(I started writing this late last night, a few hours after yesterday’s harmony between Mars (guns, anger, action) and Pluto (power, ruthlessness). Hmmm, I thought. Haven’t really seen an example of this easy flow of energy in the headlines..at least not in the U.S. Now waking up to Las Vegas. Sigh.)

Good Morning!

The Aquarius Moon will be void between 7:13 AM and 10:26AM ET. East Coasters, there’s your excuse for sleeping in — or any twists and delays that disrupt your efforts to move forward in straight line. Once the Moon moves into Pisces, see if you notice the shift.

There are no challenging aspects to the Moon today. Go with the Pisces intuitive flow and find ways to fulfill its need to work with impressions and ideals. Practice random acts of kindness and senseless beauty, motivated by the Pisces awareness that All is One and One is All. Compassion. Empathy. Big time.  There’s a special depth to social expression for the next few days, as Venus (money, women, art, social values) harmonizes with Powers That Be Pluto. Consolidation of power and money in the material world, perhaps? Venus is in perfectionist Virgo; Pluto is in Establishment Capricorn; both are earth signs.

On Wednesday at 3:19 AM ET, Moon goes void on a challenging aspect to patriarchal Saturn. That can be cutting. The void lasts until 4:40PM ET, suggesting that crises which crop up during business hours on that day will be much ado about nothing. Chill and stick to routine concerns; avoid impulse shopping until after the Moon enters impulsive Aries. That’ll pick up the pace of the evening and continue the charge into…

…THURSDAY, when the Aries Moon will officially be Full (of itself, no doubt) at 2:40PM ET. Me or We — what shall it be? That’s the dilemma when a me-me-me Aries Moon faces off against a people-pleasing Libra Sun.  A quest for a more perfect union is suggested, as Venus (yin) and Mars (yang) unite in Virgo at 12:53 PM ET. FYI: this meet up will challenge (square) P45’s Gemini Sun and Sagittarius Moon. Cue his favorite campaign tune –  “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – and run for cover.

If you have a planet or angle around 20-22 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius or Pisces that part of your horoscope will be feeling the charge from Venus & Mars, along with the frustrating squeeze of Saturn. Consult your local astrologer for details. (Updating this paragraph to add that the Mars-Neptune square in the U.S horoscope at 20 Gemini and 22 Virgo, respectively, is now being triggered –literally — by transiting Mars at 20 Virgo and Saturn at 22 Sagittarius. Mars square Neptune is reflected in America’s idealization (Neptune) of guns (Mars).  Its worst potential is reflected in the massacre in Las Vegas we all woke up to this morning).

At 9:46 PM ET on Thursday, Moon makes its weekly clash with Pluto (power plays, emotional catharsis). It meets up with rebel Uranus at 2:58 PM ET on FRIDAY. The work week ends on Something Big, as the Aries Moon opposes expansive Jupiter at 6:38 PM ET (watch the late-breaking news). One hour later, Moon enters Taurus, seeking stability and comfort for the evening and through the weekend. The following week looks….interesting. More on that in a minute.

And now, the news.

We do not have a time for the start of the latest U.S. massacre as I am writing — though we are sure to see heavy planets on the angles of the chart, whenever that time is determined.  [UPDATE: 10:08 PM; 21 Gemini ASC with Saturn opposing it; Mars squaring it]. This event is now the  record-breaker in terms of people killed and wounded. The Independent published a birth date for the 64 year-old while male who brought an arsenal of automatic weapons to a 32nd floor hotel room in Las Vegas, and fired on hundreds of concertgoers at a country music festival below. Birth date: April 9, 1953. [UPDATE: the Telegraph is now saying “believed to have been born on April 9, 1953” — so the following analysis, apt as it may be for that birth date, may not apply to this particular perpetrator). Sun at 19 Aries; Moon in Aquarius; Mercury around 22 Pisces. Mercury — the way he needs to think — has been feeling the squeeze of Saturn at 21-22 Sagittarius since late June; heavy thoughts indeed. Transiting Mars squaring his Mercury in recent days suggests a prompt to take action.

His Aries Sun is squared natally by rebel Uranus at 14 Cancer and opposed by Neptune and Saturn at 22 and 24 Libra. At its worst, this pattern could be delusional, rebellious and repressed — all at the same time.  Also part of that unstable pattern: natal Venus in Aries — retrograde. This is an extremely challenging placement for relationships. It suggests an insatiable need to know it is loved — blinded by unrealistic expectation (Venus is opposed by Saturn and Neptune). Transiting Uranus has been sitting on his natal Venus and opposing Saturn-Neptune. This can be impulsive and weird.

Transiting Pluto has been supercharging his Aries Sun, suggesting a transformation of identity and/or empowerment. His natal Mars and Jupiter in methodical Taurus are square to Pluto — a potentially murderous and resourceful pattern. It is possible that his Aquarius Moon is in an exceptionally tense pattern with those three planets — without a birth time, we can’t be sure. His natal Jupiter is at 23 Taurus, conjunct P45’s Midheaven and the Fixed Star Capulus (male sexual aggression). Not sure how this Jupiter-Midheaven connection will be “lucky” for P45, other than to provide a media distraction from Russia, Puerto Rico, corruption in his administration, etc. for a few days.

Meanwhile….(this part was written last night):

Saturn, planet of cuts and control, is less than three months away from wrapping up its sojourn in Sagittarius, where it’s (mostly) been since December 23, 2014. Here’s what I wrote back then:

Saturn refers to control, discipline and structure. Sagittarius refers to collective belief systems, including the law, religion, philosophy and academia. Hmm…how about mind control? Or tests of faith?  It also refers to publishing and other mass communication media, as well as sports and entertainment. Expect efforts involving restrictions and/or restructuring. Sagittarius refers to that which is foreign, so issues of border control will likely become hotter. It refers to travel.  So we can expect headlines involving controls in these areas, too.

Righteousness is another Sagittarius buzzword, as is blunt honesty. As its best, the Saturnine restructuring of Sagittarius concerns will stem from righteousness, much as the restructuring of the institution of marriage (Libra) to include same-sex couples evolved when Saturn was in Libra. Fairness is a big Libra buzzword. Got that?

After Saturn turned direct last month, I noted a pile of stories involving streamlining in publishing and education. The Village Voice is no longer in print. Online yes; print, no. The NY Daily News was sold — for one dollar. Wow. Four magazine editors called it quits last month, including Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter and Glamour‘s Cindi Leive.  The magazine business is in serious trouble — as I personally experienced last week while searching every drug store, newsstand and supermarket for the latest Dell Horoscope. No luck at all — and even more shocking — serious cuts in the overall number of magazines on sale. Two days later, the NYT wrote about the “not-so glossy future of magazines.” Then Life magazine publisher Katherine Bonniwell passed away, followed by  Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (good riddance) and S.I. Newhouse (legendary Conde Nast mogul).   End of an era?

Meanwhile in the world of academia, I noted several bleak articles — especially this one about adjunct professors: “Facing Poverty, Academics Turn to Sex Work and Sleeping in Cars.”

I promised you more stories involving themes of excess in aviation, suggested by last Thursday’s face-off between Jupiter (big) and Uranus (“the plane, the plane!”). Cue former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, who resigned after billing hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses to taxpayers. Fun fact: Mr. Price was born on October 8, 1954 in Lansing, MI (time unknown). Guess what he has in his horoscope? Jupiter conjunct Uranus — exactly at 27 Cancer! It’s squared by Neptune and opposed by Mars, suggesting a need for excitement, risk and scandal.  Remember his “shady” stock trades?    Astrology is amazing.

Meanwhile, across the Pond, the UK’s Monarch Airlines “collapsed,” apparently stranding over 100,000 people.

Let’s see…what else. Oh. Pluto (plutocracy) turned direct last week, and P45 unveiled a tax plan. Who would benefit the most? The 1%.

Random Venus-Mars-Pluto story: a sex robot was “molested and destroyed” at an electronics show. Add the bewildering technology of the Uranus-Neptune semisquare, discussed in a prior post, to that mix.

The fallout from the series of seven revolutionary Uranus-Pluto squares continues in Spain, where 90% of voters in Catalonia voted to separate from the mothership…violent efforts to control the insurgents ensued…

…and in closing:

Planetary patterns next week are challenging, and will be felt as we move into the weekend. We’ll have a lean, mean Saturn-Venus square on Sunday 10/8; a “take no prisoners” Pluto-Mercury square AND and a  power play Pluto-Sun square on Monday 10/9; on Wednesday 10/11, Saturn (control; ambition; frustration) squares Mars (anger; guns; action). These patterns directly impact P45’s horoscope and the horoscope for the inauguration. In the lattter, note that on 10/12 and 10/13, transiting Mars squares Saturn and opposes Mars, respectively; Jupiter squares the Sun on the 14th; Uranus squares the Midheaven on 10/19. Frustration, action, expansion, change.

In P45’s horoscope, Mars squares his natal Moon and Sun on 10/8 and 10/11; his horoscope gets the third and final opposition between transiting Saturn (control; cuts) to his Sun on 10/11. These are tough times for him — as evidenced in SNL’s Weekend Update, with Colin Jost and  Michael Che’s cutting commentary.  Alec Baldwin did his part as well — in the show’s cold open.  Comedy is a coping strategy for pain, doncha’ know…

Thank you for reading this forecast. To find out what all these planetary patterns mean in your own personal world, here’s the 411 on consultations. Much gratitude for all the client referrals and contributions to my Cosmic Tip Jar in recent weeks. I am delighted to be of service.