Another day of Moon-voidness in dreamy Pisces, as you may recall from yesterday’s forecast. What twists, flakes and other delays in your efforts to move forward in a straight line have you experienced since noon ET on Monday? Today offers more of the same, including continued structuring and researching new platforms to launch your visions, courtesy of cooperative contacts among mental Mercury, disciplined Saturn and potent Pluto. which are exact today. Brainstorm away, and make some time to play, too.

A notable shift in tone should manifest once the Moon engages in pioneering Aries at  8:51PM ET, minutes before President Obama’s State of the Union speech at 9PM ET. Talk about going from zero to sixty. Will we be inspired to respond to his call to action? Expect equally impassioned initiatives proposed in the response given by the other side.

Meanwhile, the Pope shocked most everyone yesterday by announcing his resignation.  In my daydreams I have been imagining him over the past few weeks, meditating on the Sabian Symbol for this lunar cycle (“a rug placed on the floor for children to play”), recognizing that the New Moon opposes his Neptune (need for a creative/spiritual escape) and thinking, “Right. I’m outta here”.  After all, he does have access to the world’s largest astrological library (those early astronomers were also astrologers). All kidding aside, it is suggested in the Pope’s horoscope that health concerns might be an issue during the past couple of years, with a need for streamlined focus and conservation of energy. That his announcement would come as a surprise should surprise no one; the horoscope has Mercury (communication) conjunct disruptive Uranus, and both are squared by willful Mars. Sudden outbursts would be expected, and what was expressed would need to attract prominence. Recall what I wrote at the end of Sunday’s forecast about the need for people with planets at 6 degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces to have a release? The Pope is in that category…and upcoming transits suggest this is a fine time to make an easy transition in his domestic life.

I can’t help but also note in this horoscope a need for authority and control that dominates the persona and is likely related to issues with the father. Also intriguing are strong challenges to the balance-needing Libra Moon from power-seeking Pluto and rebel Uranus, coupled with equally strong challenges to the lunar node from aggressive Mars, mental Mercury and freedom-needing Uranus (again!). Translation: this would prompt a skilled astrologer to inquire about possible combative power struggles with the mother/maternal figure in the Pope’s early home life, and how this relationship was carried forward in adult relationships with women. It was therefore fascinating to read a sharply-worded op-ed by playwright John Patrick Shanley (author of the Pulitzer prize-winning “Doubt“) about this same question in this morning’s New York Times.

In other news reflecting the tough as nails potential of yesterday’s chilly challenge between stern Saturn and loving Venus, here’s a lengthy but essential article about the Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden. Far more compelling than Zero Dark Thirty, it offers a gripping account of that mission. Yes, it was tough, but how the story ends is even tougher. You won’t believe what this SEAL is doing now.