Friday 3/29/2019 & the Weekend: Mercury Direct; More Wiggy Neptune

TGIF!

Moon is still in Capricorn, intent on making things happen — and likely paying no heed to the fact that Mercury turned direct just yesterday and will re-connect with nebulous Neptune for the last of three hits on TUESDAY morning. The same advice offered last Friday applies to this one, too: do not jump to conclusions. The facts have not been revealed and may have been deliberately distorted as if we were all trapped in a ginormous hall of mirrors. Mercury with Neptune can take flights of fancy to new heights.

Moon goes void tonight at 8:05 PM ET; it enters Aquarius at 9:46 PM ET, making this weekend fit for gathering with friends. No significant Moon void period means you are free to shop without worrying if your impulse purchase won’t live up to expectations, but I’d still avoid electronic purchases under the Mercury-Neptune spell, if you can.  Upside: pay attention to your dreams; apply the vision to your artistic creations.  On SUNDAY at 2:12 AM ET, Mars leaves Taurus for double-talking Gemini, where it will crave entertainment and diversity in matters of action until May 16th. We will see this craving provoked at the end of April/early May, when Mars will meet up with the Gemini Mars and square the Virgo Neptune in the U.S. horoscope. This will coincide with Mars meeting up with Trump’s Gemini Sun and opposing his Sagittarius Moon. Mark your calendars and watch the headlines then and into all of May.

Moon goes void on Sunday at 11:02 PM ET and enters Pisces on MONDAY at 10:48 AM ET. There’s your excuse for the slow start, twist or flake that hits your morning.

Meanwhile, what fun to receive this email from Avid Reader Dawn just moments ago:

“Was this retrograde worse for some astrological charts or was it generally a doozy for everyone?  Thankfully I could laugh it off but wowzers.  This past cycle I ordered 2 end tables but was shipped and charged for 4 (my computer timed out while placing the order so I clicked refresh ????????‍♀️), we changed the bathroom light fixture to discover the original was attached to nothing sturdy and was ready to collapse – a 30min job turned into 2.5 days of repair, the heated bathroom floor has spazzed out (still not resolved but we think it’s associated with the light fixture), and last but not least as I was driving this week my glasses literally fell off my face (the screw came out).  I feel like a Mercury Direct celebration is in order…”

To answer Dawn’s questions — this retrograde was more challenging for charts with planets that were directly hit by transiting Mercury, and you will not be surprised to learn that for Dawn, three planets and her Ascendant were affected. This is why it’s helpful to check in with your astrologer every six months to a year, just like you check in with your dentist — or your hairdresser, if you happen to be going through an especially challenging time. As Dawn wrote back (after I asked her if I could share her email):

Sure! Hopefully other people will get a chuckle or commiserate with me.  Thanks for all you do!  It truly makes it easier to navigate the challenging cycles. :)

Exactly.

And now, the news.

UPDATE: We don’t have a birth time for Betsy DeVos, but one is inclined to wonder if her Moon might be close to the end of regal Leo, which would account for her provocative thrust into current headlines. Transiting Mars would be squaring that Leo Moon this week just as she stubbornly defended heartless plans to cut funding for the Special Olympics out of her Education Dept.’s budget. Provocation begets provocation:  “The Special Olympics imbroglio once again reveals Betsy DeVos is the worst member of Trump’s Cabinet,” writes WaPo’s Helaine Olen.  Stay tuned for more next week, as transiting Mars definitely squares DeVos’s Pluto. Continued shaming and scorn would also be apt this year, as transiting Saturn conjoins her Capricorn Sun three times in 2019…but that streamlining focus could also facilitate ambition.

Guess who founded the Special Olympics? Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who passed away in 2009. In her horoscope, we see her Cancer Sun, Mars and Mercury opposing DeVos’s Capricorn Sun. Thus she is also feeling the squeeze of transiting Saturn — BUT — she is also receiving potential expansion and promotion — from all angles — as transiting Jupiter has been connecting with those angles all month and into May…and then again at the end of October. This is the third time  in three years that Trump has tried to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics. Why did this third time get so much attention now? Just look at what’s going on in Eunice Shriver’s horoscope. The horoscope lives forever!

UPDATE: on Theresa May, whose horoscope suggested that today would be no-good, horrible and very bad. Even though she offered to resign as PM if Parliament would approve her Brexit deal, the deal was defeated. Not only that, but NYT just published an op-ed, “Is Theresa May the Worst Politician Ever?”  Astrology is amazing.

UPDATE: As anticipated, Friday’s planned all-female spacewalk was all over the news in time for yesterday’s harmony between Venus (women) and Uranus (astronauts). Trickster Mercury retrograde threw a bewildering wrench into that plan, as the spacewalk was canceled. Why? Not enough spacesuits for the two — count ’em — TWO women who were to make that historic walk. Which means there is only one spacesuit for one woman — and no spares. Packing for a trip during Mercury retrograde? Double check that packing list thrice!!

NASA got this one right — before Mercury turned retrograde: “NASA photographs supersonic shock waves from the closest vantage point yet.”

Remember that Pisces can be vulnerable to despair, unable to see the potential for a new beginning. I am sad to report:

Meanwhile, reflecting tons and tons of news about drugs and fraud, as we are going to see until Neptune leaves Pisces in 2026:

In other news reflecting Mercury retrograde in Pisces conjunct bewildering and deceptive Neptune

Let’s pause now and devote a few sentences to the horoscope of Senator Mike Lee (R-UT).  His surreal presentation on how to solve the challenges of climate change provided plenty of fodder last night for Stephen Colbert. Watch the video — and I’ll tell you how what you’re seeing on screen is reflected in Lee’s horoscope (Jun 4 1971 — Mesa, AZ — time unknown). You’ll notice Lee’s slow, deliberate, eerily calm speech patterns, as he pleasingly (probably driven by Moon in Libra) presents complete wigginess.  That would be Mercury (how he needs to think), Venus (values; social expression) and Saturn (necessary control; ambition) all together in sloooooooooooooooooooow moooooooooooooooooooooooooving Taurus. And Mercury is conjunct the fixed star Algol, suggesting the potential to lose his head in matters of mindset. Ya think? But wait — there’s more — because we need to address the wigginess. That whole pile of planets in Taurus is opposed by Jupiter (expansion, dogma) conjunct Neptune (vision, delusion) in boundary-pushing Sagittarius. But what an expression of grand faith and inspiration — prompting  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to tweet in response “If that man can be senator, you can do anything.” Indeed. Those five planets in Lee’s horoscope are being activated now and through next week, as Mars travels through the end of Taurus and into early Gemini.

One last surreal moment in This Week in Congress — during the proactive Capricorn Moon — roll tape — “Swamp Creatures silently protest confirmation hearing of [oil lobbyist] to head Interior Dept.”

Thank you for reading this forecast. Contributions to the Cosmic Tip Jar are always appreciated — as are your referrals and requests for consultations. If you’re amazed by how astrology is reflected in the news, just imagine how it is reflected in your own personal world — so why not be prepared?