Monday 3/18/2024: Sneak Peek at the Week; Happy Aries Ingress; Sun-Neptune in the Wiggy News

Alllllrighty then!

It’s the last full day of the current astrological year. The new one begins on Tuesday, when the Sun enters Aries at 11:06 PM ET. I don’t know about you, but the past week has been dizzying, reflecting the Sun-Neptune conjunction, which was the only exact aspect among the planets that did not involve the Moon. I’ve witnessed more than one event involving endings — often unexpected — as is typical of these last few days of the Sun traveling through Pisces, sign of surrender. For example, in my circle of Facebook friends and acquaintances, I was stunned to read of the sudden passing of singer/songwriter Angela McCluskey– herself a Pisces, and a force of nature. She has left us far too soon.

Yes, it may feel like the end of the world, especially if you think of time as a linear thing. If you think of it happening in cycles, you may have faith that a new world is just around the corner.

Highlights this week:

  • Sun enters Aries on Tuesday
  • Sun sextiles Pluto on Thursday
  • Venus conjunct Saturn on Thursday
  • Mars exits Aquarius and enters Pisces on Friday
  • Venus sextiles Jupiter on Sunday — sweet!

Oh — before I forget — eclipse season is also just around the corner, and I’ve been asked if I’m offering my “eclipse special.” YES…and if you’d like a few paragraphs of handcrafted, personal insights on where the upcoming eclipses will fall in your horoscope — e.g., how and when you are likely to see them reflected in your life — you will find a button labeled “Personalized Eclipse Insights” here on this page. If I don’t have your birth data — date, time, and place — please include that with your order — or you can email it to me here.

  • MONDAY: Moon in Cancer needs to focus on emotional, family, and home/homeland security. Get it done — that’s what I’ve been doing, supported by helpful contacts to the Moon all day long. Moon trines Saturn at 4:29 AM ET then sextiles Jupiter at 9:24 AM ET. Moon squares Mercury at 10:28 AM ET, giving you an opportunity to work out some kinks in your communication. We may hear notable news involving groups and pioneering initiatives, as Mercury meets up with the North Node at 8:11 PM ET. A Moon-Uranus sextile at 8:20 PM ET suggests support from unconventional alliances — make the ask.
  • TUESDAY: Note your dreams; Moon trines Neptune at 10:29 AM ET. A trine between the Sun and Moon at 2:52 PM ET keeps us in balance, with only a 40-minute Moon void. The Sun is at the verrrrrry end of Pisces, so we have an urgency in matters involving leaders and all things Pisces (oceans, scandals, toxins, refugees, drugs, spirits, etc., etc.). If you are Emmanuel Macron, Liz Cheney, Ted Cruz, Alexei Navalny or anyone else with planets at the Aries Point, we may be hearing from you or about you over the next couple of days. Doesn’t matter if you’re dead; the horoscope lives forever.
  • TUESDAY: At 3:32 PM ET, Moon enters Leo, infusing the first day of spring with fiery drama-rama. A Leo Moon needs to shine, and when it is given the love and respect it so desperately needed, everyone else gets to shine, too. A power play or a catharsis may occur in the evening, as Moon opposes Pluto at 6:49 PM ET. That release is what leads us into the Vernal Equinox at 11:06 PM ET, as the Sun enters Aries, huzzah!

A pause, while we discuss and review the Aries Ingress, the Aries Point and such.

Courage, self-reliance, inspiration and a pioneering spirit are keywords for the Sun in Aries, sign of the Ram — and the lamb.  That’s on a good day. Otherwise, Aries falls down stairs because it’s faster than walking. They can be impatient, reckless and fierce in their belief in impossible things.  Aries is the baby of the zodiac. In the Northern Hemisphere (the birthplace of Western astrology),  the Sun’s ingress into Aries  is a time of renewal and rebirth.

In astrology, the first day of each season (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) corresponds with the first day (or first DEGREE) of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, respectively. Got that? Good. These four signs are called CARDINAL signs of the zodiac, with “cardinal” here suggesting (from the Latin root of the word), “that on which something turns or depends.”  Cardinal signs take ACTION. They INITIATE. Nothing happens without ACTION. And action leads to  NECESSARY CHANGE. As in a change of seasons — suggested by solstices and equinoxes.

The first day of a  season is prominent in our culture, right? We make a big deal over it — yes? So, in astrology, we observe that planets that are at the first degree of a cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra & Capricorn), tend to pack a more powerful, prominent punch. They suggest ACTION which leads to CHANGE — prominently! The first degree of the cardinal signs is known as the ARIES POINT. Got that?

Here is the chart for the Aries Ingress, set in Washington, DC. This is an important tool for managing expectations in these United States over the next 12 months.

Observations:

  • It should surprise absolutely no one that the ruler of this chart is MARS (action/assertion/anger), and that it sits at the ROOT. Mars in the 4th house refers to home, homeland and family concerns. Whose home is it? Let’s fight about it, shall we? Mars co-rules the 6th house — labor, processing systems, including human relations. This is the state of the Union, is it not?
  • Mars does have dignity (ability to perform) by being in the right place at the right time. Other than that, its expression is colored by two factors. First, it is square to Algol, a fixed star that refers to the Medusa (female empowerment, if you ask me) and losing one’s head. Second, Mars is near the end of its journey in Aquarius, so any “rebel with a cause” posturings are soon to change.
  • It’s worth noting that Mars at 27 Aquarius activates the horoscope of President Joe Biden, whose accomplishments since 2021 include these 30 things you may not have heard about. Mars also activates the horoscopes of Taylor Swift, Jim Jordan, James Comer, Mitt Romney, and the Florida man who repeatedly tells supporters that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of the country” (which should sound familiar to anyone who knows anything about Hitler’s communication strategy), and who is also the Republican Party’s presumed presidential candidate.
  • Like Mars, Jupiter and Uranus are on an angle; in this case, the Descendant. Translation: open allies and open enemies are in the country’s face, for better (Jupiter) or worse (possibly Uranus). We see potential expansion, innovation and disruption in matters of all things Taurus, i.e., matters of material comfort and security.
  • Speaking of money, Jupiter rules the 2nd house of money/values. It also rules the 5th house — children, creativity, and speculative ventures. The 5th house is where the Aries Sun focuses its fiery initiative.
  • Meanwhile, it’s a lovely thing to see Jupiter in a sextile with Venus, the most dignified planet in the horoscope. Venus was strong in the chart for the 2023 Aries Ingress, and let the record show that the country did not fall into a recession. The next stop for Venus is a meet-up with Saturn. Yes, we may see some cuts and losses in matters of money, women, and art, but we may also see structure and serious ambition in these concerns.
  • The Leo Moon is in the 9th house — seeking to shine in matters of publishing, travel, collective belief systems, courts, sports and foreign affairs. Its next stop — after processing the intense catharsis of its opposition to Pluto — is — after much delay — a square to Jupiter.
  • The Sun’s next stop is a sextile to Pluto, which suggests cooperation and communication among leaders of business and state, especially in matters of power and resources.
  • The bottom line in this chart is that yes, while the root is fired up, it could be a lot worse, if you ask me.

Back to the daily forecast:

  • WEDNESDAY: The Leo Moon has over 24 hours to roar through the cosmos without making contact with any other planet. When it does finally engage, it is in a square to Jupiter at 9:34 PM ET. Sounds like something sunny and expansive…or wretchedly excessive.
  • THURSDAY: Moon trines Mercury at 5:56 AM ET, providing an easy flow of communication and information. Then — surprise! — at 8:06 AM ET, Moon’s square to Uranus suggests a bolt from the blue. We then have a repeat of Thursday’s lunar action: no input from any other planet for the Leo Moon’s need for recognition for the rest of the business day. A sextile between the Sun and Pluto suggests cooperation among leaders of business and state, likely involving power and resources. That’s at 4:02 PM ET. At 7:09 PM ET Venus meets up with Saturn, putting a focus on women who mean business, possible cuts and losses in matters of social expression, including limits on just how much empathy its possible to feel. There is a push for action or aggression, possibly bringing opposing sides to a head this evening, reflecting the face-off between Mars and the Moon at 2:33 AM ET on…
  • FRIDAY. After a Moon void of 68 minutes (blink and you’ll miss it), Moon enters Virgo at 3:41 PM ET to clean up the mess from the Leo Moon’s extravaganza. Once again, Moon travels without interference, gathering steam in its quest for perfect organization all day long. By now, Mars is at the verrrrrry end of Aquarius, pushing “rebel with a cause” action and aggression to an apparent crisis point. At 7:47 PM ET, the wheel turns (as it always does), and Mars plunges into the watery depths of Pisces. Frankly, Mars is not particularly comfortable in Pisces; it’s like putting a hot poker into a vat of water. What do you get? Plenty of steam! Point is, Mars is more comfortable in an element which allows it to be direct, whereas the nature of Pisces is diffuse. It will be interesting to see what kind of supportive focus Mars receives when it meets up with Saturn (structure) on April 10th. Until then, we may be hearing from Mitt Romney right about now, as he has planets around 0 degrees of Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, and/or Sagittarius. So does Mitch McConnell.
  • SATURDAY: Might not be the most warm and fuzzy morning for some, as the Virgo Moon is opposed by Saturn and Venus, at 5:17 AM and 8:54 AM ET. Spirits are likely lifted as the day progresses, thanks to a trine to Jupiter (at 11:21 AM ET) and Uranus (at 9:10 PM ET).
  • SUNDAY: Another morning to note your dreams, as Moon opposes Neptune at 11:49 AM ET. Chill during the nearly five-hour Moon void. Roll with whatever twists and flakes disrupt your Sunday brunch; maybe take in some music or other refined artistry. At 12:36 PM ET, Venus (the Lesser Fortune) and Jupiter (the Greater Fortune) are in a perfectly lovely, mutually receptive sextile. Not only that, but since the 21st, Jupiter has acquired a bit of “dignity” (this is the technical term), meaning that efforts to expand in matters of material comfort and security have a greater chance of success, and gosh, input from Venus this week sure helps. What did you accomplish this week? If you have planets around 15 degrees of any sign, but especially Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, you may be one of the lucky ones.
  • SUNDAY: At 4:37 PM ET, Moon enters Libra, now seeking fairness and balance in relationships. Depth is added around 8:10 PM ET, as Moon trines Pluto. Emotions are on the rise, as the Moon waxes to fullness — and is interrupted by the lunar eclipse at 3:00 AM ET on…
  • MONDAY. There are no other aspects on this day. An old wives’ tale says that eating potatoes before a lunar eclipse will help keep you grounded. More on that celestial event later this week.

And now, the news.

Here’s a super-cool item reflecting last weekend’s Mars-Sun-Uranus mash-up, suggesting innovative technology, possibly involving astrology…and why not toss in the potent communication involving news from underground suggested by the Mercury-Pluto sextile:

In the last forecast we talked about happenings in the horoscopes of Prince William and Princess Catherine. The former is in a fog; the latter needs more space; both are likely to experience these needs matters of marriage and their connection with the public. Not only that, but patterns in Catherine’s horoscope suggest an intensified excitation…oh…within hours after Stephen Colbert included in his monologue rumors of William’s affair with a certain Lady.

The Sun’s annual meet-up with Neptune “coincided” with all kinds of stories of intrigue, intangibles, wipe-outs — the usual Neptune kaleidoscope:

Here are two Venus square Uranus stories I meant to share two weeks ago,  but didn’t:

Meanwhile, during last Tuesday’s all-day Moon void in Aries, these stories were making news…and it seems like nothing came of them:

In other news…

Finally…

…do you remember where you were four years ago today? Under lock down, thanks to Covid, most likely. Here is the forecast for that week...in which you’ll learn more about how eclipses operate.

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations. We will have an excellent discussion together. And yes, I am a certified horary astrologer, and thus can answer your burning questions, including whether your lost keys may be found. Astrocartography — in which your horoscope is splayed out all over the globe, so as to offer insights on optimal places to live, work, and play — is another arrow in my quiver.

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

Mixed hybrid crocus flowering in the early spring garden.