Alllll-righty then.
It’s summer, y’know? At least it is in the Northern Hemisphere, and if you live in that area of the world, I hope you are finding time to enjoy some lovely weather and restful days, even if there isn’t a Moon void or a Mercury retrograde to suggest you take time away from the office.
Here’s what’s been going on this week — I’d love to hear how planetary patterns were reflected in your own personal world.
Exact patterns were light on Monday through Wednesday, but are building in intensity and activity towards the weekend, culminating with the Full Moon in Aquarius on Sunday at 2:09PM ET. As of 6:19AM ET Tuesday, Moon ended a 16 hour-long void in “knowledge is power” Scorpio, suggesting that most of Monday would be best spent tending to routine tasks or chilling out. With the Moon in gamboling/gambling Sagittarius, the energy of the day on Tuesday and Wednesday may have been fiery but optimistic, augmented by an easy connection from jovial Jupiter at 2:17PM ET. A dreamy and/or bewildering influence colored Tuesday around 6:19PM ET, when Moon was challenged by nebulous Neptune, suggesting a need to make an extra effort to be clearly understood. [Guess what happened at 3:30PM Tuesday in NY, with Neptune at 6 Pisces challenging the Moon AND the Ascendant at 5 Sagittarius? Two double-decker buses crash in Times Square; the story was published at 5:54PM ET; the driver of one bus has since been arrested for “driving under the influence“]
Kudos to you if you got it off your desk by 10:52AM ET Wednesday, when the Moon went void until 9:39AM ET on Thursday. Suggestions for handling the wandering energy of an all-day Moon void in Sagittarius include any activity that broadens your horizons, e.g., a walk in the woods, a day playing sports, watching a foreign film. Hopefully you avoided the Sagittarian temptation to get involved in a righteous debate, as a Moon void has greater potential for making a mountain out of a molehill in a something that will turn out to be of no consequence.
Thursday (today!) and Friday will be days to “make things happen” when the Moon enters enterprising Capricorn at 9:39AM ET for a power-packed two days. One planetary pattern coloring the week that is exact on Thursday at 8:14AM ET is a magical, mystical connection between warrior Mars and nebulous Neptune. This aspect facilitates charisma, seduction and sex appeal, snake oil salesmen and others hawking dreams and illusions. Healing and spiritual pursuits are also suggested — and perhaps a bit of peace in a war zone. Remember from last week that Neptune tends to dissolve whatever it touches, so when it comes in contact with aggressive Mars, it may diffuse an impulse to fight — at least openly. What was in your dreams last night or in your waking thoughts this morning? Pay attention and move forward.
Friday is especially jam-packed. First, Moon makes its weekly challenge to Pluto and Uranus, possibly disrupting the status quo around 4:22AM ET and 12:15PM ET, respectively. Themes of idealism, mental discipline and/or gravitas leading to tech breakthroughs and a greater than usual conflict between the old guard vs. the avant garde reach a peak when mental Mercury and the Sun make contact with Uranus and Saturn on Friday night and Saturday morning, respectively. Two steps forward; one step back — or one step forward; two steps back? What needs to be eliminated to make room for something new? Got any cosmic breakthroughs on your schedule? How about a rendez-vous with a comet shaped like a rubber duck? Or a mystical-shaped storm system on Saturn? Or a sneak peek at another comet that’s due to swing by Mars in October? Why are all these headlines on the NYT homepage now? That was a rhetorical question.
More news.
Reflecting the verbal/mental expansion, complete with a royal edict, suggested by last Saturday’s hook-up between Mercury and Jupiter in Leo, I am pleased to report that 5000 words have been added to the Official Scrabble Players’ Dictionary. And there was much rejoicing in the land. Reflecting last Friday’s contact among disciplined Saturn and electric Uranus with Venus (love, social expression), a new study seeks to determine “what lasting love is really about”.
More on general events in the US, continuing the discussion from last Friday’s post. I’ve been thinking about a number of horoscopes — all related — which would include the horoscope of the US, Barack Obama and his second inauguration. The exact date and time of the US birthday is a subject of debate among astrologers. Was it the signing of the Declaration of Independence? The Articles of Confederation? The US Constitution? We celebrate July 4th as the official US birthday, the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Even so, there is no consensus on what time that signing took place. Several times have been proposed, for various reasons, and the debate continues.
One of the most popular charts proposes a birth time of 2:13AM with a 7 Gemini Ascendant; another suggests a 5:10PM time with a 12 Sagittarius Ascendant — you can look at those two here. Regardless of the exact time, a July 4th horoscope, as noted in prior forecasts, is particularly “hot” right now. Why? For a number of reasons, but the biggest reason is the never-ending Uranus-Pluto square, which is currently making contact with the US Sun at 12 Cancer and the US Saturn at 14 Libra. Uranus and Pluto contacting the Sun suggests emancipation and empowerment — for better or worse — and definitely a disruption of the status quo, as in break-ups and shake-ups. Uranus and Pluto to Saturn suggests tremendous effort required in the face of loss — perhaps even a karmic retribution that is downright anguishing.
We last experienced Pluto to the US Sun and Saturn from late 1976-1978. We had a big, empowering 200th birthday bash in the Summer of ’76. Jimmy Carter was President. Thanks to Jimmy Carter, we have the Departments of Energy (empowering) and Education (ditto). Still, the President was not popular. There was an energy crisis. It was tough, and we did not like it. When nebulous Neptune challenged the U.S. Mars, sprinkling rose-colored pixie dust from sea to shining sea, we yearned for greener pastures, went Hollywood and voted for Ronald Reagan.
Ahhh, Neptune, which dissolves whatever it touches. It is making contact with the US horoscope again, likely in more than one way. Neptune is currently at 6 Pisces, squaring the US Uranus at 8 Gemini. This aspect, writes astrologer Noel Tyl, suggests “loss of ego focus, awakened spirituality, possible irritable or amorphous states”. Does that sound right? And in the Gemini and Sagittarius horoscopes noted above, Neptune is making a challenging aspect to the US Ascendant. It’s simply a matter of degree.
If we use the Gemini ASC chart, we’re in the middle of a bewildering identity crisis that will have peaked by the end of 2015. If we use the Sag chart, our potential “ego wipeout” — the term Tyl uses to describe heavy Neptune transits — is just beginning, and will peak between 2016 and early 2018. The US had its last heavy Neptune transit between 1973-1976. We had an oil crisis at the end of 1973. Neptune also refers to oil. We also had the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignation of President Nixon. Yeah, that was an ego wipeout, if you’re old enough to remember it. Hmmm. Neptune tends to dissolve boundaries. Isn’t it interesting that we’re having a “border crisis” now, in the form of thousands of hapless Neptune-in-Pisces (keywords: drugs, downtrodden, vulnerable, victims) children from Central America blurring our boundaries?
Leading America through these challenging rapids is no easy task. How is President Obama doing? He had a birthday on Monday. It’s been a tough summer for him, as predicted. We see this suggested by stern Saturn, which has been challenging his 18 degree Aquarius Ascendant for a couple of months now, and will make the last of three exact hits during the first two weeks of September. Saturn is a taskmaster that can feel like a wet blanket or a brick wall. The Ascendant refers to personal projection and how it is perceived by others. Saturn is often reflected in feelings of isolation and/or loss…and also ambition, if we’re up for the task. Happy belated birthday, Mr. President. John Boehner is mad at you and wants to sue you. Your admitting last week that “we tortured some folks” apparently made heads explode on the other side of the aisle. They just didn’t get your Aquarius Ascendant’s need to be seen as all friendly and stuff, and to some it feels quirky, impersonal or quite mad. But now NBC reports that only 40% approve of the job you’re doing…your lowest poll numbers yet. Lonely at the top?
On the other hand, only 14% of Americans approve of how Congress is doing its job, so I suppose it could be worse. And yes, it could be worse, as apparently not many plan to do anything to change a situation they say do not like, such as vote in November’s mid-term elections. Are we as a nation feeling wiped out, irritable or amorphous?
In contrast to Saturn’s controls, expansive Jupiter will hook up with Obama’s Sun for the first time in 12 years in September, just as Saturn hits his Ascendant. A Jupiter transit, suggests opportunities for growth, reward and success and may buffer the heaviness of Saturn. This is one measurement that affirms my thoughts about the horoscope for Obama’s second inauguration (previously discussed here), in which I opined that in a tenacious battle of wills, Obama is likely to maintain an edge. September may well be tough, but by the end of October, Jupiter will oppose his Ascendant, suggesting an expansive public outreach likely to be well-received, except by those who will say (again) that he is overstepping his bounds. In the 2013 inauguration horoscope, Saturn is currently “hot,” suggesting ambition and frustration (or perhaps frustrated ambition), warning lights about “hidden enemies,” and reinforcing themes of isolation or going it alone that we see in Obama’s horoscope.
I hope you’ve found this long post about current and past patterns in the US horoscope helpful. I hope you also appreciate that even though patterns suggest huge challenges now and in the immediate future, these are cycles we have experienced before and we will experience them again. These cycles repeat themselves in individual horoscopes, too. Stay on the planet long enough, and you will surely have an opportunity to make a different choice if you did not like the choice you made the last time a pattern presented itself. I’m an optimist, and fiercely believe that if you are here on Planet Earth, you have a meaningful purpose and gifts to be shared with others that can make this world a better place. May today’s pro-active Moon in Capricorn energy inspire you to make it happen.
To find out what’s going on in your horoscope, consider booking a personal astro-logical consultation.