Happy Monday!

Moon in Aquarius drives the day with a need for social significance. Aquarius keywords include: innovation, eccentricity, friendship, humanitarian, unconventional, rocket scientist and/or mad genius. The buzz this morning (I woke up before 6 AM, without an alarm clock), reflects the tension to be released involving 1) yesterday’s square between the Sun and Uranus; 2) today’s square between the Moon and Uranus at 9:52 AM ET; and 3) the Full Moon at 11:59 AM ET.

Here is the chart for the Full Moon, set in Washington, DC:

Aquarius refers to humanity and what’s best for the greatest good. Leo refers to personal ego recognition and the divine right of kings. A Full Moon in Aquarius illuminates this inherent conflict. Will the U.S. congressional leaders get their act together and extend relief to the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and health insurance in the current pandemic? That would be one enlightening reflection of this Full Moon.

This is a dramatic chart for Washington. Note the planets on the angles: Mars opposing the Libra Ascendant; Mercury on the Midheaven; Saturn and Pluto opposing the Midheaven. These placements suggest strong themes of attack/courage/conflict; messages transmitted; power and control in homeland security concerns. We see heavy mind control and/or serious focus on authority suggested by an opposition between Mercury (how we need to think) and Saturn (necessary control; ambition), exact today at 5 PM ET. It’s like the U.S. Post Office is being drowned in a bathtub before our very eyes. Mercury is the Messenger Planet — and ruler of post offices. Saturn can be quite a squeeze.

We see a ginormous build-up of physical/assertive/military energy in a square between Mars in warrior Aries and Jupiter in Capricorn, exact on TUESDAY at 9:07 AM ET. This Mars-Jupiter square is especially significant, as it is a hair’s width away from an exact trigger to the January 10th lunar eclipse. If you were born around the 10th of January, April, October or July, you are feeling the rush of expansion or excess more than most. Jared Kushner, Nikolai Tesla, Joe Scarborough and Brett Favre: this means you– and it doesn’t matter if you’re dead.

Oh look –– Deutsche Bank says it is investigating Kushner’s personal banker. Deutsche Bank is such a tease.

The Midheaven in this chart for Washington refers to the head of state. The Midheaven is 23 Cancer, which is also the placement of Saturn in P45’s horoscope. Saturn refers to the father, authority and ambition. The planet ruling the Midheaven is the Moon (because the Moon is the ruler of Cancer), so here we have an illuminated Moon that has just separated from Uranus. A square between the Moon and Uranus suggests electric buzz, emotional upset, rebellious independence, possible genius or madness. Right now, P45‘s morning tweets include outright lies about the size of his crowd at a recent trip to Tampa, batshit crazy attacks on Dr. Deborah “Scarf Lady” Birx (for admitting that Covid-19 is out of control in the U.S.)  and a demand that schools re-open (his son Barron’s school remains defiantly and sanely closed). It’s fascinating to see this activity in sync with planetary patterns.

The Sabian Symbols for this Full Moon are (for the Moon): “people on stairs graduated upwards“ and (for the Sun): “an evening lawn party.” The people on the stairs refers to finding one’s place in a social hierarchy, says Sabian Sage Blain Bovee. Those who step up are making a choice — and in his wonderful book about the Sabian Symbols, Bovee wanders off on a tangent about the consequences of apple-picking — as in the Judgment of Paris  (which started a war) or the Garden of Eden. Hmm. Watch for apples and controversial, consequential choices in the news.

An evening lawn party is a social gathering before an important event, according to Bovee. He notes that the word “party” is from the French partir — which means to divide. An event divided among party lines is therefore one interpretation.  Here in the U.S., these are apt symbols for the next two weeks, during which Joe Biden is expected to finally announce his running mate! Plus, there have been rumors about the Republican VP candidate, too.

You are especially affected by this Full Moon if you have a planet or angle around 11 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius. I bet you’re feeling pretty buzzed about something these days — and will be into next year. Wanna talk about how to handle it? Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.

Here’s how the rest of the week goes:

• TUESDAY: More Moon in Aquarius — arise, go forth and network. Mars square Jupiter at 9:07 AM ET will get you out of bed; do something constructive with that enthusiasm and energy. Chill at 5:45 PM ET, as the Moon goes void until 10:28 PM ET, when it enters Pisces. At 11:32 PM ET, Mercury (how we need to think) finally gets out of Cancer and saunters into Leo. Watch as between now and August 19th, communication and mindset adds to the regal tone established by the Leo Sun. They are not so much based on emotional and homeland security (as they were with Mercury in Cancer), but by joyful self-expression or insufferable entitlement.
• WEDNESDAY: Moon in Pisces seeks to work with impressions and ideals. Go with the intuitive flow, inspired in the afternoon to reach creative heights, as Moon sextiles innovative Uranus.
• THURSDAY: Moon harmonizes with Jupiter and Pluto between lunch and dinner, ET. It meets up with Neptune at 2:12 PM ET, planting seeds for a new vision. Note that Venus (money, women, art and social expression) is at the Aries Point for most of this week. It’s traveling through the last degrees of Gemini, activating more than one VP candidate’s horoscope.
• FRIDAY: Moon goes void at 8:53 AM ET for twelve minutes, on a square to Venus at the verrrry end of Gemini. Prominent news? Moon then charges into Aries, driving the day with a need to get things started. Venus enters Cancer at 11:21 AM ET, meeting up with Elizabeth Warren‘s Sun-Uranus conjunction at 0 Cancer and Adam Schiff‘s Sun-Venus conjunction, too. Venus functions well in Cancer, where its need to love unconditionally is facilitated by Cancer’s need to nurture. Have a playful, loving day.
• SATURDAY: Moon in Aries continues its charge, building in enthusiasm all day until 11:44 PM ET, when it squares Jupiter. Innovation in thought and communication may make waves for the next few days, as Mercury will square Uranus on Monday.
• SUNDAY: Mars is closest to Earth, and if you look up at the Moon around 4:35 AM ET, you’ll see Mars right next to it. You’ll have the energy to rise early, with Mars and Moon together in Aries. What other fiery crusades will make headlines, hmmm? They’re bound to be intense, with the Moon making its weekly clash with Pluto and Saturn — at 7:37 AM ET and 3:50 PM ET, respectively.

And now, the news.

The Sun refers to leaders; Uranus refers to bucking the system. Of course we’d see “White House considers unilateral moves amid stalemate with Congress” on the front page today.  Sun-Uranus aspects suggests space-age technology (or just plain old technology). And yes, Avid Reader Barb gets five gold stars for noting that yesterday’s Space X splashdown — minutes after the Moon entered Aquarius — was aptly timed!

Also apt: all this fuss about Tik Tok being banned by P45…or acquired by Microsoft…or whatever. It’s true that there have been security concerns for well over a year. On the plus side, Apple hit a record high and is offering an astonishing 4-1 split as it approaches a $2 trillion market value.

Ohhh…and here’s a shocker: P45 told reporter Chris Wallace two weeks ago that he would have a health care plan signed by August 2nd. Today is August 3rd. The surprise is that he was called out on this lie — on the WaPo homepage.

This story was definitely disruptive, sad and bittersweet:

• “Hubert and Kalisa, longtime African lion partners at the L.A. Zoo, are euthanized” Sooooo sad! They were 21 years old. Their birth dates are in the linked article. Lions are — of course — ruled by Leo.

This story was disruptive and just plain sad — but how odd to see it show up within days of Hubert and Kalisa: “Death of a Cat,” in which the author struggles to understand “her tears over a [feral] cat she did not love.” It’s a wake-up call, as Uranus suggests.

Yet another disturbing — yet beautifully-written essay — also involving animals symbolized by current planetary patterns was in the NYT Sunday Review. Jupiter refers to horses. Of course we have Mars (attack!) square Jupiter tomorrow. “To Break a Horse, and a Woman,”is about staying safe in a dangerous world — with a shocking twist.

But wait — there’s more! I was captivated by an essay in the NYT Sunday Magazine called “The Mysterious Life of Birds Who Never Come Down.” It’s about swifts — and it made me think that if swifts were human, they would be…astrologers. What do you think?

Here’s another apt Sun-Uranus headline:

• “How a surprising election has jolted the dictator of Belarus”

Meanwhile, it’s bonkers in Berlin, as “1000s march to protest coronavirus restrictions.”

No one is quite sure why many Americans have received packets of seeds (Taurus) from China, but those who have received them are certainly surprised (Uranus).

In other news…

We last looked at the horoscope of Ellen Degeneres at the end of 2018, when it was rumored that she might end her run as a talk show host. With six planets in her chart affected by challenging contact with Uranus in 2019 through 2021, we see the need for a breakout — or a potential shocking upset. Now the so-called “Queen of Nice” is having to apologize for enabling a “toxic work environment,” including allegations of sexual harassment on the part of some of her producers. This “downward spiral” of her reputation began last fall (says WaPo) — reflecting those lengthy illuminating Uranus transits. There is talk now of her stepping down from her show…and y’know that makes a good argument for the accuracy of her speculative birth time, which gives her a 14 degree Sagittarius Ascendant. Why? Because it would have been eclipsed on July 4th, accelerating a potential change. Plus, transiting Mars was sitting right on her Aries Moon last week — that can be pretty darn provocative.

If you find this forecast as illuminating as a Full Moon in Aquarius, I invite you to consider Avid Reader Diane’s invitation to support this effort through Joyful Random or Faithful Monthly Expressions of Appreciation. Here’s the link to the Cosmic Tip Jar, with gratitude to you — and Avid Reader Diane, who is an Aquarius and thus inherently understands what it means to be a friend.

Thank you for reading this forecast — and sharing it with your friends too.