Friday 2/9/2024 & the Weekend: New Moon in Aquarius; Surprise, Surprise!

Alllrighty then!

Time for a post about Friday’s New Moon — most of which was written throughout the day on Thursday. I’m editing it now (Friday morning). It was supposed to be a brief break from fine-tuning my dazzling PowerPoint to the London School of Astrology on Monday, February 12th, in which — ICYMI, I’ll be sharing how horoscopes accurately reflect events in life — even when you’re dead. My research was sparked a decade ago by Maureen Dowd’s NYT op-ed, Woodrow Wilson: Stud Muffin. I’m delighted to be part of LSA’s Ask the Expert series — which is open to the public.

Here’s how to register for the talk — hope to see you on Zoom next Monday.

Here is the chart for the New Moon in Aquarius at 5:59 PM ET, set in Washington, DC.

Observations:

•  A New Moon is a seed-planting opportunity, and wherever this New Moon falls in your horoscope is where you may create a fresh start. Aquarius needs freedom to be its unique self within the construct of a group.  Aquarius needs to be innovative in its intellectual approach.
• The New Moon happens in the wake of recent jolts to the Sun and the Moon. On Thursday, the Uranus squared the Sun; today Uranus squares Moon at 3:35 PM ET. That sense of disruption continues to be processed in the subsequent 14-hour Moon void. The long void suggests twists and flakes, as we all learn the wisdom of not overreacting to perceived crises.
• Disruption is echoed by rebel Uranus right at the top of this horoscope, i.e., on the Midheaven. Translation: shock, rebellion, maverick themes involving U.S. leaders and our reputation.
• The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon at 21 Aquarius is  — “a woman disappointed and disillusioned.“ In his really useful book on the Sabian Symbols, astrologer Blain Bovee finds it meaningful to work with the Symbols in pairs of opposites. Here, the opposite of 21 Aquarius is 21 Leo, and its Sabian Symbol is “chickens intoxicated.” What could this mean? To further our understanding, we ask  questions and free-associate on the words themselves. Are the chickens cowards? What are they drunk on? Is that why the woman is disappointed and disillusioned?  To be disillusioned (observes Bovee) is to be free from illusions (intoxication?)  which might not be such a bad thing, even if the reality check comes with the sobering realization that…oh… darn…our expectations were not fulfilled. To be dis-appointed can also mean not being selected (appointed)…and maybe that can have a silver lining, too.
• I last wrote about these Symbols on the Full Moon of August 2011.
• It occurs to me that one of the keywords of Aquarius is detachment (I often quip that Venus in Aquarius’ motto is “I love you, but don’t take it personally”). But it also occurs to me that practicing detachment is one of the coping strategies advocated by Al-Anon, a support network for people whose lives include one or more intoxicated persons. Hmmm.
• Speaking of intoxicated persons, last month the Department of Defense Inspector General released a report about the White House Medical Unit, which has its own pharmacy. During the Trump administration, it seems that the WHMU was essentially an unregulated “pill mill” for staffers and non-staffers alike. The report came out — appropriately — on January 8th, when Mercury (mind) squared Neptune (drugs) — though it didn’t get much attention until last week, with Mercury sextile Neptune. Meanwhile, last week we  learned that  “Some of Elon Musk’s company directors are said to feel obligated to use drugs with him to avoid upsetting the billionaire.”   I don’t about you, but these stories — while not surprising — got me thinking about how and why intoxicated chickens come to be in positions of power. But first, I had to recognize that they were actually intoxicated, and that their intoxication is not normal. As we work our way through this extraordinary year, planetary patterns suggest that the awareness of intoxication and other altered states will become even more prominent.
• You are more personally affected by this New Moon — and its potential to develop a healthy sense of detachment  — if you have planets or angles around 21 Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, or Scorpio. Off the top of my head that includes President Zelenskyy  and Senator James Lankford (R -OK).

Reminder for the rest of the weekend:

• SATURDAY: Big news overnight, perhaps — reflecting the square between Mercury and Jupiter, exact at 8:25 AM ET. Look to the media, sports, court opinions, higher education, and foreign affairs. At 8:42 AM ET, Moon enters Pisces, driving the weekend with a need for empathy, intuition, impressions and other intangibles. Gravitas graces the evening as Moon meets up with Saturn at 8:44 PM ET and then sextiles Jupiter at 10:04 PM ET.
• SUNDAY: Another day of going with the flow, and it’s a good one for gathering with friends — or meeting new ones. Moon sextiles Uranus at 3:05 PM ET and sextiles Venus at 11:31 PM ET. Humming in the background is a conjunction between Mars and Pluto — exact on Tuesday — which should supercharge the action on the field. If I had a spare nickel, I’d put it on the Chiefs.

No sleeping in on MONDAY. After a Moon void of just barely one hour, Moon enters Aries at 8:25 AM ET, rarin’ to go, go, go.

And, now the news…which is mostly politics, after Sunday’s dreamy Grammys.

Action in Congress flowed in sync with planetary patterns, did it not? We started the week with a lean, mean border bill — hammered out over the course of four months by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). What an apt reflection of Monday’s persuasive Mercury-Pluto conjunction, and Wednesday’s 1) reach-across-the-aisle Venus-Uranus trine, and 2) a potentially conciliatory Mars – Neptune sextile. But — remember that Mars with Neptune can be slippery or fishy (or, as Heather Cox Richardson reported “exceedingly weird”), and with that Sun (leaders) – Uranus square humming in the background, a clarifying shock to the system wouldn’t be surprising at all.

So, to clarify, many of the very same Republicans who demanded border security before pledging further support for Ukraine (which Vladimir Putin opposes) were told by the former guy to tank the bill so that he can turn the “lack of border security” into a winning campaign. Here is an excellent report from CNN’s Abby Phillips explaining it all to you — on tape.

I happened to catch  Senator Lankford’s  speech on the Senate floor, expressing disappointment that his sincere bipartisan effort had failed. He told peers that a “popular commentator” had threatened to “destroy him” if he persisted — imagine that.  Lankford is a Pisces, driven by a material security-seeking Taurus Moon. Idealism is suggested by a Mercury-Venus conjunction in Aquarius, and his ideals need to be socially significant.  This conjunction is in a cooperative alignment with a much less cooperative pattern: Mars-Saturn together in Aries. Translation: militant controls on pioneering action; a crusading “my way or the highway.” We don’t have a birth time, but if you watch the linked video, you might suspect that this tight, reddish Mars-Saturn conjunction is connected to his Ascendant — how he needs to be seen). More idealism — especially in matters of faith —  is suggested by a Jupiter – Regulus conjunction, square to Neptune. Jupiter conjunct Regulus suggests “fame, high preferment, especially of a military nature, success in the Church.” Lankford is a Baptist minister.

In his speech, Lankford held up the pen he received when he was sworn into office. All of the senators receive these special pens (he said), as a reminder that their job is to write laws. True to what we see in the horoscope, he maintained a cool, controlled, dignified demeanor. But I wondered (thinking about the Sabian Symbol for today’s New Moon), if his disappointment included any disillusionment over — perhaps — his vote (twice!) to not convict Donald Trump in his two impeachment trials (I’m also thinking of a snarky tweet that went viral a couple of years ago, involving leopards and those who vote for them). Anyhow, this New Moon sits close to Lankford’s Mercury (how he needs to think and communicate), and transiting Saturn on his Sun around April 8th suggests necessary streamlining and controls, perhaps after processing this month’s disappointing experience with his legislative pen and peers.

As for the former guy, his week started with two patterns that have historically coincided with written documents negatively impacting his professional status. Astro-logically, I’m referring to transiting Mars (aggression, assertion, attacks) making a tough connection to his Venus (ruler of his Midheaven), which was exact on February 7th. It was the perfect time for three women judges on the D.C. Court of Appeals to unanimously rule (as Stephen Colbert explains in his monologue) that TFG is absolutely, positively not above the law and has no immunity from criminal prosecution. The full ruling in all of its lovely prose is here.

When will TFG experience that provocative Mars pattern again?  June 3rd — with effects likely seen a few days earlier. Until that time — which coincides with the first of three hits to his Midheaven by Uranus (agent of change), the TFG legal soap opera may well continue as writer/authoritarianism expert Sarah Kendzior anticipates. In other words, you can tune out for weeks and when you come back, pick up right where you left off.

Meanwhile…

Stories reflecting Sun square Uranus themes (seismic activity, tech breakthroughs, reckless leaders, aviation, accidents, freedom, rebellion) include:

• “Iceland volcano erupts for second time this year with lava close to power plant”
• Rare 4.0 magnitude earthquake reported off Florida’s Space Coast
• Two JetBlue airplanes collide on tarmac in Boston; minor damage
• US outlaws calls that use AI-generated voices
• Tech giant Cisco announces upcoming restructuring; thousands of lay-offs
• Climate scientist Michael Mann wins $$$ defamation suit against two reporters
• (Brazil’s) Jair Bolsanaro surrenders passport in coup attempt investigation.
• Surprise! Efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas fail. This soap opera included a last-minute surprise appearance by 76-year-old Congressman Al Green (D-TX), who was wheeled onto the House floor — in scrubs –– to cast his vote. He took an Uber from the hospital, where he was recovering from surgery. Add Mars sextile Neptune to this picture, with theme of the surreal and healing.
• Surprise! Ronna McDaniel plans to resign as chair of the Republican National Committee. Avid Readers may recall her being mentioned more than once in recent forecasts, given the action seen in what we know of her horoscope. So…this upset to the status quo involving leaders really isn’t so surprising.
• Surprise! SCOTUS seems skeptical of Colorado’s decision to remove TFG from its primary ballot.  “If only Congress had determined he’d incited an insurrection and broken the oath he swore to uphold the Constitution…” — this seems to be the sticking point, according to legal pundits.
• Surprise! Tucker “I’m rooting for Russia!” Carlson (yes, he really said that) drops a two-hour interview with Vladimir Putin on the former Twitter. Carlson was generating big pixie-dusted buzz all week whilst touring Moscow. I appreciate Greg Olear for (likely) staying up late to write a recap of the Putin-Carlson show, especially his observation of Putin’s “boundary-pushing” furniture. If you’re immediately thinking Putin has something significant in (boundary-pushing) Sagittarius, you’d be absolutely right. It’s his Mars (how he needs to assert himself) in Sagittarius, in his 2nd house — his possessions, values, and self-worth. and as noted earlier, he wants the U.S. to stop helping Ukraine. And with four planets in Libra, all of which have been recently provoked by transiting Mars, it makes sense that Putin would be calmly and rationally whingeing about how everything is so unfair. And of course he did all the talking, as a Moon in Gemini needs to do, filling the room with historical facts, facts, facts — from his point of view.  Putin’s horoscope is in an expansive phase for the next few months. His birthday is October 7th — the day Hamas attacked Israel. Coincidence or conspiracy?
• In contrast, Carlson’s horoscope is in an intense and extreme period of control for the next few months, followed by a brief expansion and break-outs this summer. No one should be surprised that transiting Mars opposed his Ascendant this week, and that Eris, Goddess of Discord, has been squaring his Ascendant since last year. The one bright spot last night was Carlson asking about the possible release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, held prisoner in Russia for nearly a year. Gershkovich’s horoscope (10/26/91 in Princeton, NJ) is as intensely controlling as Carlson’s this year.
• Surprise! President Zelenskyy fired his top military chief. In other news, Warren Buffett’s son has given $500 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, with $300 million more on the way. Zelenksky’s Mars — how he needs to assert himself — is in an empowered period of development as it receives an opposition from transiting Pluto.
• Surprise! President Biden held a press conference at the White House around 8 PM ET (as I was writing the first draft of this forecast). Did you know that on Sunday, October 8th, the day after Hamas’ monstrous attack on Israel, Biden still kept the appointment Special Prosecutor Robert Hur had requested? Classified documents were found in Biden’s possession last year, and Hur’s mission was to determine if the facts and the evidence warranted that Biden be charged with a crime. Biden was questioned for two and a half hours on October 8th and again on October 9th, with transiting Mars squaring Biden’s Jupiter, ruler of his Sagittarius Ascendant. Hur’s report was filed this week — as Mars is now opposing Biden’s Jupiter. See? It is the next step in cycle.  Hur did not find that the evidence warranted criminal charges, but he couldn’t stop himself from editorializing, in the way opinionated Sagittarius James Comey couldn’t stop himself days before the 2016 election. We don’t know when Hur was born. You can watch President Biden’s brief press conference here — far better to see it for yourself than through the distorted lens of the mainstream media, which has failed to prioritize the really big newsworthy surprise that came out in that press conference: Biden stated that he feels Israel’s response in Gaza has been “over the top,” for starters…

Here’s the 411 on personal consultations.  

Thank you for reading this forecast — with special thanks to Avid Reader Lucy for her generous support.

Finally…

Happy Year of the Wood Dragon!