Astro-logical Forecast for Tuesday 1/19/2016: Sneak Peek at the Week; David Bowie & More
Allll– righty then!
I was under the weather early last week. Then I got over it. Then played catch-up. You? I hope you enjoyed the material/sensual comforts and joys suggested by the weekend’s Mooooooon in Taurus — that would have been Sunday and Monday. It was aided and abetted by a excessively indulgent or wretchedly excessive challenge between Venus and Jupiter early Monday morning. Well?
Today’s Moon is brought to you by information junkie Gemini, through which it will sojourn as of 4:13AM ET. The only exact aspect we’ll have during the work day happens at 6:10PM ET, between the talk talk talk Gemini Moon and dreamy Neptune. Are you sure you got that story straight? Moon-Neptune challenges can be so confusing, anxious or visionary. Hard to think about…easier to feel…
On Wednesday, the Sun exits earthy Capricorn and enters humanitarian Aquarius at 10:28AM ET. Watch for emotions to rise as we approach the Full Moon in Leo, exact on Saturday at 8:46PM ET. Look for matters of social expression, women, finance and aesthetic values to seek prominence the closer we get to Saturday, which is also when Venus will be at the Aries Point (seeking prominence!), leaving high-flying Sagittarius for blue-blooded Capricorn.
Otherwise, mental Mercury — still in retrograde — drives the week as it challenges Uranus on Wednesday at 1:28PM ET and then meets up with potent Pluto at 5:04AM ET on Friday. This is the second of three in a series of Mercury-Uranus-Pluto clashes. The first one happened on December 20-21st. Here’s what was driving the headlines back then. Watch for similar themes this week and over the weekend of January 29th-31st, when we’ll have this supercharged blast of information/communication in the tech/space/cosmic sphere repeating. If you have a planet or point around 17 degrees of Aries, Capricorn, Cancer or Libra, you’re more personally affected than others. Elizabeth Warren falls into this category — and even more so next month. Hmmm.
There are no Moon voids this week to derail your efforts to move forward in a straight line during business hours in the Americas. So keep on REorganizng, REconnecting, RE searching, REviewing, REtreating and RElaxing in this last full week of Mercury retrograde in Capricorn. Focus on those practical details in your quest for world domination. Here are the voids, for you night owls and people living on the other side of the planet: Tuesday 1:50AM ET – 4:13AM ET; Thursday 3:01AM – 8:28AM ET; Saturday 1:21AM – 2:21PM ET.
And now, the news — catching up on a whole week’s worth.
DAVID BOWIE. Thanks to Avid Reader Diane, who emailed to tell me that rumor had it that the Moon was exact on Mr. Bowie’s 3 degree Aquarius when he transitioned. And this happened to be the moment when I was writing this:
Overall, planetary patterns this week are quite buoyant, compared to last week’s jolts and power plays. The song that comes to mind is “If You Want to Sing Out (Sing Out)” from the cult classic Harold and Maude (which does not star that drug lord dude Martin Shkreli, fyi — do not confuse him with actor Bud Cort). And wasn’t there something about singing in the symbolism of Saturday’s New Moon?
And then I woke up like everyone else and was so saddened by Mr. Bowie’s departure, perfectly timed as it was, but seemingly way too soon. But the whole world was united in tribute, and it was so refreshing to see nothing but Bowie songs and memes in the headlines and social media that day, as opposed to the Usual Suspects. I went to his Facebook page and the first thing I saw was a note of sympathy from Cat Stevens, who wrote “If You Want to Sing Out (Sing Out)”. I marveled at the synchronicity. Coincidence or conspiracy?
The public was unaware that Mr. Bowie was diagnosed with cancer eighteen months ago, but we do see in his horoscope that a big stretch of time before those 18 months was marked by a potentially bewildering Neptune transit. Neptune tends to dissolve what it touches, and can sap one’s vitality. I thought it was fitting that Mr. Bowie, who had the Sun and Mars together in the deeply private 12th house, would have slipped away to his next adventure in the dark of the lunar cycle. Another suggestion of emotional reserve, discipline and constantly regenerating public image: the Leo Moon conjunct taskmaster Saturn, which is in turn conjunct Pluto. That can pack a powerful punch.
Mr. Bowie was a Capricorn — driven by a regal Moon in Leo, exact on the cusp of the 7th house, which refers to the public. This is hardcore business acumen that needs to put on a show, connecting ever-so-personally with the public, even while keeping to himself. His Aquarius Ascendant needs to present a humanitarian face — quirky, innovative, eccentric, rebellious. His Venus is in Sagittarius, suggesting an aesthetic that needs to express its opinion and push boundaries. Venus is right at the top of the chart — potentially loved by all. This Venus-Midheaven meet-up is also in an obsessive-compulsive quindecile with weird, wild Uranus, another suggestion of the need for constant ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strange).
And how does his mind need to function? With the extreme earthy practicality of Mercury in Capricorn, supercharged by a square from visionary Neptune. It’s no surprise that the last 18 months of his life was “a burst of creativity”. Transiting Uranus would have channeled electric energy to Mr. Bowie’s Sun-Mars conjunction at 16 and 17 degrees of Capricorn. Transiting Saturn hitting the Midheaven three times in 2015 suggests a man who needs to be at the top of his game. His final album, Blackstar, went straight to #1 — a first for him. No surprises here. Now he has his own constellation.
What’s fascinating to me is that at the time of his transition, planetary patterns reflected qualities Mr. Bowie exemplified. Go back and read the Sneak Peek at the Week and you’ll see what I mean.
RUPERT MURDOCH & JERRY HALL GET ENGAGED. We had an easy connection between Venus (women) in Sagittarius (big, bold, brassy, boundary-pushing) and Uranus (eccentric) in Aries at the start of last week. A few days before, Venus met up with Saturn. Venus refers to women and social affection. Saturn refers to old people. Isn’t that wild? Mr. Murdoch’s Jupiter is conjunct Miss Hall’s Cancer Sun. Of course he’d be her biggest fan. No comment about their first meeting last summer, which may have happened while Venus was retrograde. Time will tell.
ALAN RICKMAN. News of Mr. Rickman’s passing hit on a day with Moon in soulful, suffering Pisces. Oh, no — not another light departing far too soon! The Capricorn Sun was conjunct Mercury — fried by the light. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, a planet suggesting authority, depression and austerity. Black is its color. Severus Snape, one of Mr. Rickman’s best-loved personas, perhaps expresses this Pisces/Capricorn vibe. What do you think?
We do not have an exact time of birth for Mr. Rickman. He was a Pisces, with Moon possibly in deep, dark, moody bastard Scorpio. Here is his horoscope.
MOON VOID MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: And here, we’d be talking about that “crisis” last Tuesday, when Certain People were freaking out about the two U.S. Navy boats which were detained by Iran. The crews were released on Wednesday. They said they had made a “a navigational error”. Thanks, Mercury retrograde!
STATE OF THE UNION. President Obama has been in a visionary, healing, soulful frame of mind — as noted in earlier forecasts. Last week’s SOTU — his final one — began with the Moon in soulful, etc. Pisces — and with nebulous Neptune right on the angles of the chart. What did we hear? Super-big dreams, including plans to find a cure for cancer. And why not? The speech was derided by Obama’s critics as total pie-in-the-sky. As we might expect.
UPDATE ON KIM DAVIS. There she was — feeling the love as anticipated — at the State of the Union. Astrology is amazing.
REPUBLICAN DEBATE. The following night, Neptune was once again on the angles of the chart for the latest smackdown. Moon was also in Pisces, but was void until 9:48PM ET, when it charged into me-me-me warrior Aries. War and me-me-me was pretty much the extent of it, with some pundits noting the combative tone and punches allegedly scored. Other derided the content as total pie-in-the-sky.
Senator Ted Cruz was especially called out over his denouncement of “New York values,” which is fascinating given that his wife works for Goldman Sachs (and his senatorial campaign was apparently financed with at least one loan from GS, as we discovered last week.) The NY Daily News was not amused, and went to press with this boundary-pushing front page headline. And since I live in New York and found Mr. Cruz’s denouncement especially mean-spirited, I invite you to review the memories his freshman roommate — now a successful screenwriter — has been tweeting for several years. In contrast, Senator Cruz’s current roommate seems to adore him. This concludes the entertainment portion of this forecast.
DEMOCRATIC DEBATE. It happened on Sunday, on a holiday weekend, which is when every political party wants to schedule a debate so as to attract maximum viewership, right? And the last debate was on the Saturday right before Christmas. What do you make of this strategy?
The debate began at 9PM, same as the other events noted above — so same Neptune pixie-dust sprinkled around, but with a Taurus Moon. Taurus seeks material comfort and security, along with preserving the status quo. Fascinating to note Secretary Clinton making a case for said status quo, praising Barack Obama’s accomplishments effusively. Senator Sanders made quite an impression among the limited viewership, which you can see in the headlines. Having transiting Venus in a supportive aspect to his Venus and Mars, along with a likely transiting Mercury supercharging his pioneering Aries Moon, we can appreciate why. There are other patterns supporting his expanded public reach, as we might expect.
THE END OF AL-JAZEERA AMERICA. This news network attracted plenty of attention when it launched on August 20, 2013. The concept was to report the news with remarkable depth and sobriety. The launch date has a regal Leo Sun, driven by Moon in Aquarius, striving for social significance and a humanitarian agenda. Fascinating that it has a Sagittarius Ascendant, given that Al-Jazeera is owned by Qatar (Sagittarius refers to foreigners). Alas, this big ideal (Moon is conjunct Neptune in the launch chart) failed, and its demise was announced soon after stern Saturn crossed Al-Jazeera’s Ascendant, putting the squeeze on its identity. It will reportedly go off the air in April, around the time that Neptune also hits its Ascendant, wiping it out.
COSMIC: between January 20th and February 20th, all five visible planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn — will in fact be visible to the naked eye. This hasn’t happened since 2004. With Mercury so prominent in planetary patterns this week and next, perhaps we’ll see a glut of information finally in plain sight.
GLENN FREY. One of the founding members of The Eagles departed on a day with Moon in sensual Taurus, with Venus and Jupiter in an indulgent square. Mars and Neptune are in an easy and seductive flow. Sounds like a backdrop for “Hotel California”. Mr. Frey wrote the
…imagistic, vaguely mystical lyrics…hint [ing] at a drug-fueled state of being, perhaps promising rapture, perhaps not…
Here’s a live performance from 1977. Seems like only yesterday. Mr Frey had Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Capricorn. RIP — and enough music legends passing for one month, yes?
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