Alllrighty then!

Venus, Mars, and Pluto demand our attention this week, as the former two move into signs they rule. How nice to have planets representing Yin and Yang functioning at their best. Meanwhile, Pluto is slowing to a virtual standstill and is about to turn retrograde, as in:

• Mars meets up with Neptune on Monday
• Venus enters Taurus on Monday
• Mars enters Aries on Tuesday
• Venus squares Pluto on Wednesday
• Pluto goes retrograde on Thursday
• Mars sextiles Pluto on Friday

…and it goes like this:

• MONDAY: Mars meets up with Neptune at 12:30 AM ET, with a focus on the hypnotic and the surreal. It’s at the verrry end of Pisces (29 degrees), which means it’s activating the Aries Point (0 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn), commanding prominence. You are more personally affected by the assertive/attack impact of Mars, coupled with the potential idealization/scandalous/wipeout of Neptune if you have planets or angles around 29 degrees of Pisces, Gemini, Sagittarius or Virgo. That includes Alexei Navalny, Rudy Giuliani, Stormy Daniels, Liz Cheney, Harvey Weinstein, and Julian Assange. In recent days, two Russian journalists were arrested for “alleged work on Navalny’s foundation.”   Giuliani was indicted with 17 other named co-defendants in Arizona on charges of illegally seeking to claim that state’s electors in 2020.
• MONDAY: At 7:30 AM ET, Venus — planet of who, what, and how we need to love — enters Taurus, one of her home signs (the other sign is Libra). Now is the time to choose fabric swatches and get a hair cut, as Venus functions effectively in Taurus, especially in matters of aesthetics and social expression. Venus will be in Taurus until May 23rd, and the first few days of her focus on the beauty of mine-mine-mine may be driven to extremes, as you’ll see when you read about Wednesday. Meanwhile, this day is driven by Moon in Capricorn, which needs to Get Stuff Done — preferably Stuff related to a Big Ambition. A sextile to Saturn at 11:28 AM ET helps structure your plan; a square to Mercury at 11:44 AM ET sparks communication and information — with a possible adjustment required. Rally your unconventional allies to the cause or apply some technological innovation, supported by the Moon-Uranus trine, exact at 9:49 PM ET. The mood tonight could be exuberant, reflecting the trine between Moon and Jupiter, exact at 12:38 AM ET on…
• TUESDAY. Note your dreams; Moon’s sextile to Neptune at 9:25 AM ET may open channels. Frankly, channels may have felt wide open in recent days, reflecting Monday’s Mars-Neptune conjunction. Moon sextiles Mars at 11:18 AM ET and goes void for all of one minute. Mars — the energy of action, assertion, and aggression — is likely grabbing special attention in the news. Why? Because at 11:32 AM ET, Mars charges into Aries, the sign it rules. When a planet is in the sign it rules, it functions with high effectiveness. Is that good or bad? I don’t know. What are you trying to accomplish? At its best, Mars in Aries is courageous, inspiring, pioneering and a fighter for the underdog.  It has great physical stamina and prowess. At its worst, Mars in Aries can be way too macho — fighting for the sake of fighting; needing to win at any cost; utterly self-absorbed, impatient and reckless. Mars rules steel, men, desire, guns and war — and now at 0 degrees of Aries, it suggests that such matters will be prominent.
• TUESDAY (cont): Meanwhile, at 11:19 AM ET, Moon enters Aquarius, looking for empowerment through more of a group effort, less of a top-down hierarchy. For an “I love you, but don’t take it personally” planet in Aquarius, emotional engagements may be more intense than expected. Moon squares Venus — challenging possessive values — at 2:04 PM ET and meets up with Pluto at 3 PM ET. It’s a sneak peek of the potential for  emotional extremes, obsessions, and purges that often “coincide” with Venus in a hard aspect (conjunction, square, or opposition) to Pluto. This time it’s a square, exact at 12:29 AM on…
• WEDNESDAY…and it sets up the Third Quarter Moon at 7:27 AM ET, in which the need to be socially significant within the construct of a group may challenge the need for the status quo. (note this story that just hit the wires about how the strength of the dollar is weighing other currencies down). Spend the day working it out and share your findings around 5:47 PM ET,  supported by the Moon’s sextile to Mercury.
• THURSDAY: starts with a jolt or other surprise, courtesy of Moon’s square to chaos agent Uranus at 2:05 AM ET. A Moon-Jupiter square at 5:28 AM ET suggests optimism, expansion, or over-confidence — you get to decide. Whatever big thing hit the wires around then, could be much ado about nothing, given that the Aquarius Moon goes void for the next nine and a half hours. You know the Moon-void drill: roll with twists and flakes that may disrupt efforts to move forward in a straight line. Stick to routine concerns; avoid launching any project you hope will be of consequence or live up to expectations. Take time to wander if you can. Chill!
• THURSDAY: Humming in the background all week is Pluto. The Lord of the Underworld has been slowing to a virtual standstill (from our perspective on Spaceship Earth). It turns retrograde at 1:47 PM ET. As it slows and stops, the effect is not unlike that of a driver leaning on the horn of a car. It’s a call to FOCUS on the keywords associated with that planet. Pluto represents empowerment, breakdown, transformation, regeneration, corruption exposed, news from underground, including resources extracted from the earth. In Aquarius, Plutonian effects are likely to be seen in matters involving the power of the people, aviation, technology and astrology, to name a few. Retrograde planets suggest a time to look inward for authority in whatever matters are ruled by that planet. Therefore, in your own personal world, now is the time to look within for mastery and control. In the process,  you may encounter a few shadows, and if you get those under control, once Pluto moves direct,  the world around you will start to reflect your newly-masterful self.  Y’know? You’ll feel the potential for a change of perspective more personally if you have a planet or angle around 2 degrees of  Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Off the top of my head that includes Jack Nicholson, Robert Oppenheimer, Geena Davis, and Placido Domingo. Pluto goes direct on October 11. It will return to the verrrrry last degree of Capricorn the first week of September, where the Powers That Be will do their darndest to preserve their special status quo…until Pluto moves inexorably forward in Aquarius on November 20th.
• THURSDAY (cont.): At 2:51 PM ET, Moon enters Pisces, driving the next 24-ish hours with a need to identify impressions, ideally with empathy.
• FRIDAY: Mars in Aries gets an opportunity to coordinate an empowered action or assertion, reflecting the sextile to Pluto, exact at 5:06 AM ET. Further cooperative input is suggested by the Moon’s sextile to the Sun at 1:54 PM ET. An authoritative statement that advances an ambition or rains on someone’s parade closes the work week, as Moon meets up with Saturn at 7:04 PM ET.
• SATURDAY: Innovation and optimism grace the morning, as Moon sextiles Uranus and Jupiter at 4:28 AM ET and 8:22 AM ET. Could be foggy or simply inspired around 3:06 PM ET, as Moon meets up with Neptune at the verrrrry end of Pisces. I’ve said this before, but now that Neptune is on the last degree of Pisces, all things Neptunian may feel as if they’re at a crisis point — the end of the world!  That includes oceans, refugees, inspiration, faith, drugs, lies, etc., etc. Moon enters Aries at 4:40 PM ET, now seeking to get things started on this potentially action-packed date night. Moon sextiles Mars at 8:07 PM ET and meets up with Mars for a fiery, me-me-me-first focus at 10:17 PM ET.
• SUNDAY: Moon continues to charge through Aries, with no contact to the other kids in the cosmic sandbox. It meets up with Mercury for an inspired thought at 1:57 AM ET on...
• MONDAY...and then goes void for the next 15-ish hours. Feel like sleeping in? This would be a day to do it. The Aries Moon is void until 5:42 PM ET.

Here is Beth Owl’s Daughter’s always-in-sync Tarot Card of the Week.

And now, the news…

Oh, lordy, this has to be my favorite synchronous story of the day, posted at 9:30 AM ET. Mars at the end of Pisces — steaming mad, demanding attention,  and coupled with Neptune, perhaps bewilderingly so…or possibly seeking forgiveness…via…sweet sweet food, the best a Venus in Taurus can do, pushed to extremes by its square to Pluto:

• “I have to apologize a lot. These chocolate peanut butter cookies help me ask for forgiveness.” — recipe included — enjoy!

Also…

• “Michelangelo and the most sublime declarations of gay love in art“

Mars conjunct Neptune suggests prominence in matters of charismatic, scandalous firepower:

• “Al Capone’s ‘sweetheart gun’ is up for auction again; could fetch $2 million”

Guess who has Moon and North Node at 28 degrees of boundary-pushing Sagittarius, which is receiving the square from the Mars-Neptune conjunction? Oh, and their Venus at 19 Aries was just eclipsed?

Mars-Neptune conjunctions suggest spiritual warfare:

• “A bishop becomes a political hit man“ is Substack writer Steve Schmidt’s latest post — not sure if non-subscribers will be able to read it, but it’s about “a Catholic bishop, a powerful political extremist who picked three Supreme Court justices, and a journalist who thinks the public should know what is happening in the shadows. This is the story of (Politico reporter) Heidi Przybyla, Bishop Robert Barron and Leonard Leo” What’s interesting is the “coincidence” of Schmidt’s decision to write about this at this particular time. Google “bishop barron news” and the latest story that comes up is from February.

Mars conjunct Neptune may reflect the ghoulish and the surreal:

• “The Vatican’s role in the science of IVF”
• “Conservative SCOTUS justices appear skeptical that federal law requires emergency abortion care“
• ““I am in shock that a lawyer stood in the U.S. Supreme Court and said that a president could assassinate his political opponent and it would be immune as ‘an official act,’” — HCR has more on this story…
• “Tr*mp VP contender Kristi Noem writes about killing her dog — and a goat — in new book”  Why would she want anyone to hear this story? I don’t know, but her Uranus was hit by the solar eclipse, and her Mercury at 27 Sagittarius is being squared by Neptune — that could fog up one’s thinking. We don’t have a birth time for this apparently too blunt for her own good Sagittarius.
• “How ‘vampire facials’ infected three women with HIV” –– yeesh
• “The new science of death — ‘there’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense‘”

Meanwhile…

Check out this super-cool headline reflecting Mercury Rx’s potential for REconnection...

• “After months of gibberish, Voyager 1 is communicating well again” — and how amazing is it that NASA received confirmation that their REpair worked on April 20th — the day of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction…
• …which is aptly reflected in “How bionic eyes can restore vision and help people see.” Tech innovation and expansion (Jupiter conjunct Uranus) in matters of the physical body (Taurus).

File this under Pluto stationing retrograde in Aquarius, and remember I said Robert Oppenheimer’s horoscope is affected — doesn’t matter that he’s dead:

• “AI faces its ‘Oppenheimer’ moment amid killer robot arms race'”  — and note that Oppenheimer’s 21 Taurus Mercury was zapped by last week’s Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, suggesting an expansion and reawakening of how he needed to think. Oppenheimer’s Mercury is squared by Saturn, so his need for necessary controls and structure could also be upended. Note also that his Uranus — the intense individuation of expression is at 29 Sagittarius, now receiving the weird, wild potential of the Mars-Neptune conjunction at 29 Pisces.

In other news, Saturn is now halfway through its trek in Pisces, and Avid Readers will recall that once a planet gets to the halfway point, it seems to coincide with a realization of the potential in that sign. Here’s an excerpt of what was posted on March 7, 2023, when Saturn entered Pisces.

We’ll see streamlining and structuring in matters related to oceans, healing, networks, mental health care, emotional trauma, drugs and all other forms of escapism; virtual reality, film, television and all other artistic mediums; oil, chemicals, toxins; victims and refugees — to name just a few.

Last week, as historian Heather Cox Richardson reports,

Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the administration has finalized two new rules affecting patients in nursing homes and receiving home care, as well as the workers who care for them…

In that same HCR post above, you’ll find two other stories reflecting current planetary patterns in general (e.g., Pluto in Aquarius’ potential for the empowerment of “the people”), as well as the anticipated aftermath of the U.S. Pluto return, which clearly suggested a reversal of economic policies that kicked in around 1982-1983, when transiting Pluto squared the U.S. Pluto. The two stories involve the banning of non-compete clauses by the FTC, and securing overtime pay for salaried workers who make less than $59K/year.

Finally, the man who will never be king was still in court last week, with David Pecker – a name that is arguably another apt reflection of the Mars-Neptune conjunction — on the stand. We all got a good look at the scandalous, duplicitous, and salacious world of tabloids like the National Enquirer, and this is what we learned from Pecker’s testimony.  My favorite moment was on Tuesday, April 23, when the Moon was void — before Pecker began testifying. This was the forecast, starting on Monday at 7:24 PM ET…continuing into Tuesday morning:

• MONDAY: Chill during the 16-hour Moon void — which means rolling with whatever twists and flakes disrupt efforts to move forward in a straight line. Stick to routine concerns, and don’t make a mountain out of a molehill of crisis. Avoid major purchases.
• TUESDAY: The Moon void continues to be in effect until 11:19 AM ET, when Moon enters Scorpio.

Here’s how that played out in court. Merchan is the judge. Tyler McBrien is a journalist and Managing Editor at Lawfare: 

Astrology is amazing.

AMAZING!!

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.  

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