Must. Find. Love. And. Compassion.

Let’s end with some fun stuff. If Neptune refers to love — and also dance and music — what could be more fun than the details exposed (thank you, Venus square Pluto), in the mating dances of actual lovebirds? Gosh they are pretty.

Have a wonderful weekend. As we get closer to Thanksgiving and the intensifying wigginess of next Thursday’s exact Saturn-Neptune square and Full Moon, try this coping strategy. Express gratitude. Gratitude immediately makes you a “have,” not a “have-not”.  It can convey a feeling of empowerment that flies in the face of fear. Being able to choose how you react to people and events in your own personal world also conveys empowerment.

Thank you for reading this forecast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Astro-logical Forecast for Tuesday 11/10/2015: Art & Commerce

The Scorpio Moon drives  the day with a need for substance, deeply experienced and perhaps a tad controlling or controlled. Add in an investigative flair suggested by an easy connection between Mercury and Pluto, exact at 7:12 AM ET (but in effect over the past few days). Let the dirt be dug! Then add an expansive optimism for all of the details, as the Sun and Jupiter make yet another easy connection, exact at 9:17PM ET. How big can it get?

Around midday could be dreamy, as the Moon and Neptune are in harmony at 1:07PM ET. Wine with your lunch? As I peruse the dirt and mud(slinging) making today’s headlines, an escape sounds mighty appealing.

And now, the news.

With Venus at the Aries Point over the weekend (and now in Libra, sign of balance and harmony), we could expect matters involving social expression, women, aesthetics and money to pull focus. How interesting to see this op-ed in today’s NYT: “Being Dishonest About Ugliness”, encouraging people who tell children that looks don’t matter to get real. And here we see more on the theme of Real vs. Unreal suggested by the first of three exact squares between Saturn and Neptune. Remember how we were talking about that all last week?

Last night, a Modigliani nude gained prominence when it fetched a ginormous sum — over  $170 million–  at Christie’s.  It is the second-highest price (big!) ever paid for an artwork at an auction. The Modigliani is prominent for other aesthetic reasons:

Monday’s sale assuaged concerns that the Modigliani painting would be too risqué for some collectors.

“This painting leaps off the page as the most vibrant, sexual, lyrical of the catalogue raisonné,” said Ana Maria Celis, a Christie’s specialist in postwar and contemporary art.

Meanwhile in Canon City, Colorado, some high school students are terrified that they could face child pornography charges because they exchanged and collected nude photographs of themselves, using their cellphones.  In response, high school officials have mandated that all students must complete classes in figure drawing, art history and biology in order to graduate, as well as attend discussion forums on human sexuality and social mores through the ages.

OK, I made that up. In actual response:

Police are now poring through hundreds of sexted pics and Fremont County District Attorney Tom LeDoux has acknowledged the possibility that “students will have to register as sex offenders” in some cases.

Real. Unreal.

Back in June, Disney (a media company) made headlines when word got out that it fired a number of longterm IT staffers, replacing them with cheaper workers imported to the US on H-1B visas. The IT staffers would only receive severance packages if they were willing to train their replacements. Yesterday it was reported that a company called Cengage (they’re in the education business) executed a similar strategy in mid-October (its second one this year), telling laid-off workers that they would also lose their severance if they spoke to the press.

The press found out anyway, and today the NYT exposes more dirt how big outsourcing companies are scoring so many H-1B visas (hint: follow the money), and who is being hurt by this seemingly rigged system. Elsewhere, yesterday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a number of President Obama’s executive orders on immigration, suggesting that the matters in question will be argued before the Supreme Court.  Why am I calling out these stories? Review prior thoughts on what we’re likely to see with Saturn in Sagittarius for the next couple of years.

It wouldn’t have been an all-day long Moon void yesterday without some mountain being made out of a molehill. How fascinating that the one that hit social media involved aesthetics (Venus at the Aries Point) and other themes suggested by the surreal potential of Saturn in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces. Have you seen the 2015 Starbucks holiday cup? It’s very red and very minimalist, prompting some to howl that the design is a “war on Christmas.” Former radio and TV evangelist Joshua Feuerstein told his 1.8 million Twitter followers:

“Starbucks removed Christmas from their cups because they hate Jesus.”

No comment from Mr. Feuerstein on a study that was released over the weekend, concluding that children from religious families are less kind and more punitive than those from non-religious households.

Matters of belief —  from the sublime to the ridiculous — are likely to continue to be hot topics in the foreseeable future, suggested by planetary patterns. In your own personal world, may you only experience that which is sublime. To find out how these patterns are likely to be reflected in your life, here’s the 411 on personal consultations. FYI, astrology is not a belief system. As a wise astrologer once said, however, it is a very good thing to know about.

Thank you for reading this forecast.

snowman

 

Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday 9/9/2015: News, News and More News

Recapping today’s planetary patterns from yesterday’s forecast:

Moon enters Leo at 10:36PM ET on Tuesday,  trading the emotional sensitivity of Cancer for emotional drama and need to shine, play and put on a show. The Moon will cruise through Leo without input from other planets all day on Wednesday, and pretty much all day on Thursday.

Today’s only exact pattern is mental Mercury squared by Pluto at 3:23PM ET, suggesting a sharp perspective that can either be cutting in ways some might find hurtful, or can be aces at digging up buried facts. Regardless, this pattern suggests no need to mince words. It facilitates persuasive efforts. Consider that drama king/queen Leo Moon and we could witness quite a show over the next two days.

And now, the news.

Yesterday’s alignment between Mars (action, war, athletics, crusades, assertion, aggression) and Uranus (aviation, innovation, technology, freedom, rebellion, eccentrics) occurred in two willful fire signs — Aries and Leo. How interesting to see two aviation stories making the headlines. First, there was a British Airways plane that caught fire during takeoff in Las Vegas. Yikes. Factor in today’s dirt-digging Mercury-Pluto square and the CEO of United Airlines resigns in a corruption scandal. Just how friendly were those skies, hmmm? Depends on what you could do for United, apparently. Elsewhere, no words were minced for the former publisher of the Los Angeles Times. He’s been fired, and it isn’t pretty.

Here’s an innovative action that happened underground: in Russia, two five-year-olds dug their way out of a nursery to buy a sports car. That’s what the headline says — amazing! Elsewhere, tech titan and self-described “eccentric millionaire” John McAfee announced he would be running for president under the banner of a new political party, the “Cyber Party”.

In Kentucky, crusading rebel and county clerk Kim Davis was set free. Will she now do her job as required by the law? Whatever happens, her husband loves her. Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz love her. Lots of people love her — and looking at her horoscope, patterns between the Sun and Venus — and possibly the Moon and Venus, too (we do not know her birth time), suggest that receiving love, love, love is a theme for her right now. However, the band Survivor does not love her,  since its copyrighted song, “Eye of the Tiger,” was played at her press conference. I’m seeing a pattern here….

…and I’m wondering if Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz also love Charee Stanley, a Muslim flight attendant who claims she was suspended because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers. We’ll be reading many more of these “my religion trumps your law” stories as Saturn moves back into Sagittarius and engages with Jupiter and Neptune this month and into 2016…..

Meanwhile, there was a killer tennis match at the U.S. Open between Serena Williams and Venus Williams.  Serena’s horoscope is driven by a perfectionist Virgo Moon at 20 degrees. That’s the degree of this Sunday’s eclipse. Her sister, Venus, has Saturn at 20 Virgo. In both horoscopes, these soon-to-be-eclipsed planets rule the Fourth House, which refers to the mother (in modern astrology) or the father (in traditional astrology), home and foundation. It will be interesting to see how this area of the Williams sisters’ lives is affected over the next several months, as 20 degrees of Virgo is triggered by transiting planets.

I could write paragraphs about the fascinating horoscopes of the Williams sisters, in my spare time between midnight and six AM. But I need to finish preparing the fascinating horoscopes for a multitude of client consultations so they will understand why things are happening now and how to plan a strategy to maximize likely opportunities in the future. Does that sound like an intriguing discussion? Then I invite you to schedule a personal consultation.

Thank you for reading this forecast.

Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday-Thursday 1/7-8/2015

Happy Wednesday! I’ve been resisting getting back into the hustle and bustle of  usual work week…and my wreath and the decorations on my Christmas palm tree aren’t going away anytime soon. I’ve also been working on a workshop I’ll be presenting soon, but that’s another story. And you?

The Moon has been in Leo since early Tuesday morning, favoring drama kings and queens on a quest to shine, shine, shine.   A Leo Moon can be so festive and fun so long as it’s not sulking in a corner over a perceived ego snub.

There are no exact aspects during business hours in the Americas. Get it off your desk before a Moon void kicks in at 12:04PM tomorrow, as you’re likely to feel like kicking back until 5:58PM ET and the Moon enters “clean up time” Virgo. Plus, efforts to move forward in a straight line during Moon voids are subject to a higher probability of twists, delays and flakes. They’re great for wandering and creative noodling….though do be advised that the void begins on a face-off between the regal Moon and warrior Mars in Aquarius, sign of “We, The People”. That’s a pattern with potential for an aforementioned “perceived ego snub”. Resist the urge to turn that molehill into a mountain.

And now, the news.

In the aftermath of last month’s sixth exact Uranus-Pluto square, Venus, Mercury Sun and an especially potent Full Moon have all made contact with this harbinger of change. Pluto refers to power and energy resources; Uranus is a disruptive force. I am thus fascinated by the continuing downward slide of oil prices and its disruption of the status quo. What timing!

Elsewhere in energy news, President Obama finally announced he would veto any bill passed by the Congress authorizing the construction of the notorious Keystone XL Pipeline.   Showdown! Drama! Meanwhile, researchers concluded that a series of recent earthquakes in Ohio were caused by fracking.  Science! Reality! Carrying on in the energy vein, Sunday’s NYT magazine included a cover story about a Shell Oil-owned drilling rig in the Arctic that had to be scrapped; this week Shell agreed to pay $84 million for damages caused by massive oil spills in Niger.

Meanwhile,  some fallout from Sunday’s Cancer Full Moon. When calculated for New York City,  this lunation fell on the angles of that horoscope, along with Uranus and Pluto. This suggested that New York might have more than its share of issues involving power plays and disruptions specifically related to emotional and homeland security. And in fact, one of the biggest local headlines involves a dramatic work slowdown by the police, which have virtually ceased issuing citations for various “quality of life” infractions.  Are they really that angry with mayor Bill de Blasio? Has the security of the city been compromised? Certainly from an economic security  standpoint,  given the amount of revenue those citations generate. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who feel relieved by the reduced policing measures. What do you think?

In other news, I’m paying particular attention to sobering and/or restructuring (Saturn) stories about the media, higher education, religion and other collective belief and mass communication systems (Sagittarius), now that Saturn has just entered the sign of Righteous Opinions.  This morning in Paris, there was a deadly attack on the offices of a satirical magazine presumably perpetrated by people who felt the satire offended their beliefs. Freedom of speech, religious beliefs, who controls the supply lines of information used by the collective…we’re likely to read more and more on this in the next couple of years.

Elsewhere, I’ll be interested to see the impact of documentary that will begin touring the festival circuit later this year. The Brainwashing of My Dad details the transformation of the filmmaker’s father after he started listening to certain talk radio shows. The timing is apt, given that the Fairness Doctrine, under which those shows (and “news” networks) arguably would not have existed, was abandoned in 1987, the last time Saturn (structure/regulations) and Uranus (freedom!) were conjunct in….Sagittarius. Now that Saturn is back in Sagittarius, we’ll have a chance to review the choices we made 28/29 years ago. Fascinating to see how events coincide with planetary cycles.

Finally, so we end on  fun, festive, Moon in Leo note: a follow-up on an earlier “news from underground” story. The time capsule buried by Sam Adams over 200 years ago in Boston was opened this week. Here’s what was found.

Astro-logical Forecast for Monday 11/24/2014: Sneak Peek at Most of the Week; Moving Ahead on New Moon in Sag

Late New Moon post, I know, but I’ve been busy stuffing envelopes with Really Useful Mercury Retrograde Bookmarks for those of you who responded to the offer. It’s always an interesting exercise to see how others respond to something you’ve released to the world. Makes you appreciate that we each process information in our own unique way. It doesn’t matter what you may have intended to express. You can’t control how the information has been understood. And given the New Moon’s suggested themes of information and communication, it’s an apt subject for discussion.

For example, the wizards at WordPress can tell me how many people clicked on the link to contact me and ask for a bookmark (but not who). And I’ve been intrigued to learn that twice as many people clicked on the link compared to the number who actually sent a request. Why was that, I wondered? Was it because the link takes you to the same contact form you can fill out if you want to book a consultation? Did you find that confusing?

Just to clarify: even though there are spaces on that contact form for your birth data, I do not need that information in order to send you a Really Useful Bookmark. Just send me your name, email address and in the “Message Body” section of the form, type in your mailing address. And then type in whatever numbers are in the little security box at the bottom of the form to prove that you are human. That’s it. Really. Although friendly little notes are always appreciated, and I am over-the-moon with gratitude to the two  awesome readers who sent in donations that will cover a good portion of the postage and printing costs. Thank you!

Fun fact: 30% of requests have come from readers in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ & CT), which is no surprise, since I’m based in New York. Tied for second, with 10% each: California (also not a surprise) and….CANADA?  Eh? I am delighted to have so many book-loving fans in the Great White North.

OK so…the New Moon and the week ahead.

First, be advised that the Moon is void of course on Monday AM until 11:31AM ET. So there’s your excuse for any slow starts or twists in your usual morning routine. Once the Moon enters “make it happen” Capricorn at 11:31AM, you can move ahead on your high-flying Sag New Moon agenda.

A New Moon offers us an opportunity to re-set  intentions and goals for the next lunar cycle.  Around the 29th, 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 December 6th, 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 14th, we can review our achievements, tie up loose ends and get ready to begin another New Moon on December 21st.

This New Moon happened at 0 degrees of Sagittarius at 7:32AM ET on Saturday, offering us the opportunity to lighten up.  Sagittarius refers to collective belief systems —  e.g. law, religion and the philosophical foundations of political inclinations, as well as “big picture” avenues of communicating these beliefs, e.g., publishing, broadcasting and academia. Belief systems are not always factual, yet they’re used to create all sorts of constructs that control how we live in the “real world.” Ooh, deep thought. I had to share it. And needing to share deep thoughts and opinions is very Sagittarian indeed. You don’t have to ask a Sagittarius for input on anything; they’re sure to tell you — bluntly and righteously.  And if they don’t, they are not living up to their full Sagittarian potential.

With Sagittarius, the sky’s the limit. Patterns in this New Moon chart are quite optimistic, if potentially idealistic and bombastic. Mental Mercury (mindset, communication) is challenged by expansive Jupiter in Leo, sign of royalty — so look for kingly/queenly thinking and communication in the headlines and your own personal world. The color rose is also highlighted, with the Sun and Venus in Sagittarius challenged by visionary Neptune. The latter happened last Thursday; the former will be exact on Wednesday, casting a dreamy spell on Thanksgiving — but not before some serious focus lands on your plate late Tuesday, courtesy of an intense meet-up between mental Mercury and stern Saturn.

If you’re one who thrives on disruptions of the status quo, you won’t be disappointed by the headlines as this lunar cycle progresses. On December 15th, the never-ending Uranus-Pluto square will make its sixth of seven exact squares, and we’re likely to see how we’re doing in terms of integrating the huge paradigm shift mandated by this powerful — and rare — pattern. So this New Moon carries the potential for significant breakthroughs in belief systems. You’ll feel if more personally if you have a planet or angle around 12 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn.

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon at 0 degrees of Sagittarius is “a Grand Army of the Republic campfire,” and with the help of Sabian Symbol guru Blain Bovee, we’ll see how this Symbol supports the overall New Moon patterns of “big picture” thinking. First, note that the Grand Army of the Republic was an organization of Union Army veterans who fought in the U.S. Civil War. These were people who’d seen quite a few horrors, put their lives on the line for a common cause and were forever bound together as a result of their shared experience. In this Symbol, I find it interesting that the war is over. Bovee notes that the group was dedicated to supporting each other by establishing pensions and such, and the implication is that only the people who fought on one side of the conflict were included. To the victor goes the spoils? Hmmm.

Bovee advises us to apply this Symbol with an awareness of a “Rah! Rah” spirit…affected appeals to gather ’round the campfire; books and movies evoking a past sense of glory”. We are also advised to be mindful of gatherings “organized around self-serving interests…capitalizing on sentiment in the wake of hardship.”

You will feel this rallying cause more personally if you have a planet or an angle at 0 degrees of Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo or Pisces. Senator Mary Landrieu is a  Democratic Senator from Louisiana whose bid to pass a bill supporting the construction of the Keystone  XL Pipeline was narrowly voted down by her Democratic colleagues last week. She was born on November 23rd. She’ll find out on the Full Moon of December 6th whether or not she still has a job. She’s also going through her second Saturn return. She has a pixie dust configuration in her horoscope that is similar to one found in the horoscope of Senator James “Climate Change is a Great Hoax: Inhofe (profiled here last week). She is advised to let go of what no longer serves.

Moon voids for the week, other than this AM: Wednesday 10:30AM ET – 2:23PM ET; Friday 12:14PM ET – 5:03PM ET; Sunday 3:47PM ET – 8:14PM ET — avoid the malls during those times.

And now, some news. Briefly.

Reflecting the “big picture” potential of the weekend’s Mercury-Jupiter square, I noted these stories. First, the FCC is auctioning off some public airwaves to the tune of $34 billion — way more than the $10 billion expected — and it seems the price may go even higher. Here’s why this is significant for consumers. Meanwhile, in Texas, the State Board of Education approved some new social studies textbooks, and soon students can look forward to reading about how influential Moses was on the Founding Fathers. Educational standards is definitely a collective belief system, and we can expect a “get real” battle to kick in once Saturn enters Sagittarius at the end of this year. Oy.

What’s going on in your horoscope? Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Astro-logical Forecast for Wednesday 4/2/2014: Super-charged Aries & Other News

Shake-ups from the early morning’s hook up between the fiery Aries Sun and rebel Uranus notwithstanding (cue 8.2 earthquake in Chile), today’s practical Moon in Taurus offers grounding potential for all your plans for world domination. Plus, as noted yesterday, an equally practical and deep connection between mental Mercury and disciplined Saturn at 11:02PM ET facilitates productive communication. Make your pitch and place that call…though note the potential for a wet blanket response or ambitious reach around 5:54PM ET, when stern Saturn opposes the stubborn Taurus Moon.  After that bump in the road, you’re free to indulge Taurean earthly pleasures: wine, music, comfort food & a deep tissue massage.

Meanwhile…

According to my Jim Maynard Celestial Calendar, today is Hans Christian Andersen’s  birthday. His horoscope has three planets — Sun, Mercury (mind, communication) and Saturn (ambition) — that have all been supercharged by the Uranus-Pluto square for the past year or so. In fact, his Mercury is at 13 degrees of Aries, which means it’s right in the cross hairs of this month’s super-duper Cardinal Grand Cross. Here’s his horoscope. Isn’t it interesting that the movie Frozen (which was based on Andersen’s The Snow Queen), did so well at the Oscars this year and has just been officially declared “the biggest animated film EVER”.  Horoscopes never die!

Today is also actor Michael Fassbender’s birthday. His 12 degree Aries Sun is exactly opposed by Pluto conjunct his Midheaven. His horoscope is innately designed to attract power and prominence, and all the more so now thanks to transiting Uranus and Pluto. He was nominated for a slew of awards for his performance in 12 Years A Slave — and he won a few of them. Coincidence or conspiracy?

Yesterday was Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito‘s birthday. He has three planets within range of the Cardinal Grand Cross, and the lunar eclipse on April 15th sits right on his 25 Libra Midheaven (career, public status). His is a horoscope to watch this year and next.

Speaking of the Supreme Court, one of the high stakes cases argued last week was brought to you by a twisted combination of Saturn in Scorpio’s insistence on forcing us to consider life and death consequences of sexual energy, and the square between rebel Uranus in me-me-me Aries and ruthless Pluto in corporate Capricorn. This would be Sebelius vs. Hobby Lobby, Inc., in which the corporate person known as Hobby Lobby does not want to provide employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives as mandated by the Affordable Care Act – on religious grounds. It’s totally OK for it to invest in companies that make all the contraceptives it does not want to provide to employees, however, because surreal.

Anyway. It’s an important case, and it’s on my mind because I sense it may be setting the stage for the “hot button” issues we’ll face when Saturn enters Sagittarius at the end of the year. With Saturn in Libra, we looked at marriage equality. With Saturn in Scorpio, we’ve been looking at sexual energy and debt (i.e., the consequences of energy exchanged). Sagittarius suggests collective belief systems and global communications: religion, legal systems, journalism – to name a few.

Let’s close with some happy news, shall we? First, the spectacular windfall potential of Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto’s ongoing tango is tough to beat in this April Fool’s “prank” that appears to have changed the fortunes of a humble waitress overnight.  Second, an amazing Aries rebirth: for the first time in 300 years, a pair of nene (Hawaiian geese)  — driven to near extinction not long ago — have been spotted here on Oahu. And they have goslings — captured on film. And finally — talk about a miraculous rescue: a man in Maine was foraging for medicinal mushrooms and ended up saving the life of a baby porcupine. This porcupine is sooooooooo cute. And how cool is this: porcupine totem represents “a great protector and warrior for the innocent” — an apt symbol for this Aries lunar cycle.