Ease on into the work week.

Monday is driven by a Virgo Moon, seeking to be efficiently correct in its quest for a more perfect union. It went void at 8:29AM ET, first making easy contacts to Mercury and Pluto. It’s a self-sufficient blend of mindset and transformation that may gently glide you through a day of  focus on routine analysis and organizational efforts.

Roll with the twists and delays that may crop up in your efforts to move forward in a straight line. Crises that arise during voids are often much ado about nothing. Real-life example: a friend had an interview scheduled today — the second with this particular company. I told him last week that it might be rescheduled.  It was. No worries.

At 10:38AM ET disciplined Saturn makes an easy connection with Venus (money, women, art, love, beauty), facilitating a flow in the management of  resources and relationships. After today, matters related to Venus are subject to the supercharged disruption and/or empowerment suggested by 1) a square to Pluto on Tuesday at 4:49PM ET; followed by 2) a meet-up with Uranus at 5PM ET on Friday, in the aftermath of Friday’s Full Moon in Scorpio. Here’s what hit the headlines under a similar pattern last year.

Also of note: tomorrow the Sun leaves firebrand Aries for earthy Taurus at 11:30AM ET. That may bring the volume down a notch or two over the next few weeks. Moon voids this week are today (Monday) until 7:24AM Tuesday; Thursday 2:13AM ET until 8:17PM ET; Saturday 5:46PM ET until 8:46AM ET on Sunday.

The biggest news in the cosmos is  — as noted last week — Mars turning retrograde yesterday — Sunday — and Pluto turning retrograde today at 3:23AM ET.  Is that good or bad? That’s the question I most often hear when reporting on a planetary pattern. Good or bad — as if it necessarily must be one or the other. Isn’t it interesting how programmed we are to think in terms of duality? Why is that (she typed, rhetorically)?

Sounds like the perfect time to repeat the tale of the Chinese farmer. There are plenty of versions online. The first one that came up on Google is this one from the website of Dr. Marlo, a psychologist in Arizona.

A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Planetary patterns are neither good nor bad. When it comes to choosing how to use these (symbolic) patterns, some choices are better than others. It depends on what you are trying to achieve!

Getting back to Mars and Pluto, neither of which are marshmallows….

Mars refers to energy applied; Pluto refers to “news from underground,” among other keywords noted below. It wasn’t surprising to note a series of earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador occurring as both planets were turning retrograde.

Retrograde planets symbolize an opportunity for introspection and review. They may also suggest a need to connect with an inner authority, as opposed to an external outlet.  If Pluto refers to power, control, regeneration, transformation and healing, one suggestion might be to cease trying to control the world around you.  Instead use the next few months (until September 26th), to work on controlling (mastering) your own inner world.  After your awesome inner focus, perhaps the world around you will start to reflect your newly-masterful self.   You’ll feel the potential for a change of perspective more personally if you have a planet or angle around 14 to 18 degrees of Aries, Libra, Cancer — and especially Capricorn. Keep an eye on Governor Paul Le Page (R-ME), whose Sun is at 16 Libra.

Pluto is retrograde for months at a time, so unless its retrograde directly impacts your horoscope, you might not even notice it. Not so with Mars, which retrogrades “every two years or so,” according to an official NASA site, so it must be true.  That NASA site has a nifty animation explaining why planets seem to be moving backwards in the sky, btw.

As the planet of action, you might imagine that Mars moving backwards is not a comfortable orientation. Thus you may notice an uptick in the levels of irritation, impatience and frustration between now and June 30th, when Mars turns direct. Projects you thought were good to go since  February 17th, may hit an unexpected snag, as Mars backtracks over the ground it covered since then. Initially the issues involved may include free speech and other matters of opinion; collective belief systems (legal, religious), publishing, foreigners, sports and entertainment. Why? Because Mars is retrograding in Sagittarius. After May 28th, when Mars backs into Scorpio, we may note a shift to matters of sex, death and money. Whatever the hitch, bear in mind that there may be a second opportunity for a revision when Mars moves forward again, finally moving into new territory  when it hits 9 degrees of Sagittarius on August 23rd.

Depending upon where Mars is traveling through your horoscope, you may feel like a truck spinning its wheels in the mud. Frustration built up can lead to an urge to jump into reckless action. This is a potential pitfall of Mars retrograde. You are more personally affected if you have planets or angles at 8 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Pisces and especially Sagittarius.  You are also personally affected if you have a planet or angle around 23 degrees of Taurus, Aquarius, Leo and especially Scorpio. That’s where Mars will be sitting for almost a month starting in mid-June.

Right now Bernie Sanders has Mars squaring his 8 degree Virgo Midheaven, Adding to other patterns noted in prior forecasts this month, you can see why his public status could be energized by an invitation to jet off to the Vatican to deliver a speech to  global economic forum, as befitting his position as a U.S. Senator representing the people of Vermont. Bernie’s Ascendant is 25 degrees Scorpio, so June and July are also hot for his horoscope. Equal time: Hillary will have transiting Mars hitting her Midheaven during the second week of May. If the 8:02AM birth time is correct, let the record show that her Ascendant is 22 Scorpio — to be almost exactly hit  by Mars in June/July, still creating tension. Her South Node is 24 Scorpio — that’s a definite hit. Hmm.

Back to what it means for you. An appropriate use of Mars retrograde would be as an opportunity to plan an effective review and strategy in the area of your horoscope impacted. Think of a coach calling a time out on the playing field. Everyone gets into a huddle — literally turning inward.  Are those players sitting around doing nothing? No!

That being said, conventional astrological wisdom suggests caution when contemplating launching certain initiatives during this time:

A marriage contract
A sexual relationship
Filing for divorce
Elective surgery
Taking title to property
Buying a car
Hiring a new employee (unless it’s a temp)
Quitting your job in a frustrated huff
Starting a lawsuit
Signing a contract
Starting a war

When in doubt, consult your local astrologer about your own personal horoscope, which has a lot of moving parts!!

In a natal chart, Mars retrograde suggests a need to go over and over an action plan before letting it fly. Since we’re on the subject, Bernie Sanders has Mars retrograde in pioneering Aries. My money says he’s got “strategy” covered, but perhaps Mars retrograde reflects why it took days longer than you might think it ought to finally let his tax return fly. Equal time: Hillary has Mars in Leo — not retrograde — and in a supercharged meet-up with Saturn and Pluto, squared to an idealistic meet-up of Mercury and Venus.  Mars in Leo needs to act with drama and regal entitlement. With Saturn and Pluto, it has discipline and persuasive force in spades, channeled into how she needs to think and what she values and her social expression. Those five planets in fixed signs — not to mention her Scorpio Sun — can be tenacious as heck.

While her Mars is not retrograde, Hillary’s Mercury is retrograde, suggesting a need to go over and over things in her head before she commits them to paper or the spoken word. Perhaps that’s why she finds it so difficult to answer a direct question, such as whether she personally supports a carbon tax, with a simple yes or no. Fun Fact: Bernie and Hillary both have only one planet retrograde: rebel Uranus, suggesting — as astrologer Bil Tierney writes on page 191 of Dynamics of Aspect Analysis:

These individuals…often feel polarized or alienated by the social standards they nevertheless are expected to submit to.  Their desire is to know internal freedom before advancing social freedom. The inner path to liberation they tend to follow may seem counter-productive to what society wants or demands from such a generation.

Like Pluto, Uranus is retrograde for more than a few months at a time. Lots of people have it — perhaps even you.

Finally, my favorite “news from underground” story of the past few days: “Barn conversion unearths palatial Roman villa.”

Thank you for reading this forecast.